OUT OF BODY (AND MECHANICAL) EXPERIENCES
“Joel Gausten’s on the Phone.” by THOMAS GRECO, PUBLISHER Welcome to the Joel Gausten memorial issue! Just kidding, of course. In a few pages, you’ll be reading a goodbye message from our very own Joel Gausten. Luckily since I am the publisher, I get to say goodbye first. It’s not easy. Once upon a time... I write that because it seems like Joel has been with me as long as there have been fairy tales. But the truth is, back in 2000, I was publishing a magazine called Liner Notes, which was the official publication of a record chain called Compact Disc World. It featured interviews, reviews and news on all the latest goings-on in music. We had an opening at the company for a writer/editor, and we put an ad in the newspaper. (Remember that?) Obviously, the job was pretty appealing: Getting to interview rock stars, free tickets to their concerts and free CDs. (Remember them?) And of course, the golden opportunity to work with the people in the automotive repair industry. Now, you might laugh at that statement, but trust me – I would take writing about
10 | New Jersey Automotive | October 2021
repairers over a rock star every day of the week and twice on Sunday. So, I got a lot of applicants for the job. One day, this guy in all black walked in. He was very serious and looked a little strange. He was definitely nervous, but once we started talking about the music we both loved, he loosened up, and we found that we had a lot of the same interests. I thanked him for coming in, but to be honest, I really didn’t think he was right for the job. He would have been perfect for Liner Notes (unknown to me at the time, Joel was a pretty famous drummer for quite a few punk bands, including a stint filling in with the legendary Misfits), but our primary business was and always will be our automotive magazines. Joel knew less than I did about automotive repair – and that was not much! I continued to interview potential writers, but every day after that, almost to the minute, someone in the office would yell to me: “Joel Gausten’s on the phone!” I took the call the first couple of times.
