Joe Rose

Who is Joe Rose? Where are you from, how long have you been playing music etc

This is a question I have been asking for 21 years so I’ll have a whack at answering it now with a bit of pressure behind me. Joe Rose is in indie pop / alt artist based in London.

He’s a lover of jazz and sucker for a cheesy, catchy chorus. He’s also now going to switch back to the first person. I grew up in a small lil town in East Sussex called Lewes. It’s one of those lovely aesthetic places that you see lots of those “taking a day trip” tiktoks about. And realistically a day in Lewes is too much time. So growing up there you can imagine how much I was gagging to move out into the big smoke (London). At a young age my Dad tried to teach me to play guitar but due to tough strings and weak fingers but mainly the strings, I quickly realised that

A) The guitar wasn’t for me and

B) Actually being taught anything wasn’t for me either.

At age 12 I stumbled upon a piano, that hurt. But I instantly discovered that it was the instrument for me. I taught myself how to play using YouTube and realised I also had a pretty alright ear too. I learnt all my favourite songs until I was bored of them, which then lead me to start writing my own. It stayed pretty much as a hobby and time passer until around the end of 2022 where I started to think I might want to do this seriously.

If you had to describe your sound using just five words, what would they be?

Nostalgic, Ear-wormy, Jazzy, Uplifting and Dancable

Who are your biggest influences musically?

Rex Orange County, Ray Charles, Benny Sings, hard life, Tom Misch and Marvin Gaye

What’s your songwriting process?

Adore this question since anything I say will change tomorrow. Typically though one of two things happen. Either I sit at the piano and come up with some wanky, jazzy chord progression, loop it on repeat and try come up with some melody line over it. Once I find that then I refer to my notes app where I have accumulated a list entitled “Joe stop getting drunk and write one of these songs you idiot”. It’s long list of just ideas, thoughts and feelings that I want to eventually turn into songs. Or sometimes I’ll be walking about, as you do and start humming, mumbling or whistling a melody that just comes to mind. I am aware how strange I look when this happens, particularly at airport customs. All of my music however do come from real situations that have either happened to myself or the people I care about around me. Whether these situations and feelings are then exaggerated for the sake of ‘art’ is completely up for interpretation. #mylipsaresealed

When you were younger, what was the first album that blew you away and you remember putting on repeat non-stop?

Jack Johnson’s – In Between Dreams

When I was four years old, me, my Mum and my Dad drove to Italy. Mum was always the organiser and planner of the family, leaving Dad with the responsibility of remembering to pack a collection of CD’s for the massively long car ride ahead. This task proved to be somewhat challenging for Dad as the only CD he remembered to bring along was Jack Johnson’s – In Between Dreams. We listened to that album on repeat front to back and back to front for days. And still to this day when I hear a track from the album played randomly I could tell what track should be played afterwards according to the album track-list being rooted in my brain. I adore this album from the deep embedded nostalgia to Jack’s beautiful story telling and hooking melodies.

As a performer, what’s your biggest claim to fame so far?

I would say my biggest claim to fame in terms of performance has got to be that one of my earliest ever live gigs was performing one song at Latitude festival back in 2022. I performed a song I wrote especially for the festival called ‘Everybody Get Down’. In heinsight performing this song in a tent to 100 plus people who are already sat down on the ground might not have been the wisest choice. And became 3 minutes and 15 seconds of me telling an audience to “get down and dance” when most of them seemed pretty content on their deck chairs and picnic blankets. You’ll be disappointed to know that this song will never see the light of day.

If you could go on tour with any current band or artist, who would it be and why?

Rex Orange County. Rex has always been my biggest influence to date. From his complex, jazz oriented songwriting to his conversational, unique singing style. Even the way he brands himself, his use of visuals, Easter eggs and promotion I have always found fascinating. On the 27th of August just gone I had the pleasure of bumping into him less than 5 minutes away from my flat in London. I went up, spoke utter gibberish, waffled about his impact on myself, told him about my EP and I even had the nerve to ask him if I could support him on tour in February. He asked me to send him my music, which I did. I am currently still waiting on a response but have taken to spamming him in my TikTok’s to try get his attention cause we all know there’s no better smell then the smell of desperation. I do feel that I would be the perfect fit for that gig though, so who know’s maybe the world will do its thing.

If you could put your dream team band together consisting of any musicians from the past or present who would the band members be?

Lead Vocals – Myself

Drums – Jim Reed

Key’s – Benny Sings

Saxophone – Samuel Batstone

Bass – Blu DeTiger

Backing Vocals – RAYE

Guitar – Jack Johnson

Backing Dancer – Jamiroquai

How would you describe your live show to someone who has never seen you perform before?

It’s simply a party. I have always described my shows in this way since at the start you get that initial buzz of a house party, dancing, drinking and just having the best time. Where I’ll be playing some of my fave hype up tracks. You then get that part of the evening where you’re usually sat outside on your own or with one other person and you have those deep chats. This is where I’d play the more emotional tracks. But we all know no matter how deep the conversion is outside the party, if you hear your favourite song playing inside you’re straight in on the dance floor and taking a shot of whatever Reggie’s having. There’s then typically that one slightly special part of the evening where you might look eyes with someone across the room, you both move in closer, pupils dilate…this is where I’d then start playing the more sexy, love songs from my set. I’ll then end the show with the ultimate crowd pleaser where we all use up and residual energy before we all crash before bed and by bed I mean myself and anyone that wants to comes to the pub to keep the evening going.

Do any of you have any pre-gig or post gig rituals? If so, what and why?

I feel like the ‘group hug’ is a classic with all bands. But typically other than that I don’t tend to have any other pre show rituals. Post show however is usually head towards the nearest pub and see where the night goes after. Usually it’s me on a table dancing somewhere.

What would your ultimate rider be if you could have anything without being accused of being a diva?

A bean-bag

A big bowl of Moam Pinballs™️

A cigarette with Ray Charles

A joke from Robin Williams

Mick Jagger as my hype man

A hug from Hagrid

And a kiss on the cheek from Julie Walters

If we were to browse your music library what is the most embarrassing song we might find? Or who is your guilty pleasure artist?

My go to hype up and somewhat guilty pleasure song has got to be ‘Push The Button’ by The Sugababes. You can’t hate on it though cause we both know no matter who you are, as soon as it gets to “I’ve been waiting patiently” you’re singing every word.

Tell us one thing your fans would be really shocked or surprised to hear or learn about you

My first ever career choice was being a magician. I practiced from ages 5 – 16. And then I woke up, took one good hard look at myself and thought maybe I’ll leave the pack of cards and plastic thumb at home today. I never looked pack….but I’ll still do the odd trick from time to time.

If people want to check you out online where is the best place to go?

If you head to joerose.co.uk  https://www.joerose.co.uk you can find everything…Links to all my socials (TikTok and Instagram), tickets for my live shows plus maybe even some merch coming soon too 😉

Finally, What does the future hold for you as an artist?

The next thing coming up is the release of my debut EP titled “Joe’s Walk Home”. A selection of 5 tracks I’ve written this year based around thoughts and feelings I’ve had whilst on my walk home. From break ups to self-discovery. Whilst releasing this I’m already making plans and writing more songs in prep for next year with the hope of having a non stop festival filled summer. Glastonbury I’m coming for ya!!!