Letting Them Talk with Will Harris - Ep. 46 - Josh Joplin (The Josh Joplin Group / Camera One / Among the Oak and Ash)

This time I’m letting Josh Joplin talk. I’ve been enjoying Josh’s music for 25 years now. He’s actually been making music longer than that, but I don’t mind admitting that it wasn’t until the release of his single “Camera One” that I first found myself listening to Josh Joplin and his Group. Josh actually released his first single in 1989, and while it isn’t available for streaming on Spotify or anything like that, you can find it online, and you can hear just how much of an unabashed folk singer he was at the time. That was released under his own name, as was his debut album, 1990’s Facts of Fortune, but in short order he formed the Josh Joplin Band, which eventually evolved into the Josh Joplin Group. The release of 2001’s Useful Music was a major turning point for Josh, thanks to the aforementioned “Camera One” becoming the first independently-released single to hit #1 at Triple-A radio. The Josh Joplin Group promptly toured the world and elsewhere, and if the band’s next album, The Future That Was, didn’t necessarily hit the same commercial heights as its predecessor – and as we discuss, it did not – it hasn’t stopped Josh from continuing to write, record, and tour in earnest. During the course of our conversation, Josh and I talk about the various periods of his career, getting the opportunity to be produced by Shawn Mullins and Jerry Harrison, making a memorable appearance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, having close encounters with Pete Seeger, P!nk, and Jay-Z, being influenced by Dan Zanes, and doing a bit of musical reinvention with Among the Oak and Ash. At the moment, Josh is proudly revisiting Useful Music for its 25th anniversary, having issued it on vinyl and also releasing what would be best be described as a companion piece: Useful Music: The Silver Anniversary Sessions, which includes a variety of demos as well as a gorgeous piano version of “Camera One” which really does serve to reinvent the song. Well, that’s probably enough of an intro. It’s time to let Josh Joplin talk.