Joe Peeres - Guitar
From an early age, Joe (born Jinguelo Maphisto Castro-Puente on Dec. 4, 1949) knew that he was destined to be a musician. His childhood in his native Netherlands-Antilles saw young Jinguelo build his own plywood guitar (he named it Lu-Lu Belle) and begin to teach himself the solo stylings of new-age harpist Andreas Vollenweider. This discipline of transcribing harp parts for guitar, learned at a young age, would serve Joe Peeres well later in his life as an international touring guitarist. The overturning of the duly-elected government of his homeland in 1959 brought Jinguelo to a life-altering crossroads: stay and fight for the country he loved, or pursue his career in the new world called 'Canada'. Scraping together the last of the family savings, the Castro-Puente family was able to bribe the captain of a merchant fishing boat to smuggle Jinguelo off the island to the North American mainland, where he subsequently made his way to Canada. Unable to speak English, but fluent in French, Jinguelo spent his first few years in Shawinigan, Quebec, eventually finding work as a carpenter. All the while, Jinguelo continued to practice on his plywood guitar, and eventually landed a gig in a French Christian-rock band, Les Epiceries, playing baptism and first communion receptions for Shawinigan's elite. Jinguelo's inspired playing did not go unnoticed for long, and soon Les Epiceries was at the top of their market, venturing as far as Sudbury, ON, for gigs. Jinguelo quickly became the focus of the band which did not sit well with the other members - it was time to strike out on his own. Also, Jinguelo thought, it was time to change his image. If he was going to be taken seriously he had to change his name to something that more easily rolled off the tongues of the people in his new homeland. After careful consideration, he decided to call himself Jim Morrison. When some of his friends explained that the name already had some significance in the music world, and that his second choice, Yngvie Malmsteen, was also somewhat recognizable, he settled on Joe Peeres. Joe set out on a brilliant career that would soon have him touring with blockbuster bands like Rod Stuart, Dockin', and even Willie Neilson. Joe's career had taken off...he was at the top of his game...or so he thought. After 20 years on the road he finally realized that the drugs, alcohol and Pacman were taking their toll on him, and that he had lost sight of his true life goal... Since he was 5 years old, he had always wanted to play with a really hot cover band, and play all the great 70's and 80's tunes. Now independently well-off, he really wanted to get back to his roots on the corporate circuit, and to playing in smoky clubs for nothing more than the sheer enjoyment of the music, on his old friend Lu-Lu Belle. Joe soon heard about an established cover band called "Coming Of Age" with a great male vocalist (and an alright female vocalist) that had just lost their guitarist, Kevin Stratton-Briggs, to a British tour with a girl band called "Lucy". He was able to get an audition and his prayers were answered - he got the gig. Today, Joe lives on his 121' yacht, the "Tortoise", in Hamilton Harbour, ON, and provides free roadie services for the female vocalist. Click here to see a description of Joe's gear.
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