Joe Winters
As the drummer and founding member of The Steepwater Band, Joe Winters has performed at over 1,300 gigs in the United States and Europe over the past decade. Born in Chicago in the early 1970’s, Joe took a strong liking to blues and early rock-n-roll music at a young age. Simplistic, rock solid, powerful grooves are what his drumming is all about. Some of Joe’s influences include Charlie Watts, Steve Jordan, Mick Fleetwood, John Bonham, Buddy Miles, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Phil Rudd, Steven Adler and any drummer with the ability to make an audience “shake it!” He has been playing SONOR since the late 1980’s, and believes that “SONOR brings the thunder (as well as the tone) I’m looking for when it comes to a rock-n-roll backbeat that’s going to make people move.” His current kit is a simple 4 piece, 1993 SONOR Force 3000 in Scandinavian birch finish.
Joe has recorded 4 full-length discs with The Steepwater Band, as well as a live DVD. They are currently touring (’09–’10) in support of their latest release “Grace and Melody” which was produced by former Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford. Recently, they have landed opening slots for ZZ TOP, Robin Trower, Heart, Joe Perry Project, and Govt Mule.
Over the last couple of years, Joe has also performed on gigs backing Rick Richards of the Georgia Satellites, and Tyla of the legendary UK band, Dogs D’amour. His playing is also featured on the debut disc from Colorado based singer / songwriter Alison Lewis – “A Mile Down Division.” Other recording projects include Chicago based Will Wandering, and his own quirky pop songwriting side project – FIL.
When not on tour with The Steepwater Band, Joe can sometimes be found picking up club gigs around Chicagoland in various projects. For more information on Joe Winters, check out www.steepwater.com.
