We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Joshua Freshour . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Joshua below.

Alright, Joshua thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I remember being musical for most my life. As a child my grandma had an organ and I would sit at that thing just making noise for hours. My grandma sat down with me a couple of times and tried to teach me how to actually play but I made it pretty clear I was far more interested in just making noise and she eventually just left me to my own devices and let me make noise.

In fifth grade I took up playing the clarinet. I wanted to play the saxophone but my school had a weird rule where you had yo start on clarinet and could switch to saxophone in junior high. My best friend and I played our clarinets in our schools talent show and did a duet rendition of the the theme song to the Flintstones. I had performed with our full schools elementary band at recitals but playing the Flintstones theme on clarinet with my friend was my first taste of what it was like to perform in front of people where the attention was on me and not on the whole of the group I was a part of.

I did end up switching to playing saxophone in junior high. They wanted me to play the baritone sax which if you’re not familiar with one it’s like a 4 foot long saxophone meant to fill out the lower register. Junior high was also where I picked up the bass guitar. The same friend I performed the Flintstones theme with in 5th grade began playing guitar more seriously as we reached junior high and they kind of just decided I should learn bass, one of our other friends should learn drums, and the three of us should start a band together. We spent the remainder of our time in junior high and high school doing just that. Our free time went from riding bikes and playing outside to learning covers, writing out own songs, and practicing as much as we could.

Our first public performance as a band was… interesting. The idea of “we want to make it as musicians” was already in our heads and after our first performance I’m surprised that didn’t change. The friend who we wanted to play drums ended up learning guitar instead because their parents thought it’d be better for them. So although the three of us had learned some songs together and had signed up to play a talent show, we didn’t have a drummer. This was at band camp my freshman year and this kid who was rooming with one of our guitar players happened to be a drummer. I was familiar with the kid in passing. All I knew was they had better taste in music than me and played trombone. Without having ever practiced with us They did phenomenal on playing drums and that feeling of making music with a group of some of my favorite people was amazing. Even if we were playing nirvana covers at a bandcamp talent show.

I’ve never felt like I would make it big in the music industry and I probably never will. Now that I’m a solo artist I look back on all the hundreds of shows I played in so many bands over the years and at all the recitals and concerts I took part in and I’m just glad I’ve gotten to have a life full of music. Lately I’ve been doing a lot of various gigs, I’ll play anywhere that has me, and although I’m usually taking the gig because my family needs the cash I’m always looking back thankfully on all the things that brought me to where I am today.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

So if you don’t know much about me I’m a singer/songwriter currently residing in Springfield, Ohio. I grew up living around the Darke county area. Just a typical country kid being raised by their aunt and uncle on a sheep farm trying to make the best of being surrounded by corn and farm animals. I’ve always loved animals which has a lot to do with why my partner and I spend most of our free time at various zoos with our children now.

I am a Barista/coffee roaster at a place called Scouts Cafe. I love working for in the coffee shop Industry and all the ways it’s allowed me to connect with the community.

As well as being a musician and a barista I help my partner run their small business called Sage & Oak. Check us out! We make glassware, handmade polymer clay earrings, and stickers that all are designed to bring joy in the world.

My music is available on most major streaming platforms. So if you’re interested in supporting me in my life’s journey in anyway please stream my songs, check out our business, or befriend me on the internet!

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

Promoting shows has changed so much as I’ve grown. When I started playing music live, MySpace was all the rage and now its all Tiktok and Facebook. So not only have I had to relearn promotion I’ve had to do it on platforms I wasn’t previously familiar with. Things were so much simpler when all you had to do was slap some flyers up around town, throw up a MySpace bulletin, and hope for the best.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I’m constantly trying to grow as a musician. Providing bookers and venues with a program that fits their needs has been an interesting and at times trying thing. This last year I began taking gigs at nursing homes for a company called senior music connection and learning songs for that has been a new experience for me for sure.

The biggest thing driving me to grow and continue is knowing gigs that pay money help my family not struggle. It pays for gifts for my children and bills for my bill-men. The lord of rent is a hungry God and I’m pleased that playing music helps me keep them satisfied.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.thesageandoak.com.
• Instagram: joshua.freshour