Gary James' Interview With
Joshua Scott Jones
On June 3rd, 2014, Joshua Scott Jones released his debut solo album, "The Healing". Joshua, you may remember, was part of the duo Steel Magnolia. Joshua talked to us about his life these days.
Q - Joshua, you call your CD "The Healing". Here you had a nice looking girlfriend and singing partner, you had hit records, you were traveling the US. You were living the American Dream, Josh.
A - Absolutely.
Q - What was the problem?
A - I don't know. I think it's funny. Sometimes when you're in the middle of something; I think there was probably a few things going on, you know? I think it all happened so quickly. I don't think I was necessarily prepared for the pace or the commitment level that was going on. There were a lot of factors involved I think. Externally everything was great. It was a great time.
Q - You played Chevy Court at the New York State Fair. Do you remember that?
A - Of course I do. We played with One Direction or some Boy Band. I remember that.
Q - Did you do any roadwork prior to Steel Magnolia?
A - No. I think it was more of just a thing where I played shows and I played clubs on a much smaller scale. I'd never hopped on a plane and had to play shows in two or three different states within twenty-four hours. So that was way different. I was kind of a street musician for several years, on and off, in my late teens, early twenties. Different kind of being on the road at that point.
Q - The pace of being on the road, doing the Steel Magnolia act, led to problems?
A - I don't know if it's the pace really. I just think I had my own issues I had to deal with. I don't think anybody cared to address it, including myself. But life's good now.
Q - So, you're solo now? There is no more Steel Magnolia, correct?
A - That's right.
Q - Wouldn't you have more pressure on you as a solo act? You don't have anyone else to share the stage with.
A - I don't think it's more pressure. It's just a different approach and I look forward to that. I think in a lot of ways it's a lot less pressure because now I'm responsible for myself, not anybody else. And I think I get to be more authentic in a lot of areas. And I also think it's fun to be able to do this, the art, and make the songs you want to make and the records you like to make without making any concessions to someone else in your group. Not that I didn't love that and I'm not saying that will never happen again, 'cause I don't know the future, but I just think where I'm at right now, I'm in a really good place in my life and I feel like this record kind of signifies that. There's some different kind of pressures, but I think for the most part there's a lot less pressure because it feels really natural. A lot of times we need to do what feels right and you feel like you're on the right path. It makes things a lot easier.
Q - Are you saying that when you were with Steel Magnolia, the record company was pressuring you to sing a certain song in a certain style?
A - Well I mean the record company's job is to sell records and make the best decisions that they know how to do to promote that and push that. I think any artist gets a bit of that. There's a give / take thing you have to do. The music we made was pretty powerful and it definitely had its own stamp on it. I don't regret any of that. I think it was great. It got me to where I am now, my solo record. I think I have a lot of support behind it. Everybody just does what they have to do sometimes.
Q - Are you going out on the road to promote "The Healing"?
A - That's what I'm doing.
Q - When does that start?
A - Well, I leave tomorrow morning to do a couple of shows in Illinois actually.
Q - Is it like a Summer tour?
A - Yeah. I think the whole Summer is pretty much booked up through Labor Day weekend.
Q - So, you have a new way of looking at things so you won't go back to your old ways?
A - Oh, yeah. If I look back on five years ago, I've come so far. I don't think that's something I think about. That's not really a possibility I think. It's a process. Every day you get further away from it. I'm sure if you look back on your life, you'd say, "Oh, wow! Ten years ago I would've reacted way differently to this than I react to this now." I think it's more of how I react. Everything is really positive and going really good.
Official Website: www.JoshuaScottJones.com
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