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By Kelly Dunn
I met Joshua throuth Greg Baxter, at a Meijer's store presentation early this year. I have listened to his music long before we met. I am glad to have had the opportunity to meet this talented Michigan songwriter. Joshua is splitting his time between his band, "Steppin' In It" and it own solo projects. We sat down today to discuss his his songwriting projects.
Kelly Dunn: Let's get started! Congrats on being the first person picked to be the Meijer's "Outside the Mainstream" Artist of the Month!
Joshua Davis : Thanks! That all came about when I met one of the guys at Meijer's that was beginning the prgram, Greg Baxter. He heard me at a gig one night and asked me to submit my CD to this new program. It's been great! My sales are 100 improvoed since being selected. I am very honored that my CD was selected. I had recorded that CD about two years ago. This is a great push for regional music into a big superstore chain that I otherwise would never have access to. This is going to be a great thing for all the independent music out there. This has all worked out very well! (laughter)
Kelly Dunn: ...to come down and make it your life...
Joshua Davis : Well, I still have a day job but I'm moving closer to doing this full-time. That's the goal. I've always said that I want to make my sole living by music.
Kelly Dunn: So your CD is on the shelves at the Meijer's stores?
Joshua Davis : There are 178 Meijer's stores in five states. My CD is right there at the checkout counter so I'm sure a lot of people buy the CD as an impulse buy or of course they heard me at one of the local venues.
Kelly Dunn: Do travel and do appearances at these stores?
Joshua Davis : No nothing like that, I just keep playing and hopefully keep selling more CD's!
Kelly Dunn: Tell me about your band...
Joshua Davis :I perform with a group called, "Steppin' in It". We usually go out and do these ten-day tours and get back home. We don't stay on the road too long. We like to get back home after a short run.
Kelly Dunn: Does your music get received the same from each state?
Joshua Davis : That's interesting! We find the difference in a theatre and the college crowed. The age groups are different and the response has been very good. I'm just starting branching out with my solo shows and then shows with my band. Most of my time is spend with the band but I'm starting to more solo work. It's different going from solo than being with a band.
Kelly Dunn: So your recording a new CD?
Joshua Davis : We have sixteen songs recorded and we'll bring that down to to about 12 songs for the CD. We went in and recorded it all analog. So we went in and rehearsed with the band a few times with no overdubs.
Kelly Dunn: What about your engineer...
Joshua Davis :Well, he's really the other member of the band. The mixing consel is really his instrument. He makes us or breaks us.
Kelly Dunn: What genre do you think you are in?
Joshua Davis : (Laughter) We are in an Americana, Rock thing, but with the band it's more Dixieland, Swing and more Folky stuff. That's why I made the solo album because alot of my material wasn't fitting in. WIth the band there's no drums, just a lot of percussion.
Kelly Dunn: Where did you grow up.
Joshua Davis : I grew up in Berkley, Michigan. I really enjoyed growing up there. I have so many great memories of the entire area.
Kelly Dunn: Do you get back into this area to perform?
Joshua Davis : Yes, actually we'll be playing at the Magic Bag with Bob Vanderbrook of the Verbe Pipe. But, we don't get back to that area too much anymore.
Kelly Dunn: So, do you do this full-time?
Joshua Davis : Yes, full time! We use to have to play a lot more than we do now. We had to do that to get through the others but now we are at a point where we don't have to go out every week, which is great.
Kelly Dunn: What about movie sound tracks and other avenues?
Joshua Davis : Actually I'm a novice when it comes to that kind of stuff. I'm have not pursued that yet but I should look into it.
Kelly Dunn: I think you should, your songs could easily be on soundtracks...
Joshua Davis : That's a great idea and I'll have to look into that. It sounds interesting, it's just a matter of finding people that are willing to take you on and show you the in's and out's of that industry.
Kelly Dunn: What's your favorite song that your written?
Joshua Davis : The "Triple-A" is really close to my heart on the "Rooster" album. I don't know, there's one that I co-wrote with my wife that's about an old sailor, coming home asking for forgiveness...
Kelly Dunn: Does it have a title?
Joshua Davis : No title yet. (Laughter) But I'm working on that!
Kelly Dunn: Anything else before we leave?
Joshua Davis : Check out "Earthwork.com" it's an community of Michigan artist's. It's a great site to check out other artists. There's just a great collection of songwriters that would love to have you drop by and take a listen.
Kelly Dunn: Joshua, it's been a real pleasure meeting you today! Good luck on the future!
Joshua Davis : Kelly, I want to SongwriterPro for this opportunity! Thanks again!
Article: © SongwriterPro.com Kelly Dunn - All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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