Good afternoon everyone today on Tunes For Tuesday I’m featuring the lovely Josh Taerk and his new song Midnight Mustang.
I first discovered Josh on twitch where I soon grew to love his streams with Josh’s enthusiasm and fantastic originals. Despite there normally being a few people in his streams Josh greets everyone personally and manages to remember little things about their lives which makes you feel included in his streams. He’s often joined by his brother and dad who are also fantastic musicians and there is such a lovely vibe when they all play together.
Josh was nice enough to answer some questions for me so you can find out more about him by reading his answers below!
You can follow Josh on social media or watch him on twitch by clicking on the links below.
How To Listen:
Josh’s music is available on all major music streaming platforms which you can access using the links below. He also has a lot of beautiful covers on his YouTube channel which is definitely worth listening to. I’ve out the videos for Midnight Mustang and I’m here, my personal favourite original of Josh’s, below.
Interview:
Tell us a little about yourself
I was born and raised in Toronto Canada. My favorite color is black (I know it’s a shade but it still counts). My favorite food is meat-filled ravioli or tortellini. I prefer t-shirts over dress shirts, jeans over dress pants, and boots over shoes. I love anything Disney (yes that includes Marvel), and for as long as I can remember my dream has been to play music and connect with people through that music.
What first got you into music?
I have to give credit to my parents for this one. Through my mom and dad, I was introduced to Michal Jackson, Eddie Van Halen, The Who, The Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, Hall and Oates, and from as early as I can remember, I wanted to play onstage like the people coming out of my parents’ speakers. We even have a video of me at 5 years old using a tennis racket as a guitar, playing a song I had written that day. Music was always a way for me to process the emotions I was feeling and the things I was thinking. Whenever I was happy, sad, confused; music was my way of working through it while feeling like someone out there understood what I was experiencing.
Who inspired you to make music?
The first time I really paid attention to the words in Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road” I think I was 10 years old. That song just hit me differently that day and I saw the images and felt the feelings running through those lines “Roy Orbison singing For The Lonely, Hey that’s me and I want you only, Don’t turn me home again, I just can’t face myself alone again”. I was crying before I got to the chorus. It was my first real introduction to how cinematic and emotionally impactful the stories we tell through music can be.
Then when I was 15 my buddy asked me if I’d heard Counting Crows and proceeded to play me “Round Here”. “Step out the front door like a ghost, Into a fog where no one notices, The contrast of white on white, And in between the moon and you, Angels get a better view, Of the crumbling difference between wrong and right”. I started devouring Counting Crows music, started listening to Springsteen again, and told myself that I wanted to write music that spoke to people the way these songs spoke to me.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
I consider myself a storyteller before anything else, and that’s how I approach every moment of inspiration when it comes. I’m a big believer in letting that story lead, tell me how it wants to sound, and where it wants to go. This leads me to mix everything from Pop to Rock, Folk to Country, and just about everything in between; pulling from all the different styles of music that I love to bring the songs to life in a way that honors the story being told.
One of my favorite things to do is talk to people who have taken my music into their lives and hear what the stories mean to them. The fact that these songs speak to them and that they’re able to relate these stories to moments in their lives means more to me than I will ever be able to put into words.
What is your creative process like?
It’s very organic and the songwriting process starts differently every single time. I get my inspiration from real life, the things I’m feeling, experiencing, and/or the things people very close to me are going through. Sometimes it will start as a melody I hear in my head, a guitar part that I start playing, a word or phrase someone says that hits me in just the right way at that moment. I love it because it always keeps me on my toes. The trick is recognizing that moment of inspiration and following it where it wants to go.
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
I would love to collaborate with Taylor Swift. I think she is a brilliant storyteller and an awesome songwriter. I would love to write and perform a song with her.
If you could go and open a show for any artist, who would it be?
That’s a tough one. I would say it would probably be a tie between Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift. Both are creative and immensely talented people. I think I would have a lot of fun being on tour with both.
What is one message you would give your fans?
Follow your heart. We get a million chances to do a million different things in life, but we only get 1 chance to live it to the fullest.
What is the most useless talent you have?
I have an iron stomach. I can digest absolutely anything you could throw at me which has come in handy when touring and the only place to stop for breakfast is a gas station, haha.
Do you sing in the shower? What songs?
Always, I love singing in the shower. Before anyone ever heard me sing in public, I would have full-on concerts in there. It changes depending on what I’m listening to at that moment. Lately, it’s been a lot of Switchfoot, Jimmy Eat World, and Mayday Parade.
What would you be doing right now, if it wasn’t for your music career?
I think I would have been an actor or teacher. I was in plays up until I was a teenager and loved taking on different characters.
Thanks so much for answering my questions Josh!
Playlists:
You can now listen to all previously featured Music Monday artists on a special playlist I’ve created on Spotify. I’m in the process of creating one for Tunes For Tuesday too.
Thanks for reading and happy listening!
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