1. The First Song I Wrote
Well, the first song I would have written would have been some ridiculous parody song with my brother and/or father. But I guess my first ‘real’ song would have been written when I was around 14 or 15. Of course it was about heartbreak and girls – not that knew anything about that at that age.
2. The Last Song I Released
A few months ago I released my first ever solo record. It’s called Call In Whispers, and I feel that it is by far my best work to date: it’s an album that has so much meaning to me. It was written during a time in my life following a lot of changes, including my move back from Melbourne to Perth to be with my family and my reconnecting with old friends. So I guess that was a big part of what influenced the lyrics on the album. The album was recorded and produced by Joel Quartermain of Eskimo Joe. Between him and myself, we played pretty much all of the instruments on the album.
3. Songwriting Secrets
Songs can come in any shape, form and at any time. I do find that I don’t write a lot on tour though. We generally play every single day while we are overseas, so the days often involve transit, interviews, hotel rooms and sight-seeing, 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.
4. The Song That Makes Me Proud
That is a tough one – it’s a little like asking a parent to choose their favourite child. I guess I love the opening track, ‘Walls’, from the new album, and the album’s title track, ‘Call In Whispers’. Both of these were written within about 48 hours. It was a great couple of days at home demoing and being creative.
5. The Song That Changed My Life
‘I 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 the Oxford Circus on Wednesday August 24. His new albumCall In Whispers is out now independently. You can check it out through his website, here.
