About

  The musicians in Opus The Cat grew up together in the same Dallas Texas neighborhood and bonded over their shared passions for sound, rhythm and beats. Each member brings a unique musical aesthetic to the band and over the years we’ve grown comfortable jumping genres and mashing up influences.

 Joe grew up in Nebraska, and started playing guitar at the age of seven.  His first influences were Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones, and Crème. At 12 years of age, he formed his first Rock band.

When Joe decided to expand his musical influence, at 16, he joined a dance band, playing all the standards from Count Basie to Glenn Miller .   

Following high school, he attended Berklee College of Music where he studied guitar with Randy Roos. Joe has also studied with John Scofield and Lenny Breau.  

After Berklee, Joe toured for 3 years with a Gospel group playing for a number of different artist. Joe has backed three Grammy artists and has has lent his guitar skills to recordings in various studios around the Dallas Fort Worth area and in Nashville. 

On stage since age 7, Joel has performed vocally and instrumentally in venues from the Majestic Theater to Mardi Gras and from Branson to Hollywood. Trained in voice as well as jazz and classical guitar, he picked up the bass more than 25 years ago and it quickly became his instrument of choice.  

Accomplished on 5 string electric, fretless acoustic and upright acoustic bass, Joel provides the foundation for Opus The Cat, while contributing lead vocals.  

Joel has played on multiple CD projects and off-Broadway musicals as well as in Jazz, R&B, Celtic, Swing, Country, Blues, Rock, Variety and Gospel bands and ensembles. He has added his sound to a number of bands throughout the years including the vocal trio Pure Desire, rock recording artist Jason Davis of the Jason Davis Project, Christian pop band Racing Gravity, country recording artist Tommy Snyder and Christian ​bluesman Brian Howard. 

He released an instrumental CD in 2007 with jazz band Patton Leather Rhythm. 

In addition to Opus The Cat, he currently plays acoustic bass for the award winning Celtic band, The Selkie Girls. 

He is married to his best friend LaVonda, has 4 children and lives in Desoto TX.

 Born in 1854 in Lamar, MO, Martin McCall left as soon as possible. Spirited away by
people who claimed to be his parents, he became a world traveler before first grade. 
He lived a year in Taiwan giving him a propensity to bow instead of shake hands.
Martin has had the good fortune to rub shoulders with some of the “greats”.  On drum
set he has done performances with world renowned  guitarist Larry Coryell.  He has
performed multiple times with Mark O’Connor, three time national fiddle and mandolin
champion and member of the famed Dixie Dreggs.  Jerry LaCroix who wrote and
performed many of the pieces on Edgar Winter’s “White Trash” album and was in the
“Blood, Sweat and Tears horn section had Martin as his drummer for a year before Jerry
retired due to health issues.  Martin has also been in bands with major label players such as Patrice Pike (Sister 7), Chuck Rainey (Steely Dan, Ricki Lee Jones , and Brad Houser
(Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians). He has also done a performance with Sara
Hickman and another with Dolette McDonald (backing vocalist for The Police and Sting).
Martin has also had the pleasure of performing with many good local musicians.
Bands of local notoriety include guitar virtuoso Rhett Butler, Japanese drumming Taiko groups Kobushi and Taikodelic,
Celtic fusion bands Brothers 3 and The Selkie Girls, jazz poll winner in Guitar Player Magazine Joseph Lee as well as a guest appearance with the Turtle Creek Chorale.
On drum kit, he has performed multiple styles. To name a few, rock, jazz, country, blues, reggae, soca, world fusion, zydeco, Latin, new age, pop, funk and Celtic.
Martin has also performed on a variety of world percussion instruments such as taiko (big Japanese drums), bodhran (Irish
frame drum), congas and bongos (Latin and other styles), zydeco rubboard (washboard), African djembe (large hour glass
​shaped drum), doumbek (Middle Eastern hour glass shaped hand drum), kanjira (East Indian frame drum).
He is also the winner of the Carmine Appice drum contest and voted in as a Buddy Magazine “Texas Tornado”.
He holds a paisley belt in Drum Fu.
Martin plays no Chinese music.
"http://www.martinmccall.com"