Very few people know what it is they want to do at 19; even fewer actually accomplish it by the age of 27. Chicago-based singer/songwriter Josh Holmes, on the other hand, was able to turn his dreams into reality at a young age.
"I started playing some shows on my own, and started making money on it," Holmes said.
"I figured that I could do that instead of working construction. I could do what I loved; I could focus on solely my music and my songwriting," Holmes said.
Holmes, who will play a show Friday at Scotty's, said he enjoys playing solo because his music is very personal to him.
"Music to me is like a journal. When I write it, I don't like people to come in and try to change it. When it comes to the songwriting process, I decided that it is in my best interest to do it myself," he said.
Holmes's inspiration comes from a wide range of musical artists and other sources, he said.
"My main influences go back to oldies rock, like Ritchie Valens, and then Motown music, the Temptations. I really appreciate them for their soul and Smokey Robinson for his songwriting skills, or Lionel Richie ... I appreciate John Mayer for his songwriting skills, for his guitar playing skills; he is an amazing guitar player.
"I could find something about anybody (to respect); if anything, I appreciate the fact that they are laying their soul on the line, and putting their lyrics out there," Holmes said.
Laying out your soul for people to critique may be a scary thought when it is brought to life. Yet Holmes said the fear goes away after time.
"I don't think about it too often. I guess I do have some secrets, but I do write everything that happens in my life, so it's the fact that you lay it all out there for someone to judge you, yeah. That used to be kind of scary, but anymore I don't care if somebody likes it," Holmes said.
The way that Holmes pours out his soul on stage, is one of the things that draws fans his way said street team member Emily Heinlen. Some of the duties of a street team member include: plugging the shows, by hanging posters and the like.
"His original songs are all written from experiences, and they are powerful, I can connect to what they are saying and relate to them," Heinlen said.
Holmes plays a lot of colleges and love to play BSU.
"I am really excited to come back to Ball State. I used to play Scotty's years ago, and i just started playing there again about a year ago and a half ago, before bands were an afterthought there, and now the cater more towards the bands and they make them feel welcome, and I really appreciate that. I'm really looking forward to be back there," Holmes said.
Heinlen said that Holmes like to play Ball State because he has a good fan base here.
"He has dedicated fans here, he will play anywhere that people want to hear him play, but he likes to play Scotty's, there is a core group of fans here," Heinlen said.
Heinlen said she really admires him for the way he seems to care about his fans.
"He is a great musician, and he cares about his fans, he will stay at a show for hours after he is done playing just to hang out with his fans," Heinlen said.
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