Salt Lake City,
I’m so excited to be coming home. I hope you can make it to the release concert. I’m doing two nights. Pick one.
Thursday, October 29, Mt. Olympus Presbyterian Church, 7pm, Seafinch (Asher Seevinck) opens, $12 in advance/$15 at the door
Friday, October 30. Mt. Olympus Presbyterian Church, 7pm, Ben Robie opens, $12 in advance, $15 at the door
Buy tickets at joshrosenthaltickets.com.
See you there.
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1. Thanks to everyone who followed the two easy steps to get a free download of No More Lies.
2. Get your own hard copy of Lonely Together at http://joshrosenthal.bigcartel.com or you can get a digital copy from iTunes
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I’m giving away 300 free downloads of No More Lies from the latest Villages Suite installment Lonely Together.
Here’s how to get the free download.
1. Go to http://www.myspace.com/joshrosenthal and listen to No More Lies.
2. If you like it, send me an email – joshrosenthalmusic@gmail.com. I will give a free iTunes download to you and a friend of your choosing. To make that happen, I must have both email addresses. I PROMISE that I will not use the email addresses for anything other than sending the songs. I will delete them after I send them the free download.
So, determine with whom you’d like to share No More Lies. Send me an email. Get a free download for the both of you.
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Pick up your hard copy of the new album at – the Josh Rosenthal Store. Or, you can pick up a digital copy at iTunes.
Album #2 of the Villages Suite releases today – Even the Strongest Hero.
Even the Strongest Hero (ETSH) is a live, acoustic album. Meaning, I recorded this album with a guitar, chair and microphone at Jeff Pardo’s studio – the Track Shack – in Nashville. At the helm, Josh Wilson. He produced this acoustic EP and even cowrote two of the songs with me.
This whole Villages Suite thing comments on community, right? ETSH examines our life as a victim of the cowboy myth. No doubt, we’re overwhelmed with things that glorify life alone. Every old western tells the story of the cowboy who defeats the bad guys alone and rides into the sunset alone. And we romanticize it. We put ourselves in their boots and wish we were the ones disappearing into the sunset. But alas, we’re not. The old westerns rarely take it to the absurd. The cowboy who rides alone also sleeps alone and dies alone.
ETSH is my stab at rejecting that notion in my own life. Lyrically, the songs reject the cowboy myth and embrace my need for help outside myself.
Sometimes the things we need the most are the things we want the least. We need people, but sometimes they’re the last thing we want. Lonely is safe. There’s very little risk in it. If we fail, we’re right where we started anyways.
With this album, I hope:
1. you enjoy it
2. you call someone next time you feel lonely
3. you tell your friends about it
Stay tuned, in the coming weeks, I will explain why I chose the songs I chose for this album.
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I watched the Sketches of Frank Gehry four times in three days. Obsessed? Obsessed. It’s not what you think. I’m not a lazy, passive admirer of movies. I didn’t watch it to relieve boredom. Well, the first time I did. Then I was so overtaken by it, I couldn’t help but watch it again and again.
Gehry was commissioned to design “Santa Monica Place” – a mall on the Promenade in Santa Monica. Upon completion of the mall, Gehry held a celebration at his home. The home is like no other you’ve seen. There’s no order to it, no symmetry, no familiarity, no tradition. Have a look at it – Gehry Residence.
At the party, the man who commissioned Gehry to design Santa Monica Place said that Gehry couldn’t possibly like the mall and his house. They were too different. The design of his home was so interesting, it demanded an opinion. If one loves it, they most likely won’t like the generic architecture of the promenade.
The man said to Gehry, “If this (pointing to the house) is the architecture you love, then why did you design that (pointing toward Santa Monica Place)?”
Gehry said he needed to pay the bills.
“Well, stop it” the developer said.
The conversation continued and ended with a handshake agreeing to quit all projects for this man. Gehry had 45 employees working on projects for him. He pulled the plug anyway to start pursuing and designing the projects he wanted.
Out of that risk came the Guggenheim in Bilbao, the Disney Concert Hall in LA and the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem.
Right now, I’m trying to back away from building Santa Monica Place. In a lot of ways, I’m playing it safe with my music. I see some risks I could take on the horizon, but I’m nervous to take them because I need to pay the bills. But like Gehry, if I’m ever going to have a work that is regarded like the Guggenheim, I need to stop playing it so safe.
That doesn’t mean that the music will change stylistically. It will continue to progress as it has been. I just want to reject the easy way out. I need to learn to embrace failure, learn from it and keep going.
Here’s to the future, however it may look. May it be filled with calculated risk.
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I post most of my interviews on my page, but Amy and BackSeatWriter.com did such a great job with her layout, that I’ll direct you to her website – BackSeatWriter.com.
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I tried to summarize the scope of weworemasks.com, but I couldn’t do it. I think it best to just go check out their site for yourself – weworemasks.com My old friend, Jerome, writes for the blog. He sent me these questions.
1. To start, give us a little background on your musical history and how you got to where you are today.
It all started when Green Day released Dookie in 1994. I bought a guitar because I looked up to my friend’s brother. He learned every song on the album on his red electric Washburn. I wanted to be just like him, so I got a guitar, learned every song on Dookie. Eventually I started writing my own lyrics to the songs until I understood how chords related to each other. At 17 years old, in the year 2000, I declared myself washed up. I couldn’t do punk rock anymore because I didn’t have the attitude to go with it. Then I started listening to singer/songwriters a few years later – Paul Simon, James Taylor, Marc Cohn, John Mayer. That’s when I came out of retirement.
2. Here are a couple of generic questions: Since the weworemasks readership is a new audience for you, how would you describe your sound to someone who hasn’t heard of you?
Short answer: Folk/Americana
Detailed answer: My dad’s best friend growing up, Mickey Raphael, ended up playing harmonica for Willie Nelson and is still going strong 35 years later. I loved Willie’s music and image. So you’ll find a little of that storytelling in my music. Townes Van Zandt wrote the best story song I’ve heard – Pancho and Lefty – eventually covered by Willie. Beyond the storytelling, I try to make music as accessible via melody and feel so anyone can find something to grab. My goal is to satisfy both the lyrics snob and the casual listener.
3. What are your biggest influences, both musical and non-musical?
Musical – Paul Simon, John Mayer, James Taylor, Marc Cohn, Willie Nelson, Hall and Oates, Josh Wilson
Non-Musical – Seth Godin, Salt Lake City sunsets, authenticity, moments captured by sound, vintage gear, black and white photography, journals, new beer – anything I haven’t tried before and my home
4. You’re releasing four albums this fall, how’d the idea come about?
Honestly, it came from the need to stand out a little bit. I don’t get radio play right now so I need something to generate word of mouth. At first it was a pipedream, but slowly it became reality as I found a way to marry it with meaning. It’s called the Villages Suite – four albums in four months. It explores relationships within community. Few songs actually address that idea directly. Most all of them deal with it in indirect ways.
5. Is there any connection or running theme between each album?
Yes, see answer 4.
6. Will you be experimenting with new or different instruments, ideas, etc. with the new records?
A little bit. My friend Justin Pruitt gave me a bunch of instruments used in the 80s. I’m going to incorporate that into album 4 a little bit. One of the artists I’m partnering with from album 4 will be playing a tongue-drum. Pretty stoked for that.
Album four is all duets with other artists. Every one of them. We’ll spend time arranging and writing together, then we’ll record all in one day. That’s different for me. Very challenging because each one is a unique combination of my style and another artists.
7. As far as writing process goes, are you doing anything different for the albums than past recordings?
Yes. Usually I only write with Josh Wilson. I work really well with him. He’s an unbelievably talented wordsmith. But through the course of these four albums, I will have written with about six people.
8. As a solo musician, you have a chance to connect on a personal level with listeners. What do you hope the average listener takes away from your music?
So many Americans feel isolated. I want people to leave my show feeling like they’re not alone, even in their loneliness. I want people to listen to my music and feel some sense of relief.
9. In a big market of singer/songwriters, how do you hope to stand out as you prepare for your upcoming releases?
A fan telling their friends is my only hope right now. There’s no other way. My job is to provide songs worthy of spreading the word. If it’s good enough, they’ll naturally spread the word.
10. What do you have in store for the fall tour you’re currently planning?
I’m making about 50 appearances this fall. I say ‘appearances’ instead of shows because I’m doing some Young Life events, church events. But I’m also doing a lot of concerts. Go check out http://www.myspace.com/joshrosenthal for shows.
11. What have you been listening to lately?
Mat Kearney – City of Black & White
Coldplay – X & Y
Brandon Heath – What if We
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Brandon Heath, Coldplay, Hall and Oates, James Taylor, John Mayer, Josh Rosenthal, Josh Wilson, Justin Pruitt, Marc Cohn, Mat Kearney, Paul Simon, WeWoreMasks.com, Willie Nelson | Leave a Comment »
“Overture” definitely feels a little disjointed – a full band song, an acapella song, acoustic song, etc. But like any good overture, it’s more of a taste of what’s to come than a piece meant to stand alone. It’s a foreshadowing of the music on the horizon. At the same time, it highlights the song “Amy, Please”. It’s one of the most important in the Villages Suite for what it says about moving on, forgiveness and letting go. I know it feels all over the place on first listen, but trust me. Once all the albums release you’ll look back at this one and see the foundation it lays. I wish I could release everything in the Suite tomorrow. I’m so anxious for you to hear it. For now, listen to this one and enjoy.
Buy “Overture” on iTunes.
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Zak White is one of my oldest friends. We first met in Michael’s garage in Wolforth, Texas from an ad I found in an AOL chat room looking for a guitar player. As an eighth grader dying for friendships and punk rock outlets, I responded. My dad drove me over there. The rest is (forgotten) history. He sent over a few questions for me. You can read his blog at www.zakwhite.com or follow him at twitter.com/cadillaczak.
1. We all know Mikey Likes It was the best band of all time. What song that you wrote for that band was the best and why? Sorry, I had to ask.
Easy. ”I Hate Ska”. That’s right and I’d gladly write it again given the opportunity. It was a ska song about how much I hated ska. C’mon. That’s clever for an eighth grader.
2. Why in the world would you do something as crazy as releasing four albums in one year? I love it…
I’m trying to accomplish a few things by releasing four albums in four months. Mainly, I wanted to grab people’s attention and let them know that I have something to say. I don’t have the luxury of playing on the radio. Reaching larger audiences must come by way of word of mouth. That’s why I chose to do this in four albums. It warrants attention. You might be asking, “Well, what do you have to say?” You’ll see.
3. You are working on a new project that ultimately will connect musicians with Christ and help them realize their full God-given potential as well as how they can serve others with their musical gifts. Share a little about that.
At one time, the church was the epicenter of creative activity (see Bach’s “Mass in B Minor”). Beautiful music, beautiful architecture and beautiful fine art. The church was the purveyor of it all. Over time, the church diluted itself by secluding itself from anything ‘pagan’. Its isolationist approach to spreading truth was mutually exclusive. Something so irrelevant and uninteresting can’t possibly shape culture to the extent in which Christ is capable. As the church began to realize that, Christians began trying to make music again. Only this time, they looked at music from pop culture and mimicked it. Once a Top 40 song became popular, Christians tried to copy its style. By the time they successfully copied its style, it was passe. In the last 10 years, I’ve seen a movement of Christians concerned with making powerful art again. More people talk about the “Scandal of the Evangelical Mind” and the its movement toward mediocrity. I hope that releasing four albums challenges young musicians to become concerned with their art shaping culture. If not that much, at least, I hope they concern themselves with using their gift of creativity to make, write, create something meaningful.
4. Where is THE BEST BBQ in the entire world?
Luling, Texas. City Market.
5. Your guitar skills improved DRAMATICALLY in a short amount of time (i knew you when you stunk.) How in the world did you get so much better so fast?
When I want to play something, I get determined. Very determined. When John Mayer released “Any Given Thursday” years ago, I used to sit and watch what he was doing with my guitar in hand. Pause, rewind, slow motion. Over and over again. I only had the guitar vocabulary to break down what he was doing thanks to my teachers from the past – Chad Russell, Walt Driscoll, Josh Wilson, Scott Miller, Alan Munde and Brent Wheeler.
6. How do you mix your faith with your music?
Initially, I couldn’t reconcile the two. I don’t write worship songs and I may never. I really wanted to at first, but I couldn’t. I had some friends in the bible belt that told me I needed to be writing worship songs in order to be a good Christian musician. That pissed me off. Meanwhile, my friend Jared is an architect. He was having trouble reconciling his faith with his desire to design the most beautiful structures in the world. Finally, we concluded (wisely, I believe) that merely using the gifts we’ve been given honors God. Jared doesn’t have to design churches and I don’t have to write worship songs in order to please God. If we belong to Christ then we please him by taking delight in him when we use the gifts he’s given us – be it architecture, songwriting, chemistry, construction, parenting.
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