Joe and the Phantoms is Joe Florio on lead vocal, guitars, bass and harmonica. A "playback" band (not Karaoke), all other instruments have been played and recorded by Joe and friends. The feeling of the music is "live", not clinical, as the samples attest to. The way the sample songs on this website sound is basically how it sounds in concert.
Although Joe now resides in New South Wales in Australia, he originally hails from the New York City area, where he was was involved in the music scene from 1984 –1990 with the band Wild History. The band recorded an album, "Guns or Butter" in 1987 (as well as more than a dozen other recordings, all of which can be heard in the Wild History section of this website: https://daedalusarts.com/management/wildhistory), and piqued record company interest for a couple of years,including Clive Davis! However, and sadly, it was no dice in the end. Since then, Joe's love for the power of song has never really died. The happy owner of a 32-track recording studio, he has been an active engineer, songwriter and musician for 35 years.
Joe and the Phantoms play a mix of songs from the 1960's, 70's, '80's and '90's, alternating between acoustic and electric music. The focus is on the great artists, but not necessarily their biggest hits.
An advantage of a "playback" arrangement is the ability to control the volume of all instruments and still have a very full sound, a sound that is passionate and sonically balanced, yet achieved at a volume level that suits any situation, be it a living room or a large hall. Though he is sometimes joined by friends in performance, Joe is basicallty a single performer. His laptop, speakers, and two guitars will neither take up much room in your venue or home, nor set you back for the fee requested by most bands. Having Joe and the Phantoms play at your event will not disturb the neighbors, or overpower you and the neighbor you may be chatting with at the bar.
Another plus is the evolving nature of the repertoire: new songs are regularly added to the song list to keep the act from getting stale. Being a band that stays comfortable with the same song list for years is not what the philosophy of Joe and the Phantoms is all about.
Employing different guitar and vocal styles in the choice of songs, which range from Pop and Rock to Blues and Folk, helps keep the performances fresh, and the audience interested.
All in all, the act is a labor of love, bringing people music they have known and enjoyed for years but don't always hear played live.
So let Joe and the Phantoms entertain you! For bookings, write to joeyboych55@yahoo.com.