Joel was born in Oklahoma City, OK in February 1988 to a mixed Cherokee/Dakota Native and mixed Scottish, Irish, English, Italian, and other African, European, Caucasian, and mixed 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, then he 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 downtown design studio. His childhood was like many people in the US, he played baseball, soccer & golf. He played football & even extreme mountain biking. His father would teach him about the arts and his mother about life and health. He would learn to fly a plane from his grandfather and how to be a man from his godfather. Joel faced many health challenges and continues to battle a serious chronic illness. Because of this, he has been involved in alternative health care and education on general healthy living, but it forces him to work harder than others to get the job done and he is often battling health issues needing to take down time, slowing his progress.

When Joel showed a talent for recording and quit sports at 12 years old to focus on the arts, he started DJing private events and mixing live sound for bands big and small. As he worked, his parents supported his dream to build a home studio and allowed him to create a workspace to write music. He learned theater arts, stagecraft, audio production, and lighting by volunteering for local bands and theaters across Sonoma County by mixing sound and running lighting for many productions on stage from theater to music. His parents divorced when he was young after about a decade in Wine Country together, and he had a different upbringing then going to a public school for the first time, 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.

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 was never 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 production perspective.

Joel is a Filmmaker, Record Label CEO of Tech of the Coast Studios Records Film and Live Recording Company & Mastermind Productions Records Film & Live Recording Company, President of the SRJC Record Label Club, Composer, Audio Engineer, Producer, Recording Engineer, Record Producer, and Solo Instrumental Rock artist from northern California USA. Senior student of the Film and Media Studies program at SRJC. I graduated from the Digital Audio AA Degree program at SRJC. I compose music, sound effects, and vocal works for motion picture and music projects. I am a content creator about music production and rock history. I was a record producer and head engineer for the 2024 class at Don't Flunk Me Records for TMFT's album "Yeah, I'm So Sure About This" and their single "Exhaust." Joel was the Director and Filmmaker for SRJC Don't Flunk Me Records artist "Mood Jungle" in 2025 for their first live video filmed in Santa Rosa, CA at Moonlight Brewing on 4-6-2025 and their second live video for their album release show April 19th, 2025 at The Phoenix Theater in Petaluma, CA. FOH/Monitor/Recording Engineer. Ultimate Ears/SE Electronics/Roswell Pro Audio/Eventide/Waves/Adobe/Pro Tools/Ableton/Native Instruments/Warm Audio/Black Lion Audio/T.C. Electronic/Aphex/Novation/Tascam educational artist.