MILTON - Joey DePaiva’s employment pursuits generally don’t include a traditional resume.
With that in mind, he might want to mention a certain special skill when future touring opportunities present themselves.
After all, it certainly helped ingratiate the native Miltonian to his new colleagues this past fall.
Having known Vincent Mason and company for less than 12 hours, DePaiva – filling in for the honeymooning bassist – found himself in a rather chaotic situation during his band debut in Oxford, Mississippi.
“The show ended with the police raiding it. We were opening and the headliner got into it with security or something. The cops came in and were trying to arrest people,” recalled the 28 year old, a Musician of the Year nominee for the 2024 Country Music Association of Ontario Awards, who moved to Nashville a little over a year ago. “It was nuts.”
Ready to depart but with their car blocked in by a scissor lift, DePaiva came to the rescue with a little experience from years gone by.
“Funny enough I had scissor lift and forklift training from jobs back home. So I was like ‘Don’t worry guys, I’ll get us out of here’. I moved it out of the way and we were off. They (band) kept saying ‘This guy’s the guy, he’s the best!’.”
While most shows aren’t quite so crazy, the longtime musician for hire looks back at the past several months with a certain awe – having taken his career to that all-important next step.
Highlighted by a whirlwind fall schedule with Baby Jake and Vincent Mason – with whom he’s now a full-time member – DePaiva performed in 25 states last year.
Among his more memorable stops was in Boston, where his beloved Aerosmith got their start, and the Minneapolis venue (First Avenue) at which Prince recorded Purple Rain.
And along the way there’s been plenty of college town and rural show crowds that invariably bring a unique energy to the mix.
“It feels like this is the next level now, playing with someone with a major label,” said DePaiva. “I hope I never lose this… being in awe of all this. I just want to make sure I do all I can to stay here.”
Ready to hit the road again in early April, DePaiva has a slew of new adventures ahead. July 10 will no doubt be among the most memorable, with Vincent Mason ready to hit Toronto’s Budweiser Stage.
That’s where the future bassist saw his first concert – his mom’s favourite Motley Crue – at the tender age of 12.
“That’s when I knew what I wanted to do with my life,” said DePaiva. “It’s (upcoming show) going to be… well, I know I’m going to cry that day. It’ll be the biggest full circle moment ever.”
Embracing the value of preparedness and reliability a music teacher once instilled upon him, the local bassist has become known as someone who’s easy to work with and can be counted on.
The importance of those is naturally magnified when it comes to travelling with people for weeks on end.
Said DePaiva, “It’s such a weird dynamic; you meet these people for a brief time and all of a sudden you’re living with them. It’s really about the connections and being a reliable good person that people want to be around. When I interviewed with Baby Jake, I went to his house and we talked for about 45 minutes. I didn’t even play. At the end he said ‘Yeah, I can live with you for a month’.
“I just want to be the person in the room that nobody has to worry about.”
While missing some of his colleagues and venues in the GTA, DePaiva notes that Nashville offers a far bigger ‘middle ground’ of music where there’s far more room to move up.
“It’s crazy that this is reality now, after being a dream for so long.”
