After spending the last six years in Germany, Joel is on a national tour with his brother Dave .

The pair will play at the Golden Vine with Liam Thorpe on Thursday.

"My dad has lived in Bendigo for 25 years so I'm looking forward to (the Bendigo) show for sure," he said.

"(Six years ago) I was living in Melbourne and finishing university.

"Music was just a bit of a hobby I did when I had spare time."

Joel's passion for music grew when he started travelling and used his talents to busk his way across Europe.

"I was playing everywhere - the Greek Isles, Turkey and Berlin. I ended up staying in Berlin for six months then got a job in Hamburg."

Joel now does music full time as an independent artist.

"I ended up putting out a couple of albums in Germany and have a bit of a fan base in Europe," he said.

"I've been touring there for two or three years and haven't spent much time back home (in Australia).

"I wanted to come back and escape the German winter to see my family."

Joel is a self-taught guitarist who grew up listening to Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.

"I started playing guitar around that grunge era," he said.

"Initially it was just a hobby but over the years it became the only thing I wanted to do.

"It was a gradual thing. My brother and I started with residencies around Melbourne and worked as an engineer for a while but wasn't happy in that job.

"I needed a change and was playing more and more music on my trip to support my travels. One job interview I went to, I took my guitar because I had a gig right after it.

"I'm still independent and fund myself. If you play enough shows I've found you can be profitable and the more you play the more it leads to contacts."

Joel's national tour is in support of his new acoustic EP titled Strings and Wood.

His debut album, You Make Me Believe, was released in 2012 and launched him into th world of touring Europe.

Since the release of Strings and Wood he has played in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands before beginning to tour Australia at the start of the year.

"I would say I play a lot of sunny and soulful groove-based pop," he said.

"My brother also has his own original band called My Private Dinosaur.

"Dave accompanies me on percussion and backing vocals and i jump in on harmonies when we play his songs." 

Joel is in Australia until the end of February when he returns to Germany for spring and music festival season.

Joel and Dave Havea with Liam Thorpe play at the Golden Vine on Thursday, February 5, from 7pm. Entry is $5.