Strung Out Episode 223. Singer-Songwriter and founder of Fulton Street Collective, Joe Lanasa

In this episode of 'Strung Out,' host Martin Laurence McCormack sits down with the talented singer, songwriter, and musician Joe Lanasa at the Fulton Street Collective an artist community he founded with singer-songwriter Anna Fermin 20 years ago. Joe opens up about his artistic journey, from growing up in Chicago and being influenced by iconic singer-songwriters like Marty Robbins to local musicians such as Scott Momenthy. The conversation touches on Joe's approach to songwriting, stagecraft, and his strong emotional connection to his music. Tune in to hear Joe perform his heartfelt songs 'Holy Secret' and 'Thanks to You,' dedicated to the impact of mentors like  Momenthy. Later, Joe shares insights about his life on a small horse farm in Wauconda Illinois, the influence of his family, and his plans to get the Lanasa Band back together. Don't miss this deep dive into the life of a pivotal Chicago artist who puts his heart and soul into every performance.

Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome to Strung Out, the podcast that looks at life through the lens of an artist. Your host is the artist, writer, and musician, Martin Lawrence McCormack. Now here's Marty. Hey, great to have you with us. We are at the Fulton Street Collective and the gentleman sitting to my right is one of the reasons why we're here.

[00:00:24] Singer, songwriter, and musician. Artistic entrepreneur, Joel Anassa. And why don't we just cut to the chase and have you jump in with a song right now. What song are you going to play? Um, I'll play a song called Holy Secret. Holy Secret. Okay. May I stand up? You can stand up. All right. Cool. In fact, that makes it easier for me.

[00:00:51] So stand up. I'm gonna duck outta the way,

[00:01:21] but tonight.

[00:01:27] Oh, tonight is just a memory I've had. Ooh,

[00:01:40] ooh,

[00:01:43] ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh. Hazel's on the beach tonight, isn't she? You walk in then you run off with my eyes. That girl, she was so sweet

[00:02:58] But you know what makes you stronger? Makes me weak.

[00:03:05] What makes you stronger makes me weak. So for the holy revelation. The wonders of enlightenment they share. I get to live like others only dream. Pretend and forget your scheme. But you know, what makes you stronger makes me weak. Can you know what makes you stronger, makes me weak? Can I run from the heart of your promise?

[00:03:48] Do I long for the warmth of your embrace? Hide my eyes from the light that surrounds me And I'll take the coldest heat

[00:04:25] First of all, I always like to ask, um, uh, just for, uh, inspired and up and coming singer songwriters, tell us a little bit about your guitar. Anything special about it or. I love this guitar. This is kind of a new guitar. I've, I've, um, I don't, I have a bunch of guitars, but I primarily use one that I bought in 1993.

[00:04:48] And then I hadn't bought a new acoustic guitar like this since, uh, since then up until this year. So I just bought this a couple, maybe six months ago at the most. And now I'm, you know, playing with this one. It's a really nice. What, what, what's that? What is it? It's a Taylor guitar. Oh, a Taylor. Yeah. Very nice.

[00:05:04] I, I. I've never seen such a dark looking tailor. I mean, that's kind of a neat finish. Yeah, they've got some innovative designs lately. This is, I think, what is it called? Builders? Um, Yeah, Builder's Edition. I don't know much else about it. Well, one of the things that's really cool about it, just, uh, observing it, is it's really, uh, it's user friendly.

[00:05:26] I like the way that the wood is, you know, is that a, oh, it's, it's like a, uh, uh, uh, some sort of resin back. I think it's all resin almost. I have no idea. Really, I don't know much about the construction of guitars. I do know that this bevel makes it easy for me, because I don't even have to wear a, uh, a forearm thing so that it doesn't, because otherwise I get really rough and red there.

[00:05:49] I, I know that feeling. I, I have a, I have a cyst from playing the bass, but, uh, we don't have to go into that part right now. Uh, where did you grow up? Tell us a little bit about yourself. I grew up in Chicago. I'm a Chicago born and raised all my life. I travel a lot for work and for pleasure, but, um, uh, Chicago is my favorite big city.

[00:06:12] And, uh, Yeah, I'm a true Chicagoan. I love all the Chicago teams, sports teams, and uh, the music scene. Right. And of course the art scene. Right. Did you grow up, uh, let's get a, uh, give me a, uh, a side of town. Give me a parish. I don't know if you're Catholic or not, but you know, what parish I grew up in a Catholic family in St.

[00:06:34] William's Parish in Northwest side. Northwest side. Okay. And then most of my adult life, um, has been spent in the Wicker Park neighborhood and kind of not far from the neighborhood we're in now. We're in the Westtown area. And so I've been around here, basically, Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village, uh, you know, West Town, West, West Bloomberry, my adult life.

[00:06:55] And I, I heard the references, uh, to Oak Park Avenue in that song, uh, that you just played. Um, which is awesome, uh, uh, I, I love when people put a landmark in their music. to tie it to a specific region, you know what I mean? So, uh, well, how did you, how did you know that you wanted to be a singer songwriter?

[00:07:18] Uh, tell us a little bit about that upbringing. Are you, you know, was your family musical? Give us a little bit of that. Um, I appreciate these questions actually, you're making me think about this stuff. Um, my family was pretty musical. Um, my mom and dad always had music playing. And, uh, my dad exposed me to singer songwriters at an early age.

[00:07:41] He was a big Bob Dylan fan, Johnny Cash. And there was this guy, uh, not as well known, but made a big impact on me named Marty Robbins. Oh, of course. He had all these, uh, His songs are all stories and, and, and, and he always, he made up like an environment, you know, there, there, there were songs about the old west, about cowboys and stuff like that and what it was like.

[00:08:05] And it was like, he, he projected himself into this other version of reality. And somehow that really, you know, struck home for me. And then I even went to, my dad took me to a concert with Marty Robbins one time. And like, I think. more than any other singer songwriter in early age. I was, I was like five years old or something when I went to this concert and when I loved Marty Robbins and um, so I think he is more responsible for me becoming a singer songwriter.

[00:08:34] You know, I don't know. That's kind of like, it's just off the top of my head. That's kind of like, I think that's, I think that's very cool. Marty Robbins, of course, is, uh, he, he actually could write a long song like Alpaca. Yeah, Alpaca was the name of the piece. And, and it was a song that, like you said, it was a great story song.

[00:08:55] You didn't get bored with it. You didn't know what was gonna, you know. I, I always, uh, compare him to somebody like Don McLean that wrote American Pie. Where you kind of, you know, Scratching your head, you know, and you're wondering, okay, you know, I have to go through all these Dylan esque kind of, uh, metaphors to figure out that this is about, you know, the airplane crash, maybe, out in Iowa, with the big bopper, but Marty Robbins, not only did he have, uh, just a killer voice, beautiful voice, I always saw it, and he had that backing harmonies, I mean, it was true western, country western, but you're right, One of the, probably the most prolific writers of, uh, of, uh, uh, story song.

[00:09:41] Yet he could turn on a dime. He did, uh, you know, a white sport, sport coat and a pink carnation. That's going back to his nineteen, you know, fifties kind of thing. He, he just, uh, he just, he, he, what a, what a great person to have as your influence, I think. He was one of them. There are a bazillion other ones.

[00:09:59] I just know, you know, that was him. When I was a kid, it's one of my early childhood memories because it was with my dad. It meant a lot to me, shared with the years. And then I know I became, uh, just, uh, as I was in grade school and everything, I wrote short stories and poems a lot. And then when I got to high school, I figured out that girls like guys who play guitar.

[00:10:19] And so I started playing guitar. I wish I would've, I wish I would've discovered that myself in high school. So that turned into, that's, that turned into, you know, The short stories turned into songs. So you're a writer as well. Do you write still? Uh, I haven't like sat down to write a story that was not in the form of a song in many years, but I think most of the songs, or many of the songs, I would say, do have kind of like a theatrical kind of approach or a story.

[00:10:49] Like, like I almost pretend like it's a movie, like I'm writing a movie, you know, and movies have been influenced by that. I can see that in your, your stage performance. Uh, first of all, you're one of the, you're the first person that has said, can I just stand up and play? Um, uh, going on to three, almost four years of these podcasts.

[00:11:10] So I love, I love that fact that you, you know, your comfort zone and that, uh, when I've seen you play live over the years, I always, I always felt like you had, um, uh, a Springsteen like. Delivery of, of energy. Um, you remind me quite a bit of, of some of the, my favorite artists that have come through Fitzgerald's over the years, like Joe Ealy, for example, and, you know, your, your stage presence.

[00:11:41] How did you, how did you, uh, develop that? Because when you're up there, you're not just standing there. You're, you're, you're moving. You're like, you know, there's a, there's a lot of emotion that's coming through you physically. Was that a deliberate thing? Did that just, was that just the La Nasa, uh, Inspire, you know, How did that come about?

[00:12:04] Because that's, it's really It's entertaining. I, I don't know Marty, I mean, um It wasn't something I consciously said I'm going to have this particular style or not But I do kind of I mean, it just happened naturally. I mean, even from those really awkward times in high school where I could hardly play, it was just very emotional.

[00:12:24] Like, it's very hard for me to actually play a song without feeling the emotion of the song, especially if it's a song that I wrote. And most of the time, you've been to a lot of my shows, so you know that I, I use covers just sparingly, kind of like, to cover. You know, to involve the crowd because they'd like to hear that.

[00:12:42] But I mostly play original music. And, um, so every song actually means something to me. And I don't purposely try to do it. But, it's, uh, important to me, and it happens this way for me, that I just, uh, take on the role of the character in the song and not, and I, and I leave Joe Vanessa behind. You know, so I'm not Joe on stage.

[00:13:08] It's just me. And, um, that's not intentional, that's just the way it naturally happens. As I've reflected on it, though, and given it some conscious thought, I am, I am proud of that, I do like that. I think that's, that's what's natural for me and that's what works. And my favorite thing besides writing the song is performing the song and becoming the character in the song.

[00:13:28] So, I think that's, that's, that's That's just me, that's just the way to do it. It's part of that, uh, it's difficult to get up on stage, and over time, it can wear you down. So maybe by becoming the character in the song, is that a way in which you're able to keep Joe Manassa safe and sound? You take on this theater character, almost like, you know, with your songs, and is it protective in a way?

[00:13:57] Um, or is it, or is it just something like, you know, yeah, it just came about? Yeah, I don't think it's a way necessarily, well, I guess yes and no. I mean, you know, get over, I'm not nervous if I'm playing a character. I'm nervous if I don't believe in the song well enough to be the character. Okay. Then I would be nervous.

[00:14:23] I remember early shows at Fitzgerald's. And being nervous, and a lot of the folks at Fitzgerald's, many of whom you know, taught me how to be a performer by setting a good example. But I know that, you know, what I learned was just that if you believe in your song, then you won't be nervous. You might be, have an excited energy and be nervous in a way, but not in a negative way.

[00:14:45] That, that, the kind of way that makes you feel like you have to hide it. You know, if you believe in your song, you just go out there and you play it. And some people are going to like it and some people are going to love it. But if you believe in the song, that's what makes the difference. But if you don't believe in the song, you frankly shouldn't be doing it.

[00:15:02] Right. That's very Especially on stage in front of a bunch of people. You got to have some, some level of commitment to the music in order to, uh, you better have a lot of commitment. You remind me then of, of some of those great songwriters like Harry Chapin. Then, you know, Chapin was able to take, uh, A lot of songs in which there was a character and I always felt like even though I never saw Chapin live, listening to his music, um, he was that character, you know, like the, the taxi song, you know, where he's, uh, he is a taxi driver in that song.

[00:15:40] And, uh, do you find them by doing that, are you, uh, writing songs specifically then for? Joe Manasso to perform on stage. So does your music, you know, is there always a character, I guess is what I'm asking. For most of the songs, there is a character. Most of the songs are, um, derived from some energy that I feel within.

[00:16:10] Um, usually, you know, some combination of experiences and combinations. Combinations of people, of relationships. And so they're, uh, uh, it's easy to, to get into that role and, you know, to play it from the heart because it's all, that's how the song started. That's how I started writing the songs. So I don't know if I answered your question, but.

[00:16:35] Sort of, kind of, but I'm gonna, I'm gonna, you know, get at you again. Uh, Do you have siblings? Are there any other musical anasas that we don't know of? I have three sisters and two brothers. None of them actually play or perform music. I have a son and two daughters. And my son plays drums with me in my band sometimes now.

[00:16:58] How old's your son? He's in his late thirties. Late thirties. Wow, you started early, man. I have like a ten year old daughter. I know I'm a late blooper, but that's Okay. That's just another facet that I think is great. So you're bringing along, there's this musical gene that obviously is traveling along in the La Nasa class.

[00:17:21] Yeah, Mike loves it. And he's a good drummer and also plays from his heart, which he hasn't gotten with me. Wow. Does he write as well now? Uh, not that I know of. He hasn't been writing that I know of, but he, like I said, he doesn't play from the heart and, uh, that's, that's what we have in common. And these days you're out in Wakanda, Illinois.

[00:17:40] You're living in Wakanda, Illinois since COVID. Yes, used to be my parents home. It's a small horse ranch. And so I love it. I love the, the green and the fresh air, but I am probably more of a city kid at heart. Um, I have the Fulton Street Collective here, which is in the heart of the city. And so I'm here every week once or one or two nights a week.

[00:18:02] And, uh, You that allows me to have the, the best of both worlds. You and I are then opposites. 'cause I'm a country boy that am in the city. Uh, yeah. I grew up on a, about 24 acres out in Woodstock. We had horses. Yeah. Sheep, pigs, everything. I miss it dearly. Um, but I married a city girl and, and I thought I would never be in Rogers Park.

[00:18:25] I'm in Rogers Park. It's great. But do you still have horses? We do. We always have two or three horses on it. Do you ride? I ride. Uh, the two horses that I have right now on my property are not rideable. They're kind of in one state or another. One of them is a pony. But I still ride. I still ride with some of my friends horses.

[00:18:46] Well, let me know when you want to go riding. Do you ride English or Western? Western. All right. This is, we're, we're finding a lot of common ground here. Think of, uh, another song. And then we're going to take a little break, uh, as we talk with Joel and Asa here on Strung Out. Uh, give us a song, and I'm just gonna, and if you don't have it, that's okay.

[00:19:12] Give us a song that has a character that you feel like really represents you or a loved one that, you know, that you love. One of your most poignant songs, I don't know, I'm just stabbing in the dark. I want to see, uh, for the listener, your, your interpretation and your presentation because you're one of the few people I know that talks about stagecraft with music and I find that really fascinating because, stagecraft that's important for music.

[00:19:45] And I think the most successful musicians have a little bit of Bethesda in them. And, uh, have you ever done theater? A little bit. I was not great at it. I was not good at all. But, uh, I enjoyed it. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I could never do in theater what I do in songs and music on stage for some reason. Right. I don't know why.

[00:20:10] Uh, but, you know. Yeah. What's the next song that you're going to give us? Um, with what you just said, as a, as a Intro, I think I'll do one of my older songs, um, that might be closer to the way you described. Okay. More, more, uh, representative of my constant, um, person, being, whatever. Okay, great. What helped me merge my early songwriting and then actually turning it into a performance was Scott Momentum, who you know.

[00:20:49] So I have to kind of give him a little credit. Never have to climb a lonely ladder Never have to walk a lonely road Never have to struggle through a lonely winter Never have to do that thing

[00:21:26] When I was a kid, I had no idea. Just thinking everything would go just right. Never had a fear or a nervous hour. Until Michael went back alone that night. Friday night sugar up that holiday weekend. Then my life I've kept in place. Took three years of getting wasted. To wipe the guilty look from all my veins.

[00:22:08] I remember people saying, Those two are surely cursed. I remember saying, Where'd everybody go?

[00:22:42] To walk alone

[00:22:48] to.

[00:22:53] You never have to do that, thanks to you. Now you and I, we had our troubles.

[00:23:04] Had a sharp fence in the road.

[00:23:09] God knows that night I thought I lost you. But your courage and your strength, I've never known. Through our darkest hours, at least we were together. I didn't really see it that way at the time. But now I know the love and the faith you gave me Turned out to be the reason for my life. I remember. I remember people saying, those two are surely cursed.

[00:23:53] I remember saying, where'd everybody go?

[00:24:10] Ladder never

[00:24:25] have to. I never have to do.

[00:24:32] Thanks you.

[00:24:44] Well, we got Joe Manassa here and uh, we're going to take a little break and we're going to be right back with a little more of talking about all the singing, songwriting, and everything else that's in the world of Joe Manassa, a fellow equestrian. You are on Strung Out. Hey, want to show your support of Martin's Artist Endeavors?

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[00:25:37] Hey, we're back with Joel and Asa and um, that last song is called because of you, right? Thanks to you. Thanks to you. God. Okay. Well, three tries and I didn't get it right. Thanks to you. Uh, and, uh, the, the tribute to Scott Momente, um, is great because I think Scott Momente is one of these Chicago singer songwriters, even though he's not living here anymore, that, uh, I think is a treasure.

[00:26:06] And if there was a Chicago Singer songwriter Hall of Fame, uh, Momente would have his own room with a David like, you know, statue of him, clutching a guitar. I hope you're listening to this, Scott. Uh, you're probably laughing. Um, but he, his, his songwriting out of, uh, one of the things that, uh, I think he taught a lot of people, myself included, was the art of a confessional song that isn't too confessional.

[00:26:37] And I, I, I thought that's kind of what I hear in that song, thanks to you, because obviously there's something there that went on and, uh, you know, it's, it's very powerful. But it's the kind of song that, uh, like Momente's glorious love, that somebody can take and make their own and graft their own emotional angst on top of.

[00:26:59] Yeah, everyone has those kinds of experiences and those kinds of feelings. Right, right. And so, uh, is, is that safe for me to say that, uh, you studied a little bit of momenti or when you came to songwriting or, or. Well, I mean, I chose that because I thought you would be able to relate to it because he used to do this thing where he basically taught a generation of singer songwriters because he had this, I mean, they call it an open mic, but it was almost like a, uh, Uh, uh, performing songwriter tutorial.

[00:27:34] He didn't just teach you. He really didn't teach you anything about writing stuff. He didn't tell you this side, you write a song or anything, but he told you how to perform. Like he had this thing that he, he, he wanted to make it a show, not an open mic. And so he, he insisted and he was really stricter than anybody else that I ever saw in like open mic or open jam situations.

[00:27:56] Um, and this is going back, you know, this is, you know, more than 20 years ago. And, uh, you know, but, uh, I mean, I, I took guitar and I learned it and he, he taught me the basics of performing, you know, like never apologize and, you know, believe in your song and then just go out there and play it, you know, and don't.

[00:28:15] Do, you're not in your living room. This is a show, you know, and do it. So it was, it was like, it was a tutorial that was like a, a class a masterclass in how to, how to be a perform, how to be a, especially a solo performer on a stage. That's actually most other musicians would probably agree with me, that the hardest thing that any musician does is do a solo performance on a stage.

[00:28:37] in front of a crowd and keep the crowd's attention for any length of time, even one whole song, but then especially, you know, you think about the performers who perform an hour and a half show without a band, you know, and if you can do that, then it's easy to play in a band once you learn how to play in a band.

[00:28:55] That's great advice that you just gave. Um, you know, I, I always worked with Brian and I was always grateful for that because he had that wingman. You know, to kind of not only to perform and perform against and perform with, but you also had that person driving a car to, I mean, traveling and there's, there's that physical aspect of being a singer songwriter, which is a very lonely road to hope, you know, uh, in the sense of, uh, going out and playing a place.

[00:29:29] And, uh, I don't know, you know, uh, you're driving back, it's late, you know, there's that aspect of it. And, uh, but, uh, You know, Momente and, uh, Jim McCandless, uh, some of these singer songwriters of this era, uh, really kind of, uh, their pedigree, uh, it's nice to see that other singer songwriters like yourself were also influenced to some degree by his showmanship because I think that's that arc that goes all the way back into Prime.

[00:30:01] Goes back into, uh, Michael Smith and all these other singer songwriters that were fairly huge stars. I mean, Chris Dofferson discovered, uh, Prime and, and, uh, here in Chicago. I mean, that was that kind of, uh, pedigree that we should be very proud of, I think, is people that live around the, the greater Chicago area and in Chicago itself.

[00:30:24] Um, when you start Mr. Chris, by the way. Yeah. Chris, Chris Dofferson. Yeah. Well, again, uh, what a great example of a singer songwriter in the sense that, uh, wrote stories, you know? And, uh, and he never, never really was a big fan of his own voice. But he was able to deliver in such a way that people were, were mesmerized.

[00:30:52] He was a, he was a big success of the fact that other people, again, were able to take his songs and make them their own. You know, me and Bobby McGee will be probably the school book, textbook example of how to write a good song in such a way that somebody else can take it. And, you know, make, make it a whole other thing, you know?

[00:31:17] And I always wondered, I have to look at that song to see, you know, he wrote it. Me and Bobby McGee, was Bobby McGee, when he wrote it, Bobby with an I, was it, was he always writing from the female perspective? I don't know either. Tell me this with your writing. Um, I like to ask, uh, uh, how do you go about it?

[00:31:39] When you sit down to write a song, where does the muse hit you? Uh, I don't most, I don't usually, um, plan to write a song necessarily. I plan to play a lot, you know, like, and then, um, uh, get inspired, uh, during that practicing or whatever. You know, like, I'm not the person who sits down and says, I'm going to write a song about, you know, about a parrot and, uh, You know playing in tiddlywinks or something like that and I can do that.

[00:32:08] I never do that I am usually just like playing something and something hits my brain And comes out in the guitar while i'm playing and I usually also also, um write the Music and the words at the same time. Oh That and then the other way that I often write songs is um, i'm really big on. Um, Trying to be aware of my dreams and stuff like that.

[00:32:35] So a lot of songs I've written because I dreamed it and then I wake up and I grab my guitar and I try to put it down. Oh, how interesting. So you actually, you'll have a dream in which something happened and you're like I gotta write this down. And then I'll wake up and I'll write it down. I used to, like, I journaled a lot at night, um, and sometimes first thing in the morning.

[00:32:55] And I'll try to write down what I remember from my dream if it, for some reason, struck me. And sometimes it strikes me as a song. Wow. So I'll write the song. Wow, how cool. So I'll write down the song. Uh, when you dream these things, do you get the, the music as well? Is it that sort of thing, or is it more like, hey, you know.

[00:33:13] I guess so. Yeah. Yeah. Kind of. Wow. I never, I don't really know that part is a little bit, uh, below my level of consciousness, I guess. But it does come out together. Like I don't usually, I mean, thinking about it, sometimes I just write down the words, but I pretty much feel like I always have the music at the same time.

[00:33:35] I'll most often, as soon as I realize it's a song, like I'll start writing in my journal. And then as soon as I start to realize that this is a song that I'm writing down, then I pick up my guitar, and then usually, I'll know exactly what to play, or very soon, within five minutes, know what to play, and then play the song.

[00:33:52] And then from there on, it's usually writing the lyrics at the same time as the guitar. Wow. You know, and a lot of times it'll just be pieces. Very often, it'll just be pieces of the song. And then I'll assemble them at some later date. Okay. I always like to ask, uh, singer songwriters, do you, then, if you have these various pieces, are you putting them down on, like, your phone, are you recording them, are you writing them into a notebook, like you said, maybe journaling?

[00:34:19] Um, As I was a kid, I always just wrote it down. I always had notebooks. So I had millions of notebooks. And I would always write everything down. And I still to this day handwrite the songs. I never, you know, type into a computer the songs until they're kind of like done and then I type them in for different purposes and I share with other people.

[00:34:39] But I, I always write. Is that you showing your age or is that you, or is there a magic involved with the handwriting? I, I, I'm, this is a serious question. I, I, I believe there's a magic with the, with the handwriting. I believe that when you, and not just the planting. Okay. to songwriting. But I think that when you cog, when you write down something pencil to paper, or the modern equivalent, which I use now, which is, you know, writing on a pad, on an iPad.

[00:35:06] Um, but I'm handwriting the words. And I think there's a difference in cognitive ability when you do that. Like, it makes me able to remember the songs. It makes me sure of, was that really what I meant to say? Okay. And there's no way that I would be able to do that with typing. I, you know, with typing into a computer.

[00:35:28] Do you have a singer songwriter's junkyard or collection sitting out there in the, uh, the ether, uh, of, of like little ideas that every so often Joe goes out there and says, Hey, I need a part. Let me look under the hood of this one. Yeah, I do. I always have a bunch of pieces that are not songs yet. That's very often.

[00:35:51] Part of the songwriting experience, you know, like I will have some kind of like, you know, spiritual or whatever moment where I'm actually, as I described, playing and singing at the same time. But then, at some point, I'll recognize that, Oh, that's what that other part was for, you know, and then bring it back in and that'll be the bridge of the song, so I'm like, wow, that was the bridge of the song, or something.

[00:36:16] Usually when you're just sitting there and you're just like, um, you know, serendipitously inspired to play something, you do that, and it's usually you're thinking of like the chorus, I'm just being first person, I'm usually thinking of like the chorus or something. Or the hook, or whatever. Something that makes it memorable, like, like, that I just like, Oh, this has to come out, so I start playing it.

[00:36:37] Even during a band rehearsal, or something. And then, and then usually I'll add these other pieces that were like, in that library, or whatever, that they were there. They're always in my mind, or they're written down, or they're recorded somewhere. I record little pieces too, all the time. I think I have a recorder next to me.

[00:36:54] Before we have you play a song to bring us out of this podcast and we're going to have a second podcast because there's too much to talk about with Joe. What I was going to ask is, do you perform these days more solo, or do you perform with your band? I know you used to have, and do you still have, the Joe Manassa band?

[00:37:19] Is that still in existence, or? Oh, great. Great question. Um, so, we were playing through 2020. Um, and then again, interrupted, um, I played mostly in bands up until that point, COVID interrupted that process. And then since then, I haven't played with the band, which I miss dearly. Um, Um, since then I play solo, I've been writing music still, and I'll play solo wherever they'll let me play.

[00:37:47] And, um, and also I've moved, so I have this whole other, all in northern Illinois, to set up bars and, and places that'll let me play. So, it's a completely different experience. But I miss the band, and now recently, um, we've, we've started talking about, um, putting the band back together and actually kind of have a, uh, our first gig or two lined up.

[00:38:10] And, um, our intention is, my intention is to, um, put together a band and play. A lot of the people that I used to play Um, are not interested for one reason or another anymore. So I'm always looking for new people. Fortunately, when you play out of the lot, even solo, you meet musicians constantly, it seems that most of my friends are musicians.

[00:38:30] Yeah. So, you know, right now, you know, I've reconnected with, uh, the bass player who I love. And, um, he and I have both expressed an interest in putting together a band again. So we're gonna do that with, do you think your son will drum on it or do you think He'll yeah. I'll ask my son first. Uh, Mike to drum on it.

[00:38:49] Okay. And then we need a guitar player and, um, we'll, we'll start playing again 'cause there's nothing more fun than playing out, playing and putting these musics, um. It's like taking a, you know, uh, a screenplay for a play and just talking to your friend in the living room about it. That's like, like solo performing, but to actually create the play and have actors and everything in it, that's like being in a band.

[00:39:14] So I want to have the band. In the meantime, where could aspiring guitarists that want to be part of the Joe Lanassa Band find you? Are you on Facebook? What's your website? Or do you have, how, how does somebody get a hold of your music? Oh, thank you for asking. Um, I think you can reach me at, um, JLB Singer on most socials.

[00:39:34] So JLB Singer, like Joe Lanassa Band Singer. Um, you know, so that would be Facebook, Instagram or whatever at that, um, that ID or whatever. Yeah, that's probably best. We normally, you know, always have a website and stuff like that, but that's been kind of like just rusting away somewhere. I don't even know.

[00:39:56] But, um, we'll probably start all that stuff up again in the next month or so. Yeah. Since we're getting serious about planning it. Sounds like you're getting the machine going again, and so, uh, Yeah. So, you know, watch this space, but, uh, that'd be great to, uh, people can Google. In the meantime, they can hunt you down through the Fulton Street Collective.

[00:40:13] I was just going to say, you know, we would probably advertise, the Fulton Street Collective has a whole social media, you know, process and machine and people staffing and everything and they do a great job and I would probably promote my band through there as well. Great. So that's a good place to check every now and then, FultonStreetCollective.

[00:40:29] com. And I'm curious this time, before we play your song, you said, and it really caught my ear, you said, uh, something in regards to, um, building your dreams or realizing your dreams just in conversation about 10 minutes ago. So my question to you is this. What dreams do you still have to realize? Well, that's a great question.

[00:40:56] I mean, my, I kind of live a dream life. I would have to say, which I'm very grateful for. And my dream is to continue that as just to, to, to continue to have rich experiences. and to experience life. Um, and relationships just being good to everybody so that we have great relationships. And um, I don't have a dream like a bucket list like I, I have to go to here or go there, things like that.

[00:41:23] And I have like achieved things that other people dream of and never get to achieve. And I'm very grateful for that. I'm constantly with every breath I take, I'm very grateful of that. Um, I mean that in a very specific and very general ways. Um, and so my, everything after that is frosting on the cake and I, my dream is just to make sure that I keep enjoying it and appreciating it.

[00:41:56] Well, that's, I'm looking at, that's well said. And you are lucky, man. I guess we're all lucky to be able to be in. what we're doing. Yeah. And uh, what's the name of this, this final song? Um, good, good thinking. Uh, let's see. Um, all right, I'll play a newer song. Um, what's it called? Uh, let's play, uh, Devil's Gonna Dance.

[00:42:22] Devil's Gonna Dance by Joe Lanasa.

[00:42:32] I seen that look up hundred times before, but I've never seen a girl like you before

[00:42:43] and I ain't gonna think no lucky stars, but I don't give a damn who you really are

[00:42:53] and I can hear you per when I grab your hips and I know what's next when you. But you

[00:43:04] born the devil. Looking through my eyes, the devil's dance with you,

[00:43:12] devil Dance hat, devil Dance with.

[00:43:37] And on your face. And I feel the heal your breathe.

[00:43:46] Now I can feel you treble. Feel your body shake. I can tell you're hungry, by the way,

[00:43:56] so I in the eye. You know you're coming. May tonight, I was born with the devil looking through my eyes, the devil's gonna dance with you tonight. This new relation looking through my eyes, the devil's gonna dance with you tonight. Yeah, I was gonna dance with you tonight. Yeah, yeah, Yeah, yeah, Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:44:29] Well, I've seen that look a hundred times before, but I've never seen a girl like you before. All right. Hey, listen, guys. I want to thank you, Joe Lanasa, and we are, uh, gonna come back with another podcast, uh, with Joe's other world, which is this whole Fulton Street Collective, and who knows what other surprises you may have.

[00:45:05] But what a great singer songwriter. Wonderful example of, of really putting his heart and soul into music. And this is what makes Chicago songwriting so great. Thank you for being just who you are and what you're doing. And, uh, you guys make sure you catch not only Joe's music on Spotify and stuff like that, but get the next podcast that's coming up.

[00:45:26] We'll catch you, uh, next week. Bye bye. Thanks. Thank you for listening. For more information about this show or a transcript, visit martin mccormack.com. While there, sign up for our newsletter. See you next time. On Strung Out It

[00:45:50] Wrong Thing, we Feel makes no sense at all. The Swan song was a part of the deal was no good fault Giving out choice, giving out that.