Best known as Kid Rock’s side kick or the hype man for his Twisted Brown Trucker Band,
Joe C would meet the musician before he got famous But his time would be cut short suffering
from a debilitating medical condition. Today, were gonna take a look at the life of Joe C.
Joe C would be born Joe Calleja. At a young age he would be diagnosed with an intestinal disorder
known as celiac disease. At the age of 4 he would be prescribed dozens of medications including
a steroid known as prednisone that stunted his growth resulting in his adult height being 3 ft
9. He would describe to MTV what his daily routine revealing "I'm stickin' to my diet and takin' my
medicine on time. You know, it's ridiculous. I take 60 pills [a day]. Right off the bat,
when I wake up, [I take] two pills. An hour later, 10 pills. Three hours later, I've got the tube [in
my stomach], and I shoot something through there three hours later. Two hours later, I take two
more, and then an hour later, 10, then shoot the tube three hours later [again]." He would admit to
spin magazine he would give up his rockstar life if it mean he could live with celiac disease.
Joe C. was a big fan of kid rock attending several of his early shows in 1994 as the
pair recounted here on VH1. Joey was the ultimate fan. I still remember the first time we saw him
at the Palladium in Roseville, Michigan and he was standing on a barstool or something a friend
was holding him up I don't know and I couldn't see who it was and after the show we were like hey did
everybody see that little kid out there like I can't believe someone brought their kid to the
show you know it's not exactly a show for the entire family. Eventually he would come to the
shows and I would give him the mic and I'd be like this is crazy, this is nuts and finally he
got backstage to meet me. I met him after the show and kind of tripped out so I came downstairs and
was like what's up my man I'm like are you lost where's your Dad and he starts cussing at me and
like man he's like I'm this I'm 21 I wanna rock out with you. He asked somebody where's his Dad
and I was like do you want a job? and he's like what? Come on lets go. Yeah he was always cool
from the first day I met him. Now we're friends and now we're business partners too, but friends.
Joe. C would tell Entertainment Weekly what the C stood for saying It’s just my last name,
Calleja. But it also stands for ”chronic.” And ”chronical,” which is chronic.
But it’s a different word.” The hype man wasn’t shy hiding his love for pot.
By this point in kid Rock’s career he had already released several albums but hadn’t yet hit big. In
1997 Kid Rock would sign his first major recording contract with Atlantic Records putting out his
fourth record Devil without a cause one year later in 1998, It would prove to be a massive
success selling over 15 million copies. The record was notable because the musician moved
away from his traditional hip hop sound blending instead together rap rock, nu metal and hard rock.
Joe C would appear on the album as part of his backing band Twisted Brown Trucker. But due
to his health issues he Cdidn’t spend a lot of time on the road with the band having to
bow out by the late 1999. He would however make several high profile appearances during this time
appearing on the south park soundtrack and on the fox animated show the simpsons.
Several publications noted that 1999 to be the year of htel little people with
Verne Troyer of Ausin Powers fame also being in the news. In fact Joe C would
reveal to spin they were both friends and Troyer provided important emotional support
to himwhen he felt down about his life. In the same interview he revealed he was
working on a solo record tentatively titled Enquiring Size Want to Grow
On the evening of NOvember 16th, 2000 spin magazine would report that Joe C who was
staying at his parents house in Taylor, Michigan was complaiing about feeling cold
and decided to call it a night. His father found him unresponsive the next morning.
He was just 26 years old. His cause of death was said to be complications from celiac disease.
In a statement following his death, Kid Rock —to be extremely shaken by the news
put out a statement that — said, "Family and friends are everything; without them,
all of the fame and fortune means nothing. We have lost part of our family. Joey gave us,
and the world, his love. He brought a smile to everyone who has ever known or seen him.
"In a world full of confusion, Joey made all of us laugh. No matter what color, religion,
race, or beliefs we have, he made us all smile. He gave us the gift of joy. Joey,
thank you. We will never forget you. We love you."
MTV news would report the following year that Joe C would be honored at Kid Rock’s upcoming
live shows "saying We're going to do a nice tribute to him every night and try not to be
selfish about it, The first shows are going to be tough playing without him trying to get through
some of the slow songs. You know, I sang a song for him at his funeral 'Only God Knows Why' and
that was pretty tough and doing that every night. is pretty much going to suck. That does it for
today's video guys thanks for watching. Be sure to hit the like button and subscribe. Take care.