Joseph Frank Lastie Jr. was born in New Orleans in 1958 and raised in the Lower Ninth Ward, inheriting the creative legacies of two deeply musical families. His paternal grandfather, Deacon Frank Lastie, is credited with introducing the drum set into New Orleans's spiritual church tradition, and both of Joe's grandfathers played drums in church. His uncles Melvin Lastie (a bebop trumpet player) and David Lastie (a saxophonist) would bring their instruments into church, exposing young Joe to jazz and blues from an early age; his aunt Betty Lastie Williams played organ and piano, and cousin Herlin Riley became a celebrated drummer in his own right, performing with Wynton Marsalis for nearly two decades.
Lastie received his first drum set at age eight and would set up a small kit at the foot of his grandparents' bed, practicing on whatever was available. He played his first job backing the Desire Community Choir, and studied jazz with Willie Metcalf at the Dryades Street YMCA, where his classmates included a young Wynton and Branford Marsalis. In 1969, his family moved to Long Island, New York, though his musical roots stayed firmly planted in New Orleans.
In 1989, on a tip from trumpeter Gregg Stafford, Lastie was invited to substitute at Preservation Hall. He became a regular member the following year, inheriting the drum chair when Frank Parker retired, and went on to tour the world with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band for more than 30 years, performing at the Hollywood Bowl and Lincoln Center and appearing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2013 to promote the album That's It! Over his career, Lastie has also played with Professor Longhair, Irma Thomas, Fats Domino, and Narvin Kimball, and performed with the Treme Brass Band.
Today, Lastie leads Joe Lastie's New Orleans Sound, dedicated to preserving traditional New Orleans music for future generations, and remains a member of the Preservation Hall Foundation, which focuses on music education and outreach in schools worldwide. In 2015, he released the original single "New Orleans In Me," written to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which struck the city the day after Lastie's 47th birthday. He continues to perform regularly, including gigs at the Maison Bourbon Jazz Club in the French Quarter.
