Joey Labs Comes Alive With Rock N Roll

A chord from the piano or a strum from the guitar is all it takes to inspire a young mind. Admiring classic rock musicians of the past decades, 21-year-old St. John’s University student Joseph LaBarbera wants to bring that vintage rock’n’roll sound back into the mainstream. The guitar is his partner in crime in musical expression along with singing original lyrics people can relate to. LaBarbera is a musician who seeks to challenge himself and learn information to grow his music. Both career and style wise. He has a vision to build himself up and let the world know the name Joey Labs. 

Who are you?

I’m Joseph LaBarbera, Joey Labs is my stage name. I’m from Queens, NY.  I’m 21-years-old. I go to St. John’s University, I’m an English major looking to go to law school. And I also love to do music. That’s my main passion. 

Where did your journey with music start?

Well, I’ve been playing the piano since I was 5. I had a teacher and everything. Then after a couple of years, up till I was 10, I stopped playing the piano. I don’t know I was like tired of it. I was also a big baseball player. I was really good at it.  But I was just tired of it, and I gave it up for a couple of years. Then I went to this concert at Jones beach. It was like a festival, and I saw Charlie Puth play the song “One Call Away” on the big grand piano and all this and I just kind of fell in love with like performing. Just the art of it all.  I went home that same day, went to the piano again and I picked it up. I learned it by myself, I looked it up on YouTube, I just ran away with that. Then my mom got me another teacher and we would just learn songs. That’s when I came into rock’n’roll. Then I picked up the guitar at 14, and when I was 14, I learned how to play by myself. My dad showed me couple chords to the song “Detroit Rock City” by KISS and then just kind of ran from there.

Going off that, how is music connected to family for you?

When I was a little younger piano was like everything to me. It still is but as time grew and I became in love with the rock stars and rock’n’roll like guitar, really, I’ve always wanted to learn how to play guitar, and I finally did it. Both my parents were musicians. My mom was a piano player she was pretty good at it. That’s why she was like “Yeah go for it,”. My dad on the other hand was part of a band back in the day, he was a bass player. He was really fast, really good up and down. And I guess that you know he introduced me to all the rock’n’roll stuff, KISS, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin. You know me and him that’s our bond we share. That’s our thing. My mom’s always yelling at us like “Shut up!”. *laughs*

Why does rock’n roll mean more to you than any other genre?

The thing with rock’n’roll is that anybody could do it you know you don’t have to be a technically good or perfect musician. You don’t need to have the best voice, the best guitar playing, or best like piano playing or any instrument for that matter. The thing is you could pick up any instrument play 3 simple chords or a simple you know little base little drum pattern and its music. If you listen to the way, they write it’s like it’s for us. Teenagers or like early adults. I feel like it’s our thing. Like when you hear it resonates. I also love pop like don’t get me wrong I love my Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes, those guys. But the thing is I’ll study rock n’ roll. For example, I’ll study like Freddie Mercury because I play the instruments but I’m the lead singer too. So, I study how they move. I study what they do, like crowd control. Then I’ll study like Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin guitarist, how he plays the guitar, what he’s doing to try and make it my own. I think everyone should be unique as to their playing but always take a look at what all the predecessors have done.

How do you go about giving it that sort of unique flair you’re talking about, and not directly copying?

When you’re when you’re doing it live and when you’re playing you know it comes to you. You also get that feeling of the groove right and you just kind of do your thing and hopefully it sticks. That’s really what music is. You keep doing it until it sticks. Your gimmick or whatever it is. But like I mean I’ll copy some of their moves.

How does playing an instrument help you in your creative process?

I feel like it gives you this sort of advantage because now you can think musically with the instrument. You can always sing right, but with the instrument it’s a little different because now you can find different ways to kind of put out a sound and plus it just makes you look cooler in my opinion. *laughs*

Why has music been so beneficial for you?

In terms of beneficial like I mean obviously like everyone says it like soothes you and it does and all of that. But for me it’s more like I see music and emotions too, but depending on the sound, I see it like in colors in my mind too. I don’t go to music for like if I’m sad or something like that like most people do, if anything I’ll go to it just because like it’s fun for me. I’m a big rock guy, I can’t really think of a rock song where I feel sad listening to it. I can’t turn on Led Zeppelin and be like man you know. There are very few times where I listen to a song and it’s like you know breaking my heart. It’s more so like I just love studying it and I love like how somebody’s able to create. I kind of see it in more of like a scientific view. That’s just my thing though because I’m able to understand it like very quickly. It just comes to me.  

Are there any things you think the music industry is lacking right now?

I feel like music right now is not the same as what it used to be. Obviously, genres shift and who or what comes in and out of popularity. But there’s no like distinction as to where okay he’s a great guitar player and he writes great songs. I feel like it’s always the same you know theme of every song. I can’t tell you really many artists out there where they’re like writing great songs, stories, or just you know like regular songs of you’re doing to get through your day or through you’re the year for your job like that’s what rock n roll is about. I feel like nowadays it’s all just about sex and love and heartbreak there’s no originality to the theme of what you’re writing about. Even me like sometimes I’ll fall for it and write a song but and obviously everyone always writes about love in the beginning, but I feel like it’s just the same repetitive lines I hear all the time it’s like I can hear it before I even hear the line.

What’s your approach to writing lyrics or music?

Billy Joel said he writes the music before he writes the lyrics and which I do very much agree with. I do that. It kind of just happens. Honestly like 90% of the things I’ve sung wrote themselves. Like I’ve made on my guitar. I’ll pick a key that I’m really infatuated with at the moment. So, let’s say it’s like D. And I’ll kind of figure out what kind of beat or tempo and I’ll play over it and then at the same time then you can make your chord changes. Then during that process it’ll come to me if I hear it enough times. Usually, my songs like I have written within an hour, depending. For the most part it’s written within an hour. Then I go back, and you get like a main kind of idea of what it’s going to be exactly.

 What are challenges you see in the current music industry?

Selling your records. Back in the day you were able to make a record and you were able to sell it and you could have done whatever and you would have made 100% profit or if you were signed with a label you would have taken let’s say I’d say 20% and within that 20% let’s say you sold 2 million albums for $10 right so if you do the math 2 million  times 10 it’s 20 million and then time 0.2 you made $4 million. So, there you go. My point being now is streams you get paid by half a cent maybe for a listen if not a little more I don’t know the exact conversions but that’s what I don’t like. Forget even the pay it’s just like I feel like the room for emerging artists to kind of break out is just not there. 

Why is live music important for emerging musicians?

I think live music is more important than the actual record because that’s how you’re gonna make your money and how you create like your major fan base. God willing that any of us are able to amass of course a fan base of 1,000,000 people. Live performances are what capture the memory for that that kid or teenager that’s watching. You know when I play live, I give my all. I try and make it the best show possible because you know maybe I won’t make it from that show, but you know I get to inspire somebody. I wish they would do more live things like battle of the bands. That used to be a very prominent thing in the 2000s, ‘90s. They’re out there don’t get me wrong but not the same as it was. 

What plans do you have for a music career in the future?

I hope that eventually in the future by lightning strike or something that somebody big notices my songs or maybe one of my songs could catch wind. I want to become a very top listened to or regarded musician. Just like The Beatles. Like Led Zeppelin. Like Michael Jackson. I always wanted to be the best and if I ever got that opportunity, I promised I wouldn’t let any of my fans or just the general people down because I give my heart and soul to this.  I would do anything just to be on that stage. Not even for the money or for the fame. Just because I always a good influence on people’s lives and I would love to do that through my music. Inspire generations of kids and teenagers and even adults to pick up an instrument and the learn. Because I was a kid and I picked up an instrument and just learned and look where I am now. We need to bring that back and we’ll bring that back some rock’n’roll.

You can hear more of Joey Labs on Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube