06.15.06
Joshua Scott Jones & the Songwriter Festival
We met up with a recently relocated singer/songwriter named Joshua Scott Jones the other night. He gave us his demo. We were (naturally) dubious and not looking for much.
Considering the recent success of acts like Josh Ritter and Joe Purdy and the “rediscovering” of Jeff Buckley, Joshua has a great shot to ride the up-beat, romantic-voiced, pop-folk wave that seems to have no crest in sight.
His voice is somewhere in between Adam Levine and Julian Casablanca, and for a lot of folks (read: chicks and guys into guys) the rest of his sound or song construction will be set-dressing. The thing is, Joshua isn’t just some lame-ass guy who thinks maybe playing music might be fun until he finishes his MBA.
When I mentioned to him that his demos show promise, but also show that he’s holding something back, he said that he wants to let go and just be, but that’s it’s a daily struggle. The fact that he’s aware of that, aware that he’s got a way to go and that he wants more than just a record deal and pussy, that he wants to grow as a person, as an artist, I think this is key. Getting in touch with one’s inner rock star isn’t easy, yo. He’s had glimpses of it, but he’s still figuring it out–on a personal and artistic level.
I love it.
He wants people to walk away from his performances and want to hear more–”thirsting for more,” he said, so cute. He wants his music to make a connection with the audience, be soulful and definitely full of feeling. Even when the subject matter isn’t very deep, he’s hoping to connect with the core of the listener.
He wants to attract people who are real, who have experienced life, who appreciate music. He thinks he’s attracting those people, ones with an element of soulfulness, and who aren’t shallow or conformist.
Joshua’s roots are in the church, and he thinks (not to sound cheesy/corny) that God doesn’t want people to hold back. He wants people to be true to themselves. He said, “Once you let go, there’s no limitations.” *draws hearts* He wants to be accessible, but not conform to a certain sound.
Joshua’s early influences include The Beatles. He listened to the White Album when he was 13 just over and over again, teaching himself how to play the songs, and it really inspired him to want to be a musician, to write. In his mind, that album is really genre-less, that its just “good music.” he wants to make that same kind of “good music,” and leave people with the same kind of deep inspiration or seeking after something larger than himself that he felt as a young teen.
In his own material, he’s trying to get some continuity right now, and trying to find his own voice. He’s in the journey, man.
Go check him out online then come see Joshua this weekend at the Songwriter Fest in Nashville:
Fri June 16 @ 7:15PM (Nashville Music Guide Stage)
Sat June 17 @12:45AM (Curb Music Parking Lot 47)
Sun June 18 @4:15PM (Idle Hour-1028 16th Ave South)
Sat July 21 @9:00PM (On The Rocks)
This article was mainly written by the incomparable Robo, who, when not reading Kerrang! or watching Nashville Star, is a Scene Queen of incomparable fabulosity.
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