Average Joey is a traveling troubadour from Pennsylvania. With a banjo in one hand and a pen in the other, this artist combines poetry and philosophical thought with a sampling of genres. From quotes from French kings to name-drops of ancient Greek philosophers and reminders of death, there’s certainly a lot to unpack here….

The album ‘Impermanence’ could be best described as a sophisticated, well-orchestrated folk/punk album for the existential intellect that lies dormant in all of us.

It begins with ‘Hello, Hell’ a tune laden with piano and strings- Then, que a dramatic pause. The curt opening tune is like music-theater-meets-the-Dear-Hunter. Many moments in Impermanence are charmingly absurd. The oom-pah-pah waltz transitions seamlessly into ‘Toxic & Fragile,’ which is tongue-in-cheek but also devilish.

“Well if I can’t sell my soul then give it away!”

Next, we are treated to a punky-progressive tune dolled up in banjo and glockenspiel (‘Sick Sixth Sense’) and after that, an orchestral parade of thoughts. ‘Apres Moi, Lei Deluge’ is like a children’s nursery rhyme gone wrong, a poignant warning…

“A king of fools to break the rules, and bend the bones to jewelry”

Average Joey’s vocal versatility is showing through by now, as we’ve gotten bright timbres like that of Claudio Sanchez, and Robin Pecknold-esque folk tones. The idea of the waltz has also been well established, a musical theme Average Joey often paired with existentialism…but the waltz inside of ‘Impermance’ is not the main dish, but rather, something we keep revisiting-like a photo inside a dog-eared page of a nostalgic photo album.

As we continue to sonically travel, we visit a new space. This next one is almost Gregorian in nature- ‘WTFWJD?’ features a dark tonality with cellos nestled inside.

The next section of the album is decidedly more placid, but also, more ethereal. Low pulsating synths help carry the words of ‘Impermanence’ to the surface of the waters.

“If I can’t decide that I’m ready to die, how will I begin my rebirth?”

By the time we get to the halfway point in the album, the sound becomes more crunchy, and everything feels much more…pulling. ‘Fake Embrace’ for example, has drawn-out syllables, and bell-like piano hits…then, the two penultimate songs bring the energy back up to a jog, but while still begging questions like:

“Will we wonder our whole lives wondering what could be?”

‘Impermanence’ is a reflective album where folk-punk meets the gritty, traditional sound of New Orleans…striding pianos in this well-fleshed-out universe of words, sound that is comical and dark, philosophical and lighthearted. It is nearly vaudeville at moments, certainly meditative in others. With hints of exotic Russian Stravinsky’s Waltzes, or even maybe a Jewish Klezmer feel, this punk-fusion album is a sonic plate of varying flavors, and you never know what you’re about to taste next.

The album closes with the spoken word ‘Momento Mori’ or rather, a reminder of death. The hauntingly even female voice recounts… “Triumphant love, in spite of everything, triumphant…love.

Despite ending on the tonic with inspiring words, we don’t have a sense of resolve…how very Socratic!

“The album takes us through a variety of ways of confronting and processing the general anxieties, alienation, and fears”

After listening to this album, I learned that you are very well-read! Where did you first learn of Momento Moris, Greek philosophers, and quotes from French Kings?!

I’ve been reading a LOT more since I quit drinkin’ booze. It seems to help keep the ol’ brain busy, and also I’ve been interested in reading things that are in “service” of the writing I want to do, reading on specific subject matter that can inform and deepen my perspective. The writing I am doing in terms of non-fiction is very much aligned with subject matter that appears in this album. So, I’m just trying to express similar ideas in a variety of formats. So, I pick up what I can along the way! I don’t have a college degree and am not by any means an “academic” or “intellectual,” but I do like learning and discussing and thinking about some highfalutin stuff. When thinking about various religious conceptions of death, morally weighted calls to action in regards to the climate, and the social and economic structures which form and inform our identities – Greek philosophers and French kings crop up in the literature here and there!

Who is your favorite non-musical artist?

Interesting question! I guess I’d have to turn to some writers and authors in search of an answer. Nobody in particular comes immediately to mind, but I’ve been particularly inspired in the past year or two by the writing of Gabor Mate, David Graeber, bell hooks, David R. Loy, Margret Atwood, Annie Dillard, adrianne maree brown, Ursula K LeGuin. I’ve been reading mostly non-fiction in the last few years – sometimes to a fault I think. Now I’m thinking about the question more. There are certain movies that I can watch over and over and still feel immersed in. There Will Be Blood, Taxi Driver, Children of Men. Also, woah Dali is insane – I got to go to the Dali museum in St. Pete, and it was absolutely insane. Weird answer to an intriguing question that I’ll have to stew on a bit more!

<a href="https://averagejoey.bandcamp.com/album/impermanence">Impermanence by Average Joey</a>

Is ‘Apres Moi, Le Deluge’ about King Louis XV of France, nihilism..or is it political?

The album in general sort of takes on different characters / steps in a process / perspectives of interpreting / ideologies in understanding the situation we find ourselves in (under globalized capitalism and under threat from increasing climate disasters). So, that song in particular explores the line of thinking that we’ve all heard (and maybe felt) that goes something like: “Oh, humans are just trash.” “People are the disease”. “That’s human nature, we just destroy – we’re greedy and selfish inherently” ”The world will be better if people go extinct” This line of thought speaks to a few really dangerous and unhealthy tendencies. An indifference to human suffering, a lack of awareness about how systems of power create the conditions we’re in, and a sense of inevitability that this is just how it is, and how it must be. I do not agree with this character, but I do recognize the tendency both in myself and in the larger discourse. It is a sort of lazy, but understandable nihilism – one that is a result of feeling alienated and powerless in our current situation. I think this needs to be overcome to actually build a better world.

“I understand music the best through the banjo”

What instrument do you start most of your songs with?

I understand music the best through the banjo, but mostly I’ve been writing songs on guitar these days. The songs on ‘Impermanence,’ though, were written over a long period of time (some back to 2017). I put these songs on a shelf, because I knew I had a “freaky piano driven” album to be assembled at some point. So, many of the songs I’d written on piano ended up here. I like how different instruments will bring different things out of me, and I’m musically illiterate enough to keep in interesting and surprise myself by not knowing exactly what I’m doing, but have enough experience at this point to bring something into existence. The songs you hear on this album are me experimenting with piano while not “really” knowing how to play it – just messing around. Then other songs came together because they thematically brought cohesion to the project.

Does ‘Impermanence’ have a plot line? If so, what is the story?

I’m not sure if I would say it has a “plot” necessarily, but I do think it tells a story. Is that a contradiction? As I alluded to above – the album takes us through a variety of ways of confronting and processing the general anxieties, alienation, and fears that we all face in a techno-dystopia capitalist economic structure, in the throes of a dying empire, and threatened by a climate crises that is certain to get worse before it gets better. This makes us behave in all manner of freaky ways, and we create all sorts of stories and justifications for ourselves. So, this record takes us through different sorts of “stages” of this understanding. I claim to come to no ultimate conclusions. But, if I did my job right, folks will have an experience or narrative that starts at a hyper-individualistic and egoic anxiety, stumbles through various coping strategies, grieves, has some level of acceptance (even if it’s ugly or violent or frightened acceptance), acknowledges the futility of grasping or understanding, and ends up in a place of resolve. Not that there is a conclusion, but rather an insistence on continuing to struggle, to connect, to be vulnerable, to love – despite the fact that we are all doomed. Also there are some explorations of messiah complexes somewhere in there.

Why did you choose to close the album with ‘Momento Mori’ as a spoken word piece with a new voice? It feels decidedly different than the rest, what does it mean?

The final track on the album was an instrumental piano piece that I had put together with a friend in Pittsburgh. It has this sort of melancholy but resolute feel to it. It’s sort of an intangible that only music can express – which (being a very lyrically driven musical artist) I don’t relate to in my music all that much. So, it’s sort of beautiful and tragic and it felt like the perfect ending to this record. The words your hearing are clips from a film called Last and First Men. It’s a trippy view – I suggest watching it when you have a debilitating fever. Anyway, those lines really resonated with me especially in the context of trying to drive home the ideas of the album. Adding those clips came very late in the process – it was actually a surprise to me when they came about, and I decided to add them in there, and it worked so nicely. Seemed meant to be.

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