INTERVIEW : 2006-02-16 Interview (by Ashley Davis)

Previous to this interview Ashley attended an invited evening of Joseph Arthurs Paintings at 'The Vertigo Gallery' London, we have included a short review of that evening:

Joseph Arthur
The Vertigo Gallery, London
Thursday, February 9th, 2006

Walking into the Vertigo Gallery was like opening a can of packed sardines and trying to crawl in, the atmosphere changing quickly as Joseph Arthur came out to perform. A one man show consisting of his guitar, a harmonica, a sound distorter, and a unique voice, we were all eager to hear the acoustic session. The room was surrounded by Josephs paintings that imitated my imagination on a daily basis, and had covered walls of huge canvases full of Mr. Arthur's abstract life.
The room grew silent as he began his first song, Honey and the Moon, It gave you the feeling of a natural high that you never wanted to go away, along with his first impression that was received that night.
Joseph Arthur Wearing a pink shirt gives you a sense of his sensitive side really did him justice along with his second choice, In The Sun. Chris Martin of Coldplay has called this song, "The greatest song ever written", Some big shoes to fill but we believe that it is definitely up there.
With his next song he proves that he owned this night by showing his true colours with, Mercedes, a song that grabs every emotion and every feeling inside and lets you run with them to a better place.
Bringing out his harmonica to show that he is a versatile musician that could run with the best of them amazed us even more. I have been to many live performances and only a few stand out in my mind, this being one of them.
We were captivated by his performance and his artwork. Joseph Arthur is a musician with heart, ambition and talent. His music and artwork will continue to keep our faith in knowing that there will be more to look forward to in the future!

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Ashley - It sounds busy where you are, are you in Derby or on your way to Derby for tonight’s gig?

Joseph - I am stopped off at a road chef at the moment on my way up to Derby. We are about two hours away from our destination.

Ashley- I am also from the states, how do you compare the food over here in the UK to the food in the states?

Joseph- I used to live over here before and I was not really fond of the food but it has definitely gotten better. Compared to the variety that we have in the states there is not much competition between the two.

Ashley- Has the tour traveling taken a toll on you?

Joseph- This tour has been the easiest thus far. Tonight is the third gig on the tour. I was originally going to just do the show on February 24th, 2006 at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London, but we decided to add a few small intimate gigs leading up to the big show.

Ashley- The last time I saw you was at the Vertigo Gallery in London, where your art was on display, which was a really good night I might add, did you get any good feedback from the exhibit?

Joseph - People seemed to like it but I did not get much feedback. I really enjoyed myself that night and I thouoght that it turned out well. My Mom and Dad were able to make it to the show, all the way from Ohio, which made me a little nervous. But I was glad to have them by my side. They are very supportive of me.

Ashley - I noticed that one of your paintings had the words “cokehead” on it…people can perceive that either way. How do you want people to perceive your art work?

Joseph – Well about the cokehead painting…that was meant to be a joke. It was a last minute decision to write that on there because it looks as thought there is white powder in the head that is in the picture. Everything that I do I like to believe is original. People are going to have there own perspectives about everything.

Ashley - You brought your art work all the way over from the states…will it be displayed anywhere else?

Joseph - The cokehead painting will be on its way to Paris pretty soon to be displayed in a gallery over there. As far as the others they will be wrapped up and shipped back to the states, unless something else comes up.

Ashley - You are following the exhibit with a UK tour, how is the tour going so far?

Joseph - I have been impressed with how the in-store gigs have turned out. You don’t really now what to expect because you could get anywhere from 30 people to a packed house. But the gigs so far have been closer to full.

Ashley - Where have you enjoyed performing most? And if you could perform on any stage in the world which would it be?

Joseph - I don’t really have a specific venue that I have enjoyed performing at more. I have had good shows and turn-outs in both big cities and in the smaller towns. If I could perform on any stage in the world it would have to be Madison Square Gardens. That is definitely a goal of mine.

Ashley - If you had to chose between music and art which talent would you pursue?

Joseph - There are times when I prefer one over the other but I really enjoy doing both. If I had to choose at this moment I would probably choose music because I feel that when I get older I will be more involved in painting.

Ashley - What is your favorite song from your…
Big City Secrets album?
Redemption’s Son album?

Joseph -
1. Mercedes
2. You’ve Been Loved

Ashley - Just out of curiosity is that a cowbell that I hear in the background of your song “Porcupine”?

Joseph - Well it is actually a set of cowbells that you hear.

Ashley - The song reminded me of Will Ferrell on Saturday Night Live when he is banging on the cowbell for the song Don’t Fear The Reaper. Are you a fan of Saturday Night Live? Would you ever want to host Saturday Night Live?

Joseph - I am a fan of Saturday Night Live but I think that you have to be pretty famous to host the show. But I would definitely like to be a musical guest on the show. That is another goal of mine.

Ashley - You have had a few celebrities at your events such as Keanu Reeves at your gig in Manchester and Juliette Lewis at your art exhibit in London. Can you remember the first celebrity that you had at one of your gigs? And were there any others that you thought, “Wow I can’t believe they are here to see my work”?

Joseph - I worked with Peter Gabriel and Peter Buck on my first album. It was pretty amazing to be in their presence.

Ashley - What are your relations to Juliette Lewis? Is she a big fan of yours or are you working on something together?

Joseph - I have done a couple of songs with Juliette but we are not planning anything for the future. She is pretty busy working with her band…Juliette and The Licks.