Joe Tullos was a child of the ’70s, born and raised in the River Parishes, a part of Louisiana that he joked “no one goes to on purpose.” His musical ability flourished in a family loaded with artistic talent. Originally taking his place behind a drum set, Tullos was already regularly jamming with his uncles by the tender age of five. In just a few short years, his passion for melody prompted him to take up the guitar, and his love affair with the instrument ensued.

“I was always encouraged to see things my own way and to aspire to something better,” Tullos said, “and my songwriting mirrors that desire to stir emotion.”

When he was 16, Tullos joined the band Odyssey, beginning his professional career, as well as a lifelong friendship with the group’s drummer Kevin Aucoin. While earning a degree in finance at Loyola University, Tullos formed his obligatory college band, J.T. & The Gutter Sharks, that played at fraternity parties and college bars.

In 1989, Tullos reunited with drummer Aucoin of his Odyssey days. They added guitarist Perrin Isaac, bassist Rolando Chicas and keyboardist Sam Jones, and Big Sun was born. Hailing from the River Parishes, the musicians were determined to take their sound beyond the Cajun, Zydeco and Blues Americana associated with their region. Their mandolin, accordion and guitar-drenched folk-rock music quickly gained a local following and the band became a fixture at the hottest clubs in New Orleans.

As the band developed, the roster changed to include James Slaughter and Steven “Beaver” Montz on bass, John Jackyl and Mark “Byrdawg” Dillon on keyboards, Rod Hamilton on saxophone, Eric “Flippy” Cadella on percussion and Randy Ellis, Dave Rosser, Brian Stoltz and Bill Dillon on guitar.

They played and/or recorded with many of New Orleans’s most respected musicians, opening for acts ranging from The Neville Brothers and Better Than Ezra, to The Meters, Cowboy Mouth and The Subdudes. They performed at the city’s legendary Jazz and Heritage Festival to rave reviews, with Tullos being heralded by The Times-Picayune as “a first-class songwriter whose work is both timeless and completely up to date.”

Big Sun also played the South by Southwest Conference in Austin and the New Music Seminar in New York City. The group released its self-titled debut album in 1993. Produced by Tullos and Charles "Chopper" Brady , the album was recorded at New Orleans Recording Company, Studio 13 and Ultrasonic Studios in New Orleans. It was engineered by Steve Himelfarb, Brady, Robinson Mills and Steve Reynolds.

Of Big Sun, Times-Picayune music critic, Scott Aiges wrote: “Artfully produced by Charles Brady, the disc combines Tullos’s simple, heartfelt songs with the kind of near-psychedelic, aural textures you don't usually get from an independently released low- budget debut.”

The Baton Rouge Morning Advocate added that Big Sun boasted “a sound that is completely commercial, yet distinctive. The material and performance make you understand why the band has been generating interest among record· companies, both local and national.”

One song from the album, “Cutting Backflips,” was picked-up by CBS for use on its NFL Today pregame and half-time shows.

But there are few things in life more fickle than the music industry. By the late 1990s, Tullos was flat broke and down on his luck. He kept his dream alive through the nightly ritual of slipping into an unused studio to record demos. He met session guitarist Bill Dillon who at the time was recording with artist such as Daniel Lanois, Robbie Robertson, Peter Gabriel, Counting Crows and Sarah McLachlan to name a few. Together, they recorded several demos to shop to labels. Just when he was ready to confess to his covert recording sessions, the studio/label owner admitted he knew about Tullos’s nocturnal activities. Rather than pulling the plug on musician’s efforts, the owner offered him a record deal.

That deal with Dinosaur Entertainment led to the 1997 release of Tullos’s debut solo album, The Scoundrel’s Waltz. Named for the zigzag wanderings made by a person under the influence, the album plays like a soundtrack of Tullos’s personal experience. Recorded with members of Squirrel Nut Zippers and Blind Melon, the collaboration resulted in 11 powerful, melodic and textured songs, complete with a touch of psychedelia. Tullos painted an emotional landscape, with his rock-driven tunes, that is musically intriguing and lyrically insightful. Every track told a story, from a call for human compassion in “Love Generator” to the plight of the down and out in “Gravity Street”.

With a well-read perspective and drawing on the experience of his rural upbringing, Tullos didn’t abide by any rules for either his lyrics or his sound. He wrote about what he saw and heard, blending elements of many genres in his songs. From rock to folk, pop to funk (as well as his grandfather's Dixieland jazz records), this variety of influences is what made Tullos interesting and his music captivating.

Tullos’s partners in creating the album included from Blind Melon: drummer Glen Graham, bassist Brad Smith, and guitarist Rogers Stevens, and from Squirrel Nut Zippers: Jimbo Mathus, Ken Mosher and Tom Maxwell. Tullos’s former bandmate, Kevin Aucoin, played drums on one track. Matching Tullos’s performance on guitar, banjo, mandolin, organ and percussion, the musicians utilized a wide variety of instruments, from dobros and flutes to clarinets and pianos, adding texture and character to his already solid songs. There were no set rules or guidelines as to who played what on which track. Whoever had the best idea for a particular song was the person who played it.

Tullos said at the time, working with those multi-instrumentalists was “the most beautiful chaos” he had ever been involved in. Likening the recording experience to being at camp, this team effort not only created the perfect atmosphere for unabashed creativity, but also served as a complement to the depth and structure of Tullos’s songwriting talent.

Produced by Mike Napolitano, The Scoundrel’s Waltz was recorded at Daniel Lanois’s Kingsway Studios. It was engineered by Trina Shoemaker (who won a Grammy for her work on Sheryl Crow's self-titled release) and mixed at American Sector Studios in New Orleans.

The album received positive reviews, with multiple critic’s applauding the talented Tullos finally getting his big break. However, in the midst of the record launch, the label, Dinosaur Entertainment, folded.

At that point, Tullos moved his family to Hillsborough, North Carolina and opened a restaurant. For the next two decades, when not delighting diners with his gumbo, Tullos continued to write and record in his home studio. Then, in 2018, following a bout with cancer, the musician decided it was time to find his way back home.

Tullos once again reached out to long time musical friend, Kevin Aucoin, to put together a new project, which would include guitarist Dave Malone of the Radiators. The project was to be called The River Road Collective and feature musicians that grew up in the River Parishes of Louisiana. The sessions were completed in 2019 and are awaiting a future release.

By the summer of 2020, Tullos’s cancer had returned, and his prognosis was not good. But rather than go into the hospital for radical treatment, he decided to go into the studio and record one last album. The project became a musical version of This is Your Life. Three old friends stepped up to help produce his final recording: drummer Kevin Aucoin, who had been Tullos’s bandmate and friend since he was a teenager; fellow Big Sun alum keyboardist/accordionist/vocalist and music director for the project Mark ‘Byrdawg’ Dillon; and artist manager and music producer, Michael Paz.

Recording was done at Aucoin’s French Quarter studio. Tullos poured everything he had into laying down tracks up until two weeks before he died, creating a collection of songs that skillfully jumps from one genre to the next, with his heart-wrenching, plaintive voice and masterful lyrics at the center of all. It is the perfect punctuation for a life lived in music.

Also appearing on the album are band members from the Big Sun era: Randy Ellis on guitars, James Slaughter on bass, Stephen ‘Beaver’ Montz on guitar/bass/vocals, and Brian Stoltz on guitar. Melanie Scott, who was the vocalist with Odyssey, joins Tullos in a duet. New Orleans musicians Beth Patterson on bouzouki and oboe, pedal steel guitarist Dave Easley and cellist Alex Price add their own special seasoning. And musician friends from North Carolina Stu Cole on bass/guitars/dobro and Rob Sharer on violin/viola also play.

The project was mixed by Steve Himelfarb, who recorded Tullos’s first album, Big Sun, in 1992.

After Tullos’s death, it was decided that the album would be titled, Vessels. The name refers, in part, to Tullos’s wish for his ashes to be placed in a glass sphere and placed in the ocean off the North Carolina Coast where the Gulf Stream would carry him away. The sphere appears on the album cover.

Joe Tullos died Nov. 10, 2020.

Vessels was released worldwide on October 1st, 2021.