Interviewer: Jesica Pichardo
Written by: Nekia Fondren
This weeks #WDW goes out to Josh Gluck! Singer, songwriter, and hip-hop enthusiast! We had the pleasure to interview Josh Gluck during this month's Turntable episode! Josh sat down with us to talk about his upcoming projects, the current competition he’s in, and his love for Anderson .Paak.
Jesica Pichardo: So, what is your experience rehearsing and trying out the sound stage here?
Josh Gluck: To be honest everyone really knows what they’re doing which is pretty cool. It was a very professional environment and I was very appreciative so it’s cool to see how you guys do this. It was a great experience and I can tell you guys have been doing this for a while.
Jes: Speaking of doing this for a while, how long have you been doing this?
Josh: So, I’m 21 right now and I don’t know age wise, but I know I picked up my first guitar in the fourth grade. I don’t know why I’m not good with age but I’m really good with life events and grades? But that’s when I started playing. When I got to middle school that’s when I started getting into groups and bands and playing live.
Jes: What was the first band that you actually were apart of?
Josh: It was an incredible experience. The first band that I was actually apart of where we rehearsed and played shows was actually through a music school where I was taking lessons. At the time it was called A Major Music - basically the instructors there put together a kind of rock band.
Jes: Like school of rock?
Josh: Yeah, we were always competing with them. I started as a guitarist and at one rehearsal the vocalist wasn’t there, and my instructor asked if I could hop on and I was like “I’ve never done this before?”, but I got on the mic and from there I started singing and playing. Most of us were really young and they took great care of us playing the shows and everything. It was a cool experience to be around that environment. We’re all still great friends to this day.
Jes: You spoke about competition and we hear that you’re in a competitor here in Orlando? What is that experience like?
Josh: Yeah! Best of Orlando. It’s pretty cool. I was pretty blown away. I saw someone post about it and thought “I should look into that” and when I did and looked at the nominees and saw my name and I was like ‘What?!” I didn’t think it was like that.
Jes: How does the competition work?
Josh: Voting ends august 6th, but at this point you can go to either Orlando weekly best of Orlando and there’s a link in my Instagram bio and you go to the music section click singer songwriter and vote for my name. This is the final round.
Jes: Well you’ve got our support!
Jes: So, you spoke about your influences earlier from James Brown to Led Zeppelin. What was your first song and how was your music influenced?
Josh: Those influences, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, those are all early influences for me. More so recently I’ve been influenced by funk soul R&B and Hip Hop. I probably listen to hip hop the most.
Jes: Anyone in particular?
Josh: Yeah so Hiatus Kaiyote, Frank Ocean, Daniel Caesar, Solange and then there are some coming up artists like Saba, Smino, Noname, Moonchild, Anderson .Paak. Number one for me is Anderson .Paak. They’ve all influenced me a lot.
My first song was actually Redesign. I had written a bunch of stuff over the years but never completed anything. A lot of creatives know how that goes where you have hundreds and hundreds started but not a lot completed. But Redesign was the first song finished, completed, and distributed.
Jes: So, what are you focusing on right now?
Josh: Right now, I’m doing my best to excel in as many outlets as possible. There are days where I focus heavily on writing and getting new material. Days that I focus on recording, live shows and building a presence off line. A real-life connection with people who come out to shows and I love playing live shows so that’s something I’ve been focusing on a lot recently. A couple of months ago was the first headlining show I played. We brought out 80 people. There were a few people I didn’t recognize but the venue was packed and that wouldn’t have happened without those people and those connections. Family, friends, I owe so much to them.
I’m very malleable to the people to the people that I’m around. At the end I was just looking around at all of these people that had just supported me and aided in my growth.
Jes: Do you have any upcoming shows?
Josh: I have a show coming up August 10th at The Nook. With the time that I’ve had the past few months I have a lot of completed music that I can’t wait to share and show people. I’ve been working on my writing process and understanding the writing process and cultivating different environments to create. So, I’m excited to see how people react to the new material that I put out.
Jes: And finally, where can we listen to your music?
Josh: You can find two singles anywhere. Youtube, Apple Music, Spotify, Soundcloud, Google Music. Pretty much all streaming platforms.
For more of Josh, you can follow the links below ! If you’re in the supportive mood click this link, go to Best Singer-Songwriter, and check give him a vote! Josh will also be performing a show on August 10th here in Orlando at The Nook!
IG: @JoshGluckMusic
Youtube: Josh Gluck
Facebook: @JoshGluckMusic