Q: Hey, can you tell us a bit about where you come from, and what made you want to start a career in music?
A: Hello! I am a born and raised San Diego musician who has been writing music since 2016. I grew up in church and have been singing in the choir since I was a little fourth grader. My foundation as a musician largely stems from singing and playing in church which I have done my whole life. It offered me a weekly opportunity to refine my chops and get used to performing in front of a live audience from a young age. Jazz has also been a huge influence in my playing and writing style. I was told by a music teacher that I had to learn jazz to be a serious musician, so being a young middle school kid wanting to be a good player, I listened to her. Although I do not believe what she said is entirely true, I am so grateful I forced myself to like jazz. It opened creative doors for me, taught me confidence, and showed me it was okay to break the rules and create anything I want. Studying throughout high school and college with my mentor Tonga Ross-Ma’u, I found freedom and a deeper love for music from jazz while still being a commercial/pop musician. He helped me find confidence in my writing ever since I wrote my first song, “Pass Me By” in 2016 in a friend’s loft which actually made it onto the album, and he has taught me a lot about music theory and writing. I had studied a jazz video about drop 2 voicings on guitar earlier on the day that “Pass Me By’ was born, and when I went over they wanted me to write them a song so they could sing and start a band. They were so easygoing and didn’t know or care that I had never written a song before. So I started writing and coming up with melodies, and the song was born. Since then I have been constantly writing, refining, performing, recording, releasing, and falling in love with music.
Q: And what other artists have you found yourself listening to lately?
A: These days I have been listening to an interesting mix: Deftones, Origami Angel, Smashing Pumpkins, Incubus, Mateus Asato, The 1975, Hippo Campus, Her’s. Mateus Asato has been my absolute favorite guitarist to study and listen to, and I have been soaking in his style of playing for the last couple of years.
Q: Who were your first and strongest musical influences?
A: My first and strongest influences when I was just a lil guy were Jack Johnson, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Arctic Monkeys, Young the Giant and Walk the Moon. A bit of an eclectic mix!
Q: You have just released your new album, ‘I Wonder If They Like Me’. Is there a story behind it?
A: “I Wonder If They Like Me” is a deep dive into myself. It tackles my insecurities, my faults, and my struggles. I have always had self-esteem and confidence issues, being bullied pretty badly at a young age, so the question of if people like me has been a constant in my life. I constantly doubt myself, my self-worth, if people think I’m any good, etc., and this album lays those insecurities bare. This year has been really good for me though and I feel like I have taken a huge step forward. Feeling confident in myself and proud of my place on this earth. It has not been an easy journey, but writing this record was extremely therapeutic and life-giving for me. “I Wonder If They Like Me” explores the darker depths of Josh Urich.
Q: What is the message of your music?
A: I want my music to help other people by telling my own stories and being vulnerable with my struggles. I believe that people can be helped by relating to struggles I have had, showing them that they aren’t alone in their trials. I also want my music to make people DANCE and jump around! I tend to write moodier songs, but it has been fun trying to mix in more upbeat, feel-good tunes. It’s a great feeling seeing people in the audience smile and dance around to my songs, and I want to create more of that.
Q: What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
A: I would say my music is a healthy blend of indie, rock, and pop that can all trace their roots back to an overarching but subtle jazz influence. Melody is king, and it defines my music. I love to create beautiful, catchy melodies with unique harmony underneath. Playing with different and less-used chord voicings is very fun and has become an integral part of my sound. My music is something you could hear on the radio, that you’d bang your head or dance to, and that would make you introspect and think.
Q: Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more?
A: I do feel like my music is giving me back a lot of fulfillment! That is part of what keeps me writing every week. I’m not sure I would say it gives me back the same amount I am putting into it but it is pretty darn close. I am looking forward to gaining more traction and playing more shows. Your work feels much more rewarding when more people get to hear and enjoy it. The songs are written just as much for me as they are for all of you! So it is gratifying when I know more people are being impacted and feeling better from hearing my music.
Q: Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song?
A: Sure! Often, an idea for a melody will pop into my head kind of out of nowhere. These little motifs bubble up and I try to record them on my phone as quickly as I can. I get fixated on certain hooks and then work through polishing the song form and creating more sections with good flow throughout the song. Sometimes I start songs with chords or a chord hook while others will be a melody idea that I have to find harmony for. I always start on guitar and pretty immediately will hear the drums in my head while I’m playing. I jam the new ideas out with my drummer and start adding the rest of the pieces when we get in the studio. BGVs and other tasteful elements are typically added last. Something cool that will happen to me every now and then is that I will dream melodies or sometimes entire songs! My song “Fiend” from the album actually started from a melody I dreamed. The unique-sounding intro and verse melody was from a dream. Pretty cool because the line fit perfectly into open positions on a guitar in Eb standard which is all I play now.
Q: What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
A: Musically, it has been tough navigating the scene as a young artist trying to find his sound and his place in the industry. I struggled for a couple of years trying to figure out what my “sound” was and learning to market myself (which I still struggle with). It is a challenge to promote your music well and it makes you feel worthless when you live in a world where it seems like everyone is blowing up on various social media platforms meanwhile you are looking at a couple hundred streams on your songs. It’s part of being a musician, pushing through when it feels like you’re failing or the things you do aren’t reaching many people. I think that is the main challenge for me right now, tilling the soil and waiting for the seeds to sprout. Overnight success is not really a reality but it feels like it is when you watch other artists succeeding instantaneously.
Q: On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
A: Honestly, writing, recording, and releasing this album has been a huge moment for me. It’s a big challenge to attempt a full album, and during the process you always wonder if you’ll ever actually finish it. It’s extremely gratifying knowing that I was able to write this whole story and tell it with 11 tracks. Now I have a tangible checkpoint in my journey that I can show to others and myself. I can look back and say, “Hey, I did that.”
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