“I am a scientist, I seek to understand me

I am an incurable and nothing else behaves like me

Everything is right

Everything works out right

Everything fades from sight

Because that’s alright with me”

— Robert Pollard- “I am a Scientist”

Joe Puleo isn’t a scientist, but he embodies all the qualities of a polymath. A former competitive athlete he grew up wrestling, running, swimming, cycling, and competing in triathlons. After his competition career, he opened the Haddonfield Running Company, a running specialty store in Haddonfield, NJ and later, the Philadelphia Running Co., which offers coaching services to clients ranging from the United States Marine Corps’ All-Marine Running Team to the El Salvadoran national record-holder in the marathon as well as an Olympic gold medalist and world champion 400m runner.

Musical exercise, however, was never a part of his training.

But writing always has been. In 2018, Human Kinetics published the second edition of Puleo’s first book, Running Anatomy. He also has a novel in the works. When he found himself with leftover writings — “little turnings of words,” as he calls them — he decided to see if anyone would set them to music.

Because music appreciation has also been a huge influence on Puleo’s life. He raves about Dinosaur Jr. and is ready at the shot of the race gun firing to debate the post-Uncle Tupelo output of Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy. He grew up coming from the suburbs into the city for gigs and speaks easily and knowledgeably about Philadelphia venues and local performers ranging from ‘90s bands Huffamoose and The Caulfields to feminist hard rockers Sheer Mag to the hip-hop/lap steel guitar fusion of Slo-Mo.

Puleo has written the lyrics for the well-received EP, “Ten Years to Home” (Ken Stringfellow Imagines Puleo) and on Bannister Effect’s (with Eli Wenger of Los Halos) January 2022 release, “A Life I Knew”. Although completely different stylistically and musically, the spirit of these collaborations remains consistent.

And Puleo’s unbridled joy in creation comes across in every step of the process, not just upon crossing the finish line of an album release. Fearlessness, focus, and a sense of being ever-present, largely derived from his Buddhist practice, help guide him in his writing and journey of collective storytelling.

“I’m always fascinated with what my music partners create,” he says. “It’s like a revelation and adds depth to my understanding of the feelings behind my words.”

Eli Wenger -- from 1995-2008, Wenger fronted the Philadelphia based band, Los Halos. KEXP Seattle’s John Richards heard a Los Halos demo, and after briefly playing it on his morning show (John In The Morning) a small buzz started to build out west, and Richards signed Los Halos to his own independent label, Loveless Records, in 2000. Together they released three records: 2001’s Los Halos, 2002’s For Ramona and 2003’s Leaving VA. In 2010, Wenger took ownership of legendary live music venue Steel City Coffeehouse, in Phoenixville PA, where he had worked since 2007. He owned the business from 2010-2016. These days, when he’s not taking 7 years to make a record, Wenger hikes with dog and co-directs Martha’s Choice Marketplace and Community Farm, in Norristown PA. The largest food pantry in Montgomery County, Martha’s has distributed over 2.8 million lbs. of food to over 7,000 families in need throughout the pandemic.