1. The First Song I Wrote
It would have no doubt been a parody song of some kind, very likely co-written with my brother and/or dad, most likely about my sister and/or mum. But I guess my first ‘real’ song would have been when I was around 14 or 15 – of course it was about girls, heartbreak and lost love; not that I would have known anything about that topic at this age.
2. The Last Song I Released
I’ve just released a brand new single called ‘Only Way I Know’. The song is taken from my album Call In Whispers which was released just six months ago. Since the release I have been on a truly incredible journey. I feel that this album is by far my best work to date, and is an album that has so much meaning to me. It was a time in my life following a lot of changes, including moving back from Melbourne to Perth to be with my family and reconnecting with old friends. So I guess this was a big part of what influenced the lyrics on the album. The album was recorded and produced by Joel from Eskimo Joe. Between him and myself we played pretty much all of the instruments on the album.
3. Songwriting Secrets
There is no telling when and where a good song will come from. I do find, though, that I have trouble writing whilst on tour. We generally play every single day while we are overseas, so the days often involve transit, interviews, hotel rooms and sightseeing (when we can fit it in). Once I get home from tour and have a week to relax, this is when all of the experiences of the tour – all of the people I have met, the bands I have seen, the places I have visited, the highs and lows – they all come out in the shape of songs. So for me, it comes in bursts. I generally have the music and a melody and the lyrics come later, but there are also pages of lyrics in a notepad which I sometimes work chords around. I recommend going somewhere isolated and letting it all happen. I just got back from ten days writing songs in the Gili Islands (Indonesia) – incredible place to do it.
4. The Song That Makes Me Proud
This is always a tough question, but, I guess I love the opening track ‘Walls’ on the new album, and the album’s title track ‘Call In Whispers’. Both of these were written and demoed within a 48-hour period. It was a magic couple of days at home demoing and being creative.
5. The Song That Changed My Life
‘Won’t Back Down’ by Tom Petty. I grew up listening to that album (Full Moon Fever) and the lyrics and the way he delivers them resonate with me. It’s a life anthem as well as a super-catchy feel good tune.
Josh Johnstone plays Oxford Circus on Tuesday November 15 and the Brass Monkey on Thursday November 17.Call In Whispersis out now independently.
