Interview with Indie Musician, Joshua Slamp

1) What motivated you to become a musician and how did you get started?

I started playing guitar at the age of 15. As long as I could remember, I had a love for music.. Started out learning the piano at 9 and quickly grew tired of it...moved on to the Trombone, merely because the music director at school pushed me into it. My father played guitar and we would have jam sessions. Him on guitar and me on trombone. It was a lot of fun. Tried that for a couple of years. Once a few of my friends started playing guitar was when really started getting interested. Haven't looked back since..

2) Tell us a little bit about your music.

I'm not afraid to blur musical genres. I'll play a traditional blues slide number one minute, move to a Jazz fusion piece the next and immediately followup with a touching singer-songwriter vocal ballad. It's all relative to me. Plus I get bored creatively. I try to push myself. When I play live, I like to use two loop-pedals to record rhythms on the spot to improvise over or beat on the guitar to create beats. Whatever I feel like doing at the moment. It should be organic and interesting.

3) There are mixed feelings within the music industry about new Internet technologies. How do you see the future of the music industry? How do you see these technologies affecting your music?

As with everything, there's a pro and a con. I have an internet presence, but find that the bulk of my music sales come from CD's sold at my shows. I still press my on CD's. The thought of having a huge inventory of product seems like bad business in these changing times. I think we'll continue to see more downloading and start moving into more streaming of music. Sites that offer a low monthly fee to have access to anything out there. My only concern, is how any of us will be compensated for it. Recorded music will really be more of a promotional tool. But it could help in securing higher-profile gigs.

4) What is one positive thing and one negative thing you have learned about the music business through your experiences?

Boy...I'm still trying to find the positive...no the fans, the people I meet when I play out. I've found them to be the most positive thing. Nothing more fulfilling than connecting with a new fan or audience. As for negative, the business as a whole. The "music business" has nothing to do with talent. It's really more about who you know and how much press you can get. It's about making money. If you want the high-profile gigs, fame and fortune, you need to prove that your product can deliver the goods. If you have talent too, well then you've got us all beat.

5) What advice can you give to other musicians who are trying to make a career of music?

A real career in music is a job. You have to accept that quickly or you're going to fall by the wayside in no time. I personally dislike the PR side of things, it's just not my forte. But it's something I'm having to work on. Nobody is going to know you exist if you don't start leaving bread crumbs and screaming on roof tops. So write your songs, play a hell of a lot and keep working on finding ways for your potential fans to find you.

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