 Credit: Cameron Powell
"I’ve never had a record that’s as honest or connected to me on a personal level than this one."
Singer-songwriter Josh Grider blends the personal with the universal on his eighth album, Good People. The twelve-track collection, led by Grider's warm vocals, is brimming with lessons learned and thoughtful insights that connect with the listener, reminding them that while life may be difficult, things most often get better. Recently, Grider took the time to talk in depth about the record including its personal nature, balancing its lighter moments with its heavier ones, his touring plans, and much more. Congratulations on the release of Good People, it’s such an enjoyable listen! The project was partially funded by a Kickstarter campaign. Was this something you had done previously or something that you did for the first time? All of my releases since 2010 were through labels, so this was the first time I ever even considered a Kickstarter. This whole licking stamps and mailing stuff out was a lot of work and I had no idea how much my wrist was going to hurt from writing lyrics (laughing), but overall, my experience was a very positive one. So, other than a sore hand it, seems that it went well! Did you approach anything else differently? Doing the Kickstarter really gave me the freedom to create the kind of record I wanted without the strings that inevitably come when someone else is financially invested. This time, there wasn’t anyone else telling me there were too many ballads or there wasn’t a hit or the songs sounded too much alike, so I could pick the songs free of outside influence. Bobby [Hamrick] produced and gave me input if I asked for it, but I picked songs that moved me and that I saw working in crowds. That freedom was a new thing, but it’s not like the label forced songs down my throat. I made those decisions consciously, but when you’re working with guys who have a huge history of success their opinion carries weight and when they weigh in it makes you think like differently about your choices. This time around, I also didn’t feel any time constraints. There was a relative timeline, although I missed it by six months, but I felt like I had the luxury of taking my time to get the record the way I wanted it, and I believe the Kickstarter people had the patience to wait for me. The jury’s still out on whether going back to it so many times was a good thing (laughing), but I’m really pleased with the end product. I totally understand that, it’s important to have the finished product of something that you poured your heart and soul into be perfect. Were the songs you chose for the record pulled from your arsenal or written for this project? Over the last few years, I have had different publishing deals which raised my output as a writer, so I had more songs to choose from. When I write, I just want to write the best song that day no matter who I am writing with, the topic, or the perspective. If at the end of it, that song is for me then that’s great. So when I got to the point where I knew I wanted to make a record, I looked back and found some anchor songs that stood out and performed them live to find what resonated or worked for me and built a record around those. “Good People,” “Sex and Alcohol,” and “Bad Times Roll” were all born out of coffee and conversation with Bobby [Hamrick] and James [Slater]. All of those really stood out to me to the point where I cut them as a test run before I went and asked people for money with the Kickstarter. Those three are really the bedrock of the record and then I was able to fill in “My First Band” and “Less and Less” and others which I felt fit thematically. A last-minute addition was “Local Honey.” We actually had a ten-song record done and then I wrote that song, started playing it out and loved how fun, flirty and tongue in cheek it was. “Top of the Bottle” was another one Bobby and I had written a long time ago, but I never considered it for the record. I heard it as a country shuffle, but the demo Bobby did had that groove that just blew my mind. Once I heard that, I knew we needed that feel on the record. Both of those are lighter moments which balance the more serious ones, something I like the listener to have. With this record, I wanted to put something out with a universality, that a person living their everyday normal life can listen and go ‘Yeah, that’s about how it is’….but with catchy melodies and riffs so you want to listen to it over and over again (laughing). I always try to sing a song that the audience would believe is something I would say if they knew me, but I’ve never had a record that’s as honest or connected to me on a personal level than this one. Good People marries Josh the wanna-be country start with Josh the nerdy dad and husband better than any album I’ve ever put out. 
Another song that provides a lighter moment is “Sex and Alcohol.” The lyrics offer astute, yet common sense observations that so many of us can relate to.
That’s one of my favorite songs on the whole record. It’s definitely one of the more political songs I have ever written too, but we were able to write it from a perspective that resonates no matter which side you are on. I can play it in downtown Austin where there are lots of left-leaning people and they’ll be like “Damn right!” And then I can play it in the most right-leaning bar in the sticks and they’ll say the same thing. We all feel kind of abandoned and lost in the craziness of the times and the point of the song is that we have a lot more in common than we do different - we’re just all looking to make it happen. I love that song. Me too. Good People is the title of the album, but “Bad Times Roll” kicks things off. Is there any particular reason why you chose that one and “God Be With You Till We Meet Again” as the album’s bookends? I really debated putting “Good People” as track one, but thought it flowed better with “Bad Times Roll,” which captured the overarching theme of the record, setting it up saying there are good days and bad days, but no matter what, we all persevere. I placed the hymn last because there was really nothing that could follow it - you can’t put “Sex and Alcohol” after that (laughing). Whether you mean until we meet again at the next show or in the great beyond, the song is a blessing you can take with you. I really thought it was appropriate to place it at the end. Does the hymn hold particular significance to you? Two years ago, my maternal grandmother died and my mom asked me and my wife [Kristi] to sing it at her funeral. My grandmother was a great lady who lived until she was 94 years-old. She left behind a great legacy including ten grandchildren and twenty-five great-grandchildren, who were all, and still are, very close. We got up there to sing it and I was a blubbering mess, so Kristi had to sing most of it. I really didn’t do a good job because I was so emotional, and I wanted to have a nice version for her, so I recorded it and placed on the album, which I dedicated to her. That’s really beautiful. Another song that is incredibly moving is “Pictures Do.” I wrote that one with Barry Zito. We met to write and were just getting to know one another when we found out that we had sons about the same age. Barry was talking about how he takes pictures of his son with his Polaroid and how it can just devastate him to the point of tears that he can look at a picture that was taken a week ago and his son already looks different. That got me thinking how phenomenal photographs are – they are the only things that can freeze time - and it hit me that we had a song right there. We got some of the song written then, but the rest took a while to get just right. And I knew we got it right because when I started playing it out I could feel it hit me and I could hear sniffles in the audience. It’s a heck of a tune. That’s another one that I tried putting earlier in the set, but Barry’s string arrangement makes the song such a moment that I knew it could only go before the hymn. You tour regionally and are a part of the Red River Songwriters Series, but will this album take you further out in the U.S.? I’ve been to California and the East Coast a couple of times, but I am hoping this record can provide me some different opportunities to get out. Touring can be a financial endeavor, but the cool thing about his record is that I can deliver the whole thing just me and a guitar and it lands...and that’s not always case because some songs are often all about the production. So if the opportunity came along, I could very easily and comfortably hop on a tour and do that. For now, we’re going to hit our usual stomping ground on the initial tour, but our eyes are open. There’s some stuff in the works that can hopefully get us further and wider than we’ve ever been. I think this record has an appeal beyond where I’ve been. I think we’ve got a chance with this thing. Website IG Purchase
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