The Regulars

photo/Jessie Banhazl

Joel Thetford
Age: 50
Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas
Bar of choice: Geno’s Rock Club
Drink of choice: Coors Banquet

Known for hosting punk rock and metal shows, Geno’s Rock Club in downtown Portland has been in business since 1983 and operating at its current Congress Street location since 2005. Limerick, Maine-native Kitty Taylor purchased the bar from its namesake’s son, Geno Jr., a.k.a. J.R., during the pandemic in 2020 and has gradually been renovating the space. New amenities include a second pool table and air conditioning. Kitty also removed the carpeting that had been there since the venue was an adult movie theater in the ’90s. Today, Geno’s is both a multi-faceted live performance space and a welcoming, good ol’ fashioned dive bar. [Full disclosure: Jessie has a worked a couple shifts at Geno’s in the past.]

When there aren’t bands, drag performances or dance parties, the bar is a locals hub, featuring campy, gory movies on the TVs and witty Josh Turner slinging drinks and holding court behind the bar. Most nights at Geno’s you’ll see a cowboy who’s seemingly roamed far from the prairie sipping on a bottle of beer at the bar. That cowboy is Joel Thetford, who Josh helpfully describes as, “A handsome slice of dream pie. And he’s yours for just four easy payments of $19.95!”

Let’s meet this mysterious Northern ranch hand! 

How did you end up in Maine? 

I moved here in 2005. I fell in love with it. I ended up wanting to stay to pursue music here. I love New England, and there are just a lot of things about Texas I don’t like. There’s no sense of community in Texas, but I felt like Portland would be a good place for me to kind of put my roots down to pursue music.

We heard you were a professional bull rider in Texas.

I was eighteen and my buddies put me on a bull, and I sucked at it, but I was always drawn to the cowboy way of life, and was always competitive. Being around the rodeo scene at the time really motivated me and gave me a focus. I ended up going pro with the PRCA, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. I moved to Stephenville, Texas, the Cowboy Capital of the World. I ended up riding for seven years. It was great and I made a lot of friends. Rodeo for me was almost like music, because we got to pack our shit and hit the road and go to these towns where we didn’t know anyone. There’s a lot of people that do music or do rodeo, but it’s not about making money. Fuck money. At the end of the day, it’s about making new friends, and that’s special. 

What kind of music do you make? 

I’ve done everything from synth-pop to country. I’m working on my thirteenth album right now, so that’s pretty exciting. I’m co-writing it with Dave Gutter, and it’s been great. Gutter is just a phenomenal songwriter. He’s teaching me a lot about songwriting. We’re also releasing singles as we go along. My newest album that I put out in May is called Weird Cowboys. It’s on all streaming platforms.

Tell us about your first album. 

I recorded my first album with the Mallett brothers in 2015. I was living with them and Dave [Mallett]. I ended up being friends with Dave, who is the biggest folk singer-songwriter of our generation. They teach his song “Garden Song” in schools. He also wrote songs for Bonnie Raitt. Dave motivated me. We’re smoking cigarettes on the patio one night, and he looked at me and said, “Wouldn’t it be funny if you quit your job and did music?” I was a manager for Poland Springs at the time, I had some savings, and I said, “Fuck it, I’m gonna give my notice. I’m gonna pursue music, write songs and record my first album.” I didn’t have a band of my own, so my first band was the Mallett brothers.

You play country, but you spend a lot of time at Geno’s, which is more of a metal/hardcore bar… 

Well, I grew up with metal. My first band was metal. I was playing in garages with Pimpadelic, which is a pretty big band down south. Matter of fact, the lead singer taught me how to play guitar. I ended up in a metal cover band playing Metallica and Danzig. I still know all the riffs!

What keeps you coming back to Geno’s?

The people, primarily. There’s places that you can go all over the city, but the people here are all good people. We all take care of each other, and there’s a strong artist community that hangs out here at Geno’s, where other places you don’t have that. Geno’s is an open place for people that are maybe different from what other people’s values are, right? I’ve never been to a place like this in Texas. My roommate Will Mallett brought me here the first time and introduced me to all these musicians. I didn’t live in Portland yet, so I didn’t come in for a while, but when I moved back to Portland — it was during COVID — I ended up coming here and sitting on the couch that they used to have, and it would just literally be me alone in Geno’s, watching old movies. Ever since then I’ve been coming back here.

Who’s your favorite bartender at Geno’s?

Josh. He’s pretty honest and is not afraid to tell you anything. He cares about the place and he cares about the customers. He’s kind of like the security guard and the bartender at the same time. 

You wrote a song about Geno’s, right? 

I wrote this song called “Congress Street.” It’s about interacting with your friends, meeting new people, and all of a sudden the time slips away and it’s, like, 1 a.m., and sometimes you’re like, “Oh shit, I have to get up for work in the morning!” It plays locally on 98.9 WCLZ.

Know an interesting bar regular? Recommend them to us by e-mailing theregularsmaine@gmail.com.