Joel Tepp
Encyclopedia
Joel Tepp is a multi-instrumentalist (guitar
, harmonica
, clarinet
) with a 40 year history in live and recorded music. He was born in 1948. He majored in criminology
at UC Berkeley, where he was a gymnast, a gold medalist on the pommel horse
and a member of the 1968 NCAA national championship team along with Dan Millman
(Way of the Peaceful Warrior
). He then completed another round of studies in music at UCLA.
His performance beginnings were in American Roots music where Tepp learned his trade directly from masters such as Johnny Shines
, Bukka White
, Earl Hooker
, John Lee Hooker
, Sippie Wallace
, Magic Sam
and Shakey Jake Harris
. His first instrumental acclaim came on harmonica and clarinet. Working out of Los Angeles, he transitioned to folk, rock and songwriter based music in the mid-1970s, performing or recording with Bonnie Raitt
, Iain Matthews
, Danny O'Keefe
and Spencer Davis
Wendy Waldman and others. At this same time, Joel's slide guitar work began to attract attention as well. While certainly facile in traditional blues and rock styles on that instrument, he has gradually developed a signature sound that includes elements of pedal steel and other various unusual harmonics and voicings.
Other activities in the Los Angeles music scene included his stint as the MC at The Troubadour
for the legendary Monday night talent showcases. In conjunction with his partner Matt Kramer, the two introduced or previewed many artists who have become mainstays in the music world including Tom Waits
, Rikki Lee Jones, Karla Bonoff
, Billy Vera
and Gail Davies
, among many others.
Today, Joel resides in Seattle and is a familiar face as a multi-instrument accompanist at Northwest concerts, in California, Kerrville
and elsewhere. He still regularly adds his slide guitar
, harmonica
and clarinet
playing to the music of Bonnie Raitt
, Little Feat
, Danny O'Keefe
, Caroline Aiken
and many others. His recording credits include Jerry Garcia
, Crazy Horse
, John David Souther, Kate and Anna McGarrigle
, several major films, television shows and much more. His slide guitar workshops and classes on the Art of Accompaniment are often parts of various music festivals, particularly on the West Coast.
In addition to his work as a musician, Joel Tepp is a financial advisor and father of Rhea Tepp, an experimental artist/musician who performs in the project Magick Orchids and is co-founder of the Los Angeles distro and free form radio station Only For the Open Minded.
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
) with a 40 year history in live and recorded music. He was born in 1948. He majored in criminology
Criminology
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...
at UC Berkeley, where he was a gymnast, a gold medalist on the pommel horse
Pommel horse
The pommel horse is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. Traditionally, it is used by only male gymnasts. Originally made of a metal frame with a wooden body and a leather cover, modern pommel horses have a metal body covered with foam rubber and leather, with plastic handles .- History :The pommel...
and a member of the 1968 NCAA national championship team along with Dan Millman
Dan Millman
Dan Millman is a former Trampolining world champion athlete, university coach, martial arts instructor and college professor, and an author of fourteen self-help books, currently published in 29 languages, the most famous of which is the semi-autobiographical novel, Way of the Peaceful Warrior ,...
(Way of the Peaceful Warrior
Way of the Peaceful Warrior
Way of the Peaceful Warrior is a part-fictional, part-autobiographical book based upon the early life of the author Dan Millman. The book has been a bestseller in many countries since its first publication in 1980. The book initially had only modest sales, before reportedly Hal Kramer came out of...
). He then completed another round of studies in music at UCLA.
His performance beginnings were in American Roots music where Tepp learned his trade directly from masters such as Johnny Shines
Johnny Shines
Johnny Shines was an American blues singer and guitarist. According to the music journalist Tony Russell, "Shines was that rare being, a blues artist who overcame age and rustiness to make music that stood up beside the work of his youth...
, Bukka White
Bukka White
Booker T. Washington White , better known as Bukka White, was an American Delta blues guitarist and singer. "Bukka" was not a nickname, but a phonetic misspelling of White's given name Booker, by his second record label .-Biography:Born between Aberdeen and Houston, Mississippi, White was the...
, Earl Hooker
Earl Hooker
Earl Hooker was an American Chicago blues guitarist, perhaps best known for his slide guitar playing. Considered a "musician's musician", Hooker performed with blues artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, Junior Wells, and John Lee Hooker as well as fronting his own bands...
, John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
, Sippie Wallace
Sippie Wallace
Sippie Wallace was an American singer-songwriter. Her early career in local tent shows gained her the billing "The Texas Nightingale". Between 1923 and 1927, she recorded over 40 songs for Okeh Records, many written by herself or her brothers, George and Hersal Thomas...
, Magic Sam
Magic Sam
Samuel "Magic Sam" Gene Maghett was an American Chicago blues musician. Maghett was born in Grenada, Mississippi, United States, and learned to play the blues from listening to records by Muddy Waters and Little Walter...
and Shakey Jake Harris
Shakey Jake Harris
Shakey Jake Harris was an American Chicago blues singer, harmonicist and songwriter. Harris released five albums over a period of almost 25 years, and he was often musically associated with his nephew, Magic Sam....
. His first instrumental acclaim came on harmonica and clarinet. Working out of Los Angeles, he transitioned to folk, rock and songwriter based music in the mid-1970s, performing or recording with Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
, Iain Matthews
Iain Matthews
Iain Matthews is an English musician and songwriter. He was born Iain Matthew McDonald, in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. He was known in the 1960s first as Ian McDonald, then as the 1960s progressed, as Ian Matthews...
, Danny O'Keefe
Danny O'Keefe
Danny O'Keefe is a U.S. based singer-songwriter, born in Spokane, Washington, in 1943. O'Keefe's musical career has spanned four decades from his early days playing in the Minnesota coffee houses to his present station in the Seattle area...
and Spencer Davis
Spencer Davis
Spencer David Nelson Davis is a British musician and multi-instrumentalist, and the founder of the 1960s rock band, the Spencer Davis Group.-Early life:...
Wendy Waldman and others. At this same time, Joel's slide guitar work began to attract attention as well. While certainly facile in traditional blues and rock styles on that instrument, he has gradually developed a signature sound that includes elements of pedal steel and other various unusual harmonics and voicings.
Other activities in the Los Angeles music scene included his stint as the MC at The Troubadour
The Troubadour
The Troubadour is a nightclub located in West Hollywood, California, USA, at 9081 Santa Monica Boulevard just east of Doheny Drive and the border of Beverly Hills.The club was founded in 1957 by Doug Weston...
for the legendary Monday night talent showcases. In conjunction with his partner Matt Kramer, the two introduced or previewed many artists who have become mainstays in the music world including Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
, Rikki Lee Jones, Karla Bonoff
Karla Bonoff
Karla Bonoff is an American singer-songwriter, primarily known for her songwriting.As a songwriter, Bonoff's songs have been interpreted by other artists such as "Home" by Bonnie Raitt, "Tell Me Why" by Wynonna Judd, and "Isn't It Always Love" by Lynn Anderson...
, Billy Vera
Billy Vera
Billy Vera is an American singer, actor, writer and music historian.-Life and career:Vera was born in Riverside, California. He began his singing career in 1962 as a member of the Resolutions. He went on to write several songs throughout the early 1960s, writing for the likes of Barbara Lewis,...
and Gail Davies
Gail Davies
Gail Davies is an American country music singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of country singer Tex Dickerson....
, among many others.
Today, Joel resides in Seattle and is a familiar face as a multi-instrument accompanist at Northwest concerts, in California, Kerrville
Kerrville Folk Festival
The Kerrville Folk Festival is a music festival held for 18 consecutive days in the late spring/early summer at Quiet Valley Ranch near Kerrville, Texas. The event has run on a yearly basis since 1972. In November 2008, the Kerrville Folk Festival and Kerrville Wine & Music Festival were acquired...
and elsewhere. He still regularly adds his slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
, harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
and clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
playing to the music of Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
, Little Feat
Little Feat
Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....
, Danny O'Keefe
Danny O'Keefe
Danny O'Keefe is a U.S. based singer-songwriter, born in Spokane, Washington, in 1943. O'Keefe's musical career has spanned four decades from his early days playing in the Minnesota coffee houses to his present station in the Seattle area...
, Caroline Aiken
Caroline Aiken
Caroline Aiken is a singer and guitarist from Atlanta, Georgia whose work spans genres, from folk to blues to rock. Aiken has released seven albums and performed with Bonnie Raitt and the Indigo Girls....
and many others. His recording credits include Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
, Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse was a Native American war leader of the Oglala Lakota. He took up arms against the U.S...
, John David Souther, Kate and Anna McGarrigle
Kate and Anna McGarrigle
Kate and Anna McGarrigle, were a pair of Canadian singer-songwriters from Quebec, who performed as a duo until Kate McGarrigle's death on January 18, 2010.-Profile:...
, several major films, television shows and much more. His slide guitar workshops and classes on the Art of Accompaniment are often parts of various music festivals, particularly on the West Coast.
In addition to his work as a musician, Joel Tepp is a financial advisor and father of Rhea Tepp, an experimental artist/musician who performs in the project Magick Orchids and is co-founder of the Los Angeles distro and free form radio station Only For the Open Minded.
Discography
- Karen AlexanderKaren Alexander (singer)Karen Alexander was an American singer-songwriter who had some success in the 1970s.She was born in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in one of the suburbs of Hollywood. Her father had a psychoanalytic practice in Beverly Hills....
: Isn't It Always Love (1975) - Caroline AikenCaroline AikenCaroline Aiken is a singer and guitarist from Atlanta, Georgia whose work spans genres, from folk to blues to rock. Aiken has released seven albums and performed with Bonnie Raitt and the Indigo Girls....
: Are We There Yet, Mama? (2005) - Bear Family Records : 30th Anniversary (2005)
- Marc Bristol : Sweet Misery Moan (1994)
- Marc Bristol : The Best of Marc Bristol - Country, Vol 1 (2002)
- Marc Bristol : On the Edge of Romance: The Best of Mark Bristol (2003)
- Buffalo Nickel Jug Band : The Buffalo Nickel Jug Band (1972)
- Crazy HorseCrazy Horse (band)Crazy Horse is an American rock band best known for its association with Neil Young. It has been co-credited on a number of albums throughout Young's career and has released five albums of its own.-Early years:...
: Loose (1971) - Dynamic Logs : The Vinyl Reunion (1985)
- File Gumbo Zydeco Band : Mardi Gras in New Orleans (1998)
- Jerry GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
: Garcia (Compliments of Garcia) ( 1974) - Denny Hall : All Good Things…Studio Sessions (2004)
- Denny Hall : The Nite Cafe (2006)
- John Hall : John Hall (1978)
- Linda RonstadtLinda RonstadtLinda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
- Live @ McCabes 1974 - Little FeatLittle FeatLittle Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....
- Live From O'Mahony's (2005) - Little FeatLittle FeatLittle Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....
: Live From Neon Park (1996) - Little FeatLittle FeatLittle Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....
: Hotcakes and Outtakes (2000) - Jelly w/Amy Madigan : A True Story (1977)
- Ian MatthewsIain MatthewsIain Matthews is an English musician and songwriter. He was born Iain Matthew McDonald, in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. He was known in the 1960s first as Ian McDonald, then as the 1960s progressed, as Ian Matthews...
: Some Days You Eat the Bear, Some Days the Bear Eats You (1974) - Ian MatthewsIain MatthewsIain Matthews is an English musician and songwriter. He was born Iain Matthew McDonald, in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. He was known in the 1960s first as Ian McDonald, then as the 1960s progressed, as Ian Matthews...
: Go For Broke (1975) - Ian MatthewsIain MatthewsIain Matthews is an English musician and songwriter. He was born Iain Matthew McDonald, in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. He was known in the 1960s first as Ian McDonald, then as the 1960s progressed, as Ian Matthews...
: Siamese Friends (1979) - Iain MatthewsIain MatthewsIain Matthews is an English musician and songwriter. He was born Iain Matthew McDonald, in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. He was known in the 1960s first as Ian McDonald, then as the 1960s progressed, as Ian Matthews...
: Orphans & Outcasts vol 1 (1993) - Iain MatthewsIain MatthewsIain Matthews is an English musician and songwriter. He was born Iain Matthew McDonald, in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. He was known in the 1960s first as Ian McDonald, then as the 1960s progressed, as Ian Matthews...
: Seattle Years 1978-1984 (1996) - Kate & Anna McGarrigle : Kate and Anna McGarrigle (1975)
- Kate & Anna McGarrigle : French Record (1980)
- Kate & Anna McGarrigle : Entre la Jeunesse et la Tendresse (2004)
- Danny O'KeefeDanny O'KeefeDanny O'Keefe is a U.S. based singer-songwriter, born in Spokane, Washington, in 1943. O'Keefe's musical career has spanned four decades from his early days playing in the Minnesota coffee houses to his present station in the Seattle area...
: The Global Blues (1979) - Danny O'KeefeDanny O'KeefeDanny O'Keefe is a U.S. based singer-songwriter, born in Spokane, Washington, in 1943. O'Keefe's musical career has spanned four decades from his early days playing in the Minnesota coffee houses to his present station in the Seattle area...
: Runnin' from the Devil (2000) - Danny O'KeefeDanny O'KeefeDanny O'Keefe is a U.S. based singer-songwriter, born in Spokane, Washington, in 1943. O'Keefe's musical career has spanned four decades from his early days playing in the Minnesota coffee houses to his present station in the Seattle area...
: KEZX Album Project 2 (1986) - Danny O'KeefeDanny O'KeefeDanny O'Keefe is a U.S. based singer-songwriter, born in Spokane, Washington, in 1943. O'Keefe's musical career has spanned four decades from his early days playing in the Minnesota coffee houses to his present station in the Seattle area...
: Classics (2004) - Danny O'KeefeDanny O'KeefeDanny O'Keefe is a U.S. based singer-songwriter, born in Spokane, Washington, in 1943. O'Keefe's musical career has spanned four decades from his early days playing in the Minnesota coffee houses to his present station in the Seattle area...
: The Hereafter/Songs For Shelter (2005) - The Olson Brothers : River in the Rain (1992)
- Jim PageJim PageJim Page born in 1949, is a folk singer-songwriter and social activist.-Early life:Page was born in Palo Alto, California in 1949 and moved to Seattle in 1971.-Music career and activism:...
: Human Interesting (2003) - Bonnie RaittBonnie RaittBonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
: Live from the Record Plant 9-12-1973 - Ginny Reilly : Oh, Reilly! (1986)
- j.r. richards
- The Sibling Bros : AfriQueen Stare (2003)
- Washington : Washington (1989)
- John David Souther : John David Souther (1972)
- Jim Sullins : Inside Thunder Outside Laughing (1974)
- Rod Taylor : Rod Taylor (1973)
- Kim Townsend: Wayworn Traveler (2003)
- Wendy Waldman : Sail Away (2006)
- Gypsy Symphony (1974)
- Leslie West : The Great Fatsby (1975)
- Leslie West : Blood of the Sun: 1969-1975 (1996)
- Cris WilliamsonCris WilliamsonCris Williamson is an American feminist singer-songwriter, who achieved fame as a recording artist, and who was a pioneer as a visible lesbian political activist, during a time when few who were not connected to the Lesbian community were aware of Gay and Lesbian issues...
: Prairie Fire (1985) - Cris WilliamsonCris WilliamsonCris Williamson is an American feminist singer-songwriter, who achieved fame as a recording artist, and who was a pioneer as a visible lesbian political activist, during a time when few who were not connected to the Lesbian community were aware of Gay and Lesbian issues...
: Best of Chris Williamson (1990)
Films
- Walking TallWalking TallWalking Tall is a 1973 semi-biopic of Sheriff Buford Pusser, a former professional wrestler-turned-lawman in McNairy County, Tennessee. It starred Joe Don Baker as Pusser...
Part 1 - Walking TallWalking TallWalking Tall is a 1973 semi-biopic of Sheriff Buford Pusser, a former professional wrestler-turned-lawman in McNairy County, Tennessee. It starred Joe Don Baker as Pusser...
Part II - Goldy, Last of the Golden Bears
- Paint Your WagonPaint Your Wagon (film)Paint Your Wagon is a 1969 American musical film starring Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood. The movie was adapted by Paddy Chayefsky from the 1951 stage musical by Lerner and Loewe, set in a mining camp in Gold Rush-era California.-Plot:...
- Great Texas Dynamite Chase
- White Line FeverWhite Line FeverWhite Line Fever was an Australian Football League-related television show, airing from 2000 to 2006 during the regular football season. It was based on a talkback radio format, airing live weeknightly at 7.30pm AEST on the Fox Footy Channel on the Foxtel, Austar and Optus pay television...
- Jessie's Girls'