Some people grow up to be Astronauts. Others, Figure Skaters. And those rare few grow up to be notorious Animal Wranglers famous for all the wrong reasons. When a young Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage strolled into the original Chibson HQ, we immediately saw talent. Back then, Chibson was selling stolen Radio parts out of a tin shack just outside of Skid Row...but that doesn't stop someone from spotting genius. A little solder vapor never hurt nobody no how. Nuh-uh.
Even though Joe was remarkably youthful and only sporting a peach fuzz mullet, we couldn't help but wonder how his passion for critters would translate to music. We convinced him to put down the feral Civet he was holding and goaded him into strumming a 12 string. Let's be clear here...we didn't mind that Joe wanted to hang out with Wheezy the shop Civet, we just thought he'd imprint on our “barn cat” and didn't want to risk our only Burglar Alarm's loyalties. Wouldn't ya know it, Ol' Joe could carry a tune! A few weeks later he was back in our shop showing us how Riders On The Storm was actually played. We had no clue it was that complex. We were just simple Radio salesmen trying to make a buck the most honest way we knew how. Fast Forward a few years, and we licensed our business model and made a killing! That business continues to this day under the name Radio Shack. A true Fortune 500 juggernaut! As we amassed wealth, had a sneaking suspicion we should hold onto some speakers and fabric...just in case. Well, that hunch paid off! Joe hit the big time and needed an eye-catching speaker cabinet to match his stunning strumming prowess. We took the new signature Joe “Exotic” cabinet to a show at The Viper Room for its maiden voyage and the world as we know it changed forever. Joe strummed one chord and openly wept. We knew we had found our calling. Find your calling at ChibsonUSA.com