INTERVIEW WITH
JOSIE PACE
JOSIE PACE
As the saturated synths rise behind the lyrics “Just take your stamp off my design” on Josie Pace’s driving single, “Battleground” we immediately understand this is not an artist who is weak when abandoned. Instead, this Detroit artist’s music represents a piece of her solitude. The blistering glow of downtempo post-industrial beats, electro-pop melodies and layered soundscapes are home to Josie’s captivating lyrics; she is a songwriter in the purest sense. The result is a pulsating sound that will haunt you with vulnerability while basking in Josie’s world of self-reflection and unapologetic rock and roll attitude that Detroit is legendary for.
SOURCE: JOSIEPACE.COM
Josie Pace: My name is Josie Pace and I am an industrial/ electronic rock artist from Detroit I am signed with Negative Gain Productions. Even though I produce electronic-driven music, I write all of the songs on the guitar before transposing them to electronic songs.
Josie Pace: Honestly I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be a singer, artist, creator of music. I grew up in a very musical family and I was singing ever since I could speak. My father is a singer and I always liked to sing along with him. As I grew, I started taking guitar lessons. I was writing my own songs and performing them any chance I got. My family has always supported me and my decision even from a young age.
Josie Pace: I think there were a few times where that wave of “oh I really think that I could take this very far” hit me. But one that sticks out is when I started guitar lessons. I picked it up very easily and was writing my own songs. My teacher at the time had asked me to play one and in the moment I didn’t realize she was taken aback a little bit. She immediately started bringing books on how to craft and strengthen my writing skills. It Just felt right. It felt like I had found a piece of a really difficult puzzle.
Josie Pace: I think it inspires me without my knowledge. The Midwest music in general has a “dirty polish” so to speak. I think the 10 months of winter might be a party to that! But I think that there’s a lot of pride and toughness that comes with being here and especially working on music here. There is so much history like you said but even Motown has the “dirty polish”. I feel like we all work our fingers to the bone day in and day out and it shows in our music.
Josie Pace: I have always been the oddball in my family. I have been experimenting with fashion and style since I was allowed to wear makeup. I loved watching runway shows on tv of anyone that struck my interest. I loved looking through magazines and I was and still am very into Alexander McQueen and Vivian Westwood. I took a lot of inspiration from musicians as well. I remember seeing Prince and David Bowie and even Joan Jett. Striking and so authentic. I grew into myself and wanted to be a strong confident figure for others to look up to or even admire. I still search myself every day and strive to be my most authentic self. I wear whatever makes me feel whatever I feel that day. We aren’t one sided creatures. We can explore and create and decorate ourselves however we see fit.
Josie Pace: The biggest thing I pull from is reality and experiences that I have. While writing I focus a lot on my senses, staying grounded in those feelings is important for me and helps me to get through tough times. I also have come to realize that I write in a more poetic way? I feel that it leaves a lot up to the listener. They are free to connect the lyrics to their life in whatever way they see fit. Being too on the nose narrows that connection and makes everything a bit elementary. I try to challenge myself while writing and in turn it also challenges the listener.
Josie Pace: I like a lot of different types of music. I think it really depends on my mood. One of my go to bands when I’m a bit homesick is The Eagles. I grew up on a lot of classic rock and it makes me feel a bit more at home. Bands similar to my genre, IAMX and Nine Inch Nails. Def Leppard, Prince, Styx, Deo. I am also a bit of a nostalgic emo kid, Escape the Fate, Hawthorn Heights, Family Force 5. Even classic country music Johnny Cash, Reba McEntire. It really doesn’t matter what genre it is, as long as its authentic and makes me feel something. Even if I don’t understand the lyrics! I love listening to the Middle Eastern radio station while I’m driving. I pull a lot from their use of the double harmonic major scale. Though I like a lot of different genres of music I don’t listen to music 24/7, I like to leave room for ideas and melodies to spark. I love whistling or humming and singing random ideas and creating my own music throughout my day.
Josie Pace: I did open for Tim Skold and he was such an awesome guy. I have also worked with Raymond Watts of <PIG> and KMFDM, and my lovely friend Sammi Doll of IAMX and Bullet Height. I love collaborating with people who bring something new to the table. I think it would be really interesting to collaborate with Jack White. He has crossed over so many genres and I know he’s still full of so many fresh ideas.
Josie Pace: Although I try to write songs as much as I can, it isn’t something that I can force. I can usually feel when I have a song brewing in my brain though. I know when I need to set aside some time to get it onto paper. I prefer writing completely alone, I have my notebook and my phone there on silent only so that I can record whatever comes of my session. I start with chords and progressions, humming possible melodies while getting myself into the mindset of writing whats on my mind. Once I find a progression I am content with I start recording and spew out whatever words and phrases that I am feeling. Usually I create a melody line and a lyric that puts the entire song into motion and the rest comes flooding out of me. Writing is very personal to me and it is a way for me to work through a lot of my life. Once I have the song finished on the guitar, I take it into Ken Roberts (synth player and my producer) and we transpose it into the synth driven rock that you know.
Josie Pace: Ken is the synth wizard so to speak. When I have a song written on the guitar we transpose it into electronic music. I go through the entire song section by section and he usually has a specific sound or board in mind that he wants to use. We bounce ideas off of each other and we come up with not only the music, but the music videos, stage show, photos and designs together. We usually have the same vision and we like to push the envelope when it comes to everything we create.
Josie Pace: There are pieces of me in every song I’ve ever written. My songs are very close to my heart and that makes it extremely difficult when deciding what songs will be put on the album and which will be cut. There are even some songs that still make me tear up while singing them. I think that is part of what makes a song special. It needs to evoke an emotion and the best way to do that is to pull from yourself.
Josie Pace: Negative Gain Productions is so amazing. When we had first started talking with them about possibly being signed they were all for what I was creating. After being signed, they are even more supportive. I have all the freedom in the world to create whatever I feel and they are there to back me and to support what I create. It’s like having an extended family.
Josie Pace: I wouldn’t say one is more important than the other, but performing live is my favorite part of the creative process. Yes creating the song and recording it and releasing it is so important and even so exciting! Performing it live and being surrounded by people who support and enjoy what I’ve created is an incredible feeling. The energy of the crowd and the adrenaline of putting on a kick ass show while reaching strangers and pulling us together as a community is absolutely insane to me. It’s crazy to think that one song written in my bedroom about however I was feeling one day, sparked something in this person. Whether that be love or hate or sadness or happiness, it created an emotion in them without me even knowing them, or them knowing me. It’s almost like a superpower.
Josie Pace: I am constantly pushing myself and working every single day just to inch myself farther along in this industry. I would love to be touring in a larger sense, finally getting to Europe and playing there. Experimenting with my sound and pushing myself into different genres. There are no limits for me and I try not to set gates around what I am capable of. I love to try new things and create things that are different.
Josie Pace: Thank you! Ken had actually come up with the idea of covering “Pure Morning” and it was one of my favorite songs as a teenager. I am always shocked when people aren’t familiar with it. I think recording a cover is ballsy. You either have to do it EXACTLY like the original, or you need to put your spin on it. And I think we definitely brought a new meaning to “a friend who bleeds is better.” I think having myself and Sammi Doll sing this together pulled on the female friendship in the lyrics and brought it to the forefront.
Josie Pace: Conquering the world! One step at a time. I will be touring North America this fall with Aesthetic Perfection and GenCAB on the American Psycho Tour. We are headed across the US and Canada playing 40 dates October 11th through November 25th. I am also working on a few EPs, electronically and acoustically! I am looking forward to showing you the raw songwriting and how my songs start out before being turned into electronic kick ass songs.
Josie Pace: Though I feel like I am making strides and I am moving forward quickly, there is not a day that goes by that this industry goes easy on me. It is difficult to put myself out into the world this way and to wear my heart on my sleeve, so to speak, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I love creating and writing songs and especially love performing them for you all. Music is in my blood and I will always be writing and recording and performing until the day that I die.
Josie Pace: I think I would describe my music as empowering and heartfelt. The classic backbone of writing the songs on the guitar strengthen the song. While transposing it, the song takes a new form of empowerment and determination.
Josie Pace: Tickets for the American Psycho tour are available at JOSIEPACE.COM
Josie Pace: Thank YOU! Interviews are so important and I think that this one especially has shed some light on my process and how things come to be. I love getting to answer fresh and unique questions that challenge me.
[ump-visitor ]
Can you help us?
Here at Darker Side of Music, we aim to bring Artists to more people giving them as much exposure as possible. We also are independent and are in no way supported by any Label.
Artists today have struggled to keep their art going for a long time, especially in the genres that we love and try to help. We are also in the same boat. We fight to survive if you use our site in any way and feel you can help us with the high running costs. Please think about supporting us so we can continue to help those artists that give us incredible enjoyment from what they create.
We all have something in common our love of music.
Click below for more information and free membership.
[/ump-visitor]
