Joshua James is yet another version of the so-called singer-songwriter. In the overflowing sea of this genre, Joshua is an artist that is steadily rising to the surface. Music is best when it cuts to the bone, when it offers immediate, simple satisfaction. It?s hard to define, but you know it when you hear it. In the whispery, distinct voice of Joshua James, the stage is set for this kind of instant gratification.
Joshua was raised in the heartland of Lincoln, Nebraska. Most of his teenage years were spent waxing rails and kick flipping his way through the local skate scene. At the age of 19, Joshua packed his bags and traveled abroad through South America, spending most of his time in Venezuela. Seeing the culture of another part of the world was an eye opening experience for him, and it provided a catalyst for the inspiration he would soon begin to tap. Upon his return to the U.S., Joshua found his true calling and began to write. It had taken him almost 20 years to pick up a guitar, but this nauguration had a spontaneous effect on his life. It was like his voice was there all along waiting for a chance to escape. And now at 24 years of age, Joshua has blossomed into one of the best new voices to come along in some time, and he?s just started his journey.
Joshua currently calls Utah home, and it is here that he began captivating audiences. First at house parties, but quickly becoming a staple on the Salt Lake City and Provo music scenes. Joshua has had a prolific few years and his songs have made their way onto the internet through social networking sites such as myspace. It was through the internet that some of Joshua?s demos caught the ear of Los Angeles based producer Shannon Edgar. In May of 2006, Joshua came to Los Angeles to record his debut record, ?The Sun Is Always Brighter.?Shannon rounded up a group of musicians at his studio in Burbank, and the intimate gathering provided the perfect accompaniment to the stark and austere nature of Joshua?s music.
?I used to isolate myself in my parents basement, away from my five siblings, and devour records by Dylan, Marley and The Doors,?says James. These influences are clear in the simple beauty of his songs, deconstructed yet complicated. One could say his material deals in the contrast of absolutes: Love and Hate, Life and Death, Good and Evil, Pleasure and Pain. ?It?s not all black and white, I do enjoy intricacy in my story telling,?states Joshua. ?But leaving the gray area there for the audience to draw from often means more,?he adds.
The lyrics paint a somber picture on the one hand, but also have a way of bringing out the beauty that can coexist during challenging times of our lives. On ?The Sun Is Always Brighter,?the songs ?Tell My Pa?and ?Lord, Devil, and Him? provide a deeply personal account of the struggles associated with substance abuse that Joshua?s two younger brothers have had to face. Both of these songs paint a vivid picture of this battle. At other points on the record, Joshua becomes a story teller, like in ?FM Radio? where Joshua tells the chronicle of a childhood friend struggling with her father?s premature death. In ?Commodore?Joshua gives us a snapshot of the Holocaust from a child?s point of
view.
What is clear throughout the record, is that Joshua James has something to say, and he uses his arresting voice to deliver his message. ?The New Love Song? talks about the overabundance of superficial ?love?songs, and presents other priorities that we face in our troubled times. ?Geese?addresses the environment, and ?Our Brother?s Blood?is a commentary on the U.S. presence in Iraq. All of these songs have meaningful, insightful lyrics, that are complimented by Joshua?s compelling vocal delivery and performance. Joshua has been out touring on the West Coast and recently played the Sundance Film Festival. He will also be performing at SXSW in Austin this March, and there is a groundswell of momentum that has been building. Joshua has a striking live presence and does not disappoint his audience. With the true gift he possesses as an artist, and the passion and ambition he has for his musical calling, it is clear that he will continue to convert audiences for years to
come.

说实话很佩服Joshua James,不光他是一个创作型歌手,更重要的是他的音乐很亲切很容易感染人,富有磁性的声线，简单但很让人感动,这可能取决于以前Joshua James丰富的人生阅历:小小年纪已经离开家园到处旅行,在委内瑞拉停留过很长时间最后返回美国才正式开始他的音乐生涯,从始至终陪伴在Joshua James身边除了孤寂就是他最喜爱的那把结它.沿途的所见所闻都藉由这把结它弹唱成歌声.不难发现Joshua James的歌曲里面经常会透露出那种非常的沧桑感,即使轻快的音乐也很难掩饰的那种沧桑悲凉,但这并不是说Joshua James偏向阴暗偏向消极,只是说明Joshua James需要思考的东西实在太多:黑和白,悲伤与快乐,爱与恨,战争与和平等等,专辑里的很多歌曲都象征着某些主题:The New Love Song唱述越来越物质化爱情观;Geese探究环境问题;Our Brother's Blood则是从儿童的角度看待战争带来的后果...很多歌曲都很有意义!而细味这些歌曲也会发现Joshua James除了向我们传送动人的音符外更多的却是对现实对生活的一些沉思. （摘自虾米）

Joshua James has been writing and singing songs for only six short years, but the 25-year-old heartland poet has the perspective of a wise, old soul. On his second album, Build Me This, the follow-up to his critically acclaimed The Sun is Always Brighter, produced by industry veteran Shannon Edgar, James expands his musical palette to foreboding doom-laden hard rock. Progressing from folkish harmonies, to country twang, world beats and southern home rock while further exploring themes of spiritual searching. Possessing a whispery and intimate vocal style that works its way into the ear peacefully and directly, Joshua James is pitched midway between seminal influences like Bob Dylan and Neil Young. “I find solace and beauty in darkness and depression,” admits James, who grew up in his native Lincoln, Nebraska, skateboarding and sneaking listens to music his parents banned, like classic rockers Jim Morrison and The Doors, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, “But there are contrasts to everything. You have to combine the sweet and salty, the ugly and beautiful. Music is very therapeutic for me. It’s all about making a connection with humanity, with the audience, in ways that I normally wouldn’t be able to.” Over the past three years, James has been doing just that. His debut was the 1 Folk Album on iTunes, and “FM Radio,” a song about a childhood friend coping with the death of his father, amassed more than 150,000 downloads as part of an iTunes promotion. In addition to performances at Sundance, SXSW and CMJ, James has toured with John Mayer, David Gray and Ani DiFranco, winning legions of fans along the way. “I feel strongly about the things I sing about,” nods Joshua. “I want people to know how I feel, which sounds kind of dumb, because who cares how I feel? If someone feels similarly, though, that’s what I’m looking for. That’s the most important thing. If you can relate to what I’m going through, then I’ve achieved my goal.” The album title, Build Me This, refers to his dream of salvation. “It’s my way of asking God to show himself,” declares James. “To prove he exists. Do something. Give me a sign. It’s a call to whatever or whoever is out there. I don’t want him to strike me down or paralyze me, just give me something to believe.” Aside from the spiritual, Build Me This is also about the difficulties of everyday relationships, the inadvertent hurt we cause to those we love. “Magazine” deals with the pain of separation (“Go take your bags to New York City, call me when your plane arrives/I’ll feed the children, wash the dishes, I’ll keep the house lookin’ nice/Well don’t you worry, everything’s gonna be all right.”), while “In the Middle” laments a shattered romance (“You’ve tried so hard to forget me/You burnt the letters I’d made/Though my memory has been dyin’/I hope the feeling still remains”). On the stage, though, is where Joshua James’ music comes alive and reveals its true intent, which is about drawing people into his insular universe, a sense of mystic that only the truly great ones can communicate. “Perhaps the darkness comes out a little more often that I’d like,” he offers “but that’s just where I gravitate to when I’m writing. I don’t usually try to tackle specific subjects; it’s usually about what I’m feeling at the time. Things start to come out, then they form a story and a reason, and that’s how things evolve. I’m influenced by everything… by life, by love, by hate, by music.”