We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joey Joesph a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Joey, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
I have not been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work. I was really troubled by this for a while, living in the reality of capitalism where we’re pretty much constantly getting the message that – if you’re spending your time doing something, no matter how happy it makes you, if it isn’t making you money then it’s not worth doing seriously. Over the past few years I’ve been able to start making peace with the fact that it’s incredibly difficult to make a living creating art. But not making money from your art doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the value of the art you’re making. We start learning very early in life that if something doesn’t have monetary value, then it isn’t valuable. But I think about most of the music that has meant the most to me in my life, and I know that, for the most part, the people making that music have to have some other job to make a living, so they can also make art.
There shouldn’t be any shame in that – it’s just the reality of how our society works.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I helped form a psychedelic pop band called Pomegranates in 2006. We toured nationally for about 7 years with artists like Islands, Phantogram, Wye Oak, and French Kicks. We wrote and recorded 5 full-length albums and a handful of EPs in that time.
In 2016 I released my first solo full-length, which I recorded at home by myself, and since then I’ve released 7 more self-recorded full-lengths. The most recent of those is called Subliminal Clave, and it’s a collaborative record I made with my friend Jake Borgemenke. We wrote those songs over text and email, and recorded them separately in our respective home studios.
I taught myself graphic design and do all my own album artwork, as well as some work for other artists and labels. I designed the logo for the Nashville label, Like You Mean It Records, and have done some layout work for a couple of their tape releases. Through that connection I was also able to design the LP jacket artwork for the John Prine compilation “Stay Independent: The Oh Boy Years,” for Oh Boy Records’ 2021 Record Store Day special release.
I’ve worked hard for 15+ years at developing the skills I now have in audio production and graphic design, and I’m excited about being able to help other artists realize their own visions, who may not have much of a budget to work with. I’m really happy to be able to share what I’ve learned so far with people who are starting out.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I think it’s important to buy art and music directly from artists whenever possible. And understanding that money is not a resource for everyone, just realizing how much of an impact you can have by spreading the word about the art and music you’re excited about. I think word of mouth is still the best way to make people aware of what’s out there.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I have had to unlearn a lot of things to get to the place I’m at now, which I think is just pushing myself to make the best art I can – to push ideas as far as I can and make something I’m really proud of and excited about. Once I’ve finished a project and put it out in the world, I try really hard for that to be it’s own separate thing, rather than a representation of the value of what I’ve made, if that makes sense. There is so much content and information coming at everyone all the time, it’s really hard to make yourself heard in that noise. So, I think learning to really enjoy the process of making a thing, and then letting yourself celebrate the thing you’ve made, without getting hung up on likes or followers, or any of those stats that don’t actually mean anything.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.joey-joesph.bandcamp.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joesph_sounds/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_vqxG9dbtbBVFAVRlrr97A
Image Credits
black and white photo by Devyn Glista