We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Katie & Josh Pascoe a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Katie & Josh, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
When we decided to pursue music full time, back in 2019. We had both agreed to continue working our regular 9-5’s for one more year, to save up a bit more, before becoming full time musicians in 2020. Although it was a risk to quit our higher earning jobs, we felt the stars had aligned for us to take this leap. We would finally be free to travel and follow our music around with nothing to hold us back. In the beginning of 2020, we had started out strong. Travelling to Jamaica with a blues-group to perform at various resorts. We had no idea what was coming toward us. When the pandemic hit and the reality of our future plans sunk in. We found ourselves in an unfavourable situation. With tour dates cancelling, shows rescheduling and people isolating. It was scary to think that our “big move” would have to be shelved for a while. And even though we had saved up for that extra year, we were worried that it still wouldn’t be enough. Having such a strong desire to make it work, we began performing online concerts and selling online merchandise. We knew we had taken a risk, but it was worth it in the end. Because it helped us learn how adaptable we could be as entrepreneurs and showed our resilience. Something we’ve taken with us ever since!
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?
Josh & Katie Pascoe are the husband & wife rock group Fresh Breath from Southern Ontario, Canada. Their music is influenced by artists like, Tom Petty, Alanis Morissette & Fleetwood Mac. Featuring soaring vocals, rippin’ guitar, flute solos & humorous stories from the road. The couple, first came to the scene in their 20’s … playing at their local small town venues for family and friends. Now they find themselves with well over a decade of professional experience under their belts. Touring across Canada and the USA in their DIY Converted Camper Van. Performing at festivals, concert halls & breweries. They have a brand new full length studio album, that was released November 3, 2023. It’s saturated with Americana and Rock elements, ultra smooth guitar tones and head turning vocals. With the first single ‘Through My Window’ gaining local and national radio play throughout North America within the first month of its release. Named Top 10 Finalists in the World Songwriting Awards ‘Alternative’ category for track ‘Forever in Your Heart’. It is a follow up to their 2021 pandemic piece; ‘How Did I Get Here’ (FACTOR). Which garnered them several award nominations with The International Singer Songwriter Association (ISSA), and with The Canadian Independent Music Video Awards (CIMVA’s) . The new record will bring with it a fresh wave of uplifting joyful energy and connected vibe. You can find them performing throughout Canada this summer. Then they will be parking their van in South Texas for the winter, performing on South Padre Island and throughout the Rio Grande Valley.
We love to share our travel journey with our fans online! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook & TikTok for story updates and news. Plus, find us on YouTube for new weekly content, our ‘@bandinthevanpodcast’ episodes, live performance videos and shorts.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The ability to be our own boss and to have flexibility in our daily lives is huge. We are 100% independent. Which means we manage ourselves in every aspect of our career. While this at times can be super overwhelming. It is very fulfilling to be creating music and a brand for ourselves. Putting basically all of our time and energy into something we believe in and are excited about is exhilarating! We also thrive on connecting with new audiences, meeting people and travelling. Which we constantly get to do as touring musicians.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Our mission on this creative journey is and always has been about personal growth. We both starting writing songs as a result of personal trauma in our lives. I won’t go into too much detail about our situations. But, we turned to music and song writing as therapy. To say the things we needed to say out loud. It’s a healing process. Being able to not only confront your demons but, sing your heart out while doing it. It’s a release like no other. Our song writing style is mix of story telling, with a problem and solution within the songs. Some are about serious issues and have real heart wrenching stories behind them. Others contain mantras which we ourselves use or say to get us through these troubling times.
Our goal is to share our mission with as many people as possible. Say the things you’re holding within you out loud. And find ways to deal with it. That’s Fresh Breath in a nutshell.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.freshbreathband.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshbreathband/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshbreathband/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/freshbreathband?lang=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3-AGWCG0vMTm3UWUc9aDQg
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/freshbreathband
- Other: https://linktr.ee/freshbreath
Image Credits
Photography by; Daydream Photographs / Dominique VanRoie
Live Performance Photography by; Steve Shilson, Straylight Films