Conversations with Josh Karas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh Karas.

Hi Josh, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?

I’m a pianist/composer currently based in Nashville, Tennessee. I’m pursuing a major in Jazz Studies at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music with a minor in Business. During my time at Vanderbilt, I’ve fallen in love with Nashville and its fantastic music community. One of my primary goals for my time in college has been to get to know this community and involve myself in it as much as possible. My most recent project, an original jazz album called The Root of the Thing, is an attempt to reach out to the greater Nashville music scene and form connections between Vanderbilt students and Nashville professionals.

When I was six years old, I started taking piano lessons. My mother used to play the piano in high school and college, and she decided to take up lessons around the same time as me. Hearing her play gave me the motivation to improve and practice so that I could play as well as her one day. I took classical lessons all through middle and high school, but in middle school, I discovered that I loved to play contemporary styles as well. In school, I was a part of the after-school Rock Ensemble club. I had so much fun making music with my friends that we formed our own classic rock cover band and started playing gigs around town. It was through these experiences that I realized my favorite part of playing music was the sense of camaraderie that forms within musical communities.

In high school, I was asked to join a jazz quartet with three other dedicated musicians in our school. I had played jazz in the middle school big band, but I hadn’t experienced any formal jazz training prior. This group pushed me to improve my jazz playing, as we were frequently playing gigs and participating in competitions. I continued playing jazz throughout high school, and it became an important part of my musical background. I also began playing with the jam band Kris at the end of high school. The summer after my freshman year of college, we went on a tour of the Northeast. We played shows every night and traveled every day, further strengthening my desire to travel through music and connect with audiences abroad.

When I got to college, I began as a classical piano major. After two years, I decided that I wanted to switch into the newly established Jazz Studies major, meaning I would be the first Jazz Studies major to graduate from Vanderbilt. During my time at Vanderbilt, I’ve played with the Blair Big Band, jazz combos, and theatre groups on campus. I’ve had some incredible experiences with these groups, between recording in professional studios around town, touring Colombia with the Blair Big Band, and interacting with the world-class faculty. Bruce Dudley, my jazz piano teacher, and Amy Dorfman, my classical piano teacher, have both been instrumental in my pianistic development during this time. In 2020, I was awarded the Spirit of Billy Adair Award for leadership, mentorship, and excellence within the Vanderbilt jazz program. In the spring, my jazz combo under the direction of Jeff Coffin was given Downbeat Awards for Outstanding Small Jazz Combo and Best Blues/Pop/Rock Group.

This past year, I began the process of producing and recording an album of original jazz music. The album consists of seven original compositions and an arrangement of a classic standard for jazz combo. Each song is dedicated to a different person or group of people in my life. I try to touch on themes of love, determination, and loss through these compositions. To write these tunes, I pulled from my jazz training as well as my classical background and my experiences playing rock music in high school. One of the goals of the album was to form connections between Vanderbilt students and the Nashville music scene. To accomplish this, I hired both students and professionals to play at the session. Additionally, we recorded at Wildwood Studios, a state-of-the-art recording studio in Franklin, TN. The experience of producing my own album has been incredibly educational, fulfilling, and fun for me. I’m so thrilled to have my own music out in the world, and I’m excited for the whole album to be out very soon!

I currently have three singles from the album out on Spotify, and the whole album will be released on August 27^th. Follow me on Instagram (@joshkarasmusic) to stay tuned for more releases throughout the summer!

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?

Recording my album has not been an easy process, and I’ve had to deal with many issues as they’ve arisen. One of the main issues I ran into was acquiring funding for my project. In order to complete the album the way I wanted to, I needed a substantial budget to cover studio costs, paying the musicians, mixing and mastering, marketing, and video. I ended up piecing together my budget from three different grants, my Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, and Instagram fundraising competitions. Through these avenues, I was able to obtain enough funding to complete my project the way I wanted to.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?

I’m most proud of my versatility as a musician. I recognize that in order to be successful in today’s music scene, you have to carry a wide range of skills. I believe that I’m well-equipped to handle a wide variety of musical situations because I’ve played in a ton of different settings. In the past, I’ve accompanied choirs, performed solo classical recitals, participated in musical theatre pits, played in big bands, and gigged with jazz combos. I’m also working on improving my composition skills. Composing and arranging for my album has been incredibly instructive. Additionally, I’ve also arranged and composed music for my jazz combo and the school’s big band in my lessons with my composition professor, Dr. Ryan Middagh. Moving forward, I’m looking to increase my knowledge in synthesizers/production and hone my composition skills in order to further diversify my tool kit and prepare myself for a career as a professional musician.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?

Over the summer of 2020, I was living at home with my parents like so many other college students. I felt like if I wasn’t working on something 24/7, I was wasting this valuable time of potential improvement. I filled my days with practicing, learning about music production, working on singing, and picking up the guitar. I spent very little time on each task and always felt like I wasn’t doing enough. After about a month of working myself until exhaustion every day, I realized that this way of doing things wasn’t sustainable. I learned that 1) everybody needs time to recharge in order to do their best work and 2) sometimes it’s better to focus deeply on one task instead of spreading yourself too thin.

Taking breaks is something I’ve always struggled with. As an extremely Type A person, I have difficulty resting and taking time for myself. I realized that allowing time to watch TV, go on hikes, and hang out with friends isn’t only fun, but it’s necessary if I want to do my best work. Last June, I made it a goal of mine to go on a hike every day for a month. This was a great way for me to explore new hiking trails, as well as give myself time to refresh and enjoy nature.

The other lesson I learned was that focusing on one project can teach you more than skipping between many different projects. That’s a large reason why I decided to take on the challenge of producing my album. It’s been a great opportunity for me to focus very deeply on one large, multi-faceted project. Moving forward, I’m going to continue to find a balance between diversifying my skill set and diving deep into large-scale projects.

Contact Info:

• Email: joshuakaras3@gmail.com
• Website: https://www.joshkarasmusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshkarasmusic/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshkarasmusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCloZWadgX2vOIu1cIePi9RQ
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/jkaras