A) A popular singer\/sonwriter
\nB) An instructor at Interlochen Arts Academy
\nC) A finalist on season 8 of the NBC show The Voice
\nD) All the above<\/p><\/dd>\n<\/p>\n\n
The answer, of course, is D. Familiar to audiences around the state and the Midwest from both his time fronting the band Steppin\u2019 In It and as a solo act, Davis continues to showcase his rootsy music, blending Americana, blues, rock and more, for audiences across the region, as well as helping encourage the next generation.<\/p>\n\n
Davis grew up as a music fan well before taking up a guitar. \u201cGrowing up \u2026 my folks took me to music festivals,\u201d he said. That meant taking in blues, rock, bluegrass and other music forms, whether in the Detroit area with his mom (Hart Plaza was a must) or the Hiawatha Music Festival in the Upper Peninsula with his dad.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThat made me want to start playing,\u201d Davis said. \u201cI got a guitar when I was 12 or 13. <\/p>\n\n
![\"Joshua](\"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/images\/blog-Josh-Davis.jpg\")
Joshua Davis<\/p><\/div>\n\n
He continued to take in the musical world around him. \u201cIn high school I was listening to punk rock and grunge and hip hop like everybody else,\u201d he admitted. While listening to the likes of Black Flag, Nirvana and Fugazi he also was taking in the folk scene. He saw the similarities. \u201cRock and roll wouldn\u2019t be hre if it weren\u2019t for Woody Guthrie and the blues, like Muddy Waters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
He saw Joel Mabus at a festival and bought a CD. \u201cI learned all the clawhammer songs,\u201d Davis said. He soon tried his hand at songwriting and began singing as well, which led to stages across the region, first with the Americana\/rock band Steppin\u2019 In It, then as a solo artist. \u201cI always had a love of performing,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n\n
Two events took place in the last few years that changed the game for him. First was when he was invited to audition for the popular NBC music show The Voice. He eventually did so, even though the approach was not in his wheelhouse. \u201cLooking at music in a competitive way is totally against the way I was raised,\u201d he says in his profile on the GHS website (more on the GHS connection below). \u201cCollaboration is what it\u2019s about. Music brings people together.\u201d Despite disavowing that competitive approach, Davis made it all the way to the finals on season 8 in 2015, eventually coming in third.<\/p>\n\n
The TV exposure on upped the ante, garnering him fans across the country. He said it also made him focus more on his singing, which also influenced his songwriting. He continued to write, record and perform, just with a larger audience than previously. \n\nThen came the second event that changed his life (and everyone else\u2019s): the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That\u2019s when he, like so many others, turned to livestreaming, which he continues today.<\/p>\n\n
But it also garnered him another opportunity which he\u2019s taken full advantage of, teaching songwriting at Interlochen Arts Academy. \u201cI talk to kids about music all day long. It\u2019s ridiculously rewarding,\u201d he said. He said it also helps keep him up-to-date musically.<\/p>\n\n
And yes, he\u2019s still performing, though he\u2019s not doing as much as he did when he was younger. \u201cNow I do three or four a month. They all feel special. It doesn\u2019t feel like work,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n\n
It also allows him to spend more time with his family. \u201cBeing a touring musician \u2026 took a toll. I manage my own business, which is something you should never do,\u201d he said with a laugh. \u201cWith four kids it\u2019s important to be close to home. I don\u2018t have to be on the road so much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Davis has a couple guitars he says he really enjoys playing. One is a Gibson ES-125 from the 50s, which he says is his main instrument, especially when he plays solo. He also has a Waterloo acoustic made by Collings Guitars in Austin, and a Mule resophonic guitar made in Saginaw. He favors GHS Nickel Rockers<\/a> and S325<\/a> Phosphor Bronze strings.<\/p>\n\n By Ross Boissoneau Joshua Davis is: A) A popular singer\/sonwriter B) An instructor at Interlochen Arts Academy C) A finalist on season 8 of the NBC show The Voice D) All the above The answer, of course, is D. Familiar to audiences around the state and the Midwest from both his time fronting the band […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3556"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3564,"href":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3556\/revisions\/3564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Ross](\"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/images\/SBM-Ross-100.jpg\")
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