Page 42 - NLP244603 "NE Volume" Magazine (56pp 240 x 170 self cover)

JOSHUA RAY WALKER
NEXT NE GIG
Monday 29th August
VENUE
Gosforth Civic Theatre
In just three years, Dallas, Texas native Joshua Ray Walker has gone from virtual unknown to an artist Rolling Stone calls “country’s most fascinating young songwriter”. As he heads to Gosforth Civic Theatre, Cameron Wright caught up with him to find out what gig-goers can expect.
How does country music translate when toured outside of the confines of Nashville, Tennessee? AllIcanbaseitonisin2019whenIdida Scandinavian tour, just before the pandemic cancelled the rest. I was riding around Sweden and Norway and I was really surprised by its popularity. I wasn’t sure there would be any audience but I can best sum it up by saying I slid into their version of McDonalds and as I was eating a burger,
I've always liked world music or all your more obscure jazz and funk things. On my travels, I’ll always put an emphasis on hunting a good live band, something that represents the area, be it New Orleans or Chicago. I think you can hear it in my music, or I hope so. I get pigeon-holed as a traditional country artist in America, but I’m always trying to add new flavours. It’s always about serving the song and delivering interesting tracks that are lyrically driven - that’s what makes it country in my mind.
What is country music to you?
It’s storytelling and making the most impact with the fewest words. When I’m writing a song, I daydream about the scenes of the movie I’m telling. When I wrote ‘Lot Lizard’, I could see the couple in a diner, I could hear the music; I saw the panning camera and the zooms. The music is painting in those details and placing the furniture so you can see
what I see.
When you’re storytelling, do the people from your travels
come up?
The characters might be a combination of people I met. They could be characters from when I was seven or someone I met seven days ago. The reason the songs come to life is that these characters help me to explore things about myself. Honestly, I think talking about those things in first-person would be too daunting, so I use the characters. I think that’s what a lot of storytelling is. For example, Marty Robbins didn’t want to write 30 songs about a gunfighter - he was talking about
himself.
Joshua Ray Walker heads to Gosforth Civic Theatre on Monday 29th August. Tickets, priced at £14.00 in advance, are available from gosforthcivictheatre. co.uk.
Glen Campbell came on the radio, followed by Tom T Hall. T Hall
is a pretty deep cut; it’s really ingrained out there. All I know
about the UK is that it rains and you eat beans for breakfast. I don’t know what to expect elsewhere, but that’s why I do it. I got into country music as a means to travel.
How so?
I grew up in a poor part of Dallas.
Dallas is so spread out and you get
these pockets that feel like their own
town. I was the only white guy in my pocket
for a while, and I’ve just always been raised on exploring. I live next to my grandfather and he was the same: at 17, he went to Japan on his own, seeing the world. As a natural observer, I’ve always been inspired to experience new things. The second I got my car, I was gone, and spent all my days driving off to new places and meeting new people. I’ve always had an affinity with misunderstood characters, so if I get the opportunity to drive off and talk to a truck driver or some gas stop cashier, that’s my crowd.
And how does this explorative spirit manifest in your music?
“All I know about the UK is that it rains and you eat beans for breakfast”
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