MUSIC
INTERVIEW: MOTOR CITY JOSH
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Savannah Friday Nov 15, 2002. By Jim Reed (Music Editor)
JOSH
FORD HAS BEEN AROUND the sounds of rhythm and blues for
virtually his entire life.
This
Atlanta-based guitarist and singer –who played with
his family in their church band as a child– credits
his parents’ eclectic taste in music with helping to
guide his career. “My dad had a good variety of music
and exposed me to some of everything,” he recently
told a reporter.
While
still in elementary school, Josh branched out from sacred
music to man the drums in his father’s blues band.
That group gigged in the clubs of South Florida, where his
family made their home. Soon, he was sitting in with members
of Robert Jr. Lockwood’s band, and by the time he was
twelve, had begun to play guitar and compose his own songs.
Diving
into the blues with gusto, he relocated to his hometown
of Detroit, Michigan, and by the late 1980s was touring
regularly, opening for (or sitting in with) such headliners
as Buddy Guy and A.C. Reed of the late Albert Collins’
band. After close to a decade of paying dues on that circuit,
Josh had a sizable following and the recognition of his
peers to show for his trouble. In 1998, he was named “Artist
Deserving Wider Recognition” at the Motor City Music
Awards.
By
then, Ford had released two indie albums, 1996’s Living
Like a King in The Ghetto and 1998’s Going To The Country.
But it was time for a change. And so, in the fall of 1999,
with the implications of that award still fresh in his mind,
he gave up the cozy fan base he had won the hard way in
Michigan, and headed south.
According
to the musician, he’s comfortable in his adopted home.
“It's
very similar because there are a handful of good clubs to
play,” he has said. However, “a big thing that
stands out in my mind is that Detroit has more committed
bands and Atlanta has more hired guns.”
Josh
formed The Big Three when his previous band could not make
the move, and now brings his original material, surprisingly
powerful baritone vocals and stinging lead guitar playing
to a number of top clubs in our region.
He’s
also becoming known for another one of his talents –although
not one you’d likely imagine. It’s casting a line.
The
self-proclaimed “country boy who is forced to be in
an urban area to practice (his) art form” is an avid
sportsman, who just loves to fish.
In
a strange marketing maneuver, his newest album Stringer
Full of Blues, is composed entirely of songs about fishing.
And while that may seem double-strange to most readers,
it all makes perfect sense to Josh Ford, who writes many
of his songs while out on the water.
"I
want to encourage blues fans to like fishing and encourage
fishermen to like the blues," he has been quoted as
saying. "I want to write good blues songs... I don't
care if they're about fishing or cheating."
He’s
been throwing such tunes into his live sets and albums for
years now, and was struck with the positive response they
received. Apparently there’s a demand for bluesy songs
about wrasslin’ with seafood.
At
least Edd Miller and Jim McCall hope there is.
The
two entrepreneurs –who’ve worked with Garth Brooks
and Lyle Lovett– have pooled their talents to help
finance Ford’s new disc (on sale at www.motorcityjosh.com).
"We
honestly believe there's a great impulse market for this,"
McCall told a reporter. "Do you know how many of those
silly talking bass sold a while back?"
Still,
all novelty schemes aside, Motor City Josh is a facile and
expressive singer and stringbender, whose swampy grooves
and funky vocal tics are sure to delight blues and party-music
fans of all ages.
He’s
dedicated to his craft and to living the life he loves.
He candidly described his future goals to a journalist thusly:
“I see myself playing 300 nights a year all over the
Southeast...traveling and playing the blues, making money
and having fun.” |
REVIEW