July 1, 2025 • 26 mins
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Apple:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Are you a songwriter? Are you looking to turn your
songwriting passion into a full time gig gig? Whether you
are just at the start of your songwriting journey or
a seasoned industry professional, this show is made for you.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
You.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
We will welcome to the Songwriter Show, bringing together songwriting, news, interviews,
and communitating.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Now welcome your houst Soronto.
Speaker 4 (00:25):
Thank you so much for tuning in and welcome back
to this Songwriter Show. I'm your host, Soronto. I'm a
solo music artist who's been writing lyrics for as long
as I can remember. Words are just so important to me,
and that's why I love hosting this show for you
every single Tuesday evening. I believe that every song is
a story. Tonight, I'm so excited to have on the show.
(00:45):
Josh Christina musical journey is one of passion, dedication, and
reverence for the greats. His love for piano rock began
at just seven years old, sparked of course by Elvis
Presley's music and Leland Stitch, and cemented by the theatrical
b It's a million dollar quartette.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
And now welcome this week's special guest.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Guest.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Welcome to the show. How are you doing, Josh good?
Speaker 5 (01:09):
How are you doing?
Speaker 4 (01:10):
Good? Good Man? So you got kind of a cool story.
Tell the audience a little bit about how you got
started down this crazy road making music.
Speaker 5 (01:18):
Yeah, Well, as you said, I heard Elvis when I
was seven and my parents took me to see Lee,
Low and Stitch with no intent of it being you know,
disposed me and Elvis Presley. It was just you know,
I was seven and that was the kid's movie to
go see. And I heard you know, Heartbreak Hotel and
I heard Hounddog and Suspicious Minds, and you know, the
(01:39):
sound is voice ever I things in my mind. So
that's kind of what got me into music initially. Because
of that, I went to New York when I was
fifteen to see Me and Dollar Quartet, which is about
a real life jam session that happened the summer fourth
nineteen fifty six. It's some records with Elvis and Carl Perkins,
Johnny Cash and of course Jerry Lewis and a guy
playing Jerry Lee kick the stool out of the piano
(02:00):
the end and jumped on it and played it backwards.
And I was hooked on that. So I wanted to learn,
you know, I kind of picked up the piano from there,
and that's kind of you know, the rest. I guess
you could say it's history.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
Yeah, it's the piano. Your main instrument, then.
Speaker 5 (02:12):
Yeah, that's pretty much all I play. I can play
a little bit drums, mess around with bass, a little bit, tiny,
tiny tiny bit of guitar, but pianos, you know, I
do my writing on piano and everything.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Tell us a little bit about your process. How do
you get started write a song.
Speaker 5 (02:25):
Yeah, so it just depends. It can be I can
be somewhere and hear something that I think would be
a good hook. It can be I come with the
core progression. I like that. I want to you know,
I want to put lyrics to it. Can be a
few songs I've written. I've been the first line of
a song. You know, there's just been some catalyst somewhere,
(02:45):
some line, something I heard, something I came up with that,
you know, I just kind of go from there and
then tell the story from there. The story just builds.
So it really just depends. Usually I always write the
lyrics and music together. I'm not really wanted to write
one with the other, except like I said, I come
with a cool progression or something. But then I'm right
there at the same time trying to put lyrics to it.
So I usually don't come back later. I kind of
(03:07):
do it when I'm there. But it just depends, you know,
it's probably two or three four different ways of how
it comes together.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
And do you have, like any confidance how you decide
if something you make is going to make it the
light of day? Anyone you run it by or how
does that work for you?
Speaker 5 (03:20):
Not really, I won't say there's anythbody I run it by.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
I think.
Speaker 5 (03:23):
Usually what I do is I am come up with
the song. I'll record like a rough demo, and I'll
put the lyrics, and I have like a binder. I
eat the like my piano bench, and when it comes
down and do an album or do a single, I
open it up and I go through it and I
sit there and I listen back to the demos and
I look at the song and sometimes we'll add to
the song, I'll take away from the song, I'll change
some stuff up, and then I think, you know, if
(03:46):
I if it's going to be an album, I'll find,
you know, eight or ten songs that I think work
well together. Maybe they're similar but different enough where you
know the album sounds cohesive, but you know, not everything
sounds exactly the same. Of course you want to have
some diversity on them, but usually, you know, I'm not
one just to like write like you know, and some
people write every day. I usually write when I hear
an idea. So I can write three songs in a
(04:07):
week and not write for two months, and then write
a song and not write for six months. I think
over Coved that didn't write like at all for like
a year and a half. So it just depends usually, though,
you know, when I do write, it kind of always.
Usually they always make their way out, maybe not in
the order I wrote them in, but they kind of
always somehow make their way out, whether I've revamp them
or not.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
Do you have any advice for people that are learning
to play the piano or someone in that intermediate beginner stage.
Speaker 5 (04:33):
That's always a tricky question, because a guitar player and
I actually have a discussion about this just a few
days ago. We were saying that you know, at some point,
as a musician, when you've been doing it long enough,
you kind of forget that beginner stage, that struggling stage,
and it's not that it wasn't there, but you just
kind of forget, you know, how to tackle that. You know,
if people ask me to show themself on piano and
(04:54):
I'll break down something for him or show it to them,
and it just kind of, you know, I just run
through and then they ask you to explain it and
get you know, it's kind of hard for me to
break it down now because I've done it so just
you know, it's just muscle Memory's part of where I
do now for so long. So I think that it's
a hard it's a hard question to answer because I
think everybody's different. I will say that, you know, I mean,
(05:15):
I love obviously, I love piano, I love music. I
think that anybody should, you know, pursue, you know, whatever
should they want to do, and I think piano, if
you're going to do it, you know, find an artist
you like, find a style you like, find find a
song you like that you know the knights that spark
to play it and stick to it and just grill
in on it and dig in, find out what you
kind of about the artists or about the style of
(05:36):
playing you want, and kind of figure out the roots
of that style. I think that's the best way to start.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
So how often you practice at this point, it does depend.
Speaker 5 (05:46):
I probably play almost every day, and whether that's just
playing you know, original songs, writing or you know, some
cover I like, or you know, working on a lick.
But also like you know, if I'm on the road
play you know, like when I you know, and I
worked some cruise ships and stuff and went out there
doing that, I'll be going for a week, week and
(06:07):
a half. I'll do my two headline shows, so I
might not touch a piano for four or five days
until my show night. So it just depends that if
I'm home probably every day, even if it's ten minutes,
I'm you know, I'm at least touching it once a day.
It just depends.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
Tell us about this song we're gonna hear what inspired
this one?
Speaker 5 (06:23):
So Never out of Mind is an interesting story. A
few years back, I'd written a song called Old Piano,
and the idea o piano was a piano kind of
telling its life story and if it could write a
letter to the current people that own it. And I
love the concept so much of like the and aamoogic
come into life. That one night it was a piano,
and I just started thinking, what about other things come
(06:46):
to life? And so I kind of started playing something
in this minery key and putting lyrics to it, and
it became this dark, kind of beautiful song, this real
reflective song. Basically you know, like you no, maybe it's
bad as things would be in your life or something like,
you know, if you know, if these things could talk,
if these walls could talk, if you know, if a
(07:07):
battlefield could feel what was going on on it, things
like that. It just became this really deep song, which
I didn't expect it to become that that deep of
a topic. Really, Like I said, I just wanted to
kind of build off an idea, had another song and
apply it to something else. And now here we are,
and and I love the way it came out.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Tell you what, Let's take a listen to them. We'll
come back and talk tomorrow. Okay, sounds good, Okay, awesome,
everybody check this out. Here we go.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
In a cool lo a tever outside of the walls.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
And.
Speaker 6 (07:56):
Man's is down from a stay with the cool.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Told us buddies he lost the keys.
Speaker 6 (08:09):
You could see the despair in his face, heard him
saith only those walls could talk, or the floor could feel.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
The stopping of work. What a shamoud being.
Speaker 6 (08:32):
If they could think.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
The hell they've seen would drive him. The drink.
Speaker 6 (08:44):
Got me thinking about things over time. There's a lot
worse things that shouldn't have a mind, like a bullet
General Wilkes Boostka one of pierced Donage chosen one the
(09:04):
saves on the shoes of Normandy Beach, the nails on
the cross were Jesus home, or the bullet of.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Loan on the gun one it takes the life.
Speaker 6 (09:18):
Of another mother son. There's the lowest things the man desired.
When you think about it, show were glad, they were blind,
and they were lucky to never have a mine. He said,
(09:38):
if only that bed could feel all those nashe may
love and it wasn't real, if the pictures on the
walls could observed, if the door framed sad Nurse, one
(10:04):
of his Buddhists, said, I fought in the war. There's
a lot worse than hanks that shouldn't have a mind
to its corner.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Like a missile flne who would down the east with
innocent children's hard peach.
Speaker 6 (10:24):
When they're trying to put your ward mine that he
is a robbery had another name, trying to protect each
of the's homeland, the brown weather taking their final stamp.
(10:44):
There's the littlest things that made in his hound, don't you.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
Think about it?
Speaker 6 (10:48):
Sure were glad they were blind and they were lucky,
and never have mine like a fashion foods had a
little own the church. Damn those currents they heard of
the worst, the back hours of people lucking colders say
(11:11):
that ma'am gave it.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Tragic to store like rated sixty. It was, Yeah, the world.
Speaker 6 (11:19):
Still cried the morns. There's the lust things that man designed.
When you think about it, Suby.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Glad they were blind.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
And they were.
Speaker 6 (11:34):
Lucky, never heard a mind.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
So thank you so much for sharing that song with us.
Of course, So I have a question for you. It
seems like you do a few gigs. Do you have
any secret for booking gigs or promoting shows that you
want to share with the audience.
Speaker 5 (12:21):
I mean, I think persistence in a healthy way is
one way to go about it. If there's a place
you want to play, or a booker you want to
work with, or whatever, I think it's good to kind
of stay on their radar or you know, keep in
touch with those people, but obviously not to overpush. If
there's a venue and you know, your local town or something,
you want your band to play, or you want to
(12:42):
play for a writer's night or whatever, it's hard to
get in. I think, you know, you shouldn't you know,
pester people, but I think you should, you know, have
healthy persistence in doing it. I know, you know, over
the years of playing music, you know, I've always luked
out when I kind of build relationships, you build the friendships,
and you just keep staying on people's radar and you
kind of, you know, work off other musicians. You know,
(13:03):
people become your friends. You kind of you know, kind
of musicians helping musicians. I think it's there's a lot
of organicness that goes on too with booking. And of
course obviously you can get with an agent and that's
even better. But you know, I mean, I've been very
lucky to get with a few agents in my life,
and it's just through that same thing, just you know,
kind of going through the system, going through the motions,
meeting people, staying in front of people, I think, being patient.
(13:26):
But also, you know, like I said, healthy persistence is
it's it's the way to get the job done.
Speaker 4 (13:31):
Do you remember your first public performance? Yes? I do,
all right, tell us about that. How'd it go?
Speaker 5 (13:36):
Well, there's two parts of the stories. The first part
my very very first public performance. I was ten years
old and my mom was a local singer around town.
So she had a band. I mean, nobody minded a
blues brothers impersonation act. We were ten. We called us
Other Brothers and at a big party every year with
like two or three hundred people. So we did that there.
(13:57):
That was my first performance in front of people doing
something musical. I was elo. I played Amona Good and
sang my first performance. So what I'm doing now. I
was seventeen years old and it was a place called
Lee's Tavern up in Parked in Maryland. It was a
little bar. They probably legally held maybe fifty people, and
we were playing there once a month and we would
(14:17):
were packing at like seventy people in this place. You know,
I was in this country rock and roll band. We
were doing all Jerley Lewis and Hank Williams and George
Jones and Johnny Cash and Elvis and Chuck Berry and
all this stuff. And it's gets really where I cut
my teeth I was working with older musicians. They really
showed me on the spot how to you know, get
through songs and you know, how to perform. And so
that was my very first gig, Least Tavern and Parked
(14:39):
in Maryland. It was I probably played there for about
three or four years. So finally I moved on other things.
But you know, for a while there it was like
once a month it was a gouls of blast.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
That's awesome, man, Yeah, that's pretty cool. Is there like
a piece of advice you wish you to ignore it
when you started out?
Speaker 5 (14:56):
Yeah, I think I worked with a few people in
the PR world. They had some advice that that I
was young and didn't really pay attention to. And the
advice was that, you know, they were trying to tell
me to maybe dress this way or look a certain way,
or you know, this would help my image or whatever.
And what I've learned as I've gotten older and played
more shows, other artists and things that I think the
(15:16):
best thing you can do as an artist is be
comfortable and who you are. You know, don't don't be
gimmicky unless unless it's truly something you like, it becomes
a gimmick, you know. I use. I always use like
Elton John or Elvis as example. Everybody talks about elder
you know, Elvis with the jumpsuits or Elton John with
the big crazy tassing result. To them, that's just that's
(15:37):
who they were, and that was something they liked. They
you know, they they never in their career at one
point said I would address this way to draw attention.
They just did it. And I think as an artist,
you know, I think it's always going to be true
to yourself. And you know, obviously you can improve on
an image or on something you like or you know whatever,
but I think that you can't really, you know, you
should never sell out to somebody telling you, you know,
(16:00):
if you do this or it might help your career,
but if you're not comfortable in it, you know, I
think then you shouldn't do it. So I think you
got to stay true to yourself, and especially too, if
you know, if it's an image thing or something you like,
then you know, you know, hold your ground and say no,
this is me and this is what I'm going fool in.
And I think I think that's advice I should ignore
because a few times I listened to people that I
wasn't really happy about the advice that I was young,
(16:21):
and I took the advice. And you know, remember one
time I had I tried to put blue streaks in
my hair because somebody told me it would look good
for a pr for a photo shoot and never luckily
the photos and never were taken because I put it
in there and I said no. So yeah, so I think,
you know, you got to be true to yourself.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
Okay, what's the one question you wish interviewers would stop
asking you? Hm?
Speaker 5 (16:41):
I feel like I'm often asking a lot about like
my roots and you know, the music I got into
when I was you know, first started out, which I
don't mind talking about, but it's one of the things
that I've done and I've done so many interviews and
that art was written and reviews my albums and my
bio on stuff that I feel like that's an easy
(17:02):
one to find. And that's funny as I say this,
I know, I know a few few my friends that
I've worked with, people like you know, Jerry Lewis or
Jack Berry and obviously they were way, you know, way
way bigger legends than anyone ever could be. I mean,
they were the followers of rock and roll. But they
even talked about that. You know, even when Chuck Berry was,
you know, sixty years old, he was still getting asked,
you know, how'd you get started? And I haven't even
(17:22):
doing this for you know, twelve fifteen years, But that's
the question I get a lot. And I think that
that's one that I mean, I gladly talked about. I
could talk about that stuff all day, but I think
like that one's out there, you know, you know, I like,
I like to answer questions that are a lot more
in depth, a little bit more fun, and I think that,
you know, I think especially you know interviewers, you know,
do the research. They always ask this questions, which I love.
But I've gotten that question a lot, you know, the
(17:44):
roots question and what got me into it, and you know,
things like that.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
You know, is there like a common stereotype about musicians
that drives you crazy? Yeah?
Speaker 5 (17:52):
I think there was a little of stereotype that throughout
people that aren't musicians, which is that you can't you know,
it's hard to make a living at this, which that
is partially true, except that I know a lot of
people that do. I'm one of them. It's not a
real job, which is I think a load of crap,
because I mean there's you know, there is a business
sense of this whole industry that people often miss and
(18:15):
and don't realize there is unless you're in it. And
if you're really in it and really doing it for
you know, your livelihood and your income, then I think
that you know, you have to have that business mindset.
But there's definitely a stereotype that's done a no job
or you know, you know, you can't make a living
at it, and I just think that's wrong. I think
that you know, it's obviously the job, and I think
that you can make a living at it, and that
(18:36):
people that you know aren't in the world, they just
assume that about you know, musicians or you know sometimes
you know musicians you know do this because you know,
they don't want a real job and they want to
you know, they want to party or whatever, and that's
that's not true. You know, I have a lot of
great musician revengs that are not crazy partiers and have
this crazy rock star life like people think they may have.
So I think there's definitely some of that kind of
(18:58):
the you know, misinterpret to misinterpreted a view of the
music industry and musicians you know that really work for
it and work for what they do.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
All right, Matt, tell you what? Tell us where people
can buy your stuff, stream at your websites, any place
that they can hook up with you.
Speaker 5 (19:13):
Yeah, of course you can find everything in my website
Josh Christine Music dot com. You know, I got a
little story on there too. You can find my stuff
on CD, vinyl, all that stuff, and all my social
media and Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, all that stuff at Josh
Christine Official. You know, always see what I got going
on there when I'm playing, see me traveling, all that
kind of stuff.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
Okay, awesome, Yeah, I want to thank you Josh a
great interview and I wish you nothing but the best.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Man.
Speaker 5 (19:38):
Awesome man, Thanks for having me. It was fun.
Speaker 4 (19:40):
You're welcome. So to all the listeners out there, thank
you for spending a little bit of your precious time
with the two of us tonight, and thank you for
being a part of the show. If you are an
artist with a story to share, please reach out on
the show songwriter show dot com and fleot the interview
request for him. Otherwise, I hope you'll join me every
single Tuesday evening as I continue to uncover these inspiring
journeys behind them music. Here's to creating, connecting, and letting
(20:02):
everyone's story be heard. Thank you so much, have a
great night. I love you all.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
I was running.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
It never seemed to end, chasing shadows round every bed.
We send a sword at least I couldn't win.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
I didn't stop for Remember.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Where'd I been?
Speaker 3 (20:20):
I was running down the highway?
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Good up the road, cha said?
Speaker 3 (20:26):
Every dream ever doing what.
Speaker 4 (20:32):
Had the patent in the med?
Speaker 6 (20:34):
And I couldn't slow down.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
The faster I was believing, the more I was losing.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Around one hit.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
The phone ring. The news hit me, hud he was going,
and it told me him going run from the Paine
Nobody's to go.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Life had broke at my heart Qua Chase and that prads.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
The day start, I want friends, Imbue.
Speaker 4 (21:14):
And sweet Release. Yeah it was.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Over the day start.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
I want.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
Now sures you're fast and you run, You're got up, get.
Speaker 6 (21:36):
Sasit with the table bass the games, No said, and.
Speaker 3 (21:43):
You're such a false sun thing.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Look you just don't know what.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
Try and fill the whole with money.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
But you just starting.
Speaker 3 (21:55):
Well, they fall on me.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
The news issue had They're gone went to on.
Speaker 7 (22:01):
She can't roll from the page.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
No place to go light that's within your house.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
I quit the change and left the raise. But there
I start. I want raise.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
About face.
Speaker 5 (22:24):
And sweet release.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Yeah so word, but there I start stop. I want
now was.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
Sitting here and playing this old and no damn money.
Just sleep bitch, she said, no shot, just holling that
was made.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
It won't we were understand.
Speaker 7 (22:48):
Oh let me quick the change.
Speaker 6 (22:51):
We quit the chain and left the raise and that
you tell me start to make me Scott.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
We won, pray we want.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
We found and sweet release.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
Yeah so day way suff.
Speaker 3 (23:16):
I start fighting last stop to fight.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
All right.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
The day I stout? Yeah yeah, Stu. I want.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Thank you for listening to the Songwriter Show. To keep
the momental going, head over to w w W dot
songwriter Show dot com. Enjoined our free music community of artists,
songwriters and producers.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
That's www.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
Dot songwriter Show dot com.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
Any money many name.
Speaker 7 (25:27):
At mm hmmm, no I hang hello, no
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Hallo
Are you a songwriter? Are you looking to turn your
songwriting passion into a full time gig gig? Whether you
are just at the start of your songwriting journey or
a seasoned industry professional, this show is made for you.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
You.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
We will welcome to the Songwriter Show, bringing together songwriting, news, interviews,
and communitating.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Now welcome your houst Soronto.
Speaker 4 (00:25):
Thank you so much for tuning in and welcome back
to this Songwriter Show. I'm your host, Soronto. I'm a
solo music artist who's been writing lyrics for as long
as I can remember. Words are just so important to me,
and that's why I love hosting this show for you
every single Tuesday evening. I believe that every song is
a story. Tonight, I'm so excited to have on the show.
(00:45):
Josh Christina musical journey is one of passion, dedication, and
reverence for the greats. His love for piano rock began
at just seven years old, sparked of course by Elvis
Presley's music and Leland Stitch, and cemented by the theatrical
b It's a million dollar quartette.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
And now welcome this week's special guest.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Guest.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Welcome to the show. How are you doing, Josh good?
Speaker 5 (01:09):
How are you doing?
Speaker 4 (01:10):
Good? Good Man? So you got kind of a cool story.
Tell the audience a little bit about how you got
started down this crazy road making music.
Speaker 5 (01:18):
Yeah, Well, as you said, I heard Elvis when I
was seven and my parents took me to see Lee,
Low and Stitch with no intent of it being you know,
disposed me and Elvis Presley. It was just you know,
I was seven and that was the kid's movie to
go see. And I heard you know, Heartbreak Hotel and
I heard Hounddog and Suspicious Minds, and you know, the
(01:39):
sound is voice ever I things in my mind. So
that's kind of what got me into music initially. Because
of that, I went to New York when I was
fifteen to see Me and Dollar Quartet, which is about
a real life jam session that happened the summer fourth
nineteen fifty six. It's some records with Elvis and Carl Perkins,
Johnny Cash and of course Jerry Lewis and a guy
playing Jerry Lee kick the stool out of the piano
(02:00):
the end and jumped on it and played it backwards.
And I was hooked on that. So I wanted to learn,
you know, I kind of picked up the piano from there,
and that's kind of you know, the rest. I guess
you could say it's history.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
Yeah, it's the piano. Your main instrument, then.
Speaker 5 (02:12):
Yeah, that's pretty much all I play. I can play
a little bit drums, mess around with bass, a little bit, tiny,
tiny tiny bit of guitar, but pianos, you know, I
do my writing on piano and everything.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Tell us a little bit about your process. How do
you get started write a song.
Speaker 5 (02:25):
Yeah, so it just depends. It can be I can
be somewhere and hear something that I think would be
a good hook. It can be I come with the
core progression. I like that. I want to you know,
I want to put lyrics to it. Can be a
few songs I've written. I've been the first line of
a song. You know, there's just been some catalyst somewhere,
(02:45):
some line, something I heard, something I came up with that,
you know, I just kind of go from there and
then tell the story from there. The story just builds.
So it really just depends. Usually I always write the
lyrics and music together. I'm not really wanted to write
one with the other, except like I said, I come
with a cool progression or something. But then I'm right
there at the same time trying to put lyrics to it.
So I usually don't come back later. I kind of
(03:07):
do it when I'm there. But it just depends, you know,
it's probably two or three four different ways of how
it comes together.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
And do you have, like any confidance how you decide
if something you make is going to make it the
light of day? Anyone you run it by or how
does that work for you?
Speaker 5 (03:20):
Not really, I won't say there's anythbody I run it by.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
I think.
Speaker 5 (03:23):
Usually what I do is I am come up with
the song. I'll record like a rough demo, and I'll
put the lyrics, and I have like a binder. I
eat the like my piano bench, and when it comes
down and do an album or do a single, I
open it up and I go through it and I
sit there and I listen back to the demos and
I look at the song and sometimes we'll add to
the song, I'll take away from the song, I'll change
some stuff up, and then I think, you know, if
(03:46):
I if it's going to be an album, I'll find,
you know, eight or ten songs that I think work
well together. Maybe they're similar but different enough where you
know the album sounds cohesive, but you know, not everything
sounds exactly the same. Of course you want to have
some diversity on them, but usually, you know, I'm not
one just to like write like you know, and some
people write every day. I usually write when I hear
an idea. So I can write three songs in a
(04:07):
week and not write for two months, and then write
a song and not write for six months. I think
over Coved that didn't write like at all for like
a year and a half. So it just depends usually, though,
you know, when I do write, it kind of always.
Usually they always make their way out, maybe not in
the order I wrote them in, but they kind of
always somehow make their way out, whether I've revamp them
or not.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
Do you have any advice for people that are learning
to play the piano or someone in that intermediate beginner stage.
Speaker 5 (04:33):
That's always a tricky question, because a guitar player and
I actually have a discussion about this just a few
days ago. We were saying that you know, at some point,
as a musician, when you've been doing it long enough,
you kind of forget that beginner stage, that struggling stage,
and it's not that it wasn't there, but you just
kind of forget, you know, how to tackle that. You know,
if people ask me to show themself on piano and
(04:54):
I'll break down something for him or show it to them,
and it just kind of, you know, I just run
through and then they ask you to explain it and
get you know, it's kind of hard for me to
break it down now because I've done it so just
you know, it's just muscle Memory's part of where I
do now for so long. So I think that it's
a hard it's a hard question to answer because I
think everybody's different. I will say that, you know, I mean,
(05:15):
I love obviously, I love piano, I love music. I
think that anybody should, you know, pursue, you know, whatever
should they want to do, and I think piano, if
you're going to do it, you know, find an artist
you like, find a style you like, find find a
song you like that you know the knights that spark
to play it and stick to it and just grill
in on it and dig in, find out what you
kind of about the artists or about the style of
(05:36):
playing you want, and kind of figure out the roots
of that style. I think that's the best way to start.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
So how often you practice at this point, it does depend.
Speaker 5 (05:46):
I probably play almost every day, and whether that's just
playing you know, original songs, writing or you know, some
cover I like, or you know, working on a lick.
But also like you know, if I'm on the road
play you know, like when I you know, and I
worked some cruise ships and stuff and went out there
doing that, I'll be going for a week, week and
(06:07):
a half. I'll do my two headline shows, so I
might not touch a piano for four or five days
until my show night. So it just depends that if
I'm home probably every day, even if it's ten minutes,
I'm you know, I'm at least touching it once a day.
It just depends.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
Tell us about this song we're gonna hear what inspired
this one?
Speaker 5 (06:23):
So Never out of Mind is an interesting story. A
few years back, I'd written a song called Old Piano,
and the idea o piano was a piano kind of
telling its life story and if it could write a
letter to the current people that own it. And I
love the concept so much of like the and aamoogic
come into life. That one night it was a piano,
and I just started thinking, what about other things come
(06:46):
to life? And so I kind of started playing something
in this minery key and putting lyrics to it, and
it became this dark, kind of beautiful song, this real
reflective song. Basically you know, like you no, maybe it's
bad as things would be in your life or something like,
you know, if you know, if these things could talk,
if these walls could talk, if you know, if a
(07:07):
battlefield could feel what was going on on it, things
like that. It just became this really deep song, which
I didn't expect it to become that that deep of
a topic. Really, Like I said, I just wanted to
kind of build off an idea, had another song and
apply it to something else. And now here we are,
and and I love the way it came out.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Tell you what, Let's take a listen to them. We'll
come back and talk tomorrow. Okay, sounds good, Okay, awesome,
everybody check this out. Here we go.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
In a cool lo a tever outside of the walls.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
And.
Speaker 6 (07:56):
Man's is down from a stay with the cool.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Told us buddies he lost the keys.
Speaker 6 (08:09):
You could see the despair in his face, heard him
saith only those walls could talk, or the floor could feel.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
The stopping of work. What a shamoud being.
Speaker 6 (08:32):
If they could think.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
The hell they've seen would drive him. The drink.
Speaker 6 (08:44):
Got me thinking about things over time. There's a lot
worse things that shouldn't have a mind, like a bullet
General Wilkes Boostka one of pierced Donage chosen one the
(09:04):
saves on the shoes of Normandy Beach, the nails on
the cross were Jesus home, or the bullet of.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Loan on the gun one it takes the life.
Speaker 6 (09:18):
Of another mother son. There's the lowest things the man desired.
When you think about it, show were glad, they were blind,
and they were lucky to never have a mine. He said,
(09:38):
if only that bed could feel all those nashe may
love and it wasn't real, if the pictures on the
walls could observed, if the door framed sad Nurse, one
(10:04):
of his Buddhists, said, I fought in the war. There's
a lot worse than hanks that shouldn't have a mind
to its corner.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Like a missile flne who would down the east with
innocent children's hard peach.
Speaker 6 (10:24):
When they're trying to put your ward mine that he
is a robbery had another name, trying to protect each
of the's homeland, the brown weather taking their final stamp.
(10:44):
There's the littlest things that made in his hound, don't you.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
Think about it?
Speaker 6 (10:48):
Sure were glad they were blind and they were lucky,
and never have mine like a fashion foods had a
little own the church. Damn those currents they heard of
the worst, the back hours of people lucking colders say
(11:11):
that ma'am gave it.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Tragic to store like rated sixty. It was, Yeah, the world.
Speaker 6 (11:19):
Still cried the morns. There's the lust things that man designed.
When you think about it, Suby.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Glad they were blind.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
And they were.
Speaker 6 (11:34):
Lucky, never heard a mind.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
So thank you so much for sharing that song with us.
Of course, So I have a question for you. It
seems like you do a few gigs. Do you have
any secret for booking gigs or promoting shows that you
want to share with the audience.
Speaker 5 (12:21):
I mean, I think persistence in a healthy way is
one way to go about it. If there's a place
you want to play, or a booker you want to
work with, or whatever, I think it's good to kind
of stay on their radar or you know, keep in
touch with those people, but obviously not to overpush. If
there's a venue and you know, your local town or something,
you want your band to play, or you want to
(12:42):
play for a writer's night or whatever, it's hard to
get in. I think, you know, you shouldn't you know,
pester people, but I think you should, you know, have
healthy persistence in doing it. I know, you know, over
the years of playing music, you know, I've always luked
out when I kind of build relationships, you build the friendships,
and you just keep staying on people's radar and you
kind of, you know, work off other musicians. You know,
(13:03):
people become your friends. You kind of you know, kind
of musicians helping musicians. I think it's there's a lot
of organicness that goes on too with booking. And of
course obviously you can get with an agent and that's
even better. But you know, I mean, I've been very
lucky to get with a few agents in my life,
and it's just through that same thing, just you know,
kind of going through the system, going through the motions,
meeting people, staying in front of people, I think, being patient.
(13:26):
But also, you know, like I said, healthy persistence is
it's it's the way to get the job done.
Speaker 4 (13:31):
Do you remember your first public performance? Yes? I do,
all right, tell us about that. How'd it go?
Speaker 5 (13:36):
Well, there's two parts of the stories. The first part
my very very first public performance. I was ten years
old and my mom was a local singer around town.
So she had a band. I mean, nobody minded a
blues brothers impersonation act. We were ten. We called us
Other Brothers and at a big party every year with
like two or three hundred people. So we did that there.
(13:57):
That was my first performance in front of people doing
something musical. I was elo. I played Amona Good and
sang my first performance. So what I'm doing now. I
was seventeen years old and it was a place called
Lee's Tavern up in Parked in Maryland. It was a
little bar. They probably legally held maybe fifty people, and
we were playing there once a month and we would
(14:17):
were packing at like seventy people in this place. You know,
I was in this country rock and roll band. We
were doing all Jerley Lewis and Hank Williams and George
Jones and Johnny Cash and Elvis and Chuck Berry and
all this stuff. And it's gets really where I cut
my teeth I was working with older musicians. They really
showed me on the spot how to you know, get
through songs and you know, how to perform. And so
that was my very first gig, Least Tavern and Parked
(14:39):
in Maryland. It was I probably played there for about
three or four years. So finally I moved on other things.
But you know, for a while there it was like
once a month it was a gouls of blast.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
That's awesome, man, Yeah, that's pretty cool. Is there like
a piece of advice you wish you to ignore it
when you started out?
Speaker 5 (14:56):
Yeah, I think I worked with a few people in
the PR world. They had some advice that that I
was young and didn't really pay attention to. And the
advice was that, you know, they were trying to tell
me to maybe dress this way or look a certain way,
or you know, this would help my image or whatever.
And what I've learned as I've gotten older and played
more shows, other artists and things that I think the
(15:16):
best thing you can do as an artist is be
comfortable and who you are. You know, don't don't be
gimmicky unless unless it's truly something you like, it becomes
a gimmick, you know. I use. I always use like
Elton John or Elvis as example. Everybody talks about elder
you know, Elvis with the jumpsuits or Elton John with
the big crazy tassing result. To them, that's just that's
(15:37):
who they were, and that was something they liked. They
you know, they they never in their career at one
point said I would address this way to draw attention.
They just did it. And I think as an artist,
you know, I think it's always going to be true
to yourself. And you know, obviously you can improve on
an image or on something you like or you know whatever,
but I think that you can't really, you know, you
should never sell out to somebody telling you, you know,
(16:00):
if you do this or it might help your career,
but if you're not comfortable in it, you know, I
think then you shouldn't do it. So I think you
got to stay true to yourself, and especially too, if
you know, if it's an image thing or something you like,
then you know, you know, hold your ground and say no,
this is me and this is what I'm going fool in.
And I think I think that's advice I should ignore
because a few times I listened to people that I
wasn't really happy about the advice that I was young,
(16:21):
and I took the advice. And you know, remember one
time I had I tried to put blue streaks in
my hair because somebody told me it would look good
for a pr for a photo shoot and never luckily
the photos and never were taken because I put it
in there and I said no. So yeah, so I think,
you know, you got to be true to yourself.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
Okay, what's the one question you wish interviewers would stop
asking you? Hm?
Speaker 5 (16:41):
I feel like I'm often asking a lot about like
my roots and you know, the music I got into
when I was you know, first started out, which I
don't mind talking about, but it's one of the things
that I've done and I've done so many interviews and
that art was written and reviews my albums and my
bio on stuff that I feel like that's an easy
(17:02):
one to find. And that's funny as I say this,
I know, I know a few few my friends that
I've worked with, people like you know, Jerry Lewis or
Jack Berry and obviously they were way, you know, way
way bigger legends than anyone ever could be. I mean,
they were the followers of rock and roll. But they
even talked about that. You know, even when Chuck Berry was,
you know, sixty years old, he was still getting asked,
you know, how'd you get started? And I haven't even
(17:22):
doing this for you know, twelve fifteen years, But that's
the question I get a lot. And I think that
that's one that I mean, I gladly talked about. I
could talk about that stuff all day, but I think
like that one's out there, you know, you know, I like,
I like to answer questions that are a lot more
in depth, a little bit more fun, and I think that,
you know, I think especially you know interviewers, you know,
do the research. They always ask this questions, which I love.
But I've gotten that question a lot, you know, the
(17:44):
roots question and what got me into it, and you know,
things like that.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
You know, is there like a common stereotype about musicians
that drives you crazy? Yeah?
Speaker 5 (17:52):
I think there was a little of stereotype that throughout
people that aren't musicians, which is that you can't you know,
it's hard to make a living at this, which that
is partially true, except that I know a lot of
people that do. I'm one of them. It's not a
real job, which is I think a load of crap,
because I mean there's you know, there is a business
sense of this whole industry that people often miss and
(18:15):
and don't realize there is unless you're in it. And
if you're really in it and really doing it for
you know, your livelihood and your income, then I think
that you know, you have to have that business mindset.
But there's definitely a stereotype that's done a no job
or you know, you know, you can't make a living
at it, and I just think that's wrong. I think
that you know, it's obviously the job, and I think
that you can make a living at it, and that
(18:36):
people that you know aren't in the world, they just
assume that about you know, musicians or you know sometimes
you know musicians you know do this because you know,
they don't want a real job and they want to
you know, they want to party or whatever, and that's
that's not true. You know, I have a lot of
great musician revengs that are not crazy partiers and have
this crazy rock star life like people think they may have.
So I think there's definitely some of that kind of
(18:58):
the you know, misinterpret to misinterpreted a view of the
music industry and musicians you know that really work for
it and work for what they do.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
All right, Matt, tell you what? Tell us where people
can buy your stuff, stream at your websites, any place
that they can hook up with you.
Speaker 5 (19:13):
Yeah, of course you can find everything in my website
Josh Christine Music dot com. You know, I got a
little story on there too. You can find my stuff
on CD, vinyl, all that stuff, and all my social
media and Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, all that stuff at Josh
Christine Official. You know, always see what I got going
on there when I'm playing, see me traveling, all that
kind of stuff.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
Okay, awesome, Yeah, I want to thank you Josh a
great interview and I wish you nothing but the best.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Man.
Speaker 5 (19:38):
Awesome man, Thanks for having me. It was fun.
Speaker 4 (19:40):
You're welcome. So to all the listeners out there, thank
you for spending a little bit of your precious time
with the two of us tonight, and thank you for
being a part of the show. If you are an
artist with a story to share, please reach out on
the show songwriter show dot com and fleot the interview
request for him. Otherwise, I hope you'll join me every
single Tuesday evening as I continue to uncover these inspiring
journeys behind them music. Here's to creating, connecting, and letting
(20:02):
everyone's story be heard. Thank you so much, have a
great night. I love you all.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
I was running.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
It never seemed to end, chasing shadows round every bed.
We send a sword at least I couldn't win.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
I didn't stop for Remember.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Where'd I been?
Speaker 3 (20:20):
I was running down the highway?
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Good up the road, cha said?
Speaker 3 (20:26):
Every dream ever doing what.
Speaker 4 (20:32):
Had the patent in the med?
Speaker 6 (20:34):
And I couldn't slow down.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
The faster I was believing, the more I was losing.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Around one hit.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
The phone ring. The news hit me, hud he was going,
and it told me him going run from the Paine
Nobody's to go.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Life had broke at my heart Qua Chase and that prads.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
The day start, I want friends, Imbue.
Speaker 4 (21:14):
And sweet Release. Yeah it was.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Over the day start.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
I want.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
Now sures you're fast and you run, You're got up, get.
Speaker 6 (21:36):
Sasit with the table bass the games, No said, and.
Speaker 3 (21:43):
You're such a false sun thing.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Look you just don't know what.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
Try and fill the whole with money.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
But you just starting.
Speaker 3 (21:55):
Well, they fall on me.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
The news issue had They're gone went to on.
Speaker 7 (22:01):
She can't roll from the page.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
No place to go light that's within your house.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
I quit the change and left the raise. But there
I start. I want raise.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
About face.
Speaker 5 (22:24):
And sweet release.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Yeah so word, but there I start stop. I want
now was.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
Sitting here and playing this old and no damn money.
Just sleep bitch, she said, no shot, just holling that
was made.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
It won't we were understand.
Speaker 7 (22:48):
Oh let me quick the change.
Speaker 6 (22:51):
We quit the chain and left the raise and that
you tell me start to make me Scott.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
We won, pray we want.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
We found and sweet release.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
Yeah so day way suff.
Speaker 3 (23:16):
I start fighting last stop to fight.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
All right.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
The day I stout? Yeah yeah, Stu. I want.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Thank you for listening to the Songwriter Show. To keep
the momental going, head over to w w W dot
songwriter Show dot com. Enjoined our free music community of artists,
songwriters and producers.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
That's www.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
Dot songwriter Show dot com.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
Any money many name.
Speaker 7 (25:27):
At mm hmmm, no I hang hello, no
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Hallo
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