Greeley and Fort Collins are well known for being a haven for musical creativity with many amazing bands and musicians hailing from the area.
West Side Joe and The Men of Soul is just one of the Fort Collins-based bands making its mark on the area’s music scene.
The group, which has been together for about nine years, is composed of guitar and vocalist Joe Schicke, drummer and vocalist Steve Amedee, and bassist and vocalist Taylor Tesler.
“We’ve always played blues but we don’t remain confined by that genre,” Schicke explained. “We play rock and roll, R&B and soul.
“We call it blues because we believe most American styles have blues as its root,” he added.
With three singers in the group, vocals are the band’s strength.
“We have really strong background vocals so much so that we try to find songs without background vocals,” Schicke said, laughing. “We just all want to sing all the time, it’s in our wheelhouse.”
While the band hasn’t performed at the Greeley Blues Jam, they have taken the stage a time or two during downtown’s Friday Fest.
“This trio has been in a lot of different music, different styles and different approaches and all that has accumulated into this ball of energy that we have right now,” Tesler said. “We’re at a place where we’re ready to release that into the world.”
Keeping on path to release their music to the world, the band has launched a Kickstarter campaign and headed into the studio to record a new album, tentatively titled “Easier Than You Think.” The album will feature a mix of original blues, rock and R&B compositions.
“Some people told me that a pandemic is the wrong time to crowdfund an album,” Schicke said. “But here we are, almost halfway funded after one day I’m not ready to declare victory yet, but we are off to a great start.”
The Kickstarter campaign has already reached $5,653 of their $10,000 goal.
To promote the campaign and album, the band is doing live practices and cooking shows on their Facebook page.
“I’m really looking forward to having some of my musical friends show me how to cook while people watch,” Schicke said. “It should be hilarious and awkward.”
The campaign is set to run through Wednesday, Sept. 9 and anyone pitching in financially will receive “rewards” that include free t-shirts, stickers, handcrafted stoneware mugs and more.
To contribute to the West Side Joe and The Men of Soul Kickstarter campaign, go to https://bit.ly/3a5W4HN.
Like many bands trying to maneuver through the pandemic with the closures of venues and restrictions on large gatherings, Schicke and his comrades miss the creative outlet of playing together.
“I feel so much better after I play. I just breathe easier and I’m happier,” Schicke said. “It is just added anxiety to our lives, to not be able to go and play. We are in the studio, and that’s great, but that feels more like a hard day’s work at the end. Getting done with a show, you’re all pumped up and happy.”
Music is a way for the band to give back to the community during these hard times, Tesler said. Listeners will definitely hear themes of community and coming together in the new album.
Until restrictions on large gatherings are lifted, the band plans to focus their energy on the album.
“We’re a great team and I think we have good chemistry,” Amedee said. “When you have good chemistry, that’s the most important thing.”
Check out some of the band’s music on Soundcloud at https://bit.ly/3kraM0Q or at their Facebook page at https://bit.ly/3kqnEnE.
