360 - Music

Much Like His Hometown Nashville Singer Josh Hoge Represents Music City's Competing Spirits Of Tradition And Rebellion. A Third-Generation Musician Who Loves Music Whiskey And Rowdy Good Times Hoge Fits The Profile Of A Typical Lifelong Nashville Resident. But The 25-Year-Old Is Also Part Of A Growing Community Of Artists Who Call Nashville Home But Do Not Ascribe To The City's Time-Honored Twang. But Even Among Those Artists The Mix Of Pop And R&B Featured On Hoge's 11-Song Debut With Epic Records Call It What You Want Is One-Of-A-Kind. "Nashville Will Always Be Country But This Town Is Filled With Musicians Who Are Open To Everything From Bill Monroe To Bill Withers " Says Hoge Whose Voice Is Honeyed By A Good-Old-Boy Drawl. "That's Why There Are So Many Different Kinds Of Music Being Made Here Today For Example - Rock Bands Like Kings Of Leon. Music City USA Used To Mean Only Country But That's Changing." Hoge Traces His Old-School R&B Roots Back To The Extensive Library Of Music Collected By His Dad A Rock Singer Signed To Epic In The 60s. "A Lot Of It Was Passed Down To Him From His Father Who Played Jazz In The 40s " Hoge Explains. "My Older Brother Who's A Popular Indie Rocker Inherited All Of My Dad's Rock Records And I Was Drawn To All Of His Soul And R&B Music. The First Record I Can Remember Hearing Was By Jackie Wilson. I Fell In Love With The Way He Used His Voice Like An Instrument. It Blew Me Away." Hoge Never Outgrew His Love For Soul Music And As A Teenager Started Listening To Modern R&B Superstars Such As Babyface Boyz II Men And Brian McKnight. Later He Began Performing At High School Talent Shows And At Clubs In Nashville On Songwriter Nights. "Making Music Is A Big Part Of The Culture Here. I Wrote Songs And Sang Just For Fun And To Impress Girls " He Says With A Mischievous Laugh. That All Changed A Few Years After High School When Hoge Began Singing Demos Of Pop Songs Written By Country Songwriters. "I Was Working At A Record Company Running The Mailrooms For Their Biggest Artists When Someone Found Out That I Could Sing " He Recalls. "The Next Thing I Know I Was Behind A Microphone." Around The Time Hoge Got Serious About Music He Also Got Serious About A Girl. Following His Heart He Packed Up His Life And Left Nashville Behind To Follow Her To Los Angeles. To Make A Long Story Short Things Did Not Work Out And Hoge Drove Back Home To Nashville In A U-Haul. "It Was Just Me Going Cross-Country For 40 Hours With My Pug Nelly " He Recalls. "I Was So Pissed About Everything That I Wound Up Writing Most Of The Album On The Drive Home." Propelled By A Fluttering Acoustic Guitar Smoothed Out Beats And Hoge Admonishing His Former Lover With "You Do Somebody Wrong Before Too Long It's Gonna Get Done To You " Hoge Says The First Single "360 " Helped Him Work Through The Break Up. "It Sounds Like A Sweet Love Song But When You Listen To The Lyrics What You Hear Is Raw Emotion Coming Through " He Explains. "It's The Perfect Break-Up Song Hoping Someone Hurts Them As Much As They Hurt You." Call It What You Want Is Filled With R&B Jams With A Rock Edge Sexy Dance-Pop And Silky Ballads That Showcase Hoge's Crisp Songwriting And Dexterous Voice. He Shifts Effortlessly From Sweet Falsetto To Libidinous Growl On The Driving Dance Floor Track "Call It " A Song Inspired By Hoge's Experience Trying To Take A Friendship To The Next Level. "Sometimes When You Define A Relationship Lovers Or Friends You Ruin It " He Explains. "In A Perfect World People Should Listen To Their Hearts And Not To Their Friends Who Want To Complicate Things By Slapping Some Meaningless Label On A Simple Feeling. If It Feels Right Don't Question It Let It Develop Naturally." With Its Opening Line "Well I'm Not Lying Baby Didn't Plan On Spying Baby " Hoge Says The Guitar-Based R&B Come-On "Work That Body" Is The Confession Of An Accidental Peeping Tom. "I Was Trying To Capture The Magic Of Those Random Moments Of Infatuation Like Seeing A Pretty Girl At The Stop Light And Falling In Love Until The Light Turns Green " He Explains. Featuring Performances By Members Of John Mellencamp's Band "Take It Or Leave It" Embraces The Instruments And Attitude That Made Nashville Famous And Gives Hoge A Chance To Put His Own Unique Stamp On The City's Sound. "I'm Proud Of My Roots And This Song Is A Declaration Of Who I Am And Where I'm From " He Says. "To Me The Screaming Dobro And Thumping Backbeat Are The Sounds Of My Two Worlds Country And City Colliding." To Record The String Arrangements That Give The Album Closer "Undone " It's Celestial Edge Hoge Traveled To Philadelphia The Home Of One Of His Favs Boyz II Men. A Reflection On The Emotional Journey That Inspired The Album Hoge Says The Sensitive Ballad Gives The Album A Sense Of Resolution. "You Can't Let The Losses In Your Life Define You " He Says. "For Me Making Call It What You Want Was A Healing Process And This Song Is The Scar That's Left Over A Symbol Of Survival." read less