ARTISTDetail

Joe Babiak began his musical career at the early age of five. He first started with the piano and soon after began the trumpet. Joe played in concert and jazz bands all throughout his schooling and was the recipient of numerous awards. He was also part of a national youth wind ensemble that performed at Carnegie Hall. Joe attended Elmhurst College in Chicago where he earned his B.A. in Music.

Drumming is an ongoing art form about which Joe is very passionate and constantly strives to improve. Joe has been playing drums since 1994, and because of his previous musical training, drumming came to him very naturally. His strong understanding of theory, keen melodic and harmonic sense, and excellent pitch makes him unique on the instrument. He has played in numerous groups including styles such as ska, punk, pop, alternative, folk, jazz, Latin, funk, R&B, fusion, electronica, dance, progressive rock, metal, musical theater, and church music. With years of live and studio experience, Joe takes great pride in being well versed in many genres. He takes a very melodic approach towards the drum set and continually works to expand his technique.

Joe's progressive-rock group, Parallel Mind, was signed to Unicorn Records of Canada for the release of their album, Colossus ADEA. This album beautifully displays Joe's proficient abilities on the drums. In 2002, Joe began his long running relationship with renowned guitarist, Michael Angelo Batio. Since then he has toured Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taiwan, Russia, and India with Michael. Joe has also performed in Michael’s music videos and recorded on two of his full length albums.

In the spring of 2006, Joe joined the Chicago based band, Kill Hannah, for a 5 month national tour in support of the group's second album with Atlantic Records. During that time, Joe performed in the band’s Lips Like Morphine music video, the WGN morning news, and the Lollapalooza music festival. From 2007-2010, Joe played in the rock band, South Of Earth, featuring Geno Lenardo (FILTER, Chevelle), Joe Grah (Loser, Jibe), and Bill Gower (Boy Hits Car). Most recently, Joe played for the band Cage9, featuring members of Powerman 5000.