Bioluminescence
photo by Dennis Hearne
Bassist Joe Kyle Jr. was fortunate enough to have been drafted into musical service during the Great Swing Wars of early-1990s San Francisco, when gigs were plentiful, public cigar smoking was legal and vintage clothes were still cheap. Since that time he has become an in-demand player known throughout the land for his superb feel, musical agility, adaptability and propensity for slap bass and tragicomic asides.
Joe has been touring and recording with the Waybacks since mid-2001, and in such capacity has shared the stage with a host of notable roots music heroes including Bob Weir, Sam Bush, John Cowan, Joan Osborne, Jerry Douglas, Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello, Danny Barnes, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Grace Potter, Mike Marshall, Darol Anger, Jim Lauderdale and Bela Fleck. He might be the only bassist to have played with Martin Denny, Al Kooper AND Pinetop Perkins, although not at the same time, sadly.
Joe can frequently be seen and heard performing and recording with many Bay Area groups, including Michael Zisman's Americano Social Club, Doug Martin's Avatar Ensemble, The Kally Price Old Jazz and Blues Band, the Colm Ó Riain Band, Lou-Lou and the Gypsy Jivers, Matt Lax & Nearly Beloved, Mark Karan, Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums (featuring Miss Carmen Getit), the Kate Gaffney Band, and Mitch Woods and His Rocket 88s.