A Q&A with Josie Lockhart

Soulful songwriting from Austin, Texas…

What’s the title of your latest release, and what does it mean to you?
Aaron: ‘Every Kind of Light’ is about how you need all sorts of experiences in life, the good and the bad, to learn about yourself and figure out what sort of person you are. Sometimes our trips to the darker places help us figure things out. The album What Golden Hues, has a double meaning – some days it’s exclamatory: what golden hues! And some days it’s a question ‘what golden hues?’

What was the hardest part about putting this release together, and why?
I initially recorded the entire album by myself, bedroom style. For the final version, I used several recording studios and session players to create a studio version. It took a long time, but it’s cool to hear the songs through the studio lens.

Who produced the release – what did they bring to it? If you produced it yourselves what do enjoy most about producing your own material?
This album was produced by Carey McGraw (Modern Medicine). He and I work really well together because Carey is great about going through things with a fine tooth comb and thinking really critically about things I do not. When I produce myself, I might throw a mic up and call it good, or have a few well thought out parts with some filler in between. Carey will chart every note and try things multiple ways, he’ll move things around by the millisecond to find the groove. He’s not afraid to get into the weeds, which pushes me as a songwriter and producer.

What do you want the listener to take away from listening to your music?
I try to make music that’s a nice soundtrack to your day, especially on this album where the playing is really nice. If there’s a line that stands out to people, something they can think on and take away, that’s icing on the cake.

How does a track normally come together? Can you tell us something about the process?
I feel like the most common way is that a melody pops into my head and I try to capture it in my voice notes before it escapes me and hits the next person. I heard an interview with Tom Waits where he talked about how melodies would hit him when he was driving home from the studio. And he would tell whatever power is in charge of the songs to come to him during business hours, and go take that melody to someone else. I do think it is kind of like that, but I’m no Tom Waits, I know I don’t get as many melodies as him, so when something good hits me, I try to capture it in a voice note so I can sit down and flush it out.

What band/artists have influenced you the most since you started this project, and why?
Lucinda Williams, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Townes Van Zandt, those are songwriters I grew up listening to with my dad. I love producing music and have made a lot of dance and synth-pop tracks over the years (still do for some film and TV projects!), but for Josie Lockhart, I’ve wanted this project to be very song-focused from the beginning. I try to have it produced in a way that serves the song, and I think those legendary songwriters are good touchstones for how to do that.

What countries would you like to tour? Are there any standout venues you’d like to play in?
I’d love to do some UK & Europe dates. I had the opportunity to do some international touring in years past with my band Sphynx and it was so cool to experience different audiences and have a real adventure while touring. I’ve never played the outdoor stage at Stubb’s in Austin, that’s a venue I’ve been to as a fan a lot of times. Putting it out into the universe that I’d like to do that sometime.

If you could pick one track for our readers to listen to in order to get a taste of your music, what would you pick, and why?
‘Every Kind of Light.’ Aside from it being my new single, I think that it’s a good amalgamation of the rest of the album. It’s not that all the songs sound like this, but I think that if you like what you hear here, you’ll like the rest of the album.

What ambitions do you have for your career?
To make a catalogue of songs I’m proud of. Anything else is great, but the only thing I can control, and the thing I am focused on, is writing good songs.

Finally, as you leave the stage, what are your parting words?
Thank you! I’m very grateful to get to make music and thrilled whenever people write about it and listen to it. It’s a great joy in my life, and I’m lucky to get to share it.

For more info about Josie Lockhart, visit josielockharttx.com