Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Josh Gracin: "It's Like Working the Midnight Shift"


Friday night, Josh Gracin takes the grandstand at the Scioto County Fair.

But today, he took a few minutes to talk to me about Friday’s show and his new single…

“The show is very high energy,” he told me. “I run around all over the stage. We try to give the crowd the best show possible. I’m trying to bring country music to people who normally don’t listen to country. I want the crowd to feel happy, not feel like they went to a turkey show.”

The last time I saw Josh in concert, he performed several covers, but when I asked him if he could reveal what ones we might see Friday night, he just laughed. “I can’t give up all of the surprises,” he told me. He did however admit that the songs can change with each show.

Tonight Josh is in Martinsburg, WV. Tomorrow he’ll be in Wheeling and Wednesday, he’ll be in Point Pleasant, NJ. So what’s the toughest thing about being on the road? “Getting in the swing of things. Just trying to fit into everyone’s schedules. At home I have to fit in with my wife and kids’ schedule and on the road I have to fit into a different schedule. It’s hard when you’re on stage until 11 o’clock at night and you can’t wind down until 1 or 2 in the morning. It’s like working the midnight shift.”

Josh’s home schedule is about to get even busier as he and his wife are expecting their fourth child in the fall—a girl. That will give Josh three girls and one boy, but he’s used to being outnumbered, having grown up with four sisters.

It’s obvious how important Josh’s family is to him as he talks about his new single, “Unbelievable,” which he wrote for his wife of seven years, Ann Marie. “I sat down and wanted to write a song—obviously about my wife—but also a song that people can relate to…Like ‘Brass Bed’ [a top five hit from Josh’s debut album]. Women like it, but guys do too…I wanted to write it from a guy’s perspective so guys could sing it and not feel stupid for liking a love song. I just wrote the things that come to mind when I look at my wife.”

Although Josh has left his days on “American Idol” far behind him, I couldn’t resist asking him just one “Idol”-related question. What is the most popular question you get about “American Idol”?

Without hesitation, Josh answers, “What was Simon really like?” And without me asking, he goes on to tell me that Simon is a normal guy who’s good to talk to.

It seems to me that he’s not the only one…

Josh Gracin will be in concert at the Scioto County Fair Friday, August 8th at 8 p.m. on the grandstand at the Scioto County Fairgrounds in Lucasville. Admission is $7.
Photo provided by Lyric Street Records