{"id":33496,"date":"2014-09-23T13:00:07","date_gmt":"2014-09-23T17:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=33496"},"modified":"2015-03-04T10:22:08","modified_gmt":"2015-03-04T15:22:08","slug":"rock-and-roll-doctor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2014\/09\/23\/rock-and-roll-doctor\/","title":{"rendered":"Rock and roll doctor"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Joe<\/a>

Joe Tritschler has toured the world as a musician under the moniker \u201cCrazy Joe,\u201d built a home recording studio, earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and now teaches in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.<\/p><\/div>\n

As a kid, Joe Tritschler learned how to solder, build electronic equipment and play the guitar. He built his first solid electric guitar in his junior high shop class because his parents wouldn\u2019t buy him one.<\/span><\/p>\n

He learned these skills alongside his father, Tony Tritschler, an electrical engineer and audiophile who loved to tinker with his audio system and play records around the house.<\/p>\n

Joe learned to play the guitar when he was 7 and would take over his father\u2019s workshop and build things like small amps, guitar-effects pedals and a vacuum-tube reverb unit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI destroyed his workbench when I was an elementary school kid,\u201d Tritschler said. \u201cHe could tell when I was down there fooling around because there\u2019d be tools everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those lessons have stuck with Tritschler.<\/p>\n

He has toured the world as a musician under the moniker \u201cCrazy Joe,\u201d earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and now teaches in Wright State\u2019s College of Engineering and Computer Science<\/a>. And he continues to tinker with electronics, building a home studio in his basement.<\/p>\n

Tritschler is a three-time Wright State graduate, receiving a B.S. in electrical engineering in 2001, an M.S. in engineering in 2003 and a Ph.D. in engineering in 2010.<\/p>\n

\"Joe<\/a>

An instructor in the Department of Biomedical, Industrial and Human Factors Engineering, Joe Tritschler received the CECS \u201cExcellence in Teaching Award for Faculty, 2013\u20132014.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

As an instructor in the Department of Biomedical, Industrial and Human Factors Engineering, Tritschler primarily teaches first- and second-year engineering courses, which means his students are often learning concepts and formulae they\u2019ve never seen before. He works hard to ensure they leave his classes with a strong foundation in engineering.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they get lost early in their education it can be very difficult for them down the line when they get into their senior-level classes,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I can reach out to them and break something down for them so they can say, \u2018I really understand this,\u2019 that\u2019s very gratifying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last spring, Tritschler received the college\u2019s \u201cExcellence in Teaching Award for Faculty, 2013\u20132014.\u201d Student input was a major criterion for the award.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis teaching job that I have is a dream come true,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While around campus, Tritschler may be Dr. Tritschler, around Dayton he\u2019s know as Crazy Joe, a singer and guitar player who toured with rockabilly stalwart Deke Dickerson and has put out five albums, including \u201cThe Doctor Is IN!<\/a>,\u201d released last year.<\/p>\n

Tritschler became serious about music when he was 12 when he won a Coyle Music contest as the best up-and-coming guitarist under 17.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when I started playing all the time and even considered playing professionally,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He gained his moniker when he formed his first professional band, Crazy Joe and the Mad River Outlaws, as an undergrad. \u201cCrazy Joe,\u201d he said, \u201csounded good for a really fast psycho-billy band.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band started building a serious following when Mick Montgomery, who owned Canal Street Tavern in downtown Dayton, invited them to open up for Deke Dickerson and the Rev. Horton Heat.<\/p>\n

Over the years, Tritschler\u2019s sound has changed, shifting from fast rockabilly to old 1950s country to a Roy Orbison-like softer country roots style. His next record, he says, will probably have an upbeat, fun rock and roll sound.<\/p>\n

After touring with Dickerson for two year, Tritschler got off the road so he could finish his Ph.D. and teach. He also missed working on electronics and on his house.<\/p>\n

\"Crazy<\/a>

Joe Tritschler has released five albums, including last year’s \u201cThe Doctor Is IN!\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

His home studio is filled with analog equipment that he built by hand. It\u2019s where he produced his albums and a new LP by former Mad River Outlaw Rob Heiliger.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor some reason, even when I was a teenager, I liked old technology, old recoding technology,\u201d Tritschler said.<\/p>\n

Though digital recording technology was becoming more affordable it never appealed to him. \u201cI was always into old analog tape machines and vacuum tube microphones and preamps and things like that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Tritschler still performs at a number of festivals, including the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender and Rockabilly Rave and Hot Rod Hayride, both of which are in England. He also plays about half dozen local shows a year.<\/p>\n

Yes, his students are often in the audience. When he was an adjunct teaching electrical engineering at Wright State, he would write the date of his next gig on the board then quickly erase it so they would know about the show. These days, he doesn\u2019t announce his gigs but students still learn about his shows through word of mouth.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also not uncommon for him to arrive to class early and see a YouTube video of himself playing on a screen.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery once in a while they\u2019ll slip and make a reference to one of my song lyrics,\u201d he said. \u201cSooner or later they find out about the other thing I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Tritschler, music and teaching have a lot in common. Being on stage helped him develop the skill to read his students and gauge their interest in a lecture.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeaching a lecture on biomechanics is really a lot like playing a gig,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you can capture their attention it probably means you\u2019re doing a good job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more about Tritschler\u2019s music at doctorcrazyjoe.com\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joe Tritschler has toured the world as a musician, built a home recording studio, earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and now teaches in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
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