The Little Drummer Boys

There was a lot to be grateful for at the Barnes’ Thanksgiving table this year.

After all, two members of their family had just received top recognition for their talents as musicians.

Joey Barnes, Sr. had won, along with his fellow band members, "Favorite New Artist" at the Carolina Beach Music Awards on November 11. He is the drummer for the popular MAGNIFICENTS.

His son, Joey Barnes, Jr. was awarded, along with his other band members, "Favorite Breakthrough Artist", "Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist", and "Favorite Rock or Pop Album" on November 18 at the American Music Awards. Joey Jr. is the drummer for DAUGHTRY.

Both father and son have a special love for the hollow percussion instrument.

Joey Sr.’s love affair with the drums started in the sixth grade when he joined the school band. He grew up in the Lake Daniel section in Greensboro where local bands played in the park on Wednesday nights for neighborhood teens. His exposure to bands such as The Shifters, Partly Cloudy, Inmen, Ltd., Fabulous Five, and Willie Tee and the Magnificents provided many mentors for the aspiring musician. He formed his own band named "Early Morning Fog" at the ripe age of 14. They played together throughout high school and even a few years after that. "Early Morning Fog" backed up such national acts as The Tams and The Drifters. In the mid-seventies, Joey formed another group known as "Morning Star", a contemporary Christian rock band that wrote their own music and performed together for several years. Joey Sr. was also a member of Timepiece, a beach music favorite, in the early 90’s and played for a while with legendary Jackie Gore. He joined the MAGNIFICENTS in January 2007.

Joey, Jr., the eldest of three sons, inherited his father’s talent and love for the drums.

He grew up watching and listening to his father giving drum lessons. He obviously picked up a lot by osmosis as well as some personal instruction from Dad. Joey, Sr. says his son skipped the beginning stage of the learning curve and quickly developed and honed his skills. During his 20’s and 30’s, Joey Jr. played drums in various bands he put together, performing in clubs to the delight of audiences. Meanwhile, another North Carolina musician named Chris Daughtry left the American Idol contest in 2006 with national recognition. He was awarded a record contract with RCA. Joey Jr. auditioned for a place in the now-famous band and won out over hundreds of other hopefuls. The rest is history…a history that has just begun, so to speak.

Joey, Sr. is honored and awed by the CBMA award. "Each and every member of the MAGNIFICENTS is a tremendous talent. There is so much experience we all have with a lot of big-name talent. We have endless stories we share with each other."

We’ve been MAGNETIZED! We’ve been IDOLIZED!

94.9 the Surf is proud of BOTH drummer boys from the Carolinas!