Hey folks,
Our debut CD, "Pickin' On Park Ave" is now available. The disc contains 11 songs (10 originals and one adapted traditional), which were recorded live in America's Music Heartland, Albany, NY.

Two easy ways to purchase. The first is a great deal and the second is even better!:

1) Click the "Buy Now" button on our MySpace page, and make your safe, secure purchase directly through Google Shopping! Cost is $8.00, plus $2.50 shipping/handling.

2) Our MySpace friends can drop us a note, and purchase direct from us for only $8.50, shipping/handling included! Use the extra $2.00 savings for a trickle of gas, a cold drink or a couple candy bars!

A little about our music:

Our "Acoustic FolkGrass" is a crossbreed of Americana, Bluegrass, Folk, and the like. It's the rootsy, rough and edgy sound of four guys pickin' on wooden instruments, and me telling stories along the way. Our tunes range from ballads to toe-tappers, to foot-stompers…something in the bunch for most anyone…

Park Ave was recorded live, and we let the music breathe as naturally as we do. The disc is not a dressed up studio recording with lots of filler and backup tracks added in. Rather, it's much closer to how we sound when you see us playing right there in front of you.

We even had Joe, our Brown Lab mascot, there with us when we recorded, keeping time with his tail! (Can you hear which songs capture Joe's tail thumpin' away, and his collar shakin' like a tamborine?)

A little about our band:

Four real guys making good sound together!

Jon "Banjovius" Belcher. Always recognized by his addictive smile. A bluegrass banjo veteran whose artistic ability blossoms a mix of adaptability and creativity.

Tom "The Lion" King. A man of many instruments and talents. He's equally comfortable with his mandos, harmonicas, and guitars, and always seems to find the right notes for a tune.

Pete "The Treat" Murphy. His acoustic bass anchors the band with a big, low end sound, but at the same time, his jazz touch leads listeners on a melodic trip through our songs. All this while his eyes are closed

J. Peter Yakel. Singer, songwriter and acoustic guitar banger. I enjoy making music!

Thanks so much for your support! I've said my piece.

J. Peter

http://www.myspace.com/floodroad
http://www.blastmymusic.com/yakel

Posted on Sunday 04 of May, 2008 [23:56:38 UTC]

Hey friends,

Happy New Year!

To welcome in 2008, I've got a super deal going on for a limited time only!

First off, I've reduced the price of the Juggin Joe book. This is the lowest price the book has ever been available for, and wow, now is definitely a great time to grab a copy or two.

Here's where the deal gets even better! Free music as my "Thank you" for your support!

After you purchase your copy of the book, visit my band page on MySpace, at:
http://www.myspace.com/floodroad

Tell me you've purchased a book copy, I'll send you three (3) free songs (mp3 format) of your choice, once I verify you've made a purchase.

Awesome deal! "The Legend of Juggin Joe" - A great book at rock-bottom price, AND free music to go along with it!!

Hurry up and get it while you can. I can't guarantee how long I'll run this New Year's offer, and I'd hate to have you miss out on such a great deal!

I've said my piece!

Posted on Friday 11 of January, 2008 [17:09:13 UTC]

This is quite the Juggin Joe review posted on EBOOKS NEWS. After what's been said below, there's simply nothing more I could add to it.

"Ideate to yourself that your ducky slap-up-uslap-up is a-sitting in a wonky rocking chairperson, indirect on in an good-humoured fashion. He’s got a stonemason jar of moonshine in one hand, and a harmonica in his sac. His deary topic is Joe (Jeckel), a rabble Tom Sawyerish boy who became the populace’s best ‘juggin’ instrumentalist, bar-none. Jugging is the art of ingratiatory euphony from jug by blowing over its top. As the storyteller explains, “I’ve knowed Joe pert near ‘is altogether durn life an’ the parts I didn’a personally viewer he done tahld me roughly hisself.” And far-right thither, you have it. The taradiddle is told in a howling vocalize, that lies easy on the ear once the eye gets used to recital it. The tale itself is mildly amusive in a Forrest Gump sort of way. We’ve all detected, for illustration, how the Berlin Wall came down, but now we find out how it forsooth happened. And of course, everyone wants to know approximately Joe’s noted rendering of the planetary’s favourite old song, “Hawgs, Hawgs, Hawgs.” The Caption of Juggin Joe is a pastoral read, of a boy’s antics, a infantile man’s rise to fame, and his star-crossed love. Through it all, you can listen to your new uncle as he explains that Joe ‘wuz a hollerin’ at the top ah ‘is lungs like the very sassing ah hell had jes’ round-eyed up b’hind ‘im.” This book is a homy way to while away a duad of hours."

http://www.ebooks-news.info/

Posted on Friday 17 of August, 2007 [14:35:40 UTC]

Great news! MP3 samples and downloads of my music are now available at BlastMyMusic.com, EZFolk.com and MySpace.com

Visit BlastMyMusic at:
http://www.blastmymusic.com/yakel

Visit EZFolk at:
http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1041/

Visit MySpace at:

http://www.myspace.com/floodroad

Three awesome websites, loaded with a variety of great music!

Git 'er done!

Posted on Saturday 28 of April, 2007 [16:19:30 UTC]

The Legend of Juggin Joe has traveled west once again, and received another warm welcome and review from Pele Publications, located in sunny California.

Said Catherine Kitcho, Reviewer:

"What a delightful, funny book! It's like Forrest Gump narrated in 'country-speak'...You won't be able to put this book down once you start it, so be prepared. Put your feet up, relax, and enjoy Joseph Yakel's marvelous wit and 'down-home' humble writing style. I'm hoping for an audio version and the movie!"

Read the full review here:

http://www.pelepubs.com/bookreview.shtml?id=80

And while you're at it, visit the Pele Publications main page, and enjoy what the website has to offer:

http://www.pelepubs.com/index.htm

Posted on Tuesday 03 of April, 2007 [14:21:01 UTC]

I recently had some discussion with Times Union writer Michael Janairo, who writes the informative "Books Blog" for the Times Union newspaper.

We corresponded about various aspects of writing, self-publishing, and book reviewing, amongst other things. In particular, I offered my personal perspective and opinion on the challenges I've faced, and rewards garnered, as an author and musician, using Lulu Press as my means to self-publish.

Mr. Janairo was kind enough to include my thoughts on his blog page, along with a nice cover photo of my fiction novel, "The Legend of Juggin Joe".

The full article is available here:

http://blogs.timesunion.com/books/?p=411

Mr. Janairo's Books Blog is loaded with thought provoking articles, commentary, links, and other information. I find a good resource for literary happenings, and well worth the visit. Mr. Janairo also welcomes reader comments.

To visit Michael Janairo's "Books Blog" main page at the Times Union, visit:

http://blogs.timesunion.com/books/

Posted on Monday 19 of March, 2007 [17:11:59 UTC]

The music of J. Peter is getting some airplay on WorldwideBluegrass.com (WWB), which is a great Internet-based bluegrass radio station. WWB has listeners from around the world, and covers the widest range of bluegrass, from old-to-new, traditional to enigmatic, such as the style of J. Peter.

To hear the enigmatic bluegrass-blues of J. Peter on WWB, just connect to:http://www.worldwidebluegrass.com and let the audio stream take you away. Feel free to drop a listener request for J. Peter's music with any of the station DJ's. They're happy to oblige!

Posted on Sunday 28 of January, 2007 [15:52:29 UTC]

Christmas came early for me, in the form of a book review, and I couldn't be happier! The Legend of Juggin Joe made another trip north, to our friend and neighbor, Canada, and reviewer Clayton Bye had wonderful things to say about the story. What a great gift to receive at this time of year. My appreciation to Mr. Bye for his thoughtful and sincere review of the book.

In part, Mr. Bye says:
"The copyright page of The Legend of Juggin Joe had me hooked before I took in a word of Joseph Yakel’s marvelous story...He writes like a down-homer, an' his form o' mountain speakin' pulled me into his world faster'n any team o' horses or tractors I ever rode coulda got down to the first curve o' Gramp's driveway. An' as I spent hours feeling as if'n I was back in muh own childhood, this story teller done reached me deep...Be ya highlander, flatlander, or city dweller what's caught between, ya gotta get yerself ah copy o' this book thet God-instilled talent or somethin' more drinkable musta inspired...I done taken my hat off to ya Mr. Yakel."

To read the full review, visit the GottaWriteNetwork website, at:

http://www.gottawritenetwork.com/thelegendofjugginjoe.html

Or, take some time and read the review on Mr. Clayton Bye's website. Mr. Bye is an independent author, and offers business services and numerous resources for writers. His website is well worth a visit:

http://www.claytonbye.com/modules.php?name=Web_Links

Posted on Sunday 24 of December, 2006 [13:29:15 UTC]

"The Legend of Juggin Joe" was recently scrutinized by Paul Lappen, of Dead Trees Review, and I'm pleased to say that he had a number of good things to say about the book. In fact, his review spells out much of the storyline in detail, so I've opted to keep those parts out, and not spoil the fun for those of you who haven't read it yet.

That said, here's a small part of what Paul Lappen said about Juggin Joe in Issue 37 of Dead Trees Review:

"This is a very interesting story, told with humor and real emotion. The unique thing is that the book is written in "country speak”; if it was set in the South, I would say that it is written in a Southern accent. The upstate New York "accent" extends to the biography of the author in the back and the information on the copyright page. Get used to the
flow and style of the story, and this is short, and really worth reading."

Visit Dead Trees Review at:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Coffeehouse/4587/mainpage.html

Paul Lappen's review of Juggin Joe is also available on the BookPleasures.com website, at:
http://www.bookpleasures.com/Lore2/idx/0/2318/article/The_Legend_of_Juggin_Joe.html?pt_sid=f40c1daf51c75ecbb1d514dc6f8b9b00

And Mr. Lappen's review is also available at the ReviewCentre.com website:
http://www.reviewcentre.com/review220200.html

Posted on Wednesday 13 of September, 2006 [00:23:26 UTC]

There's a new review of The Legend of Juggin Joe on the web, from Negative Waves, and it's a good'n!


Reviewer Matthew DeRosa gave Juggin Joe a lengthy, analytical, mixed review, pointing out some things he didn't care for, but there are some highlights in his review worth sharing, including another reference to my writing style and Mark Twain. Said DeRosa:

"The entire book is written with a Twain-esque dialect. Hillbilly twangs are incorporated from the copyright info at the front of the book, right through to the very end. At first, this seemed a tad bit daunting, but ultimately it gives the book its character....The Legend of Juggin' Joe was a page-turner for me and I really can't explain why."

For the full review, visit Negative Waves at:

http://www.negativewaves.com/reviews/bookreviews.htm

Posted on Monday 28 of August, 2006 [18:19:51 UTC]