Smokin’ Joe and Friends light up the Hearth Lounge

The Hearth Lounge was lit up yesterday afternoon by the musical stylings of Joe Scarpellino and his similarly-named bandmate, Joe Barrons, known formally as Smokin’ Joe & Friends.

The duo played live music from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Centennial Student Union downstairs, garnering the attention of many interested students as they walked by. 

“You’ll always catch people walking by, they’ll stop and look, which is nice. It’s like, ‘I gotcha!’ It’s fun to see what catches people’s attention. I think it went great,” Scarpellino said.

There are two Joe’s that are the staples of the group: Smokin’ Joe himself, and his bandmate Joe Barron. Barron met Scarpellino met seven years ago and quickly became his right-hand man for all things music.

“He’s my combination best friend, business partner and bandmate. I originally started booking and managing his band. He was really interested in the booking, and managing side of things, so I took and taught him everything I knew, and when I ran out of stuff to teach him, I asked him if he wanted to be a partner in my business,” Scarpellino said.

The two of them run a company called Get Down Enterprises, focused on helping further the local music scene as well as sustainably supporting local musicians.

“We put on events, and play shows and put on shows, we book other bands, manage other bands, kinda just help create our live music scene. And yeah, we’ve kinda just been together ever since,” Scarpellino said.

Scarpellino, originally from Iowa City, Iowa, started making music at the age of 9. Scarpellino played the cello and the drums, plucking and pit-patting his way into his high school band. From there, his kindling music career began to grow, as he started a band at 10 and performed his first in-club gigs at 13.

“I just was always obsessed with music. I played all-ages punk shows, other all-ages shows, and lots of venues. And then, kinda snowballed from there,” Scarpellino said.

The name of Scarpellino’s most recent band, “Smokin’ Joe & Friends”, wasn’t one that he came up with himself; rather, it was bestowed upon him, shortly before one of his initial bar performances.

“I had an acoustic guitar set, but I didn’t have a name, and I smoked a lot of cigarettes at the time. The bar was literally like, ‘You smoke, your name’s Joe, you’re ‘Smokin’ Joe’, and I just kinda kept it. I was dubbed it,” Scarpellino said.

Smokin’ Joe is a constant in each show that Scarpellino plays in. The latter of the group name, however, differs with almost every show, as Scarpellino travels from city to city and performs with different people.

“It’s anyone and everyone at the time. It’s an all-inclusive me. [For] other folks it could be any instruments from cello and violin, to bass and drums. We’ve had a trumpet. I played with a harp once. Pretty silly,” Scarpellino said.

This isn’t the first time Scarpellino has come to campus to perform. He’s played on campus seven times before, and yesterday wasn’t the last. According to him, the reason he continues to return is because of the sheer importance of music, and how it can connect people.

“I like to bring artists of all different kinds down here. Maybe there’ll be a student sitting, listening, and they’ll hear an artist saying something they can relate to, someone that is more like them. Finding those artists is extremely important. That’s why I keep doing it,” Scarpellino said.

Header Photo: Joe Scarpellino and Joe Barron, known formally as “Smokin’ Joe & Friends”, performed yesterday in the Hearth Lounge. The group has come to campus to perform countless times, each time showcasing the talents of a new local musician. (Lilly Anderson/The Reporter)

Write to Joseph Erickson at joseph.erickson.2@mnsu.edu