As Midwesterners, some of us align ourselves with the pine trees and rocky shores of Minnesota and Michigan, while others feel right at home in the cornfields and wide open spaces of Iowa, Illinois and Indiana. While our surroundings may differ, it is whats inside us all that makes us Midwestern and it is a connection often found in the stories we tell over a beer or 5. It is in our work ethic, the characters in our life, how we treat others and in the end, an appreciation for the simple things in life. Kind of sounds like a country song don’t it?

That brings us to our latest MWG, singer/songwriter – Joe Stamm. A staunch Midwesterner whose Illinois roots come through loud and clear in his music. A man whose “Midwest AF” line of merch makes a statement, a man that washes life down with a Busch Light over anything else, a man with stories, real-life stories blended with country and rock influences from Pat Green to Lynyrd Skynyrd. His own story is an American tale – a star athlete whose career was cut short due to injury but harnessed the same work-ethic and determination that got him to the top on the gridiron and transitioning it to his new found love for music – backed by an equally talented band.

We sat down with Joe Stamm to dig deeper into those Midwest roots, his hometown, his inspirations and the road ahead. So, grab a Busch, sit back and get to know the Midwest’s very own – Joe Stamm.

MWG: You grew up in the heart of Illinois, tell us a bit about your hometown…

JS: I grew up on a 2-acre plot that my grandpa carved out of his cornfield for my parents to build on. My folks put up a red brick ranch with a big metal outbuilding in the back, next to a burn barrel, a big garden where I grew up diggin potatoes, and a couple rows of apple trees. Our house sat a half mile south of the Mennonite Church where my grandparents attended, and about a mile, as the crow flies over corn & beans, from Metamora – a town of about 2,500 folks in the heart of Illinois.

Like most towns in Illinois, Metamora boasted an Abe Lincoln historical reference, but the biggest boast around town was always our football program. Most kids grew up dreaming of earning their “birds” – the redbird stickers we stuck to our helmets (and then the back windows of our trucks) – and I was no different.

What is your musical foundation? Are there certain artists, songs or memories that led to you becoming an artist yourself? 

I distinctly remember standing in my buddy’s driveway, I must’ve been 20 or so, and he handed me this blue and black, shadowy CD with “Chris Knight” written on it. I’ve lived off that record, and everything else Chris put out before or since, for the past 18 years. Prior to that introduction, I had spent a couple years touring through the classics – the Country Music 101 stuff – the Waylon and the Willie, the Johnny and the Jones.

My first loves were probably Creedence & Lynyrd Skynyrd, though. I’m more of an electric guitar guy than a steel guitar guy, so to speak. The thing about Creedence and Skynyrd is they had the sound and the stories. To me, it’s ultimately about the stories. That’s why I fell in love with Chris Knight’s music so fast and furious. And that’s also why I eventually got so deep into Kris Kristofferson some time later, once I started writing my own songs and stories – to me, no one tells a story better than Chris and Kris.

What about the Midwest has had the biggest impact on you Musically? 

Everything. As a songwriter, it is my context. It’s the backdrop of my world and the worlds and characters I create when I write. I’d like to think that the characters and the stories I write about are recognizable in any geographical or cultural setting, but they’re still highly Midwestern in their soul.

I’ve long called our music “Black Dirt” – which is partly ripping off the “red dirt” music I love, based out of Oklahoma and Texas, and partly an homage to the rich dirt that cakes our tractor tires here in the Midwest. When I had to actually describe “Black Dirt” music, though, this is what I came up with awhile back:

Black Dirt Country Rock is Rural. It connects the earth to fields, to fencerows, to red-tailed hawks. It’s blistering heat and brutal cold. It’s a sunset falling beneath the edge of a dry cornfield in autumn. It’s sweat dripping down a can of cheap beer in summer. It’s an old muscle car parked out back with grass growing tall around cracked tires.

Black Dirt Country Rock is People. It connects family to heritage, to community. It’s old fashioned, Midwestern worth ethic. It’s up at dawn and, sometimes, staying up ‘til the next. It’s timeworn farmers at the diner having coffee. It’s a preacher in the liquor store parking lot, fighting his own battles. It’s a high school football team drinking beer on the far edge of that cornfield where the sun went down.

Black Dirt Country Rock is Sound. It connects an experience to bodies, to souls. It’s a heartwarming laugh and sometimes a heart aching cry. It’s the deep bawl of a hound underneath a half moon. It’s calloused fingers moving up and down a screaming guitar. It’s a tired voice holding notes at the end of a long show. It’s a kick drum that rattles a glass. It’s a lyric that punches a gut. It’s a beat that pumps a fist. It’s a place to hear the truth.

Black Dirt Country Rock is Music.

Storytelling is such an integral part of country/folk music, and the Midwest has produced a lot of incredible artists that tell stories so eloquently – What do you think it is that allows the Midwest to produce such artists and storytellers? 

The Midwest is rich in culture and natural beauty. In my opinion, the Midwest is as rich a culture and natural beauty as anywhere in the world. Some folks love their oceans and find inspiration in those oceans – the creatures within, the vastness without, the motion and the way the lights hit them. But there’s also inspiration to be found in the diners, and the dive bars, the corn fields and the pastures, the river valleys and the catfish swimmin’ in the mud. Good music is about everyday people and everyday stories. There’s just as many of them here in the Midwest as anywhere else.

What has been the highlight of your music career thus far? 

Every time I get to release a new song or a new record out into the world, it’s a highlight for me. A big highlight. There’s nothing more rewarding. But if I had to pin it down to one actual experience, I’d have to say that it came when I was opening for Jamey Johnson in Algona, IA a couple years back. And it had nothing to do with Jamey. I never even met him. But it did have to do with 10,000 screaming Iowans who were hangin’ on every word by the time we finished our set. There’s just nothing like that.

It’s a crazy world, it’s a crazy time… what do you look forward to most in the coming months – anything fans need to be aware of? 

Yes! We’re releasing a new, full length studio album in September! We actually resorted to Crowd Funding to get this sucker off the ground last Spring – we had spent a year and a half recording it, but when the world got shut down in March, we were suddenly out of work and still had all the expensive stuff to pay for. But our fans answered the call.

We got support from literally all over the world, but I’d venture to say that at least 80% of that support came from Mdiwesterners. This will be the first, full length studio album we’ll have put out as a band, so we’re excited to let the world know who we truly are. The record will be called The Good & the Crooked (& the High & the Horny). It’s a collection of Midwest Fables, all with varying degrees of actual and imagined experience, that are firmly rooted in the black dirt beneath our feet.

How would you define a ‘Midwestern Gentleman’? 

Any self-aware feller from the Midwest whose life is a positive contribution to our Midwestern cultural landscape. That can be an old man who spent his life on an assembly line, or some kid trying to figure out how to sell paintings. When I was checking out your guy’s website, I thought to myself, “These guys are more pine trees and cheese, whereas I’m a little more corn fields and river bank.” But we are both actively making culture in a Midwestern context and I think that’s why we’ve been drawn to each other’s work. I’m just honored y’all apparently consider me a ‘Midwestern Gentleman.’

We can’t thank Joe enough for taking the time to talk with Midwestern Gentleman, but enough about us. It is now your turn to consume that Black Dirt Country Rock – Joe’s catalog is available on all streaming services. If you want to learn more of his backstory, grab some merch, PURCHASE his music or keep tabs on a show near you click the link below:

Hero Shot By: Elise Kingland of Blue Heron Graphic Design

Cheers…