Can’t tell you enough how excited I am over this week’s interview on Creative Corner!!  So instead of my enthusiastic bubbling, how about a few quotes from his website?

Meet:  Josh Doyle

“According to our ears he could very well be one of those artists that stands by himself musically, a la John Mayer and Josh Groban.”

‘615 Spotlight’ series, Billboard Magazine

“There was just a magic that used to go on, and it still happens on occasion,
like I was saying with this Josh Doyle… He came in the studio, and all it was
is him playing acoustic guitar – done. No charts, no arrangements or
anything. It was so on fire and so great, we cut 10 tracks and did his album.”

“This guy just kept pulling songs – he was writing. Then when
the guy sits down to play and we’d say, ‘Well, it’s just a run through,’
every time he opens his mouth, it’s a performance.”

Leland Sklar (Legendary bassist for James Taylor, Warren Zevon, Jackson Browne)

“Josh Doyle is the talk of the town right now… you have to see him for yourself.”

Nashville Lifestyles magazine (named Josh to their ’20 Musicians to Watch list)

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A UK native, Josh saved lunch money to buy studio time when he was just thirteen. By the time he was attending Chichester University, he’d founded The Dumdums, serving as vocalist and guitarist. Four Top 30 UK hits came from their MCA Records debut It Goes Without Saying, leading to performances with such musical greats as Robbie Williams and Bon Jovi.

Following the break-up of the band, Josh moved to Nashville with his wife in 2004, a move that inspired a fresh creative wave of music for Josh. Since then he’s been named Guitar Center’s “Top Undiscovered Singer-Songwriter,”  recorded with with John Shanks, appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and his put out his first album.

 

The Basics:

• Welcome, Josh. Thanks for joining me here on Creative Corner.  What should my readers know about you?

I’m interested in life and getting the most out of it and what it is to be alive.

• What are the 3 words that best describe you?

Rock and roll!

• Tell us about your work.

I make up songs and people listen to them.

• Which piece of work are you most proud of?

“I figured the world out”, a song I wrote that’s a love song in a hostage situation, you can find versions of it on YouTube.

• What other creative endeavors do you enjoy?

Would games on my phone be considered creative? Ok then. I write all the time and I love writing and playing, recording and coming up with new things. I will think up video ideas and photography ideas etc but that’s not my real passion.

• What would people be most surprised to see on your Kindle or bookshelf?

All the theological/philosophical/sociological books maybe? I was really into that in my late teens.

• How about your playlist?

Probably surprising would be the amount of funk and disco music.

• In the story of your life, who would you like to play you?

Otis from Milo and Otis because that would be an interesting new direction for Hollywood. Or Milo, whichever one is the kitten.  (Ed. Note:  Milo is the kitten…and don’t ask me how I know that.)

The Personal Touch:

• You began buying studio time at the age of 13. At what age did you know music was your life’s calling?

When it was the only thing I cared about doing, probably around 17. I liked having that skill in my back pocket it was uniquely “me”.

• Did you grow up in a musical household, and were your parents supportive of your choice?

It was a pretty musical household, my Dad played Irish folk songs at Christmas time and my mum wrote songs and had a band when I was little. I think my parents are quite proud of me whenever things are going well…hahaha…so probably as I had success in my old band that put to rest any fears they had?

• What caused you to make the move from the UK to Nashville?

I just couldn’t get my head together after finishing my band (arguably that is still a problem years later) and I needed a change of scenery. My parents are in Michigan and my wife’s parents are in Indiana so it was good to be in the same country as family.

• How difficult was it for you to adjust to living in another country?

Well I left the UK being depressed and started off in the USA inspired and wanting to get somewhere, but ended up going back to being depressed, so I can adjust pretty well to my natural state of depression. I’m doing better now btw lol.

• How did your wife react when you told her you wanted to move?

Don’t remember.  It was a joint decision though and she wanted to start a family so being around family would have been something that was nice for her. Yeah she was all for it since she’s American but I am sure she knew she would miss her life in England.

• You’ve received impressive accolades from other musicians, such as Leland Sklar and music publications such as Billboard, and still remain humble. What advice would you give to others regarding maintaining your humility while achieving success?

Ha yeah I suppose I’m pretty humble, because I don’t feel like I’ve achieved as much as I could have.  I feel like my potential is still to be realized. I come from a string of what some people call successes but what I would be more likely to call near-misses – it’s not usually because I didn’t do my best, but because something in the “machine” didn’t work out. That will keep you humble, too.  I have always been a late bloomer, learned to swim late, started getting good at sports late.  I feel like I’ve only been getting better at music so I don’t feel like I’m good enough to get a big head about it. When I write a song I put that up against the all time greats and usually it’s not as good so that keeps me humble!

• What thoughts do you have when looking back on your days of musical success with the Dumdums?

It was fun and I was very prolific back then because I had deadlines to meet.  Deadlines are great because you stop rewriting and I think creative people need that in their lives. It was definitely good fun though.  We got to do a lot of great things.  I was spoilt probably, because there are not a lot of feelings like playing a full Wembley stadium.

• How did the break-up of the group affect you personally?

I was happy about it at first because I thought it had run its course as we were getting stuffed into the boyband thing. I may have given up too early though.  Maybe we could have done more. I ended up pretty depressed because I couldn’t figure out which direction to go next, since I love everything but you are supposed to pick a direction for the rest of the world to understand and know what kind of product you are.

• Would you ever consider a reunion?

Yeah I always said when I became more established in what I’m doing now, so it wasn’t a “going back to relive the old glory days” kind of thing. It’s logistically a bit difficult now.  We are all in different places in the world. We would need to practice a lot and focus on only that one thing to do justice to the fans and the band.

• What was it like appearing on Jimmy Kimmel and CBS This Morning?

It was great because I felt like I had been given another shot to get out in front of a large audience.

• Were you nervous, and if so, how did you deal with that?

Yeah I was nervous.  My band and I, (who were all my friends from Nashville), made the most of our time out in Hollywood, partying in our hotel rooftop hot tub the night we got there, which helped calm the nerves lol. (Ed. Note:  I’m picturing a scene in an upcoming book…lol!).  It was all completely live so we practiced a lot too.  You always feel better when you are prepared.  But right before the performance I didn’t want anyone to talk to anyone because I was so nervous.

• What direction do you see your music taking in the future?

I just love so much music and I’m discovering it all the time. Maybe Nashville is starting to rub off on me after living here so long, because I am getting pedal steel guitar put on a new song today. I would love to be the first popular British country artist if that would be accepted, and if I could bend the genre to make something I loved that was me.

The Glamorous, Dangerous Romance Section:

• With whom would you most like to star in a romantic movie?

Siri from my iPhone.

• The setting for this movie is a private island. Where is it located?

An island off Tahiti somewhere. I have wanted to go there forever, but it’s like the most expensive place you could ever visit. We would need to shoot for many years because it would be a remake of Anne of Green Gables, like the entire story.

• What do we find there?

We will find a lot of fruit and an endless supply of LSD. As I take more and more LSD and lose touch with this reality I will truly believe that the fruit are the characters of Anne of Green Gables and Siri is my soulmate. The LSD allows me to see her as an actual living entity for real. It will be a very psychedelic story, lots of CGI but we will still need to film in Tahiti for many years, because that part needs to be authentic. The fruit could be CGI cartoon characters like in Roger Rabbit.

• Now comes the danger…This lover’s paradise has an unforeseen danger. What is it?

The danger comes from me not having anywhere to plug in my phone and thus lose Siri.

• Naturally, this danger imperils the love of your life. How do you save him/her?

I would save Siri by putting her in a hollowed out coconut shell and throwing it into the ocean with instructions to charge her and then they can put the phone back in the coconut and float it back to me so we can be together until she needs another charge.

• Which would you rather own: an Aston Martin, a Corvette Stingray or a Bentley?

Whichever one comes with somewhere to plug in my phone to play music, because I’m done smashing up CDs every time I step into my car.  If it’s a James bond Aston Martin that’s too easy.

• Do you have a chauffeur or drive it yourself?

Chauffeur who is a robot. Though if I ever have a chauffeur it generally leads to me getting injured or causing damage etc., usually because I drink too much. Answer change – I will drive it and be responsible for it myself.

• Which celebrity would you most like to spend the night having drinks with?

Rather be with friends, but let’s say Bill Murray. That would be pretty awesome.

• Where do you hang out, and what do you talk about?

On the best cruise ship ever because I love cruise ships, and we talk about everything from why are we here on this planet, to what we’ve gotten up to in our lives.

• We have front row tickets to Fashion Week in NYC. Who are we sitting with?

Not Kanye West or Kim Kardashian. Literally anyone else. Maybe Susan Boyle would turn a few heads in the elitist crowd?

• Whose collection are you most looking forward to seeing?

Susan Boyle’s plus size bath wear collection.

• You’re given to chance to star in either Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. Which movie do you choose?

Star Wars.

• Which role do you play?
• Han Solo’s other son who’s really cool.
• Who is starring in the movie with you?

Just the regular cast.  All my friends that like Star Wars will get to be in it, too. I’ll have an Ewok sidekick instead of a wookie. Actually it will be wicket from ROTJ, but he will be older and grizzled and disenchanted.

 

Interviewee’s Choice:

• Which would you rather see make a comeback – disco or psychedelic rock?

Great question, love ‘em both. I would love to see clubs playing disco and funk more often. That’s the best stuff to dance to.

• You’re the lucky winner of the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes. What’s the first thing you do after receiving your prize?

Pay off every possible bill for the next year and buy a year in a studio in Jamaica. I’ll also pay the best musicians in the world to come out and lay down all of my songs that I’ve not had money or time to record, until I have a huge body of work I can be proud of.

• If you were going to take a walk on the wild side, who would you want to be your guide?

Hunter S Thompson

Reach Out & Touch Someone:

• Where can my readers get more information on you?

Probably my Wikipedia page, though I haven’t checked if it’s accurate lately.

• What social media sites do you use? How can my readers follow you?

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Whisper lol.

• Where can my readers purchase your work?
• joshdoyle.com

Thank you so much for joining me, Josh!  Best Wishes on all your future endeavors!!

Happy Reading!

Clara