If you want to know Josh Thompson, just listen to the lyrics of his music. Thompson showcases his undeniable gift for writing with songs like the anthemic “Way Out Here,” or the unapologetic “Blame It On Waylon,” and on his upcoming projects, the “aw, shucks” admittance of “Same Ol’ Plain Ol’ Me,” the nod to his humble background, “Daddy Had A Beer,” and the breathtakingly poignant “I Like To Believe In That.”
They’re songs born of a hard-working, blue-collar raising. The son of a Wisconsin concrete worker, destined to follow in the steel-toed boots of a laborer, Josh veered to the left when he picked up a guitar. Like the stone cold country icons that he grew up listening to and admiring, Josh had something to say. “What made me want to play guitar and write songs was what attracted me to country music. People like George Jones, Merle Haggard, Hank Senior, and Lefty Frizzell.”
Josh made the move to Nashville in January 2005 and by August, he had signed his first publishing deal. One of the first songs he wrote, “Church Pews Or Bar Stools,” became his first Jason Aldean cut. Most recently Josh co-wrote the title track of Tim McGraw’s album Damn Country Music as well as Jason Aldean’s “Any Ol Barstool.”
“Life definitely isn’t easy for a lot of people,” Thompson surmises. “I think if there’s one thing people can cling to it’s their beliefs and their way of life. I think people need that simplicity in country music. People who hear my songs will know how I was raised, they know that I’m into working hard and drinking beer, they know that I’m a Christian and they know I sometimes tend toward the dark side. These songs are my picket sign – they’re all I got.”
Dallas based musician and singer/songwriter Chris J Norwood has a couple of different personalities. None of which may ever be considered “cool”, or “hip”, or terribly “rock & roll”, but Chris is ok with that. By all accounts he’s just an average guy who loves his wife, works hard, and tries to stay out of trouble. Classically trained and drawing off of influences from America’s earliest musical traditions like folk, blues and jazz, Chris creates a sound that is strangely familiar, yet uniquely his own.
Price
- $27-$213
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