‘No Stopping Us’ is the fourth single from Joshua Ketchmark's 10th studio album, titled 'BLOOD". It is a song about coming of age. "We were right outside of glory," the chorus exclaims. "There're some timeless traditions small towns conjure, dark roads your youth is meant to wander". This song was written by Ketchmark like all of the other songs on 'BLOOD' and is closely based on his own experiences growing up two and a half hours south of Chicago, IL. All of the music and lyrics were composed, produced, engineered, and mixed by Ketchmark, with C.C. Wyle adding beautiful vocal harmonies, Zak. St. John (Black Star Riders/Stevie Wonder) playing drums and adding percussion, the bass played by Ger Hoffman, the organ performed by Michael Webb (Chris Stapleton, Dave Hause) and the electric guitars by Sadler Vaden (Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Morgan Wade).
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey Joshua Ketchmark, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. How has the time gone for you since our last interview?
Hello Kamil, great to be back and have another chance to chat with you. How has it gone since our last interview? In a word, I’ve been really ‘good.’ The ‘Blood’ record is slowly but surely finding its feet. That’s all I really wanted for it. For a guy that not many people have heard of before I couldn’t be happier for it. It really says what I wanted it to say in the way I wanted to say it. I’m so grateful for all of the likes, shares, follows, subscribers, everyone who’s helped spread the word about it, all of it. ‘Blood’ is my 10th record and it has reached more people at this point than any of my previous records. I feel like everyday it reaches someone new.
What role does the artist have in society?
I think an artist can have whatever role the artist wants in society. Art is obviously important to me. I believe it can say things that relate to people on so many levels. Everyone gets something different from it in his or her own way. So it definitely has a part to play. In the case of music, I think what role it plays is up to the person hearing it.
Your latest song is 'No Stopping Us'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
Unusual things? Well, when 'No Stopping Us' was written it originally had a 3rd verse. Maybe that version will see the light of day at some point. I’m notorious for writing and then rewriting lyrics. When it comes to songwriting, I capture as much inspiration as I can the first time through and then I let it sit and come back to it. Anything that doesn’t resonate with me gets rewritten until it does. The song will usually tell me when I’m done.
Other than that a lot of this record was recorded during the pandemic, which wasn’t as challenging as you would think. It wouldn’t have turned out like it did if the circumstances where different. I think it really gave everyone who contributed to it a little more breathing room to put a bit of his or her stamp on it.
What’s your strongest memory of your childhood?
There are many childhood memories that come to mind. If had to choose one, I would say finding my mothers acoustic guitar in the back of the downstairs closet. That was a very pivotal moment for me. Some might say the beginning of the end?
What’s your most embarrassing moment?
I was asked this just the other day. I really have trouble thinking of one. That’s not to say that I haven’t been embarrassed before. I have.
Is the artistic life lonely? What do you do to counteract it?
I don’t feel like it’s lonely. Maybe I’m just use to it? I do spend a lot of time by myself. I’m an adopted only child; spending time alone has been a thread throughout a lot of my life. Though friends have come and gone, I still have a lot of old friends that I keep in touch with and see every other blue moon. My girlfriend and my daughter are really great at supporting my lifestyle. My daughter has grown up being in and out of studios, watching me write songs, etc. and my girlfriend has been around since before my first solo album was released in 2008, so she’s seen it all. I would say with the two of them and my extreme addiction to movies, I get by. I don’t pay much attention to politics or sports. Music and movies are really what make my world go around when I’m not with my family.
What is your dream project?
What is my dream project? Well if I’m dreaming?! I would love to go into the studio with a handful of players that I’ve worked with before and track a lot of the next record live off the floor to 2inch tape. I’d bring in a great engineer and find a producer for the next one to collaborate with. I’ve done that on a couple previous records and I’d really love to have another experience like that. I wrote, produced, and mixed the ‘Blood’ record, which was great. But this next time around it would be great to change it up a bit and do something more a kin to the records I love from the 70’s.
What advice would you have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?
DON’T. Don’t be like me, or someone else for that matter. Be you, there’s already one of me. I’ve said countless times that “this record” whatever record it was at the time, would be my last but I always make myself out to be liar. You’ve really got to do it because you love it and music is how I see the world. I wake up with it, sleep with it. It invades my dreams; it’s responsible for everyone I know and have known that has come in and out of my life. A good friend of mine, Mike J. Nichols said something recently that really rung true, “this is not a pathway of health and wellness, it’s a passive obsessive relentlessness.” When he said that it really struck a chord with me. He is creative on so many levels it’s humbling. He has great new documentary out now about John Waite called “The Hard Way,” even if you’re not a John Waite fan, it really touches on being an artist as much as it is about John Waite. It’s definitely worth a watch.
When were you generally fulfilled in your position as an artist?
Fulfilled? Never. I’ve never really felt fulfilled as an artist. I always find something new to chase. There is always something out there that has yet to be discovered. I’ve had a lot of milestones made of great memories and I’ve had many unexpected opportunities come my way that I’m grateful for. But I’m someone whose eyes are always on the horizon. I don’t live much in the moment as an artist unless I’m on stage. Right now I’m looking two years down the road.
What can we expect from Joshua Ketchmark in the near future?
I started writing for the next record right after my newest record ‘Blood’ was released last July. I hate to say too much about it being that the idea behind a record when it starts is not the way it ends up. At the moment there are 16 new tunes that I think have some potential. I’ll keep repeating this process until I have 35 to 45 songs ready. Once that’s done I’ll start weeding through them to see what will make the record. ‘Hellhounds’ is the title for the next record.
As far as getting out and playing some shows, I was offered a handful of really great shows this past year. So there is a very good possibility that I will be hitting the stage again at some point.
Last but not least, ‘No Stopping Us’ is the 4th single from the ‘Blood’ record. It is not the final single though; there will be two more singles headed your way in the upcoming months. So keep an ear out.
Thank you again for having me Kamil!
Until next time,
Joshua