Josh London started playing in Lexington bars while attending UK and it didn’t take him long to build up a fan base that filled The Paddock, Redmon’s and other places nearly every weekend. About a year ago, Josh moved to Nashville to pursue his music career, and his first album, featuring 5 original songs, goes on sale on October 5. Josh is currently working on a tour to promote the album, but was able to take enough time out from tour planning to answer a few questions for Bazooka.

Bazooka: The last time I talked to you, you were thinking about trying to make a living doing music, but hadn’t decided for sure. Was there anything in particular that pushed you toward Nashville?

Josh London: Making the decision to pursue music as a career has been something I've struggled with for years. I'm relatively a shy person and I have had to work through that obstacle. I didn't purposely move to Nashville to play music, I moved here to work, but I knew in the back of my mind that I would pursue music.

Long story short, I went to college, earned my degree, moved to Nashville, and then it was time to work and pay bills. The more I worked, the less time I had to write and play music. I was miserable because I couldn't play. It was dark outside when I left for work in the morning and it was dark when i got home. So, I went on a family vacation and realized how much I loved to play music. When I got back to Nashville I put in my two weeks and haven't looked back.

Bazooka: You started out playing bars in Lexington. A lot of musicians I know complain that bar crowds only want to hear covers. Have you run into this with your original stuff? Do people who have been coming to see you at bars like Redmon’s for years seem more open to new songs than audiences where you’re not as well-known?

JL: That's very true. Bar crowds do want to hear covers, but I think playing covers is a tribute to writers and artists who have written and/ or performed incredible music. I look at it this way, in every job, the boss makes you do things you don't want to do. In this situation, the listeners are the boss and regardless of what song I'm playing, I get to do what I love. I will admit that once you've played a song, what seems to be a 1,000 times in a week, it begins to wear you down. For the most part, I've always covered songs that I could relate to in some way, so it's been relatively easy to play covers. Every singer/ songwriter wants to perform his/ her own music. When I began playing my original material out at the bar, I would never announce, "Hey, I wrote this song." I would slide it in between a Merle Haggard and Jason Aldean song or a Waylon Jennings and Aaron Tippin song. Keeping a crowd entertained has always been very important to me, so if I could slide an original song in between two great songs, I could maintain momentum. Now, I have people asking me to play my original material, wherever I go, and I take the time to explain the origin of the song or what I felt when I was writing the song.

Bazooka: Your stuff reminds me of the stuff I listened to in the early 90s--guys like Clint Black, Alan Jackson, and Tracy Lawrence--up-tempo but still very much traditional country, and many of the songs you cover are by old-school classic country/Americana artists like John Prine. For a while now, it seems like there’s been a sometimes bitter divide between traditional country acts and artists who do more pop-influenced commercial stuff. Do you try to write your songs with any particular country sub-genre or ideological camp in mind?

JL: When I write, I write what I feel. To me, country is a way of life, not a genre of music. My style is a combination of the music I grew up listening to and that's a wide range of music. Although I've always been partial to country music, if I liked a song, I didn't care who sang it, who wrote it, or what genre it fit into. I liked it because it made me feel a certain way. If I tried to write based on a sub-genre of country music, it would limit my capabilities to be creative.

Bazooka: Your self-titled EP just came out. Are you releasing it on your own or working with a record label?

JL: I'm releasing the album on my own. I played the bar scene in Lexington for a long time. I met a lot of cool people and really evolved as a person on and off stage. Lexington has been and still is very good to me. But in relation to the rest of the world, and the endless possibilites of the internet, I thought it was time to get my music out to everyone that would listen to it.

Bazooka: Where can Bazooka’s readers download the songs and/or buy the CD?

JL: Physical copies of the album should be available through CDbaby starting October 5th. Digital downloads will be available on itunes and various other online outlets the same day.

Bazooka: You’re doing a tour to promote the album. Give us some details.

JL: I'm gonna do a small tour, mainly based in the southeast. The tour, like any tour, is a work in progress. Dates and venues seem to change weekly. A lot of research goes into planning a tour. Besides the places that I choose to play, I like for friends and fans to tell me where they want me to play. It doesn't matter to me if the bar holds 10 people or 1,000 people. If one person likes my music, that's all that matters.

Bazooka: When and where is the closest show for folks in the Paducah area who want to see you live?

JL: Currently, I don't have any dates scheduled in the Paducah area. I've been working with people in the Bowling Green, Hendersonville, Owensboro, and Evansville area. Anyone can check out my tour dates on Facebook, Reverbnation, and Myspace.

Bazooka: I’m used to seeing just you and a guitar on stage, but you’ve got a band backing you up on the album. Will they be joining you for the tour or are you flying solo?

JL: For the most part, I'm trying to promote my music in a grassroots manner. I want to travel town to town, building a fan base, just me and my guitar. When the crowds begin to grow, the band will begin to grow.

Bazooka: When you’re driving from show to show, what kind of music will you be listening to?
JL: I'm a sucker for sad songs, so first up will be The Randy Rogers Band. Besides that, any country act out of the Texas/ Oklahoma area and old-school classic country.

Bazooka: Any plans once the tour’s finished?

JL: I'll always be writing, and when the tour begins to slow down, I'll go back in the studio and gear up for another run.

For samples, news, and tour information, visit http://www.myspace.com/joshlondonmusic or become a fan on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Josh-London/151273391558640).