Higher

Joel was born in Oklahoma City, OK in February 1988 to a mixed Cherokee Native and White European family. He was adopted by his parents at birth and moved to California to begin his life here at a few days old. He had open heart surgery at two and almost died but when he came back from that operation became quite gifted in music and the arts. He was taken under his dad's wing and would often attend jazz and blues concerts near his father's down town design studio.

When Joel showed a talent for recording, his parents supported his dream to build a home studio and allowed him to create a workspace to write and make music. He learned theater arts, stagecraft, audio production, and lighting by volunteering for bands and theaters across Sonoma County. His parents divorced when he was young after about a decade in Wine Country together, and he had a different upbringing going to a public school for the first time in high school where he attended the Art Quest program at Santa Rosa High School (SRHS) to be a filmmaker and animator. He specialized in sound design, live sound, and recording. He graduated with honors and went on to the SRJC where he studied Graphic Design and was a designer for a long time. He worked with his father to do graphics for wineries and product design. He then formed an indie record label and toured the US with his solo project and band at the time.

He returned to Northern CA where he studied Digital Audio graduating with his AA and honors from SRJC and then began his degree program in Film Studies. In 2024 he released a solo album titled "Souls," under the name Joel Mastamind Johnson worldwide which was a rerecorded release from 2014 that never was promoted. He did an independent film on making movies as a director in 2025 titled "The Director" with his film class which was his first independent feature film project.

Joel is an audio engineer and recording expert with knowledge of multiple software programs. He also does video post-production, graphic design, music, and film. He has toured with Ying Yang Twins, filmed the Kottonmouth Kings, and DJed for Potluck Live. Whether it's live sound or performing guitar on stage, Joel is always involved in the arts. He has a series on YouTube where he teaches about audio production from a studio and live sound perspective.