Featured Artist - Josh Charles: Healing Time

Josh Charles is an independent musician that’s doing it right. He’s making things happen from his home base in New York, and he’s creating ripples within the industry which are having real-world effects. You guys ask for an example of someone who’s doing it - this is your man.

I wanted to share Josh’s story with all of you because 1) it is worth telling in and of itself and 2) I hope that you’ll find it inspirational and illustrative of how very possible it is to sustain your own career in today’s music business.

Some background first: Josh is a singer/songwriter from New York - primarily he is a brilliant pianist who has studied and played with Wynton Marsalis, Dr. John, and many other New Orleans musical institutions. He was getting ready to make New Orleans his permanent home when Hurricane Katrina forced him back out of the city until further notice. Just a few months later he returned to the devastated city to follow through with his plans to record an album with members of Dr. John’s band.

Fast forward a few years and Josh is carrying the torch for New Orleans. Josh recorded the song “Healing Time” in order to raise awareness of the ongoing needs of New Orleans and to raise money for rebuilding in the hardest-hit communities. The single is available for download, and all proceeds go to the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans.

Josh Charles working on a house in the Holy Cross section of New Orleans for the Preservation Resource Center.

“I had to do something,” says Charles. “The spirit of New Orleans is with me wherever I go. Times are still very hard down there, but together we can make a difference. For less than a cup of coffee you get a song, and all of the money goes to rebuilding homes through the PRCNO. It’s a win-win.”

Josh has been biting at the bit lately - and it has been paying off. He has been getting tremendous amounts of support. Following his national TV debut on Good Morning America performing “Healing Time” with the Boys and Girls Choir of Harlem in January, Josh headed out on his “Rebuild Tour” with sponsors like Guitar Center, Whole Foods, and Gibson. While Josh was in New Orleans to play and attend JazzFest, Artists House grabbed him for one of our live chats which you can watch here. And, perhaps the most exciting development, he has been breaking through on AC and AAA radio. Mind you, that’s an extremely unusual achievement for a completely independent artist.

So what’s going on here? How is he gathering this momentum? You can’t dismiss the fact that Josh is an exceptional musician and performer. This is always the foundation. Without this, there is nothing. Then, it’d be hard to overstate the importance of having a social purpose behind what Josh is doing (this is important no matter what field you are in). We don’t want to contribute anything to the zombieconomy. Create something of value, something that will help make people happier, smarter, better. Period. Do something that people care about. Because Josh cares about what he does, people care about Josh. Finally, Josh is a doer. He’s out there building his tribe online and offline. All of his social media elements are in place, he’s easily accessible and totally authentic. In the real world, he’s out there playing shows that matter, and proving that there’s substance to what he does.

“When I get onstage to perform, well that’s the only place in the world I want to be at that time. I will give you everything I have and more because that is what I do — Play like it’s the last show I’ll ever do.”

In other words, he’s part of a bigger story, he’s made it incredibly easy to tell his personal story, and it’s clear how the two are intimately connected. Because of the elements that Josh has in place (the talent, the authenticity, the story, etc. of which I spoke), people are more than happy to share what he does with other people. And so it spreads.

Josh recorded a short video for all of our Artists House viewers telling you about what is going on and what you can do to support the project.

You can listen to and download Healing Time at Amazon here: http://is.gd/VN8V

Again, Josh is a great example of an indie musician who is succeeding, and for all the right reasons. If you want to talk to Josh about more of the specifics of what he is doing and how he has done it, I encourage you to contact him through any of the links below.

www.JoshCharlesMusic.com
www.twitter.com/joshcharles
mailing list : www.reverbnation.com/joshcharles

Josh is also available for interviews via Cindy da Silva: dasilvaartists {at} aol.com