Joshua's Joys?!

When Joshua was in his teens, one of his good friends was the son of the inventor of the bullet proof vest.  The inventor's name is Richard Davis. He would hold an annual "Shoot." It was specifically called the Second Chance Shoot. Second Chance was the name of the body armor company.  When Richard Davis first tested his body armor in the late 70's, he shot himself pointblank in the stomach with a .357. At this time, the vest was the equivalent in thickness of 16 Hanes white cotton t-shirts. They would hire kids to pick up the bowling pins that they would shoot, amongst other small tasks. But would pay $100 a day cash to teenagers to do just this.


There would be a multitude of musicians and actors that would come to this. William Petersen from the original CSI cast. Paul Newman. Ted Nugent. Joshua had shared this anecdote with us before; saying that Ted Nugent was great fun but out of his mind. Always stating that his arrogance was stemmed from his insecurity.  Though never being a huge Ted Nugent fan, he always loved this song called Hey Baby. Though this song was from one of Ted's many ventures of trying out different bands. It is not Ted singing, but it is Ted on guitar. Before going on, there is an anecdote to come that is actually quite serious, related to the Second Chance Shoot, but for now let's stick with the song. Also loving the song Stranglehold. Something about the groove he would say.

There is always some form of plagiarism in movies and music.  Especially when it comes to blues music, or rock and roll, just a faster form of blues. Listen to the intro of Hey Baby by Ted Nugent, and then the intro of Truckin by the Grateful Dead. A subtle difference. But even the person that has the least musicality in their ear can hear it. Hear what? A similarity. Adding to what causes the difference between musicians/music and actors/movies, knowing who you are and finding your own style. That's what will separate you. On a statistical note there are over 12,000 chords on the guitar. There are 12 notes per scale. Yet, somehow we still find ourselves limited. Which comes down to our influences.

Joshua always states that there will come a time, as you are growing musically and as a person, that you will become your own influence.  And when you find your style through this, you will be somebody elses'. So compare, but enjoy both songs. And then we will throw in the psychedelic song that makes you feel like you're high without being so. Stranglehold.  And because Joshua would want to add a little Texas Blues, we'll throw in a little SRV.








Post Script~ Do not be afraid to embarrass yourself. Not because you are doing something foolish, but specifically in the field of music, pushing yourself to achieve the next level. Your voice, your guitar, whatever it is that drives you in music, whatever instrument that you play. Getting to that point where you learn your voice so well that throughout the years you will have missed notes, you will overbend a string on a guitar, hit a wrong chord, or even be in the wrong key. It's just like life. There are very few people that have not gone through this. Joshua has many recordings from many different artists, from Elvis to SRV showing, as you listen carefully, the mistakes that were made. Most people overlook them. Most of Joshua's influences were great before their time, but they still had those moments of embarrassment. It's simply inevitable.  Joshua has stated that he has had many of these moments throughout his music career. That it wasn't until he went into remission at 34 that he made no mistakes. As he will often state, this comes down to knowing who you are.  Arrogance lies in insecurity, but confidence is derived from the hard work stemming from conviction.  If you learn from your mistakes, the more you make, the less you will make. And in ending, music is the perfect metaphor for life itself.