Joe Loffredo leads a double life. By day, he sports a button-down shirt tucked into khaki slacks. By night, he dons a bandana and high-top sneakers.
No, he is not a government spy.
Loffredo, 26, works an eight-to-five job as a legal assistant for the Office of the State Attorney. But when he steps out of the office, he is the president of his own start-up music label, True/False Records, and a guitarist and vocalist for local band T13C.
On Friday, Loffredo will take on the full role as president of True/False Records when he begins traveling and promoting his label on this year's Warped Tour.
"I'm going to get every kid out there to know about the newest record label out of Gainesville," he said.
Loffredo is in his seventh year as a band member. For those seven years, he has also done the booking and managing for his band.
"Every year it gets so hard to pay the bills and live this double life," he said.
He has known for quite some time that he wanted to start his own label, and he started to believe that a label could also help him financially. During one tour with T13C, he tossed around the idea with his bandmates.
"At first when I started thinking about it, I thought how incredibly unattainable that goal would be," he said.
From 2006 to 2007, Loffredo decided to turn his dream to reality by starting a label and building it from the ground up because of the skills he gained from working with his band. Now his label is fully functional, with two bands signed: T13C and an up-and-coming Bradenton, Fla., band called The Prospect.
His wildest dreams came true this year when Kevin Lyman, the creator of Warped Tour, agreed to give him a position inside the tour to promote his label across the country.
It was a long process for Loffredo to get in contact with Lyman, as he sent short e-mails almost weekly without any response.
One day he decided to write a more personalized e-mail explaining his history with his band and label, telling Lyman that even if he does not accept him for the tour, he will be out there promoting anyway. Lyman finally responded and put Loffredo in touch with his assistant.
"What's the most positive word for excited?" Loffredo said. "I had to walk away from my computer."
Since then, he has worked tirelessly to prepare for the tour.
Mike Loffredo, Joe's twin brother and bandmate sees how far the label has come through his brother's hard work.
"When he started, he literally knew nothing," Mike Loffredo said. "Every week he learns something that he can do and should be doing."
Joe Loffredo has used a large network of contacts to get True/False Records to its current level, including friends. Mike Loffredo said his brother spends spare time with former bandmate Collin Austin, owner of New Scooters 4 Less, to gain knowledge about business.
"Everything in regards to starting a business, I've done," Austin said. "He's picked my brain."
With all of the advice in mind, Joe Loffredo and his band hit the road Monday night to California.
"I believe in my band," he said. "I believe True/False Records is going to take T13C to the next level."
Loffredo said he is still on cloud nine and can't believe how far he has come.
"This should not be happening to me right now, but I'm damn glad it is," he said.
