STATIC JOY

Wesley started learning to play drums as a kid, and was taught for years by local jazz/blues legend Michael “Spike” Bryant. His career started similarly to Franco’s, with a church band, and continued with the Delaware Tech drumline, under the tutelage of the late and great Lenny Knight. He later moved on to play in various cover bands, as an occasional fill in for Dutchman, and with progressive metal bands Erase Me and Jungle Dream.

Franco Valentino Solorzano Soto

Franco started learning music as a kid;  first piano, then guitar as a teen. Shortly after picking up guitar, he began his musical career with his church’s band at only 14 years old, and he's still an active member to this day.   Franco and Jake both spent several very accomplished years in Dutchman before meeting up again in Static Joy.  Their prior experience working together is easy to see in the way that their writing and playing styles compliment each other.

Tony grew up in a family of musicians and has been singing and playing all kinds of instruments his whole life;  including 16 years of bass in touring bands.  Highglass Wave, Cinderfella, and From the Gallows to the Grave are a few worth mentioning.  He’s also taught multiple other musicians how to play and learn by ear, he can read and write tablature, and he's the band's live sound engineer!  Tony and Wesley have been jamming together off and on since they were teens.  So you can be 100% sure, Static Joy has a rock solid rhythm section.

Our Story

We started out in 2024, with what we had:

Ourselves, our instruments, one battery powered light source (shoutout to RYOBI, y'all make some good shop lights), and a broken down tool shed in which we could get together to build our dreams into reality. That was pretty much all we had, for everything we did, until earlier this year. Oh and last but not least: we also shared a BURNING desire to create and show off the music in our heads to the world.

For a little over 2 years now, we've been quietly working from the ground up to build our own brand of original music, drawing influence from groups like Nirvana, Blink-182, Deftones, The Killers, Radiohead, and plenty of others.

Every member of this band has been through a tremendous amount of hardship and loss in the time we’ve been together, yet we’re all still here. For example, our logo is named “Tippy” in honor of Jake’s best friend who created it. Tristan was his real name, but he went by Tippy to his friends. Tragically, he passed away not long after giving us a cooler and more fitting logo than we could’ve possibly imagined on our own. We will continue to use Tippy’s name and art always, as a tribute to a great man, gone too soon.

And now, thanks to lots of hard work + countless other genuinely good people like Tristan; such as DSU’s Dr. David Tolley, Brother Rob, and Professor Godwin, we now have the great privilege to rehearse and record, not in a leaky tool shed, but rather, a

MILLION

DOLLAR

RECORDING STUDIO

at Delaware State University!

WOOOOO GO HORNETS!!! WE LOVE YOU DSU!!!

We’re STOKED to keep making waves in the local music scene. We've got a lot of potential, and more than enough determination to take this small town band to the big leagues.

This is just the beginning.

Meet The Guys

Jake Dutcher

Jake started singing and playing guitar when he was a kid, and learned what it feels like to play to a crowd on Main Street, Newark, before he was old enough to drive.  At the age of 18, him and a friend started a band called Dutchman - later joined by Franco as well - in which they wrote and recorded songs for 3 EPs that received radio play.  They were also nominated for Best Hard Rock song at The Queen in Wilmington, and featured in the Delaware State News, among other notable accomplishments.

Wesley Vinton

Franco Valentino Solorzano Soto

Franco started learning music as a kid; first piano, then guitar as a teen. Shortly after picking up guitar, he began his musical career with his church’s band at only 14 years old, and he's still an active member to this day. Franco and Jake both spent several very accomplished years in Dutchman before meeting up again in Static Joy. Their prior experience working together is easy to see in the way that their writing and playing styles compliment each other.

Tony McUniverse

Tony grew up in a family of musicians and has been singing and playing all kinds of instruments his whole life; including 16 years of bass in touring bands. Highglass Wave, Cinderfella, and From the Gallows to the Grave are just a few worth mentioning. He’s also taught multiple other musicians how to play and learn by ear, he can read and write tablature, and he's the band's sound engineer! Tony and Wesley have been jamming together off and on, since they were teens. So you can be 100% sure, Static Joy has a rock solid rhythm section.

Jake started singing and playing guitar when he was a kid, and learned what it feels like to play to a crowd on Main Street, Newark, before he was old enough to drive.  At the age of 18, him and a friend started a band called Dutchman - later joined by Franco as well - in which they wrote and recorded songs for 3 EPs that received radio play.  They were also nominated for Best Hard Rock song at The Queen in Wilmington, and featured in the Delaware State News, among other notable accomplishments.

Schedule

~Some of our favorite quotes~

“In the darkest times, hope is something you give yourself. That is the meaning of inner strength.” Uncle Iroh, Avatar: The Last Airbender

“Yousa no tinken yousa greater den da Gungans? Mesa like dis. Maybe wesa… bein’ friends.” - Boss Nass, Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace

2026 Static Joy™