Howlin For The Blues

Born and raised in his sweet home, Chicago, DaSilva hails from a musical family. His mother and father traveled throughout Brazil and Ukraine, where his mother was a singer and his father accompanied her on guitar. His father passed away when he was 3, and the family moved down to Florida when Joel was about 12. In his family it’s either Sports or Music and of course being from Chicago, Joel DaSilva has blues running through his veins as he continues to channel that soulful energy in his live performances to this day.

His older brother brought home an acoustic guitar when he was about 16, 17, “with like these ultra heavy gauge strings on it… When he wasn’t home I would fiddle around with it, pretty soon I nailed some licks and I liked it. “ Going thru old records and learning from the masters, or hanging out where his brother worked at late at night, Joel continued to emerse himself in the music he loved.  At a blues bar back in the day (the Back Room) Joel got to hang out with traveling Blues and Rock Legends and Bands where he began learning firsthand from them, as he became their friends and learned the ropes in the meantime. Joining his first band soon after that, “Junior Drinkwater”, then “The Regulators”, onto a Pyschobilly outfit called “The Underbelly’s” who were signed to a record deal. They were dropped but, as Joel describes,  “The cool thing was we got to meet lots of cool artists and people like songwriter “Pat Dinizio” of the “Smithereens” fame who I contact from time to time, then onto “the Hep Cat Boo Daddies” which I fronted for a long time. We had a good run there, we had success, ups and downs, and I’m proud of that, what we accomplished and so forth.”

After a long run with The Hep Cats, Joel finally felt he needed and wanted to go on his own and felt that it was long overdue.   “I’m in the right frame of mind to do that now, I’m a little edgier, little hardened, I’m hungrier, and I have fresh guys in my new group “Joel DaSilva and the Midnight Howl”, who constantly push me , help me with things, and are just as hungry to get to the next level musically and business wise as I am which I’m very excited about. Plus they are cool guys.” Always on the move, he is already working on inspirations for his next album.

Influences range from Johnny Cash to Elvis Costello, Jimmy Cliff to U2, BB King to Ravi Shankar, the Beatles to Bruce Springsteen, Lenny Kravitz to Muddy Waters, DaSilva also admits to being a huge fan of our hometown guys and girls like Rick Rossano from the Dillengers, Eddie Gregg, Billy Livesay and  Diane Ward.

His debut solo cd is poised to be released on November 19th and is all originals with one cover. Ranging from blues, rock & roll, acoustic tunes, and even a ballad. Blues Leaf Recording Artist “Albert Castiglia” performs on a track they co-wrote entitled “Hard Time”.  There’s something for everybody on the new release. Joel is also working, along with Scott Rowl, on the soundtrack for an upcoming Independent film called “Sleep” , it takes place in Everglades City in 1977 and it’s eerie and spooky. Joel makes his acting debut in the film as well playing “Sheriff Cousins”.  Check it out at www.sleepthefilm.com. Inspiration is fleeting as we all know, so Joel tries to hold onto it as much as possible. "Maybe the groove will come first or the lyrics and melody second. Depends upon the mood I’m in or the particular type of wine I’m having I should say….lol. As far as recording goes I try to nail everything in one take. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.  The studio is definitely a great place to be at creatively with so many possibilities at your fingertips. I wish I had more time to do so."   His latest stuff is in the Blues vein, Americana, and Rock & Roll, Laying’ his heart and soul out there for all to see.

"To be able to completely touch the sky when I'm performing… on a good night.. It’s very spiritual. I also love meeting fans, inspiring people, I’d like for people to feel what I’m dishing out while performing. Talking to people about what they do, fresh guitar strings, to play guitar and sing…best job in the world! Well , not a job at all if you love what you do."

In the future, Joel would love to see lots of road tours, radio play, new fans, and more albums under his belt. Maybe some more indie film acting work would be great as well.

With a resume that includes performances with heavy hitters like B.B. King, A.C.Reed, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Reverend Horton Heat and opening for acts as varied as: J.J. Grey, The White Stripes , The Black Crowes, and Jimmie Vaughan, DaSilva has already made a mark in the industry; and is poised to become a power player......He is the real deal. For more info on Joel DaSilva & The Midnight Howl,

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