In the fall of 2005, I did something I had never done before: I booked myself a two-month tour spanning the entire eastern half of the United States. From New York to Florida, Nahsville to Texas, Omaha to Chicago, I went anywhere they would have me. At the time I was booking the tour, I thought that it would be the beginning of a new life on the road. By the time I left, however, I was engaged to be married, and those two months would turn out to be the only time in my life that I lived purely for my music.

Looking back now, what I remember most about the trip is an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. For those two months I was entirely dependent on others. There were the friends who let me stay at their houses, some of whom I was closer to than others. There were the strangers who did the same (one family were the owners of the venue I played, while another family were fans who got me a gig in their town, while yet other strangers were the other band I was on a bill with). Then there were the kind souls who came up to buy a CD, not knowing that they were buying my gas to the next town. Never have I felt more indebted to the kindness of others or more aware of the general goodness of people. It’s something I often look back on, because I need to remember that none of us does it alone and that people are really like that if you open yourself up to them.

Josh Caress Goes On An Adventure! became the impressionistic travelogue of this journey. Some of it was gleaned from notes taken on the road, while other parts were stories that connected somehow to the places. Some of it is literal, while some of it was simply imagination sparked by experience. As Tom Waits once said when broken down by the side of the road, “I was never more alive or alone.” I don’t know what it is about driving long distances by yourself, but that quote just says it all. There’s a type of loneliness that just makes you feel alive. Hopefully, Josh Caress Goes On An Adventure! has the same effect.

 

– Josh Caress

May 2016