Before I started my career I had a choice: to take over my parent’s thoroughbred farm in New Jersey or pursue music full time in California and relinquish the farm to sale.  I still wonder what life would have looked like had I stayed, but who can resist the gold rush?  Besides, I plan to get back there one day on another farm with some other red barn.

My music comes from life’s moments — smelling 4 acres of freshly cut grass, watching the steam from a horse’s breath in the early morning, finally holding the neck of my guitar after holding bridles and worn wooden handles all day.  4000 acres of freshly burnt wildfire, watching the steam from the Pacific Ocean’s breath in the early morning, finally holding the neck of my guitar after clutching the worn steering wheel of the tour van all day.

Now my reality is in Bonny Doon, CA, where mountains meet the sea. I am in my recording studio, aptly named Hippie Cowboy, every day.  Slow and steady; keep it fun, stay engaged.  All for the moment when the song finally sounds right.  My dad passed away a couple years ago — his bullwhip is on the wall, his Harley is in the driveway. He visits me in dreams, and oh, the moment I wake up!  Sometimes I write for him. Sometimes for my mom, who I hope will move out to California soon.   Maybe she could volunteer at an equestrian center…

A person is made from their moments, like their music is made.  I know this is a bio but I shouldn’t have to say much.  Listen to the record.  If I’ve done my job well, you will know me by the end.

Posh, Poodle, Krystal and Toe is the third full length album from Santa Cruz based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joe Kaplow.  Appropriately named after his bandmates’ nicknames, this record is a more cohesive ‘band’ statement than his previous self-recorded work.  Most tracks were cut over a five day span, performed live at the OK Theater in Enterprise, OR with engineer Bart Budwig.  They were learned and workshopped on the spot, thus capturing very honest, energetic, and ‘fly by the seat of your pants’ moments.   The record was mixed underground at Vin Christopher’s studio, Heavy Meadow in Portland, Oregon.

Posh, Poodle, Krystal and Toe takes Kaplow’s singularly unique, honest and raw songwriting style and propels it forward with spontaneous collaboration, undeniable rhythm, and sound imagery. The record will be released on 5.17.24 on Fluff and Gravy Records.

“This is a special record to me.  Unlike the past few, this one sounds like a more cohesive ‘band’ statement.  Most of it was cut together live, in a room over five days.   Rob, Elliott, and I had been playing for a long time with Mikey and then Hawes on drums, and while the music always felt great, the ‘band’ feeling hadn’t made its way into the recording studio.  ‘Time Spent In Between’ and ‘Sending Money and Stems’ were very pieced together albums; me playing most of the instruments, collaborating with many different drummers but working one song at a time, etc.  However, when Jeff moved back from Nashville and joined the band, it felt more cohesive. Maybe we gelled because Jeff  came from the same musical world.   In our little family Jeff championed nicknames, Elliott invented musical travel games, and Rob and I rolled our eyes at their enthusiasm for Arby’s.   We travelled around sharing our art and feeling free.   When we went to Enterprise, OR to record the first session, most of the songs were learned on the spot.   We strove for the zenith moments when we knew the song well enough to not make errors but still had to fly by the seats of our pants to keep it from coming unglued.  Everything has an arc like this.  After all, when you know something well enough you can take the present for granted.    After those sessions we toured our new songs for a year (it usually goes the other way around) and decided some of the songs were misunderstood the first time so we recorded them again, live and together.  I am thankful and proud of that process and proud of them.  The music captured on this record occurred in very special moments between four people who had a special bond, musically and beyond. We hope you enjoy it.”