 Courtesy of the Artist
Hailing from Canada, singer-songwriter Josh Taerk released his most recent album, Stages, in late 2017. The country-rock styled album garnered airplay on Triple A radio and Spotify playlists, earning Taerk the title of "the new Boss" by the UK press. Here, Taerk answers his Essential 8+ and discusses the album, Max Weinberg, struggle and success, and much more.
Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you? Max Weinberg (drummer for Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band) has been an amazing mentor and friend. Max taught me a lot when I opened up for him in New Jersey in 2011, one thing in particular was how to appreciate your audience. Max took time after the show to meet with people, talk to them, and made sure everyone left feeling like they got to spend as much time as they wanted with Max. That definitely stuck with me. With any particular song, was their an “a-ha” moment when you knew the song was completed and perfect? When I was writing “Learning To Let Go” with my friend and producer Teddy Morgan, I knew we were on to something special when we found the title of the song. I started talking about living in the moment, the possibilities of right now and letting go of needing to know and control how things play out. Teddy then said, “it seems like that’s something we never stop learning how to do.” That’s when I knew we had something awesome, when we came up with the title “Learning To Let Go” the rest of the song fell into place. What’s the story behind your album’s title? I chose the name Stages because the different stages of my writing, the different stages of my career, the stages I get to play on night after night, and the many stages of my life so far have all shaped the artist I am now, and the stories I tell through my music. Why did you chose to anchor the album with the songs you did? I chose the 5 songs that make up Stages because each of those songs represents a different stage of life and figuring out who I was when I wrote it. Everyone experiences Love and loss, everyone has goals and values that shape the things they do, and all 5 of these songs are like snapshots of those moments in my life leading up to this release. Where do you draw inspiration from when writing? I’m inspired by living life. I find the more I live, hang out with my friends and family, and spend time doing the things I love to do with the people I love, the more songs I write. When/where do you do your best writing? Believe it or not, in the shower. I don’t know why but it seems like every time I’m about to rinse and repeat I find myself scrambling for a towel and my phone so I can quickly get an idea down. 
Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made-up stories, something else or a combination?
I’ve always loved stories and that’s what I want to do with my music, tell stories about the things I’m thinking, feeling and the things I or the people close to me are experiencing at that moment. What’s the best advice you have ever gotten from another musician? On performing live – “Remember that you’re not the message. You are the messenger, and as the messenger your job is to deliver your message to your audience in the most effective way possible.” What’s the best advice to give to a musician just starting out? Keep going. There are times where it is going to feel like the deck is stacked against you and that you’re fighting just to keep your dream alive. Keep fighting, keep that passion burning and keep moving forward. Even a 2mm step forward is still a step forward, and one day when you’re living your dream those will be the moments that you’ll remember, those moments where you could’ve easily given up and caved, but kept going instead. What’s your favorite food on the road? I am all about sandwiches especially when I’m on the road. They’re delicious and most importantly for travel, they’re portable. Do you have any touring tips? Enjoy it. Getting to travel to new places, meet new people and at the same time live your dream and get up onstage; it doesn’t get much better than that. What are your “must have” albums for the road? John Mayer’s Continuum, Fall Out Boy’s From Under The Cork Tree, Ed Sheeran’s Plus and Bruce Springsteen’s Born To Run. How do you kill the long hours in the van? I actually use a lot of that time to connect with my fans on social media and facetime with my family and friends back home. What’s the most frustrating thing about being on the road? You never really get onto a time zone when you’re on the road, and that can be a little frustrating especially when you’re up until 4:00am in England, because you’re still on Central time, with a 6:30am lobby call. What do you love most about being on the road? I love meeting new people, going out and exploring the cities we’re playing in and getting to play my music on stage every night! It’s the best. What has been your biggest struggle so far? I would say that the biggest challenge so far has been figuring out how to manage the business side of the music business. I’m my own manager so figuring out how to balance business with being an artist/writer has been challenging, but really fun at the same time. What has been your biggest success? Being a kid from Toronto and having my music played in The UK and The US, being able to travel the world, meet new people and play my music night after night is a dream come true. That to me is success, knowing that there is demand for my music and my shows in countries and cities all over the world. What’s your favorite venue and why? The thing I love about performing live is that every venue is so unique and every audience responds differently to different songs every night. That makes every show I play something special. One of the coolest places I’ve ever played was a theatre in Buxton UK which hadn’t been renovated since the 1700s. That place had amazing acoustics. What’s your dream venue and why? My dad is a huge Springsteen fan, grew up playing drums in a Springsteen cover band, and the first concert he ever took me to was to see Springsteen & The E Street Band in Toronto. A couple years ago Max Weinberg invited me out to see a show Springsteen was playing at The Stone Pony, one of the venues where he got his start in Asbury Park, New Jersey. One of my goals is to headline a show at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park. Who would you love to collaborate with? The first time I heard NF’s song “Let You Down,” I was really impressed. The production on it is great, but it was the lyrics and the emotion he put into the words he was rapping and singing that hooked me. I would love to collaborate on a song with him. Which song of yours gets the best crowd response? “Take A Chance With Me” always gets the crowd going. It never gets old seeing people let loose and dance to this one, it’s awesome! What song are you tired of playing and why? To be honest none of them, and it all has to do with the crowd. Every audience responds to different songs in different ways and the energy they put out while we’re playing affects the way the band and I perform each song. So, we could play the same songs every night and each song would still feel new every time we played it. Is drinking at gigs a positive or a negative? People come to shows to be entertained, feel the music and let loose a little. So I think it’s a positive in that way. I will say, I don’t believe getting drunk before a gig is a good idea or makes you sound good at all. Favorite (or first) concert you have ever attended? Bruce Springsteen live at The Stone Pony October 2011. It was so awesome seeing him play at that venue. Favorite thing to do on a day off? I really enjoy exploring the cities I’m in, going where the locals go and really experiencing what it means to be in that city. Do you have a favorite gift from a fan? I was in Skegness England in 2012 and a pair of sisters came up to me after the show. The older one started talking to me about my music, told me that she wanted to be a singer but was always scared to take that leap and do what she loved, however one of my songs had really inspired her to follow her dream of being a professional singer. I thanked her and said, “life is way to short not to do what you love,” and that you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. 1 year later I’m playing the same theatre in Skegness and her little sister came to the show. After the show, the little sister comes up to talk to me and tells me that, her older sister went back to school, after seeing me play that night a year ago, to study vocal performance and was graduating in a couple months. Knowing that my songs and words inspired her that much, was the greatest gift I’ve been given by a fan so far. Have you met any of your heroes? If so, how did it go? I met Max Weinberg (drummer for Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band) at a charity event he was hosting in Toronto. After he performed there was a reception and I noticed that Max was standing at the bar just about to finish a conversation with somebody. I knew I had 5 seconds to go over before someone else got Max’s attention. So I walked over, introduced myself, told him I’m singer/songwriter and that I was a big fan. He was so nice, started asking me questions about my career so far, if I was still in school, and then was so gracious and took one of my CD’s telling me he would take a listen. About a week later, I got on email from him and his manager asking me to open for Max in his hometown in New Jersey, one of the best days of my life. Recent release you cannot stop listening to? I really like NF’s song “Let You Down.” There’s something really honest and emotional about the lyrics in that song and the production is great. Song (of yours) you wish you would have released as a single and why? I wish I had released “Take A Chance With Me” as a single because it is such a fun song to perform and every time we play that song, people are always on their feet, loving it. Is there a professional “bucket list” item you would love to check off? I swing for the fences. One of my big goals is to headline a sold-out show at Wembley Stadium. Website YouTube Spotify iTunes Soundcloud
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