The music business is tough.
The music is easy…the business…not so much. I don’t want to dwell on the negative though. Just because something is tough does not mean you won’t succeed. It means you will have to be prepared. Prepared for hurdles you didn’t see coming. Prepared for a roller coaster of successes and failures @cowboywandering
Live Interview
Episode #371 : A.V.A Live Radio Behind The Music with Jacqueline Jax : http://www.blogtalkradio.com/avaliveradio/2016/10/06/episode-371-ava-live-radio-behind-the-music-with-jacqueline-jax
GETTING TO KNOW JOSEPH HESS
by Jacqueline Jax host of A.V.A Live Radio
Joe Hess
Joe Hess and The Wandering Cowboys
The music business is tough.
The music is easy…the business…not so much. I don’t want to dwell on the negative though. Just because something is tough does not mean you won’t succeed. It means you will have to be prepared. Prepared for hurdles you didn’t see coming. Prepared for a roller coaster of successes and failures. Prepared to be let down. There are people out there who only want to use you for their gain but if you stay focused, and don’t rush into things, you’ll find the ones who truly want to help you succeed.
The positive things I have experienced in the music business
thus far are things like watching us grow as musicians. The longer you play with guys, the better you get. I have really enjoyed playing for people in so many different cities. The tough stuff has shown up in the dreaded CLOCK. There just ain’t enough hours in the day…so they say. I work 40 or more hours a week as a Land Surveyor so that and being married with 2 young children to raise, doesn’t leave a ton of time to do bookings, promotions, practice songs, record records in Nashville….somehow, I’ve made it work though. Another tough part in the business is dealing with a LOT of people to get where you want to be. The tough part is making sure you stay focused on building relationships and treating people with respect…even when they may not deserve it.
Talk to people. Ask questions.
Ask for help. I realize when I am struggling with something, someone out there has been through it before and will help me through it. Humility is a must.
Oh my gosh….Garth Brooks….hands down!
The man is everything that I love about country music. His voice, his drive, the truth in his songs, his SHOW. Just look at how long his team have been with him. I would want to spend at least 3 of the 5 minutes playing a song for him and letting him hear what he basically created.
I’ve always been a music person.
As a child, my mother would sing to me. I remember my father playing the piano and writing his own scores. My sister took to the piano and flute as well. Then I saw my first guitar…and I was bitten with the fever…the fever to play rock music…really loudly. I was 12 years old when my dad bought me my first acoustic guitar. My brother got the first electric guitar of the house, which we fought over. =) My voice didn’t develop until around age 16 or 17. The I discovered Garth Brooks and country music and that’s what a made a B-Line for. Later on, I found myself in karaoke bars singing sometimes as much as seven nights a week; strengthening my voice all the while.
Who Don’t Love a Love Song
The name of this single is “Who Don’t Love a Love Song”,
written by Sean Gasaway, Bobby McKee and Audrey Burtraw, all from Nashville, TN The music video has been filmed and should be complete and ready for release anytime. Here is the preview https://youtu.be/R5SkM-Kvu-w This song was presented to me by our bass player, Tracy McKee, who is the cousin of one of the song’s writers, Bobby McKee. Tracy sent me a recording of the song and I liked it right away. It had that feel to it…you know…that dance and be happy feel. It had everything…the hook, the flow, the color! I knew we were going to cut it and we did! During the recording, writers Bobby and Sean were in the studio with us and they loved what we did with it. Bobby actually cut all of the acoustic guitar tracks for every song on the EP
This EP is who we are. The sounds, the feelings, the power…it’s all us.
When you hear us on stage, you begin to realize that every ounce of what went into this record is a portrait of each individual. You will hear sounds that are clear tones, capturing the essence of the 90s country music, yet having that new feel of today’s country music. You will hear harmony vocals brought out into the mix to really set the lyrics on a platform to be heard in a special light. The songs on this EP (2 of which I wrote) are real life stories…this IS country music right? LOL We have steered clear of today’s mainstream lyrics and arrangements to bring out the most honest, and rich versions of ourselves as we possibly can. We owe that to everyone who hears us. The people….what can I say? They love these songs. The outpouring of love and support is overwhelming and has given us the validation that being who we are or “Just doing us” as we like to say, was the right choice!
Purchase the EP “Chapter I” Digital
https://www.cdbaby.com/m/cd/joehessandthewanderingco/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/chapter-i-ep/id1153543825
https://www.amazon.com/Chapter-Joe-Hess-Wandering-Cowboys
https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Joe_Hess_and_the_Wandering_Cowboys_Chapter_I?id=Bcpdolsstxuiunoscyriniwzdhu&hl=en
I live in a city called McCordsville, Indiana,
which is about 30 minutes northeast of Indianapolis. There are tons of bands in Indiana. The genres are very diverse here. With us being in the country music genre, we’ve gotten to know pretty much most of the other country music bands in town. There are several bars and clubs that we all seem to gravitate to, which is the nature of the business…we go where country music is played. The largest country music venue is The 8 Seconds Saloon on the west side of town. They have dozens of national acts play there during the year. This year we have branched out of Indiana and into Chicago, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee and will look at even more cities in 2017.
Social Media Links
Official Website: http://www.jhtwc.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joehesscountry
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cowboywandering
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hess_joe_319
Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/joehess076
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChi_U0F3wRsm63No50sxIjA
Pretty much all download sites:
Purchase the EP “Chapter I” Physical CD
https://squareup.com/store/joe-hess-and-the-wandering-cowboys/
Stream the EP:
https://play.spotify.com/album/2YO9IVwR5GxDDsZC7Ifsxu