Nebraska-raised Joshua James has a free spirit. His debut album, 'The Sun Is Always Brighter' and powerful live show has already started to capture fans all around the country during his first full-band tour. Through his busy schedule and adventurous live, Joshua let us in on some stories from the road, his upcoming plans, and details of the past. Never short of material, we expect this new commodore to be a part of our attention for a very long time. And sorry ladies, he's married.

TMC: Hey Josh. Good to talk to you again. How’re you doing today?

Joshua: Doing real good.

TMC: Well, we don’t want to take too much of your time. I know you’ve got a busy schedule today and I appreciate you finding the time to have a chat with us.

Joshua: Oh, yeah man! No worries, no worries. We just got done loading all of our gear into the venue for tonight. So, I’m a free man right now. For a good twenty-five minutes. (laughs) I’ve got so much crap I gotta do, man.

TMC: Good deal. I’m sure we can squeeze something good in during that time. This evening you’re in Mt. Pleasant, SC. How’s the tour been thus far??

Joshua: Yes, we are. It’s been good, man. You know it’s been really, really fun. We love the people that we’ve been out with, and we’ve had some good crowd response. We’re just having fun, you know? We’re all real happy to be out. This is our first full band tour. We’re all really excited to be here, and having a lot of fun. We actually went swimming in the ocean naked yesterday. It was a good time. It really was one of the most beautiful things of my life. We’re in Mt. Pleasant, which is right by the beach. We went out, and there was this really huge wind storm and rain storm, blowing the sand all across the beach. It was really almost spiritual. It’s just so neat to witness things like that. We were able to witness it yesterday, and then we swam for a good hour and a half, almost maybe two hours. It was really, really good. Cause you know, the tour gets real stressful playing every night. Then worrying about how we’ve got to get to this place at this time. So we actually had a day off and it was nice to just kick back and focus on nothing. It was good. We’ve had fun here so far.

TMC: Excellent. It’s important to relax and I’m glad you guys found some time in your busy schedule. Your roots are in Lincoln, Nebraska. What was it like growing up in the Midwest? What was your family dynamic like?

Joshua: How was my family dynamic? It was good. I was born in Cleveland, OH, and I was only there for two years. Then my family moved to Lincoln. I lived in Lincoln my whole life. My family still lives there. I mean, it’s great. I was raised in a very, very Christian home, with some very strict Christian rules and regulations. It was amazing. I don’t think I could’ve asked for a better family. Just like any family, there was obviously problems. And music wise it was definitely a different atmosphere than I think a lot of people are raised in. My parents are really kind of anti-rock-n-roll. If I were to buy rock-n-roll records they would either hide them from me, or throw them away, or break them, whatever the case is. So I kind of always had to keep my music very hidden from my family/parents. So, musically, it was definitely a very different dynamic than I think a lot of kids get, growing up being able to listen to whatever they want. I didn’t take for granted the music I had because I had to listen to it secretly. It was this escape that I was able to go to and listen to music. So, that’s a little fact about my family.

TMC: After High School, what motivated you to spend some time in South America?

Joshua: I was in South America just visiting Venezuela. I mean, I’d really never been to South America and I just wanted to go down there. I was down there for almost two years. I just lived in all different areas, of mostly Venezuela. I met a lot of really amazing families that I would live with for awhile. I don’t know how to explain it. It was just a very, very eye opening experience. I know that’s such a cliché thing to say, but it really was. I was down there during… I don’t know how much you know about the politics of Venezuela but the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, is very anti-Bush, anti-United States, anti-America guy. And so there was obviously a lot of tension between Americans, and not all Venezuelans, but obviously certain groups that were very anti-American. Anyways, I was down there when the people tried to overthrow the government; basically, trying to take Chavez out of power. And it was this huge, huge thing where I saw… You know, I was in these apartment complexes and I actually saw people being killed in the streets by the government. I think we just don’t, and I don’t say “we” collectively for everyone, but I think as a whole take for granted what we have in the United States. Our right to a trial, our right to whatever. Just our rights we have here. And they’re not shared in the other parts of the world. To come back to point one again, it was just very eye-opening, and really amazing. I met so many beautiful and kind people that really were caught in definitely an ugly side of humanity. But, it was cool though.

TMC: Wow, that’s rather incredible. Did you play any guitar before your time down south?

Joshua: No, not really. And even when I was there I didn’t play at all. When I was in High School I dabbled on the guitar. It was kind of like a thing where there was a guitar in my house and I knew I think a song by Stone Temple Pilots; I knew a song by Bob Marley; I knew like three songs that whenever friends were over I’d try to impress them by playing. But I didn’t really play any guitar. I wasn’t really interested in playing. I always really, really loved the music but never really had the desire to play until I came back from Venezuela. That’s when I bought a guitar, because the old guitar is still at my parent’s house. I bought a guitar and just started playing, teaching myself, and just writing. It was weird, I was really able to vent… No, no vent is maybe a strong word, but to put down words, write my feelings and stories, and experiences. All of that. I really liked that outlet, you know?

TMC: So then coming back from Venezuela, what landed you in Utah?

Joshua: Well, actually when I got back from Venezuela I was only in Nebraska for about two weeks before I moved to Utah. I had a lot of friends, and my brother was actually in the rehabilitation center in a city called South Jordan, which is 20minutes out of Salt Lake City. It was a very, very extreme rehabilitation center, and I wanted to be kind of close to him. At the same time there was a university out there that I was going to, which is called Utah Valley University. So I went to school, and at the same time when I wasn’t in school I was able to spend some time with my brother when he had free days where he could go out with approved guests, which could be family members, etc. My brother and I were very, very close growing up but when I was gone things went really, really downhill for him. I just really wanted to be there for him, and support in that time of need. That’s why I chose that place.

TMC: You mentioned how you saw people being killed on the streets in Venezuela. Was your time in Venezuela any great influence or connection to your song ‘Commodore?’

Joshua: No, actually ‘Commodore’ really wasn’t about Venezuela but I can see how it could be applied to that. I wrote that song specifically… A lot of times when I’m sitting down I don’t really have a theme of what I want to write about. Basically, whatever I’ve experience in the last X amount of months seeps through the top. But when I wrote ‘Commodore,’ it was a pretty specific that I wrote about. I had read a book and watched some videos, some documentaries on the Holocaust. This song basically takes place in Berlin during the Holocaust from a child’s perspective. Like being the in closet hiding from the Nazis, and seeing what is happening to all of his neighbors, and friends, and people in the streets. And seeing how, “What’s going on? Why is this happening?” It’s a sad song in the sense that it’s what we went through, during that… Well, not “we.” But what that group of people had to go through during that time. So you can kind of think of like a 10-year old guy, a kid, in Berlin during that time and just being very confused. I can only imagine what those people were thinking when it was happen. I just can’t even fathom it. So that’s what that song is about.

TMC: Right, it’s a powerful story. It almost seems like there’s a great similarity to what you saw in Venezuela and what the boy in this song would have seen during the Holocaust. So I was curious to know if any of the story drew inspiration from your experiences.

Joshua: Yeah, but it definitely could be applied to that situation to, you know?

TMC: On tour it seems you and the band has been camping a lot.

Joshua: (laughs)Yeah, we camp everywhere. It’s rad. It’s really cool. I’d be lying if I said don’t have probably over 75 mosquito bites on my arms and legs. A lot of the people in the band, well everyone in the band, are pretty simple people. We’re not into cars and super nice things. So we try to really conserve our money and only spend it when we really, really need to. Because obviously, with gas prices the way they are, and we’re definitely not a nation-wide act. We’re not very known. So we’re not selling a ton of CDs. We’re not filling up venues. The money is very small and so we’re just trying to be able to make a little bit of money for when we get home; to live a little bit longer. So to cut the whole hotel experience out of it is saving us thousands of dollars, tens of thousands of dollars. So, it’s good. It’s good to camp. Plus we experience so much more. We’ve seen some really great things. A lot of the times we stay in rest areas along the road, just pull out our sleeping bag and lay it on the grass. Then we’re up and off in the morning. Sometimes when we have a day off, then we’ll maybe find a camp site, set up a tent, and hang out. We’ll get to know each other a little better, you know? And it’s been great, man. I think I really recommend it to any musician. This is the way I’ve always done it. And I love it! I love to experience the outdoors. I’ve done a couple legs, like a couple weeks, of staying in hotels and it’s just so boring! You go into the hotel room and flip on the television until you go to sleep. That’s not fun at all. Like worrying about bears in the woods – that’s fun! Worrying about being eaten, and swimming in lakes. I don’t know. Being able to experience that is just a beautiful thing. I love it.

TMC: You mentioned how expensive gas is and not staying in hotels is energy saving too. Your song 'Geese' addresses the environmental issue. Are you a big supporter of the Green movement and how're you involved?

Joshua: Yeah, of course. I think it’s very past due, this “green movement” where all these companies are trying to be more environmentally sound and safe. It’s kind of sad that it takes so much before we realize what’s going on. Well, not even realize it, because I think we all realize it. It’s really about time, and I think we’re trying to make a little bit of a change in the environment; the world; in our self; in mankind; in everything. But it’s tough. I wish there was some sort of large vehicle that was hybrid of sorts, or anything like that. They don’t have one yet. When that comes out, that’s the plan. Because we’ve already, thus far, been out on tour for about three weeks now, and have spent about well into $3,500 in gas. It is insane how insane how much gas is. Four dollars a gallon is just killing us. But yeah, I’m a very, very big supporter of it of course.

TMC: Wow that’s a ton of gas. And I thought I had to fill up often! I must say I’ve been reading your blog recently, and you mentioned having to worry about getting eaten by anything…

Joshua: (laughs) Which entry, man?

TMC: The shark…

Joshua: The resident bull shark, yes. Yeah, it was the funniest thing. We were at this bar. Obviously, you read it, but the karaoke thing. We were feeling good. We had all been singing. It was getting dark, it was raining, and the water was really chopping. It just looked beautiful. So I was like, “Hey…” to two other guys in the band who’re pretty daring. I said, “Let’s go jump off this bridge.” And it was a high bridge into the ocean. We didn’t tell the bar people, but when we were up on the bridge the other guys in the band were telling the bar, “Oh yeah, they’re gonna jump off that bridge.” And they were like, “Oh, no! Go yell at them that there’s a resident bull shark and people have been attacked.” We jumped in before they said anything, but luckily we made it out safely. Pretty funny story; that we jumped into a bull shark infested water. It was pretty cool though. We had some fun.

TMC: (laughs) Well, I’m glad you had fun. The reason I bring up that entry particularly though is that you said, “There is one chance. Always One. And we were there.” Might someone be able to consider that your life motto?

Joshua: Yeah, man. I think so. I try to really live life to the most that I can. Life isn’t all about whatever our minds think it is. It’s not all about, for me at least, music. It’s not all, for my dad, about medicine. Really taking… Like this moment right now that we’re sharing, me and you. I’m sitting out here in South Carolina, a state that I’ve never really been to, and just taking it all in. I’m just trying to not be too stressed out about by the small things that really when it all boils down to very little doesn’t mean that much. Even the shows that I do, it just doesn’t mean that much. I love playing music, and I love playing live music. I guess that’s why I do it. I’m able to sometimes connect with people. Not at every show, but there’s shows where people really connect with something that maybe I’m saying. Or maybe after the show we’ll be able to connect on a different level, or whatever. It’s really neat. I think there really is so many times in our life when we look back and are like, “Oh, we had the chance. But we didn’t do this, and we didn’t take it.” I really, really try to take those chances when they’re their. Just live and try to be as happy as I can.

TMC: That’s great to live so free spirited. How'd you meet the guys in your band?

Joshua: Well, my drummer I’ve actually known since I started playing music. We’ve been in a band for 3 ½ years now. So he’s the only drummer I’ve ever really played with. The other guys are just guys that I’ve met in Utah and buddies that recently met. They all played, and were really into the music and wanted to tour. So we actually just got together. Before the tour we’ve only been playing about two months together, so not long at all.

TMC: That’s rather surprising. There's lyrics up on your website for a song called ‘You're The Cocaine’ that's not on ‘The Sun Is Always Brighter.’ What's the fate of that song?

Joshua: Oh, boy. Well, the song was on the original version of ‘The Sun Is Always Brighter.’ It’s a song about my wife. There are a lot of reasons why we took it off the record. One of the reasons being we pressed the record to vinyl and there wasn’t enough room for one of the songs on the vinyl. I had been wanting to take the song off anyways, so it was kind of a perfect out for me. I just don’t feel like it really fit the theme of the record. I mean, the song is fine. I don’t think it’s a bad song or anything like that. I don’t know. It’s just not the kind of artist that I really wanted to be portrayed as. I mean this record is the very first recordings that pretty much I’ve ever done, besides like some home recordings. So I’m definitely hoping that I’m growing as an artist and the next record is going to be twice what this last record was. So it’s just a song that was on the original version of ‘The Sun Is Always Brighter’ but was then taken off in repressings of it.

TMC: Interesting. The album was only released in early June, but the songs are pretty old and you've been touring with them for a long time. There are upcoming plans to jump back in the studio. What'll be made of those sessions? A new record?

Joshua: Yeah, quite awhile. It’s been a long time now. We’ve actually already done pretty much the whole record. The first group of recordings that we did were June of last year. We did about thirteen songs in June of last year, and then in December of last year we did about fifteen more. So we have a total of almost thirty songs. And since then there’s been twenty-five, thirty more songs that I’ve wanted to record. So it’ll definitely be really hard to whittle it down because there’s a lot of songs that I think are really going to make this next record great. It’s definitely going to be a different record. The vision for the next record is much different than ‘The Sun Is Always Brighter.’ I think it’s going to be even little bit darker than ‘The Sun Is Always Brighter’ was. Even though the content on ‘The Sun Is Always Brighter’ is dark, it still has kind of has a light feel to it. I mean, to me at least. The next record is going to be a little more heavy, I would say. It’ll have a little bit more electric guitar; a little bit more rock-n-roll. Obviously I’m not a rock-n-roll artist, but there’s definitely going to be a little bit more straightforward rock songs. So the plan is to do a little bit more recording. Then release another record. It’s pretty much done, we just have to tie up a few loose ends.

TMC: Well great, we look forward to hearing that. Any questions I should've asked or anything else we should know about you?

Joshua: No, man. I don’t think so. I think it’s good, you know?

TMC: Alright. Great! We’re pushing that twenty-five minute mark of freedom you have, but I’ll finish up by asking since this is The Milk Carton, are there any artists or bands that you’d like to see become more popular and find a larger audience that we should go check out?

Joshua: Well, as a matter of fact there is. In Utah there is a kid whose name is Isaac Russell, who goes by the moniker RuRu. Really, really phenomenal artist. He’s sixteen years old. The record he just put out is called ‘Elizabeth.’ Elizabeth is his mother’s name and she passed away two years ago from breast cancer. The record is very in tone of…. A lot of songs are written about his mom and the experience of having his mom die on him and his family. For a sixteen year old kid it’s just one of the best records I’ve ever heard. I think its http://www.myspace.com/rurumusic. So that’s something I would recommend. Let’s see, something else I would recommend. Something newer is Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s. I don’t know if you’ve heard of them, but I’m a huge fan of theirs.

TMC: They’re from Indianapolis.

Joshua: Yes, Indianapolis. I love that first record of their ‘The Dust of Retreat,’ and I guess they’re putting out a new record. So that’s something I’ll definitely be keeping my eye open for. That’s a couple of things I’ve been listening to and into recently.

TMC: Well, thanks Josh. I greatly appreciate you finding the time to talk with us.

Joshua: Yeah, man. Thanks a lot for letting me do this.


Coming Soon TMC Exclusive: Joshua James Live in Nashville Concert Video.

Until then, make sure you head over to our Windows Media Page for Joshua where you can stream all of album 'The Sun Is Always Brighter.'