The Joshua Quimby Interview
Tell me about growing up in Eastern CT before relocating to the great state of TN. What was your childhood like growing up? When did you first begin to fall in love with music, more specifically the guitar? Was this something that was relevant growing up in your household?
It’s something I never would have admitted growing up, but it really is beautiful out in the ol’ stomping grounds. When you’re raised in a small-town, it’s all-too easy to take it for granted… It just doesn’t feel special. But now that I’ve been in Nashville about four years, I certainly miss the quaint, dense New England woods I used to call home. While uninspiring as a kid, I find now that reflecting on the environment I grew up around has provided me with a good deal to write and sing about, and I take genuine pride in it. Funny enough though, when I first picked up music at ten years old, I was strictly a guitar player - had no interest in being an artist. I didn’t even begin to take songwriting seriously until just a few years ago, drawing from my earliest influences as a student of the six-strings and pairing it with everything I’d been introduced to by the cats here in Nashville.
What would you and your friends do for fun growing up? Who were some of your earliest influences in your more formative years? When and where did you see your very first concert? When did you realize you wanted to spend your time pursuing music and art?
Growing up, there wasn’t a whole lot to do around town… Didn’t help that I was a fairly straight-edge, academics-focused kid, at least until my late high school years. Besides getting together with my buddies from class on the weekends, I’d mainly shut myself in my room and pour myself into my guitar. My influences largely came from what my guitar teacher, my grandpa, and my father had me listening to and playing - it was a mixture of Folk, the Blues, Rock & Roll, and a bit of old Country. I’d sit and watch videos on YouTube for hours as a youngster - anything from SRV steamrolling his way through his Austin City Limits sets, to Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed pickin’, to Bob Dylan live clips. First song I was ever taught, at my very first lesson, was Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold.” Nobody else in my immediate family was particularly musically inclined, but my grandpa did have a good deal to do with guiding me towards the YouTube rabbit holes I’d find myself slipping into. I recall telling my folks when I hadn’t even hit the 9th grade, “Mom and Dad, when I grow up, I want to play the guitar for a living.” I’m grateful I can say, that’s essentially what I’ve accomplished, haha. I did have a brief phase of listening to and experimenting with more Alternative, Punk-adjacent styles of music, as well as listening to some Rap music, around the time I was graduating high school and in my first year of college, but of course, as all things do, my sound and style came right back around to where my roots are at. The rest, well, it's history.
When and where did you play your very first gig and what was that experience like for you? Did you participate in any groups, or projects prior to setting out as a solo musician? Tell me about writing and recording your debut EP “These Old Jeans”that came out this year.. What was the overall vision and approach to those tunes?
My first actual show debuting a full Joshua Quimby set would have been in early Spring of 2021, at an outdoor music festival called Playing in the Parks. It was about 45 minutes outside of Nashville, and focused on raising funds towards the conservation of Tennessee state parks - definitely was a great first gig. It was the summer after that festival when I started truly paying my dues the old-school “Nashville way,” grinding out those midnight to 1am tips-only Monday night bar gigs and trying my best to find my footing. I’m grateful for that time; it helped whip me into shape real good… Now, as I’m currently on my fourth tour and looking forward to my fifth this Fall, it’s wild for me to reflect on the growth I’ve seen since then. Prior to my solo project, I did play guitar at one show in a Punk band I was involved with as a freshman in college, but I don’t know if I’d really count that… We never released any music, it was more-so just a fun way for some buddies and I to get together and let out steam as the angsty teenagers we were. “These Old Jeans” was really just born of allowing myself to bask in and process the inevitable fact that I’m getting older every day, and I won’t be young forever… The record explores that concept a bit. I’d say it takes a more mature songwriting direction than my self-titled did. On tracks “Do-Nothin’ Deadbeat,” “Ol’ Self-Control”, “Small-Town New England” and title-track “These Old Jeans,” I sing about the reality of growing up and reflecting on how I’ve adjusted with age - for better, and in some ways for worse. Well, that’s a very general way to put it, anyway. I also reflect on the love I’ve fostered with my girlfriend of over two years now, who I was long-distance with when my self-titled released and has since moved in with me in Nashville, TN on the track “Sweeter Than Sugar.” GIve the project a listen!
You also released your full length LP last year as well! Can you tell me about that project and how you wanted to approach this album that differs from your previous work? When and where did recording begin and what was the overall experience like for you to bring this specific album to life? Would you mind giving some details behind songs such as “To The Choir”, “Blackened and Blue” and “What’s A Man To Do”?
Well, the self-titled released way back in April of ‘22, but I guess that wasn’t all too long ago in the grand scheme of things. Regardless, if I had to explain the distinction in direction between that album and the “These Old Jeans” EP, I’d just say my self-titled is angsty-er, angrier, darker. I was sort of “going through it” at the time, balancing a lot and not handling it well, developing an unhealthy dependency on pot and letting it leave my brain numb. The self-titled album is genuinely just a reflection of a more muddled, troubled mind, whereas my mental state writing “These Old Jeans” was clearer and more focused. And, as I touched on earlier, some of the themes took a more mature direction on the recent project. We tracked the self-titled record in maybe 5 hours, at my buddy Asher Condit’s home studio. Didn’t take long at all - It was just myself singing and pickin’ my resonator, my fiddle player, bassist, mandolin player, and flat-top guitarist, and we did it all live without so much as a click track. The only punch-ins were the guitar solo to “Blackened and Blue” (performed by Christian Starrett), and the background vocals on a few of the tracks. At the end of the day, I always want to keep my shit as raw as possible - that’s what I did, and will continue to do.
What have you been up to as of recently? I see you’re out playing shows this summer, how has that been? Is there anything else you would like to further share with the readers?
Recently, it’s been a whole lot of hitting the road to tour these records… I’ve done a good handful of runs now supporting my buddy Liam St. John, an absolute ripping blues singer and songwriter. I also recently wrapped up my first-ever headline run of shows, which was just surreal. Lots and lots of playing out; I definitely have some shit coming up that I never could have imagined I’d be up to so soon, like performing an official artist showcase at this year’s Americanafest and taking the stage at Muddy Roots out in Cookeville, TN this September. But besides that, I’ve of course been writing a whole lot, and gearing up for my next album that should hit shelves sometime early-ish next year… The record’s theme is very much so home, roots, and the people and places that have had their impact on my growth/development over the years. I can confidently say these are some of the most compelling songs I’ve ever written, and I genuinely can't wait to get them out there. I also recently collaborated with OurVinyl to release live, stripped-back sessions of a few of my songs on YouTube and streaming, and a song I’m featured on by the Laurel Hells Ramblers will be out on August 10th. You could say I keep busy… I guess it’s easy to, when you’re doin what you love.
