On this week’s Local Music Monday DeBraun Thomas features one of the trailblazers of the carny punk scene.
Guitarist Joe Harbison is a native of Lexington who started taking music seriously when he was in high school. It was not long after that Harbison began playing around town. Harbison credits his early exposure to the music scene to the clubs that would let him play when he was under age.
“It was really beneficial to me that I got the opportunity to play the Dame and stuff pretty early and because of that there aren’t many places in town to kinda cut your teeth so breaking in kinda requires you to show up on the scene, but it’s a whole different ball game playing live than it is playing in your basement.”
Harbison started out playing house shows in different punk bands, but since 2008 Harbison has been a core member of the neo-carnival punk band Ford Theatre Reunion. In 2013 Ford Theatre Reunion released their album Famous Monsters. Harbison says the album was a labor of love in that the whole experience has allowed him to grow as an artist.
Joe Harbison performs with Ford Theatre Reunion. More information about Ford Theatre Reunion can be found here.
