The Genesis: Joe was once asked in an interview, “Why?”, to which he replied, “ I was too short for basketball.” It ended up being the first line printed in the interview and it, he’d say, was the genesis of his music career. Joe was sitting on the bleachers in gym class, not playing basketball, when another guy sitting there asked him if he played any instruments. Joe said he had a bass but didn’t know how to play; the other guy said he had a band and needed a bass player. The rest is, as they say, history. That was the beginning of Joe having to answer the most frequently asked question of his life; "yes, Basso is his real last name."

Instruments of Choice: Fender Jazz bass, Ibanenz Artcore hollowbody bass, Ampeg B-2

CD player rotation: Ben Harper, Syd Matters, Clash, Johnny Cash, Elmore James, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Thom Yorke, Yeah Yeah Yeah's; T-Bone Burnett, The Raconters.

Frequent last words: "Humpty Dumpty was pushed!"