Joseph Simmons

Background

Early bands, Fork in the Road and Bird of Ill Omen (1994–1997)

Simmons' early bands include Dinner Time and Lock Down, two hardcore punk bands based in Coral Springs, Florida, active during the mid-1990s. In August 1996, Simmons joined the newly formed North Miami, Florida-based sludge metal/metalcore band Fork in the Road, which quickly changed name to Bird of Ill Omen. The band also included vocalist Damien Moyal (who had previously been in Culture, Shai Hulud and Morning Again), guitarist José Martinez (who would later play in Poison the Well), bass guitarist Thomas Rankine (who would later play in As Friends Rust and Further Seems Forever) and drummer George Rios (formerly of doom metal band Floor). Martinez, Rankine and Rios had previously played in the emo band Crestfallen earlier that year.

While writing a full-length album's worth of material during most of late 1996 and early 1997, Bird of Ill Omen played local shows with Shai Hulud, Morning Again, Discount, Strongarm, Vision of Disorder, Earth Crisis, Zao and Cavity. The band's membership was revised when former Morning Again bass guitarist Peter Bartsocas (who would also later play in As Friends Rust) replaced Martinez in November 1996, and the recruiting of a second vocalist, Rob Ogman. In March 1997, Simmons was kicked out of Bird of Ill Omen, after he was asked to join Morning Again as their new guitarist (having already filled in as bass guitarist in December 1996 after Bartsocas' departure). The band quickly recruited Andrew Logan, who had played in Crestfallen, to replace Simmons. Moyal was displeased about Simmons' firing, which was done without his knowledge while he was out of town with Culture, and in turn lead to his quitting the band.

By this time, the band had written half a dozen songs with Simmons and Moyal for a planned full-length debut. The band ended up using three of these songs ("Spoon", "Pronoun" and "Now Ruin Is") on Bird of Ill Omen's debut album, Self, Dare You Still Breathe?. The album was released on compact disc in February 1998 by Eulogy Recordings, on 12-inch vinyl in July 1998 by Think Tank Records, and on compact cassette in October 2021 by Contraband Goods.

Morning Again (1996, 1997–1998, 1999)

Simmons first played with Morning Again on December 26, 1996 (while still a member of Bird of Ill Omen), when he filled in as bass guitarist for a concert in Atlanta, Georgia, following Peter Bartsocas' departure. The band then also included guitarist John Wylie, drummer Louie Long, vocalist Kevin Byers, and fill-in second guitarist Stephen Looker (who was then playing in Culture, but filled in for Morning Again after Micheal Wolz's departure). Morning Again's line-up eventually stabilized with Gerardo Villarroel on bass guitar and Ryan Stafford on guitar.

Simmons was formally asked to join Morning Again as its new guitarist in March 1997, replacing Stafford, which lead to his dismissal from Bird of Ill Omen. Although Stafford had recorded guitar tracks in February 1997 for the band's forthcoming release, Martyr (Good Life Recordings), Wylie chose to credit Simmons in the liner notes in place of Stafford (a picture of Stafford is, however, included in the booklet above Simmons' name). In promotion of Martyr, Morning Again embarked on a tour of the United States and Canada with Bird of Ill Omen during June 1997, which included performances at Syracuse 3-Day Super Festival in Syracuse, New York and Indianapolis Hardcore Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana. Upon returning home, Long was replaced by Matthew Thomas.

Continuing its promotion of Martyr, Morning Again embarked on a European tour in July–August 1997, accompanied by Belgian hardcore bands Congress and Hitch. The tour included stops to perform at Malmejock-Skatefestival in Oostmalle, Belgium, The Ultimate Hardcore Festival in Dilsen-Stokkem, Belgium and Hardcore: The Next Generation in Ypres, Belgium. While in Europe, Morning Again stopped over at Midas Studios in Lokeren, Belgium in August 1997, to record a new song, "Dictation of Beauty", with producer Tony De Block. The song was tracked especially for a split 7-inch vinyl and compact disc with 25 ta Life, released by Good Life Recordings in January 1998. Morning Again returned for a second European tour, this time accompanied by Agnostic Front, Vision and Maximum Penalty, spanning November–December 1997.

In February 1998, Morning Again entered Studio 13 in Deerfield Beach, Florida, to record its ten-song debut album, As Tradition Dies Slowly, with producer Jeremy Staska. Only three weeks after the album was recorded, Simmons was fired and replaced by Stephen Looker, who had just quit both Culture and As Friends Rust to join Morning Again. As a result, Simmons moved to Gainesville, Florida and joined both Culture and As Friends Rust, taking up Looker's former position. The album was eventually released on June 30, 1998, through Revelation Records, but Morning Again would break up a mere four months later in October 1998.

Culture, Some Sort of Radio and As Friends Rust (1998–2002)

In early March 1998, immediately after having been kicked out of Morning Again and replaced by guitarist Stephen Looker, Simmons was invited by former Bird of Ill Omen band-mate Damien Moyal to move to Gainesville, Florida and simultaneously join the established metallic hardcore band Culture and the newly reformed melodic hardcore band As Friends Rust (taking Looker's former position in both bands). The two bands then shared several members, including vocalist Moyal, guitarist Gordon Tarpley and drummer Timothy Kirkpatrick; Culture additionally included bass guitarist Christopher "Floyd" Beckham, while As Friends Rust included bass guitarist and backing vocalist Kaleb Stewart.

With its new line-up, As Friends Rust recorded the song "Home Is Where the Heart Aches" at Goldentone Studios in late March 1998 with producer Rob McGregor. "Home Is Where the Heart Aches" was combined with four songs from the band's 1996 demo recording session to make up As Friends Rust's debut extended play, The Fists of Time, released by Good Life Recordings in July 1998. Meanwhile, Culture also wrote a new song, "Pimping the Revolution". Although the song was never recorded properly in studio, a live recording from Ieperfest was released on Belgian record label Genet Records' 1999 Various Artists compact disc compilation, Vort'n Vis Hardcore Festival 1998. In September 2012, Eulogy Recordings, Ghetto Josh Records and New Ethic Record Co-Op co-released the compact disc and 12-inch vinyl compilation of previously unreleased material, From the Vaults: Demos and Outtakes 1993–1998, which included the same live recording.

From April–May 1998, Culture was booked for a two-month North American tour with Shutdown, but the band's van broke down on the way to the first show and Culture was unable to continue the tour. Frustrated by the event, Tarpley quit both As Friends Rust and Culture simultaneously in April 1998, leading Moyal to recruit ex-Morning Again bass guitarist and then-guitarist of Bird of Ill Omen (though the band was on hiatus) Peter Bartsocas as As Friends Rust's new guitarist and co-backing vocalist, and ex-Wounded Knee guitarist Kenneth Brian Sulak for Culture. As Friends Rust embarked on a five-week tour of the United States accompanied by Discount and Dillinger Four in June–July 1998. The tour included stops to play at such festivals as More Than Music in Columbus, Ohio, Tin Can Full of Dreams in Lawrence, Massachusetts and Wilkes-Barre Festival in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Salem (2002–2004)

Although As Friends Rust officially played its last show on September 11, 2002, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, the band would continue to be billed under its old name, as additional tours had been booked well-in-advance for the remainder of 2002. As such, Salem continued to play As Friends Rust songs and tour in promotion of Won and A Young Trophy Band in the Parlance of Our Times for several more months. Back in the United States, Salem recruited guitarist Jeremy Robertson, who had played in Die Tomorrow with D'Zurilla. The band was then supposed to go on tour with Florida emo band The Remedy Session, from September–October 2002, but the tour was cancelled.

Salem officially played its first show on September 28, 2002, at The Factory in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, opening for Further Seems Forever, though the band was billed as As Friends Rust. Salem was again billed as As Friends Rust during its next two tours in October 2002, the first with Fairweather, Liars Academy, Open Hand and Codeseven, and the second with Shelter, Keepsake and Running from Dharma. It was only once Salem began touring with The Movielife, Brand New and The Reunion Show in late October 2002 that the previously booked billing was corrected to feature the band's new name. Upon returning home from this tour in mid-November 2002, Swain quit the band and was replaced by David Miller, who had also played in Die Tomorrow with D'Zurilla and Robertson, and had just finished a stint with Glasseater.

In December 2002, Salem was supposed to tour with Digger, but it was cancelled; instead the band performed at Gainesvillefest in Gainesville, Florida and at the South West Florida Winter Music and Skate Festival in Naples, Florida. In January 2003, the band toured with Finch, From Autumn to Ashes, Steel Train and Allister. In February 2003, the band toured with Further Seems Forever, Elliott and The Early November, and then with Unsung Zeros and Punchline. Salem performed at the Skate and Surf Festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey on April 27, 2003, and at the Orlando Magic Festival in Orlando, Florida on June 14, 2003. This was followed by four dates as part of Van's Warped Tour in July 2003 throughout Florida.

During the summer of 2003, Salem recorded its debut extended play, Love It or Leave Me, with producer Beau Burchell, which was released on October 28, 2003, through Fiddler Records and Geffen Records. A music video was produced for the single "Smoke & Mirrors" by director Jason Page. The band then embarked on a tour with The Remedy Session in August 2003, and performed at the Go Time Festival in Merritt Island, Florida on August 16, 2003. In October and November 2003, the band embarked on tours with Poulain, Tora! Tora! Torrance!, The A.K.A.s, Sadaharu and The Big Collapse, in addition to performing at The Fest II in Gainesville, Florida, CMJ Music Marathon in Tribeca, New York, and Friction Fest in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Sound Study Recordings and brewing companies (2007–present)

From 2007 to 2013, Simmons was the co-owner of the independent record label Sound Study Recordings, which he co-founded with former Bird of Ill Omen, As Friends Rust and Salem band-mate Thomas Rankine and recording engineer Matthew Finch. The record label released music from such artists as Burning Love, Chris Wollard and the Ship Thieves, Comadre, Coliseum, Off with Their Heads and Ruiner.

Outside of the music industry, Simmons works in the brewing industry, having held the position of head brewer at Swamp Head Brewery and First Magnitude Brewing Company, both based in Gainesville, Florida. In 2019, he and partner Matthew Juaire opened their own brewery, Bay Cannon Beer Company, in Tampa, Florida. The Bay Cannon Beer Company temporarily closed its doors on December 4, 2022, following a shooting that took place across the street; the brewery's outside walls, windows, and refrigerators were hit by bullets. After remaining closed for several months due to a rise in crime in the area, the Bay Cannon Beer Company permanently closed on May 3, 2023.

As Friends Rust reunion and Rot in Coffins (2008–present)

Simmons rejoined As Friends Rust in March 2008, when vocalist Damien Moyal announced that the band would reunite for a series of European and British shows scheduled for August 2008. It was further revealed that the band would be performing with its 1998–2000 line-up (referred to as "The Porch Days" line-up), also including Timothy Kirkpatrick, Kaleb Stewart and James Glayat. The Back in Coffee Black Tour '08 kicked off with a single American show at The Atlantic in Gainesville, Florida, followed by six shows in Europe and Britain. As Friends Rust recorded demos of new songs in June 2011, but the band was not satisfied with the result and shelved the material.

In June 2014, As Friends Rust travelled to Asia for the Japan Tour 2014, supported by Japanese hardcore bands Endzweck, Noy and Nervous Light of Sunday, though Kirkpatrick was unable to attend and was temporarily replaced by former Culture drummer Joshua Williams. In promotion of the tour, Japanese record label Cosmic Note released the best-of compilation album Greatest Hits? on June 4, 2014, which included a selection of the band's recordings from 1996 to 2002. The compilation was re-issued by Indonesian record label D'Kolektif on December 27, 2014, and Dutch record label Shield Recordings on April 29, 2015.

On May 22, 2015, German record label Demons Run Amok Entertainment released The Porch Days: 1998 to 2000 on 12-inch vinyl. The release compiled all of the band's studio recordings from 1998 to 2000, as well as previously unreleased live recordings of two of the three songs composed-but-never-properly-recorded by the band with that line-up. To support the release, As Friends Rust played three shows in 2015: one at Saint Vitus in Brooklyn, New York, a second at Groezrock festival in Meerhout, Belgium, and a third The Wooly as part of The Fest 14 in Gainesville, Florida.

In 2017, during As Friends Rust's down-time, Simmons formed the black metal band Rot in Coffins. The band also includes vocalist John Hope (formerly of Ceremonial Hammer and currently of Stunner), bass guitarist Michael Lipscomb (formerly of The Yams and Orbiter) and drummer Dennis Bickart (formerly of Fastplant and Broken Things). The band released an eponymous extended play in March 2018.

In 2018, As Friends Rust announced that it was actively writing and demoing new songs for a planned second full-length album. The band revealed that it would be recording and releasing a two-song extended play in mid-2019 (though this was ultimately delayed by a year), as a precursor to the band's sophomore album. The band played three shows in 2019: one at The Kingsland in Brooklyn, New York, and two on the same day at Molotow in Hamburg, Germany as part of the Booze Cruise Festival. Upon returning from Booze Cruise, As Friends Rust parted ways with bass guitarist Stewart, though the band did not immediately look for a replacement bass guitarist.