DAVE'S DIARY - 6 NOVEMBER 2003
JOSH ARNOLD - DARLING DOWNS TO TAMWORTH
Josh Arnold
has perfect credentials for a country singer - he's the fourth generation
of a farming family on the famed Darling Downs in Queensland.
| Josh
was raised on the family sheep farm at Waitara between Chinchilla
and Tara west of Toowoomba. So when he sings about his grandfather and other farming characters on his debut ABC Music CD, 'Galvanize', he's drawing from his own heritage. Arnold wrote 'Old Man Cowboy' and 'Old Sparky' about his grandfather and 'The Man I Used To Be' about hard times on the land. "I don't believe in writing a song when I don't have the experience," Josh, just 25, told Nu Country after the album was released in 2000. Arnold drew on his experiences in 11 original songs on a disc he co-produced with Rod McCormack. Galvanize was the sequel to a 5 track 1999 EP CD. 'The Man I Used To Be' made the finals of best male vocalist section of the Australian Country Music Awards. |
Josh Arnold |
And his duet with Corowa born Lee Kernaghan on a revamp of the late John Denver's classic 'Thank God I'm A Country Boy' also reached the vocal collaboration final.
SOMETHING
IN THE AIR
Arnold has also had his tunes featured in ABC TV series 'Something In
The Air.'
Josh, now living in Toowoomba, is riding high in the saddle.
His debut disc also featured original tunes 'Yodeo Trailer' and 'Hard
Living' - inspired by touring out west and working in the Northern Territory.
"Hard living is coping with the drought," Arnold said.
"I hope lot of people can relate to it. The family relationship is
always the major priority. Relationships far outweigh financial gains."
But there was a slice of literary licence in 'Girl In The 2nd Row,' based
on Josh meeting his wife at a concert.
"I don't know if she was in the second row but that's where I met
her," says Josh.
"I think the music industry is more moral, you stay with the one
woman."
ROAD TRAIN
But in the
interests of accuracy Josh re-recorded some of the vocals on 'Road Train'
after learning that breed of truck didn't have 30 wheels.
"I played it to my brother-in-law who drives Road Trains and he said
'they have 42 wheels, not 30,'" Josh jokes.
"It was a blessing in disguise as at that session I also recorded
'Old Sparky' which would not have made the album as we had already recorded
another song."
SCARIFIER
Arnold toughened
up his sound on second ABC album Scarifier, released in 2001.
It included songs such as 'Road Kill,' 'Rank,' 'Muster In The MHC' and
'Curse Of The Yodeo' - sequel to Yodeo Trailer.
Other originals include 'Sun To Shine,' 'Berko', 'Scrubber,' and the biographical
'Ground Up.'