We caught up with Canadian singer-songwriter Josh Taerk during his recent UK dates to talk about his album Never Look Back and the future.
-You played the BBC Club last night - how was it?
It was fantastic. I had heard so much about it going into it. I was so excited to be there, and be at the epicentre of BBC radio. I think it went really well. I played a full set and everybody that was there seemed very receptive.
-How does it feel to come over here and get that kind of reaction then?
You know what, it's been phenomenal. I'm very humbled and very grateful at how people in the UK, both within the industry and people outside of it, have been taking the record and relating to the music.
-How is it comparing to the reaction you're getting back in Canada?
It's a very different kind of reaction at home. Canada does a terrific job of making sure that there's enough homegrown talent and content to balance out with a lot of the other content that's available.
The thing about Europe, and especially the UK, is there are a lot more people in a small amount of space, whereas Canada's much more spread out.
It can be challenging, to a certain extent, to reach a lot of people at one time in Canada. The reaction back home is terrific - I'm always very grateful for my hometown fans, and all the support I get there.
-What do you bring to your live show then? That enthusiasm and love for it?
Yeah. It's one of the parts of this business that enjoy - probably the one that I enjoy the most. I mean, all of it is fantastic - the recording, doing what we're doing right now, but there's something about getting up in front of people and feeling the audience, knowing they're getting something out of your songs.
-The immediate reaction.
Absolutely. One of my heroes is Bruce Springsteen. Whenever I see him live, and whenever I've seen clips of him, he always brings a level of passion and emotion to his live performance. It's definitely something that I've tried to continue through my live performance.
-Is that something that's helped with these club shows, with their intimacy?
For sure, absolutely. I love doing the acoustic sets as well, because it definitely brings that more intimate singer-to-audience connection. That connection and that intimacy - I feel it brings a different life into the songs I'm singing.
-You mentioned Springsteen - you've had the likes of Max Weinberg praise your music. How does that feel?
It's something that I'm still trying to wrap my head around to this day. It's been phenomenal. Max is incredibly supportive, and such a phenomenal person. Aside from being incredibly talented, he is very down to earth and very supportive of music in general.
So, to have somebody who is that accomplished, and that experienced, being so supportive and so helpful with my career...it's an experience I can't really do justice to. It's amazing - I'm grateful for it every single day.
-When we spoke over the summer, it was just before the full release of Never Look Back. How does it feel to finally get it out there?
I'm very excited to have it fully released. We were really excited going into the process of recording, me and Terry. To actually have it released in the UK is an incredible milestone in itself.
At the time of writing the album, I wasn't necessarily writing the songs specifically for that reason. It was just a way for me to express the experiences that I had, or that people close to me had had. The fact that it's now become a record, and is now available not only in Canada but the UK...it's a really unbelievable feeling.
-How was it working with Terry on the record?
Terry's a one of a kind person. He's absolutely amazing. I've never met anybody that has that same kind of drive and passion for music. He's very humble, very down to earth.
Going into the recording sessions, he was always trying to balance his understanding of the music, and his interpretation of what I was doing, with what I was hoping to get out of the songs.
He's always been very open and always wants to know what I think about each song. That back and forth process has developed a really great friendship, as well as a really great working relationship.
-You've been able to retain a good amount of control, more of a collaboration?
Absolutely, since day one Terry seemed very adamant about making it a collaboration. I really appreciate that, especially as it was my first real experience being in a studio and recording with a producer. For that, he's really helped me develop my career, and definitely been a huge mentor for me as well as a friend.
-I'd assume you'll be starting to work with him on the follow-up?
Absolutely - we're actually seven songs into the second record. I can't give too much away yet, but both me and Terry are very excited about it.
-Is it hard balancing the work for the second record, whilst you're promoting the first?
You know what, it's definitely a balancing act, but it's a fun process at the same time. I never really consider any of the music aspect of my life to be work, really, because I enjoy it so much.
With concerns to writing the songs for the second album, it's a process that is very organic - specifically for myself, I can't speak for other writers, obviously. It's something that I can't necessarily time out - when inspiration comes, whether it's a certain chord progression, or a couple of lines in a song, I just completely get enveloped in that world and that song.
The second record started to almost come out in segments ever since the end of the summer, really. Whenever there's a couple of minutes where I can sit down, take that inspiration and turn it into something, I definitely do.
-How did you find it coming through in Canada then? Was it a case of a lot of open mic nights, acoustic shows, building your way up?
Basically, yes. The first gig I ever played was actually an event that a friend of mine was hosting. At the time, I wasn't really thinking about performing so much - hadn't done a lot of it, and he asked me as a favour.
I'll never forget the date - it was August 18th 2007. I got up for the first time, and he was able to bring out about 200 people to this event. I sang my first song, and when I was done, everyone in the audience stood up and started clapping. I was completely addicted at that point.
From there, it was a series of events - singer-songwriter nights, I played a lot of Open Mics. I really do enjoy that experience still. Don't get me wrong - being able to play at places like the South Orange Performing Arts Centre where I opened up for Max is a phenomenal experience.
I'll never forget that date too, for different reasons, but those intimate gigs, like you said before...there's no replacing that feeling.
-Does coming through that way make you appreciate where you are now, rather than if you'd gone through something like The X Factor? Has it been more beneficial to you?
You know, it's an interesting question. It was something that I never really considered fully, to be honest, for no other reason than the way that I perceived the music industry.
The way that I always heard my heroes went through the music industry was getting out there, playing those gigs - putting your teeth to the grindstone, doing your 10,000 hours that way. I'm a very firm believer that in order to do anything really well, you need to put in that time and effort to do it.
So, to be honest with you, it's a phenomenal experience for anyone who gets that opportunity, and has that ability to go up there week after week and perform in front of those judges.
It's a phenomenal experience, and I would definitely suggest it. It wasn't necessarily a route that I'd considered taking - I can't comment on it too much, about what that would've been like.
-Looking past these UK shows, what do you have planned looking ahead to 2012?
Well, I'm actually very excited to say that on top of doing a couple of gigs, and speaking with a couple of people from media and radio stations, we also came over to discuss some touring opportunities for the New Year.
I can't really, at this moment, say who - I'm not at liberty necessarily to say that, but we're talking to a couple of people that are doing some major tours in the New Year. I'm very excited, very grateful for those opportunities.
Female First - Alistair McGeorge (Follow me on Twitter @AlistairMcG)
We caught up with Canadian singer-songwriter Josh Taerk during his recent UK dates to talk about his album Never Look Back and the future.
-You played the BBC Club last night - how was it?
It was fantastic. I had heard so much about it going into it. I was so excited to be there, and be at the epicentre of BBC radio. I think it went really well. I played a full set and everybody that was there seemed very receptive.
-How does it feel to come over here and get that kind of reaction then?
You know what, it's been phenomenal. I'm very humbled and very grateful at how people in the UK, both within the industry and people outside of it, have been taking the record and relating to the music.
-How is it comparing to the reaction you're getting back in Canada?
It's a very different kind of reaction at home. Canada does a terrific job of making sure that there's enough homegrown talent and content to balance out with a lot of the other content that's available.
The thing about Europe, and especially the UK, is there are a lot more people in a small amount of space, whereas Canada's much more spread out.
It can be challenging, to a certain extent, to reach a lot of people at one time in Canada. The reaction back home is terrific - I'm always very grateful for my hometown fans, and all the support I get there.
-What do you bring to your live show then? That enthusiasm and love for it?
Yeah. It's one of the parts of this business that enjoy - probably the one that I enjoy the most. I mean, all of it is fantastic - the recording, doing what we're doing right now, but there's something about getting up in front of people and feeling the audience, knowing they're getting something out of your songs.
-The immediate reaction.
Absolutely. One of my heroes is Bruce Springsteen. Whenever I see him live, and whenever I've seen clips of him, he always brings a level of passion and emotion to his live performance. It's definitely something that I've tried to continue through my live performance.
-Is that something that's helped with these club shows, with their intimacy?
For sure, absolutely. I love doing the acoustic sets as well, because it definitely brings that more intimate singer-to-audience connection. That connection and that intimacy - I feel it brings a different life into the songs I'm singing.
-You mentioned Springsteen - you've had the likes of Max Weinberg praise your music. How does that feel?
It's something that I'm still trying to wrap my head around to this day. It's been phenomenal. Max is incredibly supportive, and such a phenomenal person. Aside from being incredibly talented, he is very down to earth and very supportive of music in general.
So, to have somebody who is that accomplished, and that experienced, being so supportive and so helpful with my career...it's an experience I can't really do justice to. It's amazing - I'm grateful for it every single day.
-When we spoke over the summer, it was just before the full release of Never Look Back. How does it feel to finally get it out there?
I'm very excited to have it fully released. We were really excited going into the process of recording, me and Terry. To actually have it released in the UK is an incredible milestone in itself.
At the time of writing the album, I wasn't necessarily writing the songs specifically for that reason. It was just a way for me to express the experiences that I had, or that people close to me had had. The fact that it's now become a record, and is now available not only in Canada but the UK...it's a really unbelievable feeling.
-How was it working with Terry on the record?
Terry's a one of a kind person. He's absolutely amazing. I've never met anybody that has that same kind of drive and passion for music. He's very humble, very down to earth.
Going into the recording sessions, he was always trying to balance his understanding of the music, and his interpretation of what I was doing, with what I was hoping to get out of the songs.
He's always been very open and always wants to know what I think about each song. That back and forth process has developed a really great friendship, as well as a really great working relationship.
-You've been able to retain a good amount of control, more of a collaboration?
Absolutely, since day one Terry seemed very adamant about making it a collaboration. I really appreciate that, especially as it was my first real experience being in a studio and recording with a producer. For that, he's really helped me develop my career, and definitely been a huge mentor for me as well as a friend.