Joe Lebioda has been a musician since the age of 8, taking piano lessons and learning to play on the family’s upright that sat in the Living Room.  He gained a love and appreciation for music early on because almost since birth, he was surrounded by the sounds of the Detroit rock and R&B bands that his Dad and Uncles had played in.  They introduced him to the sounds of 50’s and 60’s rock and roll and the music became ingrained in him.  At the age of 11, Joe uncovered his Dad’s acoustic guitar in the basement and he started developing his ear by playing along to his favorite songs on the radio.  This, coupled with formal guitar lessons, allowed Joe to begin building his skillset. 

Throughout both Junior High and High School, Joe played in a variety of rock bands with his friends, adding background vocals and keyboards to his list of duties.  Once Joe graduated from High School and began attending Grand Valley State University, more exciting things began to happen.

Joe met other musicians at GVSU and again, bands were put together.  Bolstered by the support of 97.9 WGRD and several concert venues, Grand Rapids enjoyed a thriving local music scene throughout the mid 90’s and 2000’s.  Several projects that Joe was a part of were active in that scene and the writing of original music, recording during studio sessions, and playing weekly gigs allowed Joe to further dial-in his skills and abilities.  In the mid 2000’s, Joe made the switch to covering Bass Guitar.  It seemed to be a natural fit as the drummer of his band at the time said, “Bass guitar is perfect for you.  You are always humming the bass lines to songs and you don’t even realize it.”

As time went on, bands and projects came and went.  The gigs and sessions slowed down as Joe focused his energy on his family and career.  As life goes, a series of events unfolded that brought Joe and longtime friend, Jason Proctor, together for the first time in several years.  Since both are musicians, the conversation naturally turned music and the idea of a new project.  And with that, a new group of musicians have come together to bring you, Van Hornen.

Enjoy the show.