MY PARENTS MET AT MY MOTHERS GRADUATION CEREMONY ON JUNE 3,1947. IN CLEVELAND,OHIO. MY FATHER ALBERT JOHN HOWARD, WAS 18 AND MY MOTHER DOLORES ELSIE MONAHAN, WAS 17 AT THE TIME. THEY DATED OFF AND ON FOR 3 YEARS BEFORE HE QUIT COLLEGE TO JOIN THE AIR FORCE AND GO TO KOREA. HE RETURNED TO THE STATES IN 1953, AND THEY GOT HITCHED ON DECEMBER 6,1952. THEN PROCEEDED TO CREATE THE HOWARD CLAN (YOU KNOW...'50'S CATHOLICS...NO BIRTH CONTROL) THEY HAD 7 CHILDREN IN ALL!!!

i have 3 brothers,david john, THOMAS JAMES and keviN francis. then dolores finally had a few daughters; MARY BETH AND LYNNE MARIE.

I WAS BORN JOSEPH EDWARD HOWARD, IN CLEVELAND, OHIO (MY SON AND I CHANGED OUR LAST NAME TO "SKYWARD" IN 1995, IT'S A COMBINATION OF MY BIRTH NAME HOWARD AND SHUMSKY, WHICH IS MY CHILDREN'S MOTHERS LAST NAME).

I GOT MY FIRST NAME FROM MY BROTHER RONALD, WHO LEFT THIS LIFE FROM MENIGECOCCUS DISEASE WHEN MY MOTHER WAS 5 MONTHS PREGNANT WITH ME. I WAS GIVEN THE MIDDLE NAME OF EDWARD, SO I WOULD HAVE THE SAME INITIALS AS MY GRANDMOTHER, JOSEPHINE ELANOR HOWARD. I KNOW.....BFD HUH!!! THE FAMILY LEFT OHIO AND MOVED TO PENNSYLVANIA. MY FATHERS JOB HAD US MOVING A LOT. WE LIVED IN BETHLEHEM AND SCRANTON, BEFORE SETTLING IN ALTOONA,PA. WHICH IS WHERE I SPENT MY FORMATIVE YEARS....5TH GRADE THROUGH GRADUATION FROM ALTOONA AREA HIGH SCHOOL.

MY BESTEST FRIEND MICHAEL G. WILSON AND I SAID ALL THROUGHOUT HIGHSCHOOL, THAT AS SOON AS WE GRADUATED....IF WE GRADUATED... WE WERE MOVING TO CALIFORNIA. SO LITERALLY THE DAY AFTER WE DID GRADUATE, WE MOVED TO SACRAMENTO,CA. WHERE HE HAD AN OLDER BROTHER LIVING. I REALLY DID NOT LIKE IT THERE, BUT DIDN'T WANT TO GO BACK TO PA. AT THAT TIME I GOT A LETTER FROM AN OLD ALTOONA MUSICIAN/BUDDY OF MINE LIVING IN BOZEMAN, MT. (Click here to listen to "MONTANA") HE SENT A PICTURE OF THE BRIDGER MT. RANGE, SAID IT WAS A NICE LITTLE COLLEGE TOWN, WHY DON'T I COME UP FOR A VISIT AND CHECK IT OUT. SO I DID!!! WAS ONLY PLANNING ON STAYING A WEEK OR SO, BUT THEN FELL IN LOVE WITH BOZEMAN AND DECIDED TO STAY. GOT AN APARTMENT, A JOB AND STARTED A PROG ROCK INSTRUMENTAL GROUP CALLED "COLLAGE" WITH MY BUDDY ROBI JOHNS, WHO I WENT THERE TO VISIT IN THE FIRST PLACE. I ALSO PLAYED IN A COVER BAND CALLED "SGT.ROCK" WITH MY BROTHER TOM.
AFTER A FEW YEARS THERE, I STARTED TAKING MUSIC CLASSES AT MONTANA STATE. THERE WAS NO BASS TEACHER THERE, SO I TOOK THEORY LESSONS FROM THE TROMBONE INSTRUCTOR. I ALSO WENT TO THE BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC IN BOSTON FOR ONE SEMESTER.

AFTER WORKING A FEW YEARS AT THE LOCAL RECORD STORE, I DECIDED TO OPEN UP MY OWN RECORD/SKATEBOARD SHOP. RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET COZ THEY FIRED ME FOR GETTING TOO MANY PHONE CALLS AT WORK!!! I ALSO STARTED A PRODUCTION COMPANY CALLED "HOWEIRD PRODUCTIONS" AND STARTED PROMOTING CONCERTS. WORKING WITH THE LIKES OF HUSKER DU, SONIC YOUTH, THE MEAT PUPPETS, THE FLAMING LIPS, GREEN RIVER, JONATHAN RICHMAN AND MANY MANY MORE.

IT WAS AT THIS TIME, WHEN I MET SHERYL DIANE SHUMSKY. WHO WOULD BRING INTO THIS WORLD OUR TWO CHLDREN. BRETTE GABRIELLE HOWARD, WAS BORN DECEMBER 16, 1983. AND JAXIN JOSEPH SKYWARD WAS BORN AUGUST 19, 1985. BOTH DELIVERED AT HOME WITH A MIDWIFE IN BOZEMAN.

SOON AFTER THE CHILDREN ARRIVED, UNFORTUNATELY, THINGS FELL APART BETWEEN SHERYL AND I. SHE DECIDED TO MOVE TO BELLINGHAM, WA. I GOT RID OF MY LITTLE STORE AND DECIDED TO MOVE TO SAN FRANSISCO TO TAKE A JOB AT A BOOKING AGENCY. AFTER A VERY SHORT TIME, I COULD NOT STAND TO BE AWAY FROM MY CHILDREN AND MOVED UP TO BELLINGHAM FOR AWHILE AND THEN DOWN HERE TO SEATTLE. WHERE I AM CURRENTLY RESIDING AND HAVE BEEN SINCE JANUARY OF 1989. AFTER SHERYL FINISHED SCHOOL IN BELLINGHAM. after sheryl finished school, she and the children moved down to seattle as well. we've done our best to get the kids through their childhoods and into the adult scene. and we both think we've done a bang up job. brette just turned 18, and finished up highschool with flying colors. jaxin will be a senior starting in september of 2002. i have recently (july 2002) relocated to the los angeles area, to pursue more musical endeavors. i loved my time in seattle, but it was time for me to move on from there!! brian young, who was the drummer in the posies for the majority of the time i played with them, also moved down here. and we are working together as a rhythmmhmhmmh section for hire!

I STARTED PLAYING AN INSTRUMENT WHEN I WAS AROUND 13 YEARS YOUNG....SITTING IN MY ROOM PLAYING A BEAT UP OLD NYLON STRING GUITAR ALONG WITH BEATLES, YES AND GENESIS RECORDS. AS WELL AS THE RADIO. UNTIL ONE DAY, WHEN MY BROTHER TOM STUCK HIS HEAD IN MY ROOM AND SAID, "JOE, DO YOU REALIZE YOU'RE PLAYING BASS LINES?" SURE ENOUGH I WAS DOWN IN THE LOWER END "FISHING" AROUND FOR THE BASS LINES!!!! A SHORT TIME LATER I GOT A CHEAP IMITATION HOFNER BEATLE BASS AND FROM THAT POINT ON, BECAME A BASSIST.

I CONSIDER MYSELF A SELF TAUGHT PLAYER...HONING MY SKILLS BY PICKING OUT THE BASS LINES OF PAUL MCCARTNEY, CHRIS SQUIRE, JACK BRUCE, JOHN ENTWISTLE, PETE THOMAS, COLIN MOULDING AND MANY OF THE SONGS THAT WERE ON THE RADIO AT THE TIME. OVER THE YEARS I WOULD TAKE A HANDFUL OF LESSONS.....BUT FOR THE MOST PART, I TAUGHT MYSELF. I'VE NEVER HAD THE GREATEST TECHNICAL CHOPS.....BUT DO HAVE A GREAT EAR.

A FEW YEARS AFTER MOVING TO SEATTLE AND PLAYING WITH VARIOUS BANDS...I MET RODERICK OF SKY CRIES MARY. HE ASKED ME TO FILL IN FOR THEIR BASSIST FOR ONE SHOW. I SAID YES AND WOULD EVENTUALLY BECOME A FULLTIME MEMBER OF THE BAND. SCM EVENTUALLY SIGNED A DEAL WITH WORLD DOMINATION/CAPITOL RECORDS AND IN 1993, WE WOULD MAKE OUR FIRST RECORDING. FOR THE FIRST TIME, OTHERS WOULD BE ABLE TO LISTEN TO "MY" BASS LINES ON A RECORDING. I HAD ACHIEVED ONE OF MY MAIN MUSICAL GOALS....TO BE RECORDED. TO BE HISTORICALLY ARCHIVED, SO THAT SOMEDAY I MIGHT INSPIRE SOMEONE, THE WAY I WAS INSPIRED BY OTHERS.

A FEW YEARS LATER I WOULD LEAVE SCM AND JOIN THE POSIES. WHO I PLAYED WITH 'TIL SEPTEMBER OF 1998. IMMEDIATLY AFTER THE DISBANDING OF THE POSIES, I WOULD HOP ONBOARD WITH SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE AND DO A BUNCHA TOURING WITH THEM.

DURING THE YEARS OF BEING IN SCM AND THE POSIES, I WOULD DO ALL KINDS OF STUDIO/SESSION STUFF....PLAYING ON DIFFERENT FOLKS RECORDS AND EVEN DOING SOME PRODUCING. EARLY LAST YEAR, I EVEN RELEASED MY OWN RECORD CALLED "SKYWARD" (You can download some samples at emusic.com). WHICH FEATURES THE VOCAL TALENTS OF MY DAUGHTER BRETTE ON FIVE SONGS AND A LITTLE APPEARANCE BY JAXIN AS WELL. I'VE NEVER REALLY CONSIDERED MYSELF A GREAT OR PROLIFIC WRITER, BUT DO COME UP WITH THE OCCASIONAL "GOOD IDEA". SO I DECIDED TO PUT SOME OF THOSE IDEAS ONTO TAPE AND PUT IT OUT. THIS WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE, BECAUSE NOT ONLY DID I GET TO WORK WITH MY CHILDREN, BUT ALSO CALLED A LOT OF MY FRIENDS TO COME IN AND PLAY ON DIFFERENT SONGS!!!! (SEE DISCOGRAPHY)

currently i am living in los angeles. where i moved to from seattle. i'm doing some session work here and there and playing in a few bands as well with brian young, former posies and current fountains of wayne drummer. music is becoming more of a hobby for me now. i will always play, but i'm not making it my main focus anymore. what my main focus is these days, is the piece of land i bought in costa rica and am currently building a house on. i will soon start living half the year there and the other half here in the states. if you wanna see photos from costa rica, check out jostarica.com

I CONSIDER THE BASS TO BE THE LINK BETWEEN THE CHORDAL INSTRUMENT, THE MELODY AND WHATEVER FORM OF PERCUSSION IS HAPPENING AT THE TIME. AT ALL TIMES A BASSIST SHOULD BE TUNED INTO ALL OF THOSE ELEMENTS. CREATING A BASS LINE THAT IS EFFICIENT IN BRINGING THE CHORDS,MELODIES AND PERCUSSION TOGETHER AS ONE!!!! I HATED THE ONE SEMESTER I DID AT BERKELEE....BUT BESIDES LEARNING THAT I "WAS NOT" A JAZZ MUSICIAN....I LEARNED TO LISTEN. THE INSTRUCTORS PUT MAJOR EMPHASIS ON THAT....LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN....THEY SOUNDED LIKE MY MOTHER!!!

I'VE ALWAYS BEEN INVOLVED WITH BANDS/ PROJECTS THAT ARE A LITTLE LEFT OF CENTER.....AND THEY TEND TO BE THINGS THAT ARE LOVED OR HATED. I WOULD MUCH RATHER EVOKE EITHER OF THOSE EMOTIONS, THAN ONE OF INDIFFERENCE. I'D HATE FOR SOMEONE TO HEAR SOMETHING I'M INVOLVED IN AND EXPRESS,"OH, THATS OK".

DUE TO THE MUSICAL PATH I'VE CHOSEN, IT WILL PROLLY MEAN A CAREER THAT LACKS CRITICAL OR FINANCIAL ACCLAIM. BUT I AM VERY VERY COMFORTABLE WITH THAT....BECAUSE WHEN I WAS 13 YEARS OLD AND PICKED UP A GUITAR OR BASS FOR THE FIRST TIME.....IT WAS NOT DOLLAR SIGNS OR MY PICTURE ON THE COVER OF ROLLING STONE THAT I SAW.... BUT A FEELING THAT I CAN NOT PUT INTO WORDS....A FEELING THAT MADE ME DEDICATE MY LIFE TO MUSIC!!!!