Born and raised in the land of corn and basketball, Indiana native Joy Burnworth spent
every waking moment exploring the land of music. While her friends listened to current
radio hits, Joy was rummaging through the record bins at The Goodwill Store. There she
exhumed the albums of Ella Fitzgerald, Steely Dan, the first solo albums of Chaka Khan,
and instrumentalists like Dave Sanborn and Alan Holdsworth. Once you know this you
understand where she gets her distinct phrasing. You’d think she would be singing R&B
or Jazz but Joy loves contradiction. She is lying in a sea of guitars, singing story folk type
songs over the top of a funky groove.
Joy writes all the lyrics and no subject is off limits. For example, she has written a song
about rape from a parent’s point of view that unfortunately is all too common called “All
In Your Head.” Somehow even her politically driven tunes never get preachy; she cleverly
sends you the message without beating you into submission. The guitar player and
co-writer of the music is Howard Anderson . His voicings add the psychedelic vibe to the
music. Then combined with the musicality of drummer Larry Perpoli and bass guru David
Keif, the band has a distinct sound and personality.
Playing mainly in Thousand Oaks, California, she has managed to get over 600 people
on her mailing list. The Orchard. COM linked to CD NOW and Amazon.COM is selling her
CD. Joy recently got the attention of manager / agent, Lena Michals who is diligently
shopping her C.D. to Music Supervisors for Film / TV and Executives at Record Labels.
The band’s passion for playing and making music is contagious and that’s what
communicates to the audience. The audience seems to walk away saying Joy is even
better live.