Joel Parkes is a singer-songwriter-guitarist from Toronto, Canada who has performed all over Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. In a style that has been called a cross between Kurt Cobain and Roy Orbison Joel sings songs that speak of the ironic beauty of isolation and obsession. Armed with just an acoustic guitar and a voice that ranges between a whispery falsetto and a full throated growl Joel’s performances are something to be seen to be believed.

Never one to go halfway in a performance Joel often leaves his fans with the feeling that they have witnessed someone declaring his all, someone not afraid to commit everything to the immediate moment that he performs. Songs like If You Ever Get To Heaven and Mission Bells speak of a quest for that indiscernible spiritual plateau that most of us strive for but never really know if we can find. Beautiful And Blind and You’ve Got Control Of Me address the intoxication of complete surrender to the uncertainties of love.

After making a living playing in the small towns of British Columbia Joel took his craft to London, England where he continued to perform while he worked in various day-jobs including an extended stretch as a public defender in London police stations. It was here, in the world of criminals and social deprivation, that Joel found a new source for his songwriting talents - the beauty of the human spirit that is willing to fight through social adversity in order to simply survive. Joel then moved on to play on a regular basis in New York City in well known village venues like CBGBs, The Living Room and Arlenes Grocery. Now, after living on and singing about the mean streets of small towns and major cities all over the world, Joel has been offered a publishing deal by Warner-Chappell and is receiving serious major label interest. Joel Parkes is an artist who is on his way up. Think of an artist who can make a jaded New York audience fall into spell-bound silence, who can deliver the power of a full rock band armed only with an acoustic guitar, who sings songs about the life he has lived, who isn’t afraid to bare his soul for the sake of a song and you will have a portrait of Joel Parkes.

Copyright © 2000 Joel Parkes