Tag: Josh Charles

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Benefit Song of the Week

Song of the Week: “Healing Time”

I made Josh Charles an “Artist of the Week” feature a few months ago after discovering his music on MySpace. Since then, Josh has been extremely busy promoting his single, “Healing Time,” in which all the proceeds go to the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans to help rebuild the city after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. With a recent feature on CNN, Josh’s earnest goal of 1 million downloads seems closer to reality. 

Watch him perform “Healing Time” and download the song on iTunes as well as Amazon here.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEKHU4aOhic]

To watch the full CNN report, check out the video below.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdYTFtQS8HI]

Categories
Benefit Features

Help Rebuild New Orleans With Josh Charles

Some of you may remember singer-songwriter Josh Charles from my “Artist of the Week” feature a few months ago as well as my blog anniversary bash last month at Maxwell’s in Hoboken. Since then, Josh has been busy working on song, “Healing Time,” partnering with Amazon and Tunecore for the release, which benefits the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans.

Having a deep love for New Orleans, Josh was in the process of making New Orleans his home when Katrina hit. Scheduled to record the very next day at Ultrasonic Studios, the studio was destroyed by the storm, resulting in Josh leaving New Orleans on one of the last buses to Houston.

In December 2005, just three months after the devastation of Katrina, Josh went back to New Orleans to record at Piety Street, the only recording studio left after the storm. While there, he went on a congressional pass tour of the Lower 9th Ward, allowing him to see sections that were not open to the public. Moved by the devastation, he wrote “Healing Time” in an effort to bring light in a time of darkness to people’s lives affected by Katrina.

Visiting New Orleans again in 2006, performing at Jazz Fest and Piano Night, Josh was shocked at how little had been done. This is where the idea for “Healing Time” comes in.

All proceeds for “Healing Time” will go to Make It Right which helps build green, sustainable homes in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans. You can help Josh and Make It Right by downloading the song on Amazon here for less than a cup of coffee. The goal is 150,000 downloads by New Year’s Eve which will raise enough money to build a new home for a family in New Orleans.

I just downloaded my MP3 of “Healing Time.” Did you?

Categories
Artist of the Week Features

Artist of the Week: Josh Charles

I stumbled upon Josh Charles on MySpace last week and was incredibly impressed with what I heard. His music is reminiscent to the Motown classics with solid, jazzy horn features and piano interludes while his soulful voice and lyrics blend well into the structure of each song. In fact, you can hear the influences of Ray Charles, James Booker and Sam Cooke in some of his songs, no doubt major inspirations to Josh himself. A review on his EPK described his music as “timeless songs that have a classic but modern sound” and I couldn’t agree more.

Take his first single”Pickin’ Up the Pieces” — a jazzy number that starts off with simple guitar strumming before horns come in, taking you back in time. Josh then begins singing, his voice segueing perfectly into the musical accompaniment throughout the song. Possibly the catchiest track on his EP, it’s one that is sure to stay stuck in your head.

“It Ain’t Easy” is a soulful ballad with musical accompaniment taking the listener back to the Motown era of the 1960s. The piano-based song is a bit slower than “Pickin’ Up the Pieces,” but shows Josh’s versatility. Like many Motown songs from back in the day, “It Ain’t Easy” seems to be the story of love lost. With his moving lyrics accentuated by his saddened vocals, “Try to keep my heart beating from night until day/Wish I could be sleeping, sleeping the pain away/Find myself pacing, all over town/I find myself facing living and dying without you around,” Josh exemplifies the heartbreaking story throughout the song.

While all the tracks on his MySpace deserve a good listen, one song you should be sure to check out is “Love, Work and Money.” An edgier, more fast-paced track, this song will find you tapping your feet along and getting ready to press that repeat button to listen to it all over again.

Whether you’re into the slower ballads or his faster tracks, Josh Charles’ music is timeless and he is someone this ever-changing music industry needs to pay more attention to. Take a listen, I think you’ll dig it.

For more on Josh Charles, visit his Web site and catch a show when he’s in town! He’ll be playing a few in New York in the upcoming weeks so if you like him, check him out.