Beautiful Joe

Right now, you may be asking yourself, "Who is this guy? Can he really be that good-lookin'?" Well, Beautiful Joe is not a person, it's a band! It was originally formed to showcase the talents of fine Albertan singers, songwriters and musicians but quite unexpectedly, it grew into more and is now recognized in its own right, rather than just through the resumes of each of its members.

Jane Hawley, the lively and very skilled vocalist, hails from Toronto's Queen Street honky-tonk folk festival scenes. She's shared the stage with the likes of Jr. Gone Wild, Tom Russell, Ian Tyson, Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo, and Lyle Lovett.

Tim Leacock came from the legendary Calgarian roots-rock band the Burners. These days, as well as being a prominent producer and engineer in the Calgary music scene, Tim mans the electric, acoustic and steel guitars for Beautiful Joe.

Steve Pineo is considered a new talent by those who don't know the range of different styles he plays, writes and simply knows about. He is a gifted songwriter, an amazing guitarist and released his first solo CD in 1996.

Bassist Danny Patton played with the great Calgarian '80s band The Unusuals. He currently owns and operates Airwaves Studios, where he mixes a diverse set of artists, from Rage Against the Machine to Jann Arden.

Rounding out the group is drummer Ross Watson, the former keeper-of-breakneck-speeds for The Burners.

Award-winning music critic Peter North says: "Country, country-rock, tunes that draw on vintage rock 'n' roll beats and bluesy ballads all find a place in the mix, and continuity somehow never suffers. In fact, I can honestly say that few, if any, bands in a formative stage have ever impressed this listener as much . . ."