Reply To: If you love JoCo, you’ll like…
Well, in Philly, there' this great unheralded band called EDO. The best description for it would be punk-pop-rock, I guess.
http://www.liveatthespace.com/edo/
Songs like "Alien Death Taxi" or "Flowers" are very JoCo-esque, but with a harder edge. They're quite mad as well; they make and give out ham sandwiches during performances, the lead singer (an otherwise unassuming fortyish family man) capers crazily through the audience … fun stuff.
Also in the fun-lyrics-and-great-music vein are the possibly-defunct Moxy Fruvous. I'd be surprised if there weren't a goodly number of Fru-heads among JoCo's fans.
For a blues-folk precursor to JoCo, you have the amazing David Bromberg. Everyone who likes intelligent lyrics should hear his brilliant "I Will Not Be Your Fool" before they die.
Of course, the king of the story singers was the late great Harry Chapin. Not much of a voice, but what he did with it, and he stories he told, ar pure dead perfect.
And for great lyrics, amazing guitar work, and fine musicality, you really must seek out my personal favorite, Monte Montgomery. Seriously. If you listen to his live album Live at the Caravan of Dreams and do not come away jawdropped or smiling or blown away, you have no music in your soul. (and the coolest thingis that he has guitar instruction for his songs on his website–not tabs, but a graphical guitar interface, showing the fingerings.)
http://www.montemontgomery.com