Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh Purgason.
Josh, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Music has been my closest companion ever since I was a child. I’d wake up when my dad went to work at 5:00 am and go sing at the top of my lungs while swinging on an old rusty swing set in the backyard. My neighbors had to think I was looney. Here is this 12-year-old kid (outside in the pitch black) howling like what I’m sure sounded like a wounded animal. These songs were my escape, refuge and alternate world where I felt like I belonged. The melodies tuned out the ugliness of an abusive father who treated my angel of a mother horribly. Each track, each note healed wounds from family problems to social awkwardness. I decided very early on that I wanted to create and offer that healing to others.
Around the age of 15, I got my first guitar for Christmas. It was not something that I just picked right up, but I refused to give up and within a year, I went from crappy to not so crappy. I view myself as a lyricist first and foremost. My soul purpose for learning guitar was because I believed in what I had to say and the tunes deserved better than a futile a capella attempt or another guitarist throwing darts but never hitting the mark on where I was aiming. I didn’t pull the trigger on truly pursuing music until I was in my 20’s. I recorded an EP of songs and used that as a blueprint to find band members. With those songs, I’d go on to start Thoughts are Nuclear and we did some pretty amazing things in the project’s short lifespan. I’m proud of the rock stations out of Atlanta that got behind us and helped open doors to open for a few major label acts.
After the band split up it took about a year to rebuild the ambitious fire that felt like had almost been snuffed out of me. I had plenty of material bubbling inside from bittersweet endings: band, job and ex-girlfriend of seven years. Fast forward to now and I’ve got countless things to be thankful for, including the opportunity to be featured in your magazine!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I’m an optimist. I think any day I’m given with breath in my lungs is not just a smooth ride, but a private jet luxury. However, I’ve had PLENTY of metaphorical blowouts and breakdowns that have left me hitching it with the thumb. I’ve been fortunate to have many generous/compassionate souls pick me up when I’ve been stranded in life.
Growing up in a small town of Georgia where country music reigns supreme has always been a component where it stacks the odds against me. Lyrically my music is relatable to a wide degree, but musically it echoes influences of the west coast alternative/indie scene. I’ve played countless “menu venues” (as my buddy Acea Lashley puts it) where I’ve had to win over a crowd ranging anywhere from stone-cold bikers to legit cowboys. I never change who I am despite what crowd I’m playing for. I have walked on stage feeling the cold stares and by the middle of the show, the energy changes into a beautiful unity. Music to me is a universal language and if you speak it truthfully/earnestly, than almost anyone will be on board for the journey.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
When I sit down to write new material, I do it first and foremost as therapy. Happy, sad, angry, confused: all of it is worked out with 6-strings and a cup of joe. What makes me beyond proud is that once recorded, the songs become omnipotent. Whatever meaning I had while creating it no longer applies, it’s a multitude of different interpretations and endless possibilities of what it can make someone feel.
I am also proud of the multitude of family/friends who have supported and helped get me to where I am. I’d be doing a terrible injustice if I tried to list everyone, but I can’t help but name these people who have made incredible contributions and are the foundation that helped me build from day one:
– My #1 fan & mom, Cindy Purgason.
– Mary Kojis for sticking by my side and believing 100% in this dream through words + action.
– Charlie Hudgins for a million things.
– Angela & Drew Ashworth for getting me booked consistently in the beginning when nobody knew who I was.
– My best friend, Matt Hunter.
– Acea Lashley of Hendley Road for recording/producing almost all of my tracks and pouring countless hours of creativity into making each track come to life.
– Kit Forshee for managing and guiding me in the right direction.
– Hunter Flanagan for being the most genuine musician I’ve ever met and him always trying to help get the word out on myself along with many others in the West GA Scene.
– Last, but not least: ANYONE who has ever listened to my music or came out to a show. I never take that lightly and I fully realize that without my friends/fans, I’m nothing.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
This is going to sound like a very cliche answer, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Every disappointment, heartbreak and failure has led me to the happiness I’ve found. I’d be too afraid of screwing up the path to where I’m at now by trying to butterfly effect what’s in the rearview. As a human, of course, I’d love to erase the soul-crushing moments of the past, but as a musician, those lumps of coal have produced some lyrical diamonds.
Contact Info:
- Website: joshpurgason.com
- Phone: 7066165270
- Email: joshpurgasonofficial@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.joshpurgason.com
- Facebook: facebook.joshpurgason.com
- Other: spotify.joshpurgason.com
Image Credit:
Charlie Hudgins
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