Joshua James has been writing and singing songs for only six short years, but the 25-year-old heartland poet has the perspective of a wise, old soul.
On his second album, Build Me This, the follow-up to his critically acclaimed The Sun is Always Brighter, produced by industry veteran Shannon Edgar, James expands his musical palette to foreboding doom-laden hard rock. Progressing from folkish harmonies, to country twang, world beats and southern home rock while further exploring themes of spiritual searching.
Possessing a whispery and intimate vocal style that works its way into the ear peacefully and directly, Joshua James is pitched midway between seminal influences like Bob Dylan and Neil Young.
“I find solace and beauty in darkness and depression,” admits James, who grew up in his native Lincoln, Nebraska, skateboarding and sneaking listens to music his parents banned, like classic rockers Jim Morrison and The Doors, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, “But there are contrasts to everything. You have to combine the sweet and salty, the ugly and beautiful. Music is very therapeutic for me. It’s all about making a connection with humanity, with the audience, in ways that I normally wouldn’t be able to.”
Over the past three years, James has been doing just that. His debut was the 1 Folk Album on iTunes, and “FM Radio,” a song about a childhood friend coping with the death of his father, amassed more than 150,000 downloads as part of an iTunes promotion. In addition to performances at Sundance, SXSW and CMJ, James has toured with John Mayer, David Gray and Ani DiFranco, winning legions of fans along the way.
“I feel strongly about the things I sing about,” nods Joshua. “I want people to know how I feel, which sounds kind of dumb, because who cares how I feel? If someone feels similarly, though, that’s what I’m looking for. That’s the most important thing. If you can relate to what I’m going through, then I’ve achieved my goal.”
The album title, Build Me This, refers to his dream of salvation. “It’s my way of asking God to show himself,” declares James. “To prove he exists. Do something. Give me a sign. It’s a call to whatever or whoever is out there. I don’t want him to strike me down or paralyze me, just give me something to believe.”
Aside from the spiritual, Build Me This is also about the difficulties of everyday relationships, the inadvertent hurt we cause to those we love. “Magazine” deals with the pain of separation (“Go take your bags to New York City, call me when your plane arrives/I’ll feed the children, wash the dishes, I’ll keep the house lookin’ nice/Well don’t you worry, everything’s gonna be all right.”), while “In the Middle” laments a shattered romance (“You’ve tried so hard to forget me/You burnt the letters I’d made/Though my memory has been dyin’/I hope the feeling still remains”).
On the stage, though, is where Joshua James’ music comes alive and reveals its true intent, which is about drawing people into his insular universe, a sense of mystic that only the truly great ones can communicate.
“Perhaps the darkness comes out a little more often that I’d like,” he offers “but that’s just where I gravitate to when I’m writing. I don’t usually try to tackle specific subjects; it’s usually about what I’m feeling at the time. Things start to come out, then they form a story and a reason, and that’s how things evolve. I’m influenced by everything… by life, by love, by hate, by music.”
The Great Northplatte:
E. Coulombe
J. James
K. Kopinsky
J. LaChance
K. Henderson
love your songs man i like i mean really like how u write shit. i was watching one of your interviews, and there was two of them i seen and both of them u said that u sleep at bus stops i was like nice nice and in one of your songs u said something like looking out your windows and watching people die and that is the truth we see it happen and yet we do nothing about it.and the other one with the oceans filled with blood ya i see what u are trying to say but i think so it is to long to talk about but ya love your shit man hope to hear a lot more to come and with the truth.
you guys get exponentially better every time i see you. absolutely phenomenal set last night! thank you, as always, for pouring your beautiful hearts out.
joshua! i'm broken to only learn NOW that you're playing cc in tucson tonight. i can only hope you have a FANtastic audience. you drove past us yesterday (in NM) most likely. sorry to have missed you. very best to you and emma. - (previously tucson) dawn
Hi, thanks for being our friends, a very warm welcome.. FRIEND VOTE Indie Top 100 is the best MySpace place to showcase your songs. To join in, all you need to do is ask your friends to vote for one of your songs, if you get enough votes you appear in the chart, if you appear in the chart you will get more friends, if you get to No.1 your page views and song plays will increase significantly! All the best, hope to see you in the chart soon. Keith@FV UK + Julie@FV US http://www.myspace.com/indietop100 http://www.twitter.com/indietop100
If you you enjoy Joshua James, take time to experience the incredibly diverse sound of At the Well and their new album, "Finitude... The Becoming of a Story Teller."
Coucou! Butterfly Jack sera à Paris sur la Peniche BOER II le samedi 21 Novembre à partir de 21h, avec, en 1ère partie, le duo Folk Pristine Grey... Let it Fly est toujours disponible sur iTunes, Amazon, Fnac, Virgin, Napster... http://itunes.apple.com/fr/album/let-it-fly/id321450267
Hey Guys Thanks, for making Ur way to Baton Rouge. Really in enjoy the performance. Also, thanks for being so accommodating with Rachel and I on the pics. LOL I'm glad U guys decided to follow yalls passion for music. Looking forward to hearing more from yall in the future. Take Carer Till Then!
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