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The Daily Times Ottawa, Illinois Country singer, Songwriter and Ottawa native Joe Bayer knew music was his destiny ever since he was a small boy impersonating the legendary "King of Rock 'n' Roll," at his parents' Ottawa home."My mother, Darlene, was a huge Elvis Presley fan," Bayer said during a recent phone interview from his N.Y., home. "When i was about 8 years old, I used to put a robe and sunglasses on and lip sync to Elvis for my parents and all their friends that would come over. "Their friends would even pass a cup around and give me a couple bucks here and there. I would end the show by doing the whole Elvis thing of throwing a scarf out to my mother. That's pretty much how it all started." Long Island, N.Y.,- based Tumbleweed band is currently comprised of Joe (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Mike O'Brien (Lead Guitar), Billy Burns(drums), Tom Krause(bass guitar) and Rob Segal(Pedal Steel). Bayer began playing guitar and singing back ground vocals in his first band, Born Bad, when he was 14. The neighborhood group played a variety of music , including country, rock and even a few polkas. Born Bad gradually evolved into the hard rock group Devastation Run. At age 20, Bayer and onehalf of the members from Devastation Run packed up and moved to Los Angeles to attend the Musicians Institute of Technology and play the L.A. music circuit."We were basically a hard rock L.A. band with original music,"Bayer said. "We had a signed contract with the independent record label, Iron Works Records, and recorded the EP 'Devastation Run'. It was released mainly overseas and did pretty well there" Bayer lived in Los Angeles for ten years before he moved to Long Island, New York in 1995. After taking a two year rest from music, Bayer began performing as a solo artist. He returned to his roots in early 1998 as a backup singer in a coutry band before leaving to headline his own group about one year later. Bayer, credits his wife, Jennifer, with helping him rediscover an initial love of country music. - Tamela Meredith Partridge Ottawa Daily Times Joe Bayer & Tumbleweed Joe Bayer has seen increasing success, named Best New Male Vocalist and his single, "To Make a Love Grow," chosen as Country Single of the Year during Golden Music Awards in Nashville last Month. The single hit No. 1 on the Indie tracker Chart and No. 2 on the Indie World Chart last year. Born and raised in Ottawa, Joe began his music career with local performances, then joined a band that played throughout the Midwest. He hit the Los Angeles rock scene for 10 years before moving to his current home in New York. In 1998 he formed Tumbleweed, which released its debut CD this year. Check out the artist's website: http://countryjoebayer.com Track List: 1. Country Style 2. Together 3. Dreams 4. Livin' Life 5. Knockin' Boots 6. King of the Highway 7. Bring Me Down 8. Always 9. Best We Could 10. Folsom Prison Blues (J. Cash) Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
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