We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joseph Herbst a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Joseph thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Currently, I am working on a new big band project that has so far been the most meaningful project for me. Since I began writing music, I was always interested in exploring storytelling through music. Since then, I fell in love with animation, particularly shows like Steven Universe and Adventure Time. I love the way shows like this can be so meaningful through their stories. So, I began thinking about how I could come up with my own fictional stories to convey – alongside the music – whatever message is on my mind. This project, currently entitled “Into the Void of My Dreams,” tells a story of someone who enters their own dream, and must ultimately sort through their inner struggles or else be trapped in a nightmare forever. Broadly speaking, it’s a story about change – how we often have to leave a part of ourselves behind in order to grow. For me, it’s about “breaking up” with the idea of hard work. I used to sleep a few hours every night in the name of hard work and growth, but that of course is a terribly unhealthy process. On top of that, I defined myself as a hard worker, rather than letting who I am be enough. So this project for me is being ok with who I am and not letting other people’s or society’s standards or expectations define me.

Plus, I plan to rerelease this project as an animated series many years down the line, so that’s exciting!

Joseph, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a composer and woodwind player. I’ve been playing music since 3rd grade when I began playing piano, though I fell in love with music through the saxophone which I started in 6th grade. In the last year of my time at Michigan State University, I began writing a lot of music, both through classes and outside of school. I realized that this is what I want to do with music – create new, original music, and of course play it as well! Since then, I’ve written multiple shows, ranging from a Coltrane Celebration – celebrating the life and music of John Coltrane – to a show inspired by Calvin & Hobbes.

Particularly, I’m interested in creating multidisciplinary shows, as I love working with other artists and creating new experiences. I hope that my music and my shows will be a way for us to come together and understand one another better.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

In music school, you learn a lot about music theory – how music is built, how it works, how it flows. It’s very helpful in many regards, and I learned an incredible amount from all my teachers. By the nature of school, though, it can be easy to leave with the idea that music must be this or that. But the reality is all the “rules” we learned about music are just conventions. In any style of music, there’s a lot of similarities in the way the music is made, as that’s part of what makes it sound like the same style. So understanding what these conventions are can be extremely helpful if you’re trying to make a particular type of music. However, you can break all of these “rules” and still make beautiful music.

For me, it took a while, and I’m definitely still working on this, to feel not only ok but excited to try things that are completely against the rules. The more I throw out everything I learned, the more free I feel as a creative. That’s not exactly what’s happening, but rather the rules I learned take a back seat to the exploration. If you analyze a lot of my music, you may be able to explain it using the rules I say I’m ignoring. And you’re probably right! But I get there in a way that is natural to me rather than getting there by the rules. So, it means I find my own personal ways of making music. This way helps me feel like what I’m creating is truly me.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I have more than one goal as a creative, and they often shift around, but one of the most important ones is that I want people to feel like they are loved for who they are. I want to make personal, genuine art and truly share a part of myself with the world. Sure, I may be awkward or silly at times, and not everyone will like my music, but by being true to myself, I convey the message that everyone is not only welcomed but encouraged to be themselves. We get so many messages – from schooling, from social media, from wanting to fit in – that we have to be a certain way, whether that’s how we talk, or act, or look, and so on. These messages can be very dangerous, as they can slowly erode at the validity of people’s humanity. I hope that my music can combat that – I hope it can create spaces for people to be themselves and that they take that with them wherever they go.    

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.josephherbstmusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josephherbstmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JosephHerbstMusic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JHerbstMusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXJwmv97BPO9oFsjuzuS72g
• Other: https://www.patreon.com/josephherbstmusic

Image Credits
Studio Misha Photography