Meet Joe Gamble | Guitarist, Content Creator, Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joe Gamble and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joe, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
I’m fortunate that everything I’m involved in (from money earning activities to my private life) are things that I have chosen and am grateful to have in my life. That being said, I’m basically redlined every day in terms of commitments and work so I’m continually attempting to upgrade my skills in the realms of time and emotional management. In the past I ran my life more like a sprinter where I’d max myself out until I’d burn out. These days I’m working much more within a marathon runner’s paradigm where I’m pacing myself and setting myself up more for long-term wins. Of course it’s a continual challenge and I screw it up all the time but I’m definitely enjoying it more and it probably makes me more pleasant to be around.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
While music was my first love I didn’t actually get around to learning to play anything until I was almost 17 years old. That set me back quite a bit in terms of what I was going to be able to do coming out of high school as I really wasn’t good enough to get into any college programs of consequence at the time. My only recourse was to just buckle down, practice and study my ass off. Eventually I started getting hired for things and was building a little career for myself when my son arrived on the scene. We wound up having a daughter a couple years later so by my mid-twenties I was deep in family life trying to negotiate how to make it all work. One of the things I did was take touring/road work of the table and focused on working locally so I could be around for my family and not miss anything. This led to a lot of teaching and studio work which I’ve always really enjoyed. I think I also inadvertently took things like pushing my own artistry off the table as well. All this to say that my kids are pretty much grown now and I’m going through a sort of reinvention phase. All possibilities are back in play and I’m doing my best to explore each avenue as much as 24 hour days can accommodate. This means I’m attempting EVERYTHING right now- still teaching, still booking sessions, still taking on sideman performance gigs and now I’m deep in the process of releasing my own projects on top of being in school as a psych major. Remember what I said about time management? Ha!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh man… I would really want to tailor it to the specific person I was entertaining but since that’s not an option I’ll go with some general recs and loves…

If you’re hanging with me we’re gonna be eating a lot. Some highlights would be Same Same in Silver Lake for thai, Pizzeria Bianco in DTLA for pizza, Donna’s in Echo Park for pasta (the seasonal carrot cake they have this Fall is absolutely BANANAS), My Vegan in Pasadena for a catch-all and definitely breakfast burritos at Tacos Delta. Probably gonna have to drink some Scotch which would happen at the Tam O-Shanter in Los Feliz and also hit The Gold Room in Echo Park because they have Delirium on tap for $10 a pint.

After all those calories, I’d force you to suffer through some spin classes at Hype in Silver Lake and come lift heavy junk at DC Fitness because that’s what I’m doing whether you show up or not. Of course we’d have to catch some music so we’d hope there was something amazing happening at the Hollywood Bowl simply because it’s such an iconic venue. I’d also try and convince you to come see the LA Phil at Disney Concert Hall. Just saw Stravinsky there this weekend and I’m still reeling from it!

Let’s catch a Dodger game because tickets are reasonable. Let’s go get in the water at any beach so you can tell me its too cold. Lets NOT go to Hollywood Boulevard and see the stars and instead go to the Museum of Jurassic Technology… or visit Huntington Gardens. The grounds are great and the art collection is underrated. Speaking of art, gotta go to the Norton Simon in Pasadena if you’re a geek about that stuff like I am.

Or we could just sit on a bench at Echo Park lake and solve all the world’s problems. I’m there every day walking my dog anyway…

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are two guys who immediately come to mind when I’m asked this sort of question. The first is Brent-Anthony Johnson who is this great bass player who I met when I was a budding teenage guitarist. He was almost a decade older than I was and he had already played on a ton of records and done the touring thing. He recognized my potential as a musician way before anyone else and mentored me in ways that I’m still frankly a bit nonplussed by. He got me some of my first recording sessions, got me on gigs, and just generally showed me how to “be” and act in professional settings. He and his wife Tracy would have me over to their place to feed me, talk music and just hang. Incredibly generous dude and I’m eternally grateful for his influence on my life.

The other guy is Taylor Mesplé who is a highly talented multi-instrumentalist/artist who I had also met in my formative years. He’s closer to me in age but had been this childhood prodigy-wünderkind type on piano/keys in the area that I grew up in. We met while we were teaching lessons at the same local music store and became fast friends as well as musical compatriots.

He was so much more experienced than I was but again much like Brent-Anthony, he never lorded his status over me and instead encouraged and hooked me up with a lot of work and included me in on a lot of things that I’m not sure how I would have gained access too without having made that connection. Forever grateful to them both!

Website: https://www.joegamble.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joegamble/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/los-feliz-guitar-lessons-los-angeles

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JoeGambleGuitar