8.22.08

I'm a bit behind

Hello everyone.  Strange enough, I haven't written anything since I released my last cds back in May.  It seems like everything in my career hit a peak that night, and I kind of took a break after that.  I know to some that seems odd, breaking the momentum like that, but at the time it made sense to me.

Off and on for ten years, I have traveled the country, trying to spread my music to all of those who would listen.  In that time, I have had many wonderful moments that I will never forget.  I was blessed to meet some of the people I have, and I was lucky to play with some of the best musicians around.

The night of my cd release, I remember being on stage looking at all of the wonderful people that decided to attend that night.  I remember feeling so humbled that such a large group of people came out to see me play after all of these years.  It was like a high for me knowing that everyone knew most of the songs and could sing every word.

I would be lying if I said it was always like that.  There were many shows that I played for only the staff and a few patrons that happened to stumble in that night.  Being a working musician, I have experienced so many ups and downs.  Calling my career a rollercoaster would be putting it mildly. 

I guess I decided, that night in May, to walk away for a while, and do something that I have never done in 10 years...take a break. 

I have sacrificed a lot in order to do what I do.  And I appreciate all of those who have been so understanding when I could never make the time for important things.  I don't want things to be like that anymore.  You only live once, and I need to make time for the important things in life.  I need to find a balance.  And that is where I stand now.  I am in the process of finding balance in my life.  I still play once or twice a week, but they are just local shows in my hometown area.  I will keep playing shows here and there until I decide the next logical step in my music career.

Some have said I gave up on the dream.  I will admit I feel that way sometimes.  But I have learned and realized a lot over the years, and it is only something that one could realize if he or she were in my shoes.  What was the dream anyway?  Was it becoming famous and having millions of people listening to you and worshiping the ground you walk on?  If that is the case, then what happens a few years later when you aren't so popular and no one listens to you anymore?  Fame is fleeting, as they say.  Music shouldn't be about popularity anyway.  It should be about connecting with an audience in some way.  And I feel like I have done that.  Not on a grand scale or anything, but so what.  What is the difference between 10 people and a million people?  At least those 10 people stick by you no matter what cd you put out.  I think quality is better than quantity, and that is what I have learned and realized over the years.  I am happy with how far I have come since I was a small kid having trouble even holding a guitar because it was so heavy.

So I guess what I am saying is that I am taking a break from performing. 

I don’t know what the next step is for me in music.  I don't know where life is going to take me.  None of us know for certain. 

5.22.08 

Recording Stripped Down

  I would like to start off by welcoming everyone to my new website.  I want to give to quick shout out to Michelle Bates and Chris Labuda for taking some great photos for me to work with.  I would also like to thank everyone who has continued to support my music throughout the years.  This last year or so has been a whirlwind of writing, performing, and recording.  Balancing everything has proved to be difficult, but this evening, I am hoping it will all pay off.

  Tonight I will be releasing my third and forth solo cds in my hometown of Schererville, IN.  As you all know, the cds are entitled, "Stripped Down Volumes 1 & 2," featuring 26 songs in their raw form.  I have tried to explain to people, radio stations, and newspapers the purpose for recording such as cd, and what I hope a listening audience will get out of it.  However, I am afraid some people may have missed the point. 

  On the surface, this collection of songs may give the impression of being simple.  Most songs only have one or two acoustic guitar tracks and a vocal track.  They are in no way ornate with layers of instrumentation and production.   I think some associate the word "more" with the word "better."  When it comes to some things, that can be true, but often times it is not.  Sometimes "less" can be "more."  I think that artists like Brian Wilson were ingenuous in his use of multiple layering thus achieving such a big sound.  When listening to "Pet Sounds," it is hard to image some of the tracks without the Spectorish "Wall of Sound" dominating the entire album.  But on the same token, all of those songs could have been played on a few instruments and still would have been great songs.  They didn't need all of that to be considered good.  All of the extra instruments only added to what was already great.  Those songs are great either way.  Couldn't you take a great U2 song like, "The Streets Have No Name" and break it down to an acoustic and a vocal and still do it justice?  Or what about "Stairway to Heaven" and all of it's wonderful instrumental arrangements?  Take away Bonham and Jones and try to picture Page and Plant performing the song in its entirety by themselves.  Would the song not be great anymore?  I agree that the full band version is amazing, and Led Zepplin, as a group, were and are still untouchable.  But I think their songs would have still been great, even if they were stripped down.  Real beauty does not need layer upon layer covering it up.  It can stand on its own.

  So that leads me to my newest releases.  I wanted to see if my songs could stand on their own, and at the same time giving the listener an inside look to the beginnings of these songs.  I have placed them all out there, putting each song on display in their infancy.  They are all exposed with nothing to cover them.  My hope is that people will find the beauty in that.  None of the songs are leading.  The foundation for each track is put into place, and the rest is left up to the listener's imagination.  It's kind of like reading a book instead of seeing the movie.  There will be comments like, "I wish Josh would have put drums in that song."  Or "That song sounds like it could be a good country song or maybe even a hard rock song."  That's good!  That's the whole point.  Each song is left up to interpretation.

  Believe me, it would have been way easier to add dozens of instrumental tracks to this project.  I feel that would have been the easy way out.  I feel like that would have been the "safe and predictable" way of doing things.  In fact, this is my first ever solo acoustic release in 16 years of recording. 

So, there you go.  I am sure I will record another multi-instrumental cd one day.  But for now, enjoys these stripped down tracks and keep supporting the cause. Until next time....