HostJolene: On your first album, the songs were more on a serious level. With this album, you seemed to have a little bit of fun.
Josh Turner: Yeah, there’s definitely a difference there. The first record dealt with a lot of heavy subject matter. Some songs were a little dark, some were bittersweet, and some were just subject matter that made you think. This record has that same depth but at the same time it’s more lighthearted. It doesn’t require a lot of meditation, I guess, and what not. But this record has a lot more straight forward love songs on it. There are songs you can dance to, there are great funny, humorous story songs, but at the same time there are still serious songs. There’s “Me & God” which is really personal. So there’s a little bit of everything on the album.
HostJolene: And speaking of that song, I know you worked with Diamond Rio as well, but what was it like working with Ralph Stanley? He’s a legend.
Josh Turner: Yeah, Dr. Ralph has become a friend of mine through the past year or two and he’s become a fan of mine and I’ve always been a fan of his ever since an early age and he’s just extremely humble. He’s just a normal man that has done extraordinary things in his life and in his career. He’s fought to keep mountain soul alive and that bluegrass music that he and his brother Carter started out making way back when. It was just such an honor for me to be able to have him sing on a song of mine and on a record of mine because of how big of a hero that he has been and the fact that he is still living and still making music and still playing on the road and everything. So it was a dream come true for me.
HostJolene: And you also got to work with John Anderson on “White Noise?”
Josh Turner: He and I are real close and we’ve started to write a good bit together. And he’s still a great singer and incredible songwriter. And I’ve just learned so much from him. He has just such a wealth of knowledge and has given me a lot of great advice. He just kind of looks out for me and it’s kinda neat to have somebody who has been there. Who’s had a lot of success and has also been on the lower end too. Because I’ve been there as well. I’ve been on the lower end thinking “is my career over already.” But at the same time I’m starting to experience a little bit of the success that John has experienced. It’s pretty cool because he and I are kindred spirits. We love the outdoors, we have a lot in common. We love our wives and our families and he’s just a great friend.
HostJolene: Are you able to get together often to write, or is it hard with your different schedules?
Josh Turner: It can be hard with our schedules. We’ve kind of learned over the past 6 – 8 months how to schedule time to write. We usually say “hey, let’s go for this day” and then we call each other a few days ahead of time, “are we still on?” If we are, we are. If we’re not, we’re not. So we’ve learned how to get together and align our schedules.
HostJolene: Did you do a bit of writing on your current album?
Josh Turner: I wrote five songs on my new record. I wrote “Way Down South,” and “Me and God” by myself. I wrote “Angels Fall Sometimes” with Tony Martin and Mark Nessler. I wrote “Gravity” with a buddy, Mark N. And of course I wrote “White Noise” with John. It was fun to have those originals on there so people could see a little more of my heart.
HostJolene: Right now you’re touring with Brad Paisley?
Josh Turner: In the month of May I’ll be on the Time Well Wasted Tour with Brad and Sara Evans. Both of those artists are just really great. Great artists and great musicians and great people too.
HostJolene: And outside of that, do you pretty much tour on your own or do you tour with other people as well?
Josh Turner: I’ll be mainly touring on my own, doing my own shows. This coming summer, of course, we’ll be doing a lot of fairs and festivals. I think everybody has to end up doing that. Because of the weather I guess, time of the year. But we’ll be doing some clubs, some theaters, small arenas and here and there just trying to get out in front of new markets.
