In the Zone with Jerry Joseph

He’s known for his dynamic and even anthemic live shows (think Bruce Springsteen), but while Jerry Joseph can go from a whisper to a scream, in-between there’s some incredible subtlety and poetry at play in his songs. He says his music is very personal, not about other characters. And Jerry works to bring the truth to every song, emotionally and lyrically. We also talked about what has informed his songwriting over the years; that and more in our pre-induction interview. Watch and then listen to the unedited conversation as we go deep into how he shapes songs and on-stage performances.

Hitting the Emotional Spot on Stage and in Songwriting

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L-R Dave Scott, Jerry Joseph, Inessa Anderson, Dave Schools, Tony Lash

Here’s a bit of bio-background on Jerry and his vaunted history:

Singer/songwriter, guitarist Jerry Joseph formed the band Little Women in 1982. The band was a cross between Burning Spear and the Grateful Dead with the band looking more like the New York Dolls. The band’s live shows were legendary and between that and several self-released albums, Little Women’s fan base grew across the country. Since then, Jerry has released 6 solo albums, 9 albums as Jerry Joseph & The Jackmormans, 3 with the Stockholm Syndrome which include members of Gov’t Mule and Widespread Panic as well as a number of other recordings and collaborations. Widespread Panic has covered 7 of his songs and even co-wrote a song with Woody Harrelson for the movie “The Earth Will Swallow You.”

Check out the video portion of the interview and then grab the unedited conversation below. Lots of ideas flowing about how songs arrive, where they come from and how to grab lyrics and nail these ideas down! Jerry told us “If a lyric is good, usually it will come in the instant”.

For more behind the artistry of Jerry Joseph, be sure to take in the unedited conversation as we all attempt to get at the “truth” of this craft. We think it involves becoming naked to it.