Philly’s own independent artist, isitjosh is ready to take the world on a journey with him. After the release of his debut album, he has stayed busy with another large undertaking with his videos. Take a look below and see what all isitjosh had to say when he sat down with BareBones Ent!
BBE: How would you best describe your music to new listeners?
isitjosh: If my music was put in a box labeled “genre” – it would say pop rock on the top. But for me, it’s modern pop rock for the people who grew up going to Warped Tour, and for the new gen finding their way through this new emo resurgence! I don’t set out to write “emo” music, but because that’s where my roots are, it comes out in my songs naturally – especially with how I sing them. A lot of people call it “happy sounding music with sad lyrics” and honestly, they’re not wrong.
BBE: If you could only play one song to hook someone. Which song are you choosing and why?
isitjosh: If I had to choose one hook to play someone, it would be “JUST TELL ME”. It’s poppy, it’s punk, it’s angsty, it’s got sass. It’s upbeat and makes you want to dance, but the lyrics and vocal delivery are full of angst. All of these scattered elements that you find throughout my discography, they live in that hook together. It’s like a test, if you love “JUST TELL ME”, you’re probably going to love the rest of my music. If you DON’T like it, my music probably isn’t for you. And that’s the beautiful thing about music, we all have our own tastes.
BBE: You released your debut album, A Collection Of Short Stories About The Heart. What was creating that album like for you?
isitjosh: It was created over the course of two years, and I didn’t even realize I was writing an album at the time. I wrote 18 songs about what was going on in my life. Heartbreak, moving to a new city, dealing with starting over AGAIN in my thirties. I don’t make up stories, I write about what’s going on in my life at that moment, it helps me process things. And about a year into it, it became very clear these songs were telling a story of falling in love, navigating my mental health problems, and an unfortunate string of events that left me climbing up from rock bottom again – and that’s when I decided all 18 songs needed to be in one place. To tell the story.
BBE: How did fans respond to the album?
isitjosh: I was blown away by the response and support the album received. The record is so personal, so narrative, and gets pretty dark towards the end, so I felt very vulnerable releasing it. I really got lucky with my fan base and community. We’re all survivors, and I think this album really resonated with a lot of them in that way. It’s hard to get people to listen to a full 18 song album in a world of singles and EPs, but they sat down and truly listened. I know a label would have made me cut half of the songs, and I’m so glad I was able to release this on my own, so that my fans could have EVERYTHING I wanted them to have.
Having major industry outlets rating my album 5/5 stars was the cherry on top. But this album was for my fans, not the industry.
BBE: What is it like for you to have your debut album out there and available to people?
isitjosh: It was really difficult at first, albeit very rewarding. Making that album kept me busy, I was constantly releasing singles, hitting the studio, all night writing sessions. When it released, it was very much a “now what?” moment. But when I saw the response, the story tags, the content being created from my songs, fans reaching out to tell me which song resonated most and how it helped them, I was just so overwhelmed with joy. It’s not an easy path, being a solo artist in your thirties. There were a lot of people in my personal life saying “Josh, what are you doing? You really think you can pull this off?”, and I did. I am proud of myself for sticking with this, and this album is just the beginning. That’s what’s most exciting for me.
BBE: Along with this album you have begun the process of a pretty large undertaking. You are creating DIY music videos for every song on the album. That is 18 music videos. How did this idea come to you?
isitjosh: I was not in a good place mentally when I released the album. It was one of the scariest times of my life, I was full of self-doubt, and my “purpose” felt like it switched from creating art to creating promotional materials for my art. It felt so disingenuous, trying to catch trends to appease the almighty algorithm I was forced to ride. I kind of dropped the ball a bit because of that, and I let my community know -“Hey guys, I’m struggling right now. This album means everything to me, and I simply cannot promote it the way I would like to”. They rallied around me, lifted me up, and that’s what spurred me to create 18 DIY music videos. To give each one of these songs the moment they deserve.
BBE: Do you have an idea in mind already for all of them or are you attacking each one individually?
isitjosh: I have always been the type to shoot from the hip. I notoriously have never had a draft saved on IG or TT, if I post something, I probably recorded and edited it and posted it a few minutes later. With these videos, I know which ones need to tell stories, which ones need to be visualizers, I know what colors and vibes need to be involved. But as far as an overarching theme or story? It’s just not how my brain works. I want to sit with the song, feel it out, and come up with the plan the same week or even day of the shoot. Nothing I put out is perfect or ultra professional, and that’s ok with me. All these little flaws, learning as I go, it makes it feel more “mine” than if I paid somebody to direct/film them for me.
BBE: You recently released the video for, “I Used To Dream”. Does it feel good to have that one under your belt to keep moving forward on this project?
isitjosh: “i used to dream” is one of the most special songs for me on the album. It’s a piano ballad, it’s not a single. It was never going to catch an algorithm wave, it was never going to be the leading track. Letting it have it’s own moment was really cathartic. Just me, a piano, a drums set, and red lighting. It feels intimate, almost like a private live performance. I showed up with a friend, showed him how to use the camera, and we just sent it. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now I can move on to some of the more difficult videos, the ones that involve storylines and actors.
BBE: Is there a song on the album that you are especially excited to do?
isitjosh: “NOT OVER IT” is deeply narrative. It’s one of my favorite songs on the record, and this is one of those videos that I know I have to spend some extra time on and get it just right. Each one I make teaches me more and more about how to create music videos, and with each video I try to learn a new trick or skill. I’m not quite confident enough to pull off this one yet, but I’m so close. It will be worth the wait.
BBE: What do you feel is the most important thing you have already learned doing this project?
isitjosh: For me, it’s that I CAN do what I want to do. The world and industry says “hey, you’re not 20 anymore, why are you even trying still?”. And I felt that too, even if I didn’t show it. This internal “What am I even doing? My friends all have 401k’s and families, and I’m in a van driving 8 hours to play a show to maybe 50 people”. But the thing is, most of my life was chosen for me. I didn’t get to have a normal childhood, my teenage years were spent holding my family together. So now that I’m here, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Maybe I’ll give up when I’m pushing 80. But honestly, knowing me, I’ll probably be in a nursing home somewhere cooking up a new track. I don’t think that drive and sense of purpose will ever leave me, it’s all I know. I need to make music, and I need to perform it, or my life won’t be what I want it to be. So I’m going to keep doing that.
BBE: Can you give any details on the next release?
isitjosh: Right now, I’m finding that out for myself. I’m entering a new era of my life. I went through such a tumultuous time making this album, I wasn’t in therapy, I wasn’t taking care of my mental health, I moved across the country and had my heart broken. That era is over. I’m becoming a new person now, someone invested in their own wellbeing. And I am excited to see how that shapes up sonically. Right now, I’m just experimenting, letting this album have the time in the spotlight that it deserves. When it happens, and I find that baseline sound for the new era, I’ll know. And this time I’ll be more prepared, more calculated, and most importantly, in a better mental state.
BBE: What is the best way for fans to connect with you and keep up with your releases?
isitjosh: It’s very hard for me to “promote” or tell my fans specifically about things I want them to know about on my socials. The current state of social media is – make it viral or don’t post it. So if you really want to keep up and be in the loop, my Discord community is the best bet. It’s linked on all of my socials and my website! I’m in there every single day talking with my fans, community, and it’s just such a great group of people. I really lucked out with them.
BBE: Anything else you would like to add?
isitjosh: This is just the beginning. I wanted to put out 18 songs in one place so that things weren’t so scattered. I told the story I needed to tell. So now I have an album, a baseline, a sound. I have done the mental work, I’m getting healthy again, I’ve gotten into therapy and have surrounded myself with loving friends and support system. I feel alive again, and I’m ready to push this to the moon. I’m just going to keep going, I don’t even know what stopping looks like.
