British blues rock guitarist Joanne Shaw Taylor has shared a message and profile page sent to her by an online scammer pretending to be Joe Bonamassa.
Online scams and catfishing (the practice of pretending to be someone else online, often in order to trick people into sending cash) are obviously serious problems, but we can’t help but crack a smile at the optimism shown by ‘Mr Joe Banamassa’.
The scammer appears to have approached Taylor via Instagram and, somewhat amusingly, decided to impersonate her real-life friend, collaborator and fellow blues rock ace, Joe Bonamassa – albeit misspelling his name, in the process.
Taylor first noted the fake last week, sharing the profile page (featuring a shot of one of Bonamassa’s Gibson Les Pauls and a seemingly plaintive portrait of the guitarist) and quoting its bio line.
“And the winner of my new favourite fake profile goes to…. “Joe Banamassa”!!!!” wrote Taylor. “He’s “happy but not that much happy”.
At the time, (the real) Bonamassa responded, noting wryly, “I am always not that much happy.”
Since then, apparently undeterred, the impersonator has ramped things up and Taylor – who is attempting to enjoy some well-earned downtime after a year of touring – has shared a new DM from Mr Banamassa.
The message reads not-unlike an AI-generated love letter, which obviously, it very well may be…
“The only thing I cherish more than falling asleep with you is waking up by your side each and every morning,” says Banamassa.
“I've been waiting for you all my life. There's nothing worse than a boring and dull relationship. I'd rather live a thousand lives being burnt by your fire than one devoid of passion. I'd move mountains for your sweet embrace. I hope to spend all my tomorrows chasing your perfect smile. You are the love of my life, that I am certain of. Life is about navigating the tallest mountains and the steepest valleys.”
Sadly, Taylor seems impervious to Mr Banamassa’s poetical charms, commenting, “Please somebody, make me stop. This is too much fun. Also, I’ve got $100 that says “Mr Banamassa” keeps messaging me even after I post this.”
Well, we have to admire Banamassa’s persistence, if nothing else. Sadly, he’s somewhat undermined both by Taylor’s clear amusement and the real Bonamassa, who has again chimed in, noting: “Glad you got my DM.”
While online scams are getting increasingly sophisticated, we think in this instance, the scammer may have underestimated the two blues rock guitarists.
Either way, it’s nice to see a new form of collaboration from the two players. Aside from combating online fraud, the two players have previously collaborated on 2021’s The Blues Album and 2022’s Nobody’s Fool (which Bonamassa produced, alongside Josh Smith) and, again, earlier this year on an electrifying cover of B.B. King classic Ain’t Nobody Home.
