Biography & Background

Credit: Guy Aceto

January 2010 - Joe D'Urso & Stone Caravan, an Americana/Jersey Shore/Rock & Roll band, will release their 12th CD on SCR/Schoolhouse Records titled "Down Here By The RIver". The 14 song CD was recorded throughout 2009 in JD&SC's home area of Rockland County, New York and features 11 songs written or co-written by D'Urso and three tunes penned by Marah (Round Eye Blues), Little Steve Van Zandt (All I Needed Was You) and the BoDeans (Angels). The 11 D'Urso songs/co-writes are "Down Here By The River," "Waiting On A Train," "Mystery," "On A Night Like This," "Anything More," "Since She's Been Gone," "Once Again," "Loving and Living," "Hold On," "Brass Ring" and "LaGuardia To Weehawken (or From Grave To Save)" and find Stone Caravan (Sam LaMonica on drums, Greg Lykins on6 guitars, Mr. Lou DeMartino on bass and D'Urso on acoustic guitars) joined by an array of vocalist friends: Willie Nile, Danny Zolli, Joe Rapolla, Carter Calvert, Dave McKeon and Tim O'Donohue. Also joining JD&SC on "Down Here By The River" is Stone Caravan alumnus Chuck Chesler on organ, accordion and piano, Perry Paletta on mandolin, Dave Yannuzzi on lap steel and dobro, Dave McKeon on banjo and Darren Lunar on percussion.

The CD runs the gamut of straight-up Americana rock and roll, singer-songwriter offerings, Jersey Shore influences and New York State/Catskill Mountain country tinged instrumentation. The CD, with its flowing river images throughout many songs, ends with the co-written song "LaGuardia to Weehawken (or From Grave To Save)" with lyrics from D'Urso's boyhood friend who was a passenger on Flight 1549 that safely landed in the Hudson River. 2010 will find D'Urso, both solo and with Stone Caravan, traveling the world singing new songs with an old friend feel. JD&SC have performed on thousands of stages in 24 countries and have attracted fans worldwide since releasing their first recording in 1991.

In April of 2009 JD&SC released their first live recording "One More Song Live" on SCR/Schoolhouse Records. This 32-track double CD was recorded in June 2008 at the legendary Turning Point in Piermont, New York and serves as a showcase of the band’s energetic live performances. The live CD includes D’Urso-penned fan favorites like "Rock and Roll Call," "Noisy Guitars," "Welcome Home," "Tell Me Why," "So Tired," "Numb," "Minute To Midnight," "Glow" and many others.

In January 2006, JD&SC released "Cause..." The 15-song "album" is divided into Side One and Side Two with topics ranging from friendship, war, marriage, oil, soul searching, and lost love. As in past offerings, D'Urso mixed his writing and music with full-out rockers and quiet observations. "Cause..." was recorded with more of a live, garage rock feel than previous offerings and is quite unique as it's "narrated" by wise musings/introductions by the late Harry Chapin. Besides 12 new D'Urso originals, JD&SC took on John Stewart's 1979 Top 5 hit "Gold", Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" and Chapin's "Taxi".

This CD followed up 2005's "Best 1991-2003". The 19-song compilation scans D'Urso's songwriting from a Greenwich Village startup to international independent touring artist. The CD includes 16 songs chosen by fans through JD&SC’s website, as well as three unreleased songs. Also released was the band's foray into video with the DVD "3 Days in Italy," which documents two Italian performances in February 2004. This DVD was released through the band's "Bootleg Series" as it was shot and recorded by Italian fans.

Credit: Guy Aceto

In 2004, D'Urso released a 15-song solo acoustic CD titled "Audience of One". Veteran engineer Toby Scott, who has worked on numerous recordings by Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Natalie Merchant, Little Steven, Harry Chapin and The Replacements, produced the CD in a two-day session. The intimate recording was released as a limited edition and will be released on a wider scale sometime in 2009.

In 2003, JD&SC released a 23-song double CD titled "Both Sides of Life," which included Springsteen's "Badlands". The track was featured on the Tribute CD "Light of Day: A Tribute To Bruce Springsteen" and was praised by the UK magazine UNCUT as "inspired". D'Urso performed 150 concerts, solo and with band, in 16 countries during the support of this CD.

In 2002, D'Urso & Stone Caravan were chosen by House of Blues Concerts and The Harley Davidson Corporation to be the "official house band" for Harley's 100th Anniversary Open Road World Wide Tour. D'Urso was the only independent artist on the tour that performed three-day festivals in Atlanta, Dallas, Baltimore, Los Angeles, Toronto, Sydney and Milwaukee with artists such as Bob Dylan, Kid Rock, Aerosmith, Tim McGraw, Elton John and many others. D'Urso co-wrote a thirty-minute musical production with Neil Berg for Harley Davidson titled "Thunder" that was highlighted throughout the tour.

D'Urso's 2000 CD, "Rock and Roll Station," received rave reviews and was selected for the Grammy nomination process in multiple categories including "Song of the Year" and "Record of the Year". The CD featured radio DJs introducing the 13 penned D'Urso songs. The CD's unique concept reflected D'Urso's favorite teen-age pastime: turning the radio dial for favorite songs to surface from the static. This CD remains a favorite among JD&SC's global fan base and continues to attract fans to D'Urso's writing.

Other Joe D'Urso & Stone Caravan releases include 1998's "Glow," 1996's "Mirrors, Shoestrings & Credit Cards," 1993's "Rock-Land," 1992's "The Snow, The Rain & Yesterday" and 1991's "45-10 Pearson".

D'Urso's music is rootsy, introspective, rocking and forceful. JD&SC, as well as Joe's solo live shows, have been recorded and traded worldwide and have attracted a legion of fans in many countries as fans regularly travel hundreds of miles to attend performances.

Credit: Guy Aceto

How It All Began

In 1996, D'Urso left his job at the legendary Premier Talent Agency in New York City to pursue his career as a singer-songwriter. Since then, D'Urso's music has earned glowing praise from the media. The BBC's Gary Price says, "Joe D'Urso sings like an angel and writes songs like a demon" and New York Times' writer Karen DeMasters calls D'Urso "one of the most original and versatile of the current artists writing music based in good, old-fashioned rock and roll".

D'Urso's love for music began with his two older sisters' record collections; Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Meatloaf, Beatles, Elvis Presley, Bob Seger, Tom Petty, The Doors, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Jim Croce, Jackson Browne and countless one-hit wonders from the 1950s to the 1970s. While at Premier Talent, D'Urso typed live performance contracts for hundreds of artists, including some of the very same bands that he listened to in his sisters' record collection. This experience allowed him to get an insider's look at the music business and the inner workings of touring bands.

One night after attending the Manhattan premiere of U2's rockumentary "Rattle and Hum," D'Urso turned to his roommate and said: "We've gotta start a band." They had just left the theater and U2 was in attendance seated ten rows in front of them. During the trip home a quote from Bono played itself over and over in D'Urso's head: "All I have is three chords, the truth and a red guitar". It was, it turns out, the catalyst for D'Urso's burgeoning new career. Six months later, D'Urso's band "3 Chords and the Truth" played its first concert. The band changed its name and released their first record in 1991.

Credit: Guy Aceto

As an artist, D'Urso has embraced his Indy status. In the process he has created a flourishing global fan base with each CD/Tour and his catalog of music is released on his own label, SCR/Schoolhouse Records. Internationally, his records and merchandise are available via retail stores, Internet sites, and his website: www.jdcaravan.com.

D'Urso remains true to an ideal inspired by the late Harry Chapin: that it is essential to help the less fortunate. He currently sits on the Board of Directors for The Light of Day Foundation which raises money and awareness for Parkinson's Disease. Joe is a founding member of Pinkfest, whose sole purpose is to battle Breast Cancer, and he is very heavily involved with World Hunger Year (WHY) as he is on the Supervisors Board and also a founding member of AAHAP (Artists Against Hunger and Poverty). WHY was co-founded by Chapin and Bill Ayres. "Joe brings to his life and music the magic combination of passion and purpose," said Jen Chapin, daughter of Harry and Chair of WHY Board of Directors. Ayres adds, "Joe D'Urso's music is passionate, vibrant and filled with great stories." Sue Leventhal, director of WHY's AAHAP, calls D'Urso "a wonderful, first-class performer."

D'Urso's fierce independence, dynamic stage presence and altruistic nature have led him down a road less traveled.