* En anglais uniquement
Channeling the sound of acid-fueled heavy rock titans such as
Blue Cheer,
Jimi Hendrix,
Hawkwind, and
Cream,
JOY are a power trio who've taken high-energy blues-based jamming through a wrinkle in time to the 21st century. Based in San Diego, California,
JOY were formed in 2010 by guitarist and vocalist Zachary Oakley, who also played in the group Shaking Pyramid, with
Michael Eginton from
Earthless and Paul Marrone of
Radio Moscow. Teaming with bassist
Trevor Mast and drummer Taylor Charter, Oakley named his new power trio
JOY, and the band soon began making a name for itself on the West Coast stoner rock and underground hard rock scene.
JOY's live shows gained a powerful reputation, enough so that the band issued a pair of vinyl "bootlegs" drawn from concert recordings, and in 2012
JOY teamed up with San Diego's Cave Punk Records to release the group's self-titled debut album. More live work followed, and
Eginton advised the folks at Teepee Records, a New York label devoted to hard rock and stoner bands, to give
JOY a listen. Teepee was impressed, and offered to release
JOY's sophomore effort. Oakley's new lineup of
JOY -- with Justin Hulson on bass and his Shaking Pyramid bandmate Paul Marrone on drums -- headed into the studio with Brian Ellis of
Astra serving as producer and engineer, and with
Nik Turner of
Hawkwind,
Parker Griggs of
Radio Moscow, and artist and musician Danica Molenaar making guest appearances.
JOY's sophomore effort, Under the Spell of JOY, was released by Teepee in August 2014. The group went though a lineup shift when Thomas DiBenedetto replaced Paul Marrone as the group's drummer. The new edition of
JOY released an album,
Ride Along!, via Teepee in the spring of 2016. ~ Mark Deming