biography

A brief history of The Good Luck Joes:

2000 - Four kids from East Grand Rapids, MI start a band to compete in the eighth grade talent show. They learn “Twist and Shout,” practice it for a month, and come in second place. Disheartened but not defeated, they continue to practice in Joe Scheltema’s basement. They name the band SCIM from the first letters of their last names: Scheltema, Citron, Idema, and Martin.

2001 - The band begins writing and performing some original material. They perform one of their new songs, “All I’m Left to Say” at the high school Cabaret and ears perk up. “Did they really write that song,” one might have heard. “Wow, these kids are really good. I can see them going places…” They change their name to The Good Luck Joes.

2002 - Andrew Martin borrows a guitar from local 16-year-old guitar legend, Andrew Krei. After a short courtship, Andrew agrees to join the band. The Good Luck Joes now have a lead guitarist.

2003 - Peterson Goodwyn joins the band as an auxillary percussionist and as a fill-in drummer on certain dates. The chemistry is explosive. In the summer Peterson joins the band as the full-time drummer and they enter the ‘Basement Studio’ to record their debut album, The Good Luck Joes.

2004 - The Joes’ record their 48 Hours EP with Milwaukee musician Joe Puerta, and play their first Summerfest. “48 Hours” proves to be a favorite and ears perk up again. There is talk of mainstream potential and whispers of greatness: “These guys might just have what it takes…”

2005 - LA Producer Chad Fischer hears the buzz and flies out to Milwaukee to record The Good Luck Joes’ sophomore album. The guys do their first real touring, traveling to LA and New York City to play shows. Recording is wrapped up in the winter and the band sends out their (in)famous Happy Holidays 2005 card to friends and acquantances.

2006 - The Joes release What Do You Think of That Noise? on Third Ward Records and sign a distribution and promotion deal with Machine Inc. of Lake Geneva. The first single, “Middle of Me” is heralded as a “massive hit song in the making” (Bruce Warren, WXPN Executive Producer - World Cafe) and the album is added on over 300 radio stations nationwide. Numerous shows, movies, and commercials feature music from the album, including Six Degrees, Real World, and Road Rules. A tour follows, and the Joes play a month of dates in support of the 80’s synth-pop outfit ABC. Big shows include the Chicago and Cleveland Houses of Blues, The Canal Room in NYC, and, of course, Summerfest. This year the Joes open for The Click 5, playing one of the biggest and loudest shows of their career. In November the band enters the studio to record the self-produced EP, Why Everything Goes Wrong.

2007 - The Good Luck Joes release Why Everything Goes Wrong in July, and record two songs, “Two Drifters,” and an acoustic version of “Middle of Me,” and rock all summer long (think Kid Rock).

2008 - The guys enjoy a run at television stardom as their music appears on ABC Family Channel shows Kyle XY and Greek, and The Weather Channel’s Epic Conditions. Their single “Middle of Me” (remember this one from all the way back in 2006?) is nominated for the 2008 LA Music Awards’ Pop Single of the Year.

2009 - The Joes’ multimedia good fortune continues when Fox Sports Detroit and Detroit’s WRIF select the band’s version of the regional and seasonal fight song “April In The D” to promote Fox Sports Detroit’s annual April programming. The song is a big winner, leading Fox Sports Detroit Senior Vice President and General Manager Greg Hammaren to comment, “I’ve become a big fan of The Good Luck Joes…I am thrilled that they will be an ‘instrumental’ part of our network.”

Where will the story go from here? Who knows, maybe you will be ‘instrumental’ in it…