About That Song: Josh Cleveland
About That Song #112
In our special series, singer-songwriter Sarah Morris interviews artists about the songs that shaped them.
Hi! I’m Sarah Morris. I’m wildly in love with songs and the people who write them. There have been a few songs in my life that have been total gamechangers—songs that made me want to be a songwriter and songs I’ve written that made me feel like I am a songwriter. About That Song is a space where I can learn more about those pivotal songs in other writers’ lives.
For our 112th edition, I had an excellent chat about songwriting with Josh Cleveland, a Minnesota artist whose new album beautifully highlights his incredibly dynamic and soulful voice, as well as the distinctive excellence of his band, featuring Nikki Lemire on keys, harp, and vocals; Joe Meyer on bass; Dustin Smith on “anything with strings”; and Eric Smith on drums.
Josh Cleveland. Photo credit: Dustin Smith.
Sarah: Hi Josh Cleveland! As songwriter, singer, and leader of The Josh Cleveland Band, you are having quite the summer celebrating the release of your brand-new album, Prove The Sound. Following a successful release show at the Granada Theater, you’re preparing to play the Minnesota State Fair in a few weeks. This feels to me like a lovely excuse to learn a bit more about you, and the songs that have brought you to this place on your musical journey.
Do you remember the song you heard that made you want to be a songwriter? Tell us about that song.
Josh: The song that immediately comes to mind is “Black Sheep” by Martin Sexton. I remember the first time I heard this song at the Winnipeg Folk Festival; I felt it in my bones. From his voice, his guitar work, and the narrative of the song, I felt like he was performing it just for me. I had been moved by songs and music before, but this was one of the first times I remember thinking, “wait… could I write songs like this? Could I move people the same way that Martin is?” I’d written a few songs before, but mostly as joke songs for humor’s sake. This felt different. Like a calling.
Sarah: Ah, good work, Martin Sexton! Way to call out the songwriter in Josh Cleveland! (Side note: Martin Sexton and this song are new to me. I’m listening now, and it’s pretty epic. I can absolutely understand the power of the song AND his performance.) Once you answered the call and began writing in earnest, did you feel like a writer immediately? It took me a few years of writing before I believed it—was there a song that gave you that “a-HA! I AM a songwriter!” moment? Tell us about that song.
Josh: Heavens. It took me a few years for sure. There was a significant amount of imposter syndrome to combat and fears of not being good enough. The song that comes to mind is one called “Everything.” It was one of the first times I was able to write a song outside of myself. I just grabbed a theme and a visual of a relationship and went from there. It was the first time I really remember creating drafts of a song and really working at the craft of it. I found a narrative that worked, chords that fit with the emotion of the song, and a bridge that actually added to the song instead of acting as filler or something different for difference's sake.
It’s the first time I remember feeling truly proud of what I had created. I don’t know that I ever said to myself that I am a songwriter, but I felt it. For the first time, I believed it.
Sarah: That song is from your 2014 album, Root of a Man. You just released your follow-up full-length album last month with ‘Prove The Sound’. I was enchanted by the swanky stunner of an opening track: “Magenta Queen.” “I’m tired of being your in-between of the life you say you want and the life you need”—in these lyrics I heard the plaintive declaration of someone ready to move past the maybe they are being offered by a partner. What can you tell us about that song?
Josh: I love this song. From the moment of writing it on my slightly out-of-tune upright piano, I could hear the full band in my mind’s ear. This song came from a one-word song prompt of “magenta.” I kept going to the idea that magenta is a mixture of colors or an in-between, if you will.
Sarah: Ooh, I also wrote a song to this one-word prompt, and I’m near certain I stayed right there in the color of it.
Josh: My mind went pretty quickly to a few past relationships where I had been the in-between. The mental gymnastics I would do to rationalize their behavior (and mine, for that matter). The desire I had to be a royal color for that person; someone that they could build with and on, only to be met with ambiguity and empty promises.
The emotions run deep with that tune, and I love playing this one with the band. Nikki’s vocals and keys drive the emotions and vulnerability of the narrative, while the guitar and drums reveal the power and angst. It’s a fun one.
Josh Cleveland. Photo credit: Tom Smouse.
Sarah: Speaking of Nikki Lemire and her vocals, that outro on the title track—your voice with her voice, rising and falling in a series of rising and falling, almost orchestral “ohs”—is such a striking way to end the story that starts with “she’s got the ball and she’s flying / they said she couldn’t but she ain’t buying…” Can you tell us about that song?
Josh: “Prove the Sound” is the song I’m proudest of from this album. Another tune from a one-word prompt, “prove.” My mind went to dough and the proving process. Honestly, I have no idea what really goes into that process, but I know that you can feel and taste the difference. We all have to go through that proving process in some way, and I see no better example of this than in the women in my life.
In a world that, at the same time, expects everything and nothing of or from them. They fight silent battles each day, sometimes each moment of each day. They are constantly tested and proofed, and whether we deserve it or not, the rest of us get to feel and taste of their goodness.
My mom, my wife, my daughters, my sisters-in-law, many of my teachers throughout my schooling have had to and still do fight, trailblaze, break ceilings, and prove who they are again and again. This song is my homage to them. Do they need it? No. But I need to say it, honor them, thank them, revere them. They are my heroes, and this song is for them.
Sarah: It’s a beautiful offering, Josh. Congrats. You and your band have been performing all over the region for a long time, but this is your first album in 12years—was there a song that let you know it was time to get back into the studio? If so, can you tell us about it?
Josh: There wasn’t a specific song that brought us to the studio. It was more the fact that we had songs to sing, connections to make, gifts to give. An album seemed like the way to do that. These songs became a canvas to paint as a band. Though the initial versions were written by me, they are a collective artwork by the band. Each note an intentional stroke of the brush that bleeds into the next color, the next contour, the next idea.
Sarah: Do you have any upcoming Midwest shows where we might hear you and the band perform these songs?
Josh: We’re playing at the Minnesota State Fair on the Friday and Saturday of Labor Day weekend (Sept. 4 & 5) at the Pryes Stage at Schilling Auditorium at the West End.
Sarah: The State Fair! It’s almost here!
Josh: Then we head out to South Dakota for a few shows in the Black Hills. We’re currently booking out spring and summer of next year as well, so keep your eyes peeled at joshcleveland.com.
Be sure and check out The Josh Cleveland Band at the State Fair this Labor Day weekend! You’ve got six chances to catch them over two days.
Listen to “Prove The Sound”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah Morris. Photo credit: Tom Smouse.
Sarah Morris is a superfan of songs and the people who write them, and a believer that certain songs can change your life. A singer-songwriter / mama / bread maker / coffee drinker who recently released her fifth album of original material, she’s been known to joyfully sing with people in her Big Green Bathroom.
