The Art of Joseph Demaree

Reviews

"Joseph Demaree is headed in a positive direction. A mixture of indie, alternative rock and folk. Strong instrumentation, slick vocals and alluring lyrical content. This ambient sound interwoven with searing messages should be in the hands of a high level music supervisor for film. We urge you take a listen to his full album "Sunbeams" while on a long drive to a summer vacation destination. This artist's melodic tone and mysterious presence has earned him a spot on our 360 Watch List."

- 360 Mag, 360 Mag (Jul 08, 2013)

“Dear fans of soft, somewhat morbid, but ultimately pretty ballads and storytelling, do I have a treat for you!  I would like to introduce the reincarnation of Leonard Cohen.  Of course, I know LC is still alive, kicking, and kicking ass, but it still has to be said.  Much as I deem Blitzen Trapper’s Eric Earley to be the son Bob Dylan wished he would have had, I am certain that Sir Cohen would wickedly approve of Demaree’s sultry new age twang and simple melodies about the sun and so much more.  For readers old enough to remember the first time they heard the first of the Songs series, listening to this cat with his band The Square Tires on their new album Sunbeams has to have a similar appeal.  It simply has to!

There is simply too much to love on here.  Demaree’s northern/western drawl might be off-putting at first, or the entire time if you are only used to straight edge, high school a capella turned folk singer style.  But for those who can find the beauty in his demeanor, which I am sure there are many of us out there, this will be something you will truly enjoy.  This especially goes for the infectious 8 1/2 minute long cut “Catch A Sunbeam” that I still believe can go on forever, and become the background music for the earth.  And despite the implication by the title “Shouting In The Street”, this other gem of a track is as mellow as rainy day in Demaree’s home base of Portland, Oregon.  Just smooth sort-of-folk-but-mostly-blues melodies about breaking out and down altogether.

I really can’t say enough good things about Sunbeams.  This album is simply delightful in so many ways.  Storytelling has always been a very important factor for me personally, and Demaree does it absolutely perfectly on this album.  It has to be stated once again:  When we are doomed to have Mr. Cohen absent from this earth, we will likely still have Demaree.  Which I believe is a very fair trade.”

- Trainwreckd’ Society / rontrembathill (Sep 29, 2013)

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"The Alternative Underground" is the second studio release from Joseph Demaree and the Square Tires, with a change of Bass players and the third release under his name (Joseph Demaree and the Square Tires "Sunbeams", Joseph Demaree and the Broken Windows "Mirrors". Demaree is originally from San Jose, CA. where he found interest in music through the late 80's and early 90's punk and skateboard scene. Demaree played music in all sorts of bands (FDS, Ringwurm, Lemming, Your Mother, The Unit Breed, Emo Summer) locally and all over the world. Joe would host shows in his home for local and national acts, record most of his groups material as well as many local bands, and release much of his own music and art (Nothing, Nothing Everything, Nothing Enterprises). Demaree left art school in 2003 and moved to Portland OR in 2004. He continued writing, recording, performing and touring as The Unit Breed. Idiomism Records would also be born. In 2010 The Unit Breed would be put to rest and Joseph would land back in San Jose CA to begin a cable access show called "Welcome Back!" and record and release Captain Nowhere's "Party Time Inc.". With another move south to Encinitas CA (2011), Demaree picked up an acoustic Martin 0015 and began writing his first album under his own name. He moved around landing in Ranchita CA, and Oceanside CA before returning to Portland OR to record "Mirrors" (2012). Demaree would move back to the Bay Area, living in Los Gatos CA and San Jose CA, before returning to Portland OR to record "Sunbeams" (2013). Joseph Demaree found himself on the open road touring as a solo act and painting plein air landscapes between Portland OR and San Diego CA. Landing in Hayfork CA for a couple months, Demaree settled in Portland OR and began recording "The Alternative Underground" (2014). 

Joseph Demaree moved to Maui Hawaii Nov 11 2014. 

While on island Demaree wrote and recorded many new songs that would become “Sleeping On A Cloud In Heaven / Solo (demo) Recordings”. He joined the Lahaina Arts Society, where Demaree displayed and sold his artwork and played a Mahalo show. He also lent his voice to an animated character on the Maui based show “Tacky People”. Joe’s return home would blow him through England, Scotland, Greece, LA and back to his hometown of San Jose, CA. where he played at Cafe Stritch.