Joe Vitale Jr.

Joseph James Vitale (born July 2, 1977) is an American rock artist, musician, singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, cinematographer, film director and the principal songwriter and leader of the alternative rock band, Ravenwood, which he founded in 2010 in North Canton, Ohio. His first release was under his own name as a solo artist, the 2008 album Dancing With Shadows under the record label Vari Loud Records. His first release under the Ravenwood name, the 2018 single Don't Let Go, also under the label Vari Loud Records, features a guitar solo by guitarist Neil Zaza.
In a musical career spanning over 22 years, Joe Vitale Jr., like his father, drummer Joe Vitale (musician) (drummer for Joe Walsh, the Eagles, Crosby Stills & Nash, Buffalo Springfield, Dan Fogelberg, Peter Frampton, etc.), has performed with some top names in the business as well as his own released material. 
Vitale was the digital audio engineer on the 2005 album Man Alive! (Stephen Stills album)|Man Alive, by Stephen Stills. Vitale's work on the song "Feed the People" won Stephen Stills a humanitarian award from UNICEF. Vitale has also worked with the Jimi Hendrix Foundation and Stephen Stills on previously unreleased material.
== Early life ==
Joseph James Vitale was born July 2, 1977, in Canton, Ohio. He started playing drums, his first and primary instrument, at age 12, learning from Phil Zampino, who Vitale's father Joe Vitale (musician)|Joe VItale (musician) had taught. He learned to play additional instruments including guitar, analog synthesizers and sing. 
Before wanting to pursue music as a career, Vitale wanted to be an astronaut, even getting to meet several astronauts and getting to go behind the scenes at NASA in Houston. 
Vitale describes the moment that he decided to become a musician was when he was asked to play tambourine on Teach Your Children with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young|Crosby Stills & Nash in 1988 at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio in front of 19,000 people at age 10.
== Musical career ==
=== Beginnings ===
Joe Vitale Jr started his professional career in 1994 when asked to perform drums on stage for Joe Walsh when the keyboardist didn't make it and Vitale's father, who normally played drums for Walsh, was asked to fill in for the missing keyboardist.
In 1998, Vitale was asked to play percussion on the Stephen Stills Blues Tour that year which led to being asked to perform with Crosby Stills & Nash on the 1999 Caesar Casino Run Tour.
=== Solo career ===
In 2000, Vitale decided he wanted to become a recording artist, not just a side musician. Vitale started in the fall of 2000 recording his first released LP album Dancing With Shadows (2008). Soon After, Vitale released several additional singles and albums. Vitale performs both with a full band and solo acoustic.
=== Ravenwood ===
In 2010, Joe Vitale Jr started a new alternative rock band called Ravenwood. In 2018, Ravenwood released it's first commercial single release Don't Let Go which debuted at their performance at the Akron Civic Theatre in Akron, Ohio. In 2020, due to the pandemic, Ravenwood then released it's second commercial single, "We're All in This Together" in 2020 which was reviewed by A&R Factory's and Crack Wise Magazine.
== Touring ==
=== Joe Walsh ===
Vitale performed on the 1994 Joe Walsh tour filling in on drums in Columbus, Ohio for the Ohio State Fair and at the Naval base in Norfolk, Virginia. Vitale's father, Joe Vitale was asked to play keyboards on most of the shows because the keyboard player never arrived. Vitale also played percussion during the parts of the show that he didn't play drums.
=== Stephen Stills Blues Band ===
Vitale performed on percussion for the Stephen Stills Blues Band tour in 1998. They performed in Biloxi, Mississippi and Tunica (formerly Robinsonville), Mississippi with the start of the tour. Performing with Stephen Stills led to Vitale being asked to perform on the 1999 Crosby Stills & Nash casino run tour. Vitale performed on several Stephen Stills tour between (1998 - 2001).
=== Crosby, Stills & Nash ===
In the early winter of 1999, Vitale performed on the Crosby, Stills & Nash casino run tour in Atlantic City, New Jersey|Atlantic City, Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe.
=== Joe Vitale Jr ===
Vitale began working on his solo album, Dancing With Shadows, in 2000. Vitale still performs solo under his name Joe Vitale Jr, but all full band performances are now under his band name, Ravenwood.
=== Ravenwood ===
Vitale's personal band, Ravenwood, is a alternative rock band based in Akron, Ohio. The band's inception dates back as early as 2010. Their first commercially released LP was in May of 2021 titled "Ravenous" 
== Audio engineer ==
=== Stephen Stills ===
Vitale was the digital audio editor on the 2005 Stephen Stills album Man Alive! (Stephen Stills album)|Man Alive which led to working on several other Stephen Stills albums & recording projects Just Roll Tape (2007) and being the chief editing & mixing engineer for Live at Shepherd's Bush (Stephen Stills album)|Live at Shepherd's Bush (2009).
=== Jimi Hendrix Foundation ===
Through his work on the subsequent projects, Vitale additionally worked on previously unreleased material of Jimi Hendrix & Stephen Stills working alongside long time Hendrix producer Eddie Kramer and The Jimi Hendrix Foundation. 
== Radio personality ==
Vitale had a brief radio career in 2013 on the Canton, Ohio radio station WNPQ The Light 95.9FM with his show Joe Vitale Jr.'s Sound Factory. It was a 1-hour weekly program featuring local Christian musicians as well as nationals. 
== Film career ==
In 2010, Vitale was the director of photography of the short film Safe which won honorable mention at the Myrtle Beach Film Festival in 2011. 
In 2011, Vitale scored the soundtrack for the short film Making Friends which has won several accolades across the film industry.
In 2012, Vitale and his wife Kathryn wrote, produced and released the short film thriller Encryption winning the best short fiction award at the Canton Film Festival. 
== Awards ==
*2014 - Joe Vitale Jr won the Ohio Music Awards for Best Modern Rock Song.
== Personal life ==
Vitale married his wife Kathryn in 2014. She is a radio personality in North East Ohio WNWV JenY 107.3FM under her professional name Kathy Vogel and owns the online magazine Crack Wise Magazine & the brand Haus of V. His parents are Joe Vitale (musician)|Joe Vitale and Susan Vitale. In 2008, Vitale was part of the release of his father's book: Joe Vitale Backstage Pass Written by Susie Vitale.
== Discography ==
=== Studio albums and singles ===
==== Joe Vitale Jr. ====
* Dancing with Shadows|Dancing With Shadows (2008)
* Jingle Jingle (2010)
* Talk to Me (2011)
* The Virulent Strain (The Infectious Remixes) (2012)
* Encryption (Soundtrack) (2012)
* I Live for the Weekend (2013)
* Live It Up (2013)
* The Keeper (2014)
* Above the Fathoms (2014)
* Be My Baby For Christmas (2016)
* Against the Grain (2020)
==== Ravenwood ====
* Don't Let Go (2018)
* We're All in This Together (2020)
* Ravenous (2021)
=== Other artists Vitale has engineered and recorded with ===
==== Stephen Stills ====
* Man Alive! (Stephen Stills album)|Man Alive (2005)
* Just Roll Tape (2007)
* Live at Shepherd's Bush (Stephen Stills album)|Live at Shepherd's Bush (2009)
=== Film ===
* Encryption (2012)
=== Music Videos ===
==== Music Videos (Joe Vitale Jr) ====
* Never Look Back (2009)
* Jingle Jingle (2010)
* You Make Me Feel Alive (LIVE) (2011)
* Fight It Or Self Destruct (LIVE) (2011)
* It's Not Me, It's You (LIVE) (2011)
* She Intoxicates (LIVE) (2011)
* Mysterious (2014)
* Fight It Or Self Destruct (2019)
* You Make Me Feel Alive (2020)
==== Music Videos (Ravenwood) ====
* Don't Let Go (Lyric Video) (2018)
* We're All in This Together (Lyric Video) (2020)
* Aural Borealis (Alpha) (2021)
*Ravenous (Lyric Video) (2021)
==References==
Category:American rock singers
Category:American musicians
Category:1977 births