Joey's Song Founder Mike Gomoll

Joey's Song Founder Mike Gomoll

From CORE by Andy McNamara

April 17, 2026 · 1h 5m

About this episode

Andy McNamara interviews Mike Gomoll, founder of Joey's Song, about his nonprofit supporting families affected by epilepsy and the legacy of his son Joseph.

Andy sits down in the WCZR studio with Mike Gomoll, the founder of Joey's Song — a Wisconsin-based nonprofit that has raised over $1 million to support families affected by epilepsy and fund research toward a cure.Mike shares the deeply personal story behind the organization: how he lost his son Joseph just days before his fifth birthday to Dravet syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy that left Joey nonverbal — but with an unmistakable love for music. Joey would grab everyone's finger in the room and make sure they were up and dancing with him. That spirit became the heartbeat of everything Joey's Song does.In this interview, you'll hear about:- How Mike went from a $500 fundraising goal to over $1 million raised for epilepsy research and family support- The origin story of the annual Freezing Man Festival in Madison, WI — and how it evolved from a sports bar CD release party into what feels like a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony every January- The legendary musicians who have performed for free, including Butch Vig (Garbage/Nirvana producer), John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls, Tracy Bonham, Portugal. The Man, Vicky Peterson of The Bangles, Soul Asylum, and many more…

People in this episode

Host: Andy McNamara

Guest: Mike Gomoll

Topics covered

  • epilepsy
  • nonprofit
  • music
  • fundraising
  • interview
  • personal story

Keywords

  • epilepsy
  • Joey's Song
  • fundraising
  • music festival
  • personal story
  • nonprofit

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Joey's Song, Freezing Man Festival

Places: Wisconsin, Madison, WI

More episodes of CORE

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the CORE podcast page.