Crew Fest concert a homecoming for Port Dover drummer

Playing at Crew Fest in Brantford this summer will be a homecoming for a Port Dover man.

Joey Muha is the drummer for Sumo Cyco, an alternative metal band that is headlining the second stage at the July 29 music festival at Lions Park.

“I’m so happy about it,” said the 31-year-old drummer. “The majority of the shows I play are either in the States or across the pond somewhere.”

Sumo Cyco tours extensively – 70 cities over three months in the summer of 2022 – and the few Canadian shows are usually in larger urban centres.

Muha first picked up drumsticks around the age of 13 and quickly transitioned from pop-ish rock to metal.

He has uploaded more than 700 videos to his YouTube page over the past 10 years, attracting 84,000 subscribers.

“There’s something for everybody,” he noted. “It’s a little wacky, but that’s also me.”

Some of the wackiness includes his own style of drum covers to theme songs from Sponge Bob Square Pants to Super Mario Bros.

One of the more unusual videos has Muha playing his drum set at centre ice in the Port Dover arena to ‘Stompin’ Tom Connors’ song, The Hockey Game, while a game goes on around him.

He played using shafts of hockey sticks cut down to the length of drumsticks.

“I couldn’t even feel my fingers, or grip anything, after that,” he shared. “It was partially because of the cold, but we did about 10 takes, and holding something that large is traumatic to the fingers.”

As a member of earlier bands – including Our Lady of Bloodshed – Muha played several venues in Brantford that helped mold him as a musician and presented opportunities.

“The Ford Plant was extremely important,” he recalled. “It was a hub for the music scene. It wasn’t a classy place, but everybody was there for the same reason: to enjoy live music.”

Muha also did a few solo tours as a drummer, including a handful of shows at super malls in the Philippines.

“Having to put together a 70-minute headline set takes a long time to get everything correct with the transitions,” he explained of the pre-recorded tracks. “It’s just me playing to a bunch of songs, things I enjoy drumming to. And I’m just really happy that other people enjoy what I enjoy.”

Muha first worked with Sumo Cyco about five years ago when they needed a drummer at the last minute for a video shoot.

“They reached out to me the night before saying, ‘Can you learn this song?’” he shared. “I stayed up all night trying to work everything down, piece by piece, to show up as a professional.”

He feels that effort to make a good impression is what resulted in him being able to join Sumo Cyco full time about a year ago.

“Coming home to Brantford, I haven’t been able to do that for a long time,” he said.

“Lots of my friends are asking ‘Where are you playing next?’ Let me tell you – Crew Fest in Brantford. Now you can come see me play. It’s awesome.”

The main stage at Crew Fest will feature Live, Our Lady Peace, The Headstones, and Bif Naked.

Organizers say 4,000 tickets have already been sold for the outdoor music festival at Lions Park in Brantford and they are aiming for a sell out crowd of 9,000.

Tickets at $69.99 each are available at crewfest.ca.