Josh Taerk

Josh Taerk may only be 25 but he’s already able to look back on many successes. His debut album Josh, tours through Canada, the US and the UK, building a worldwide fan base and impressing industry peers such as Rock-‘n’-Roll-Hall-of-Famers John Oates and Max Weinberg. He now looks forward to sharing his second album Here’s To Change. Back in 2010, Canadian singer-songwriter Josh Taerk was playing local venues in his hometown of Toronto when Max Weinberg - drummer for Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band – saw him play. “He blew me away with his presentation and song writing abilities,” said Weinberg about Josh after inviting Josh to play support at his sold out show in New Jersey.

In 2011, Josh was selected to play the 7908 John Oates Aspen Songwriters Festival, where he met his mentor and now friendJohn Oates who would later introduce him to his current producer Teddy Morgan (songwriter and band member of Kevin Costner and Modern West). He also returned to Max Weinberg’s side, when they did a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s Ramrod at Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as a tribute to the late Clarence Clemons. A year later Josh got to play at the prestigious Canada’s Walk of Fame Festival and came over to the UK for his first tour where he supported The Soldiers, a band consisting of serving soldiers that have sold over a million albums. After finishing his support slot in April 2013, Josh had built up a loyal fan base in the UK and went on a 65 date tour through England and Scotland. Many of the shows were on University Campuses, where students could especially relate to Josh’s tales of young adulthood.

2013 was also the year that he released his first album Josh. Music blog Renowned For Sound said it showed a “maturity beyond his years in his vocal ability and song writing… all signs to a bright future ahead.” Summer 2014, Josh was ready to get back into the studio to work on his second album. “I wanted the feel of the record, the tempo, the rhythm, the starts and stops in each song to feel more alive, I wanted a more human sound,” Josh said on ideas behind the album. He wanted to make an evocative album in tune with 70s and 80s rock music and the artists that have inspired him to play and write music - Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Neil Young – whose influences are implicative with a vision of producing an album in a studio with a band and playing those songs live.

He approached mentor John Oates about possible producers and was soon introduced to Teddy Morgan. "I've enjoyed getting to know Josh Taerk and his music over the last few years and knew that Nashville would be the place where he could make this album really come alive. Josh and my friend Teddy Morgan did a great job and I think it is Josh's best work to date," says Oates. Josh and Teddy’s first discussion about the record is described as “a meeting of the minds” by Josh and their mutual choice of studio was the Creative Workshop in Nashville, Tennessee, which hasn’t been renovated since 1976 and features a 24 Track Analog Recording Desk, which Josh and Teddy used to record Josh’s new album.

Josh and Teddy soon found musical support from Park Chisolm, fellow songwriter and band member of Kevin Costner & Modern West, as well as drummer Richard Medek. When they first played a session together Josh felt “as if every molecule in the room aligned”, the musical chemistry between the four was undeniable. The four of them then headed to Indie Week Canada, participated in the judged showcase part of the festival and reached the Semi-Finals of the entire festival.

Upon returning from a triumphant week at Indie Week Canada, Josh and Teddy went back into studio and were joined by their friend John Oates, who recorded backing vocals for two of the tracks, ‘Wise Man’ and the title track of the album ‘Here’s To Change’, a song Josh wrote with another music legend and friend Nick Van Eede of Cutting Crew. Josh and Teddy began to invite more friends to play on a selection of songs including Luke Bulla, who plays violin and tours with Lyle Lovett, John Coleman, musical director for Trace Adkins, who plays organ, piano as well as Wurlitzer, and Jason Mowery who added violins and viola and has played with greats such as Shania Twain, Keith Urban and John Fogerty. Josh’s ambition for this album was to write unique songs that connected, he wanted “all the stories to come together into one overarching narrative.” Here’s To Change marks a huge development in the creative process for Josh, taking a more traditional Rock ’n’ Roll approach and adding his own modern twists – the outcome is something he is enormously proud of. Josh exclaims, ‘I am so excited for people to hear this!’