Meet Genuine Joy (Joshua Wolak) | Recording Artist & Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Genuine Joy (Joshua Wolak) and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Genuine Joy, how do you think about risk?
As far as I’m concerned, the best things in life begin with a wild leap of faith — a deliciously foolish, against all odds, Olympic-level long jump into the abyss. Does it guarantee a win? Unfortunately, no — a crash landing is even more likely than a success. But doesn’t that make the challenge more exhilarating? And even if you fail, even when it hurts like hell, the ride is so thrilling that you’re bound to try again. When it finally works, you feel like you’ve enacted a miracle. Is it the most rational way to live? Again, no. You’d find better bets at a casino. But as an artist, I’m not trying to be rational. I’m trying to be awesome.

In my life, the leaps have often looked confusing from the outside. I earned accolades and scholarships for jazz trombone studies, but turned them down to move to Nashville and write songs. I studied and performed at a music university there, even started a raucous string band, but ultimately graduated with a degree in philosophy. Once grad school was lined up, I took a left turn to help grow a business that facilitated bespoke adventure events for Fortune 500 companies. And when that became a wild success, I decided to hit the road and start playing music again – with different instruments, and different players.

I used to hate myself for this, thinking I had a problem with getting bored and walking away from good things. Now, I realize I was slowly learning to follow my heart instead of my head. Every change was an active choice to honor my intuition and leave a world behind, but every loss created space for a life more compatible with my soul. And since each detour was a unique adventure, I don’t regret any of them. I don’t even need a final destination: my artistic process is simply to keep leaping. My most recent jump involved a relocation out west, from Nashville, to seek healing and track songs for my latest project, Genuine Joy.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As the Beach Boys once proudly proclaimed, “I can hear music”. May sound trite to some, but I can’t think of a better way to describe it: at nearly all times, there is a full band playing in my head, improvising melodies and locking in grooves. If I’m prepping dinner, I’ll be making beats with the cooking utensils. Even at parties or on dates, I’ll drift into my mind-studio and start riffing, not even realizing I’m doing it out loud. At my best, I simply channel that innate improvisation into song. When it works, the process feels effortless: I start singing freely, with little conscious intervention, and words literally spill onto the page. It’s almost as if they’re being written by someone else, some inner stranger.

I’ve heard many artists attest that their best songs arise this way, almost automatically. Unfortunately, that flow state is rare and precious, not easily achieved or maintained. It requires having years of work and discipline behind you, but also a leap of faith in the moment to relinquish control and trust what you’ve become. That’s difficult to do when your ego is pushing to achieve and be better, out of pride (or potentially fear). There are always more edits, endless considerations. So, my process as an artist is facing this challenge: how do I get out of my head, and into the world? How can I be present enough in the moment to unleash what I am?

In my experience, I’ve relied on two pillars to tackle this problem: one, a creative community that is larger than me, and two, a sense of personal spirituality (for lack of a better term) to process that which burdens me – difficult emotions, past traumas and tragedies, self-limiting beliefs, etc.

My first creative community was Nashville, whose southern comforts brought out more ease (and less egoism) in my work. When I first moved there, I wrote heady songs in my room and rarely brought them out. But as time went on, I found myself porch-pickin’ and whiskey-sippin’ with friends — even strangers – sharing songs together in a free and folksy way. Even though the culture and genre were alien to me, I was immediately inspired by the communal aspect, making space for everyone at the table without an ounce of pretense. We hollered together and noodled on each other’s songs with raw and wild improvisation. It brought out a simplicity in me, freeing my expression from self-imposed confines of identity and genre, while allowing my voice to unexpectedly erupt.

So in short, a creative community helped me find the levity I believe is essential in creating great art (we call it “playing” music for a reason). Even so, life has a way of dropping little disasters on your doorstep. How can you maintain a spirit of playfulness when your health is waning, relationships are breaking, and the world is falling apart? How can you stay present and joyful in the face of ongoing trauma and endless injustice? I honestly don’t think it’s possible. So, in such moments, I retreat from community and into the caverns of my mind, using the process of art to process the darkness. I let my work become slower, denser, more striving and personal. This feels spiritual to me, but you could also call it philosophical, emotional, or even mythological: the “Hero’s Journey” of life.

Resolution – my first major solo work as Genuine Joy – followed precisely this path. I was deconstructing my depression, feelings of separation, and broken faith all while pleading to be loved and accepted as I am. I poured myself and my resources into that project boldly and recklessly. But even when the album was finished, I sensed the work was incomplete. What was it lacking? Community, of course! So I returned to my fellow creatives and started collaborating again. One year later, the album had become a multi-disciplinary performance art piece with aerial dancers, a chamber orchestra, and a trio of vocalists to accompany me. Together, we made people cry. It was truly spectacular.

Even more, the process helped me reclaim my soul. Having waded through the darkness, I felt reconnected to the innate, playful musicality within me. That empowered me to take even more leaps of faith, including following my intuition to the great communities and creators of LA. And I have to say, I love it out here!

Life does continue to bring some darkness – I’ve even been battling a brain cancer diagnosis – but in my experience, the light is always here, too. It’s never just one or the other, and the healing is often a matter of focus. Even with the life changes my diagnosis requires, my artistic process keeps the demons at bay, enlivening my experience on earth (however long it may be) and connecting me to other creative souls along the way.

So there you have it: community and spirituality, outer and inner worlds, the endless back-and-forth of processing and presenting. This is the great call and response of music, and I’m here to play my part genuinely and joyfully.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’d definitely want to take them to some shows, but for levity I’d start with comedy. I’d check the Largo first, hoping to catch an evening of mixed comedy and music performance. But some wild improv at Groundlings would also suffice. For music, I’d take them to Hotel Cafe for a Writer’s Block and a little nostalgia — it was the first spot I ever performed in LA, years ago, and it reminds me a little of Nashville. I’d also check in with the Bluegrass Situation to see if any folk or roots events were happening in the area. They’ve been so instrumental in supporting Americana music out west.

Since a lot of states still haven’t caught up with legalized cannabis, I’d take my friend out to a dispensary and find something for us to smoke together on the beach. Lately, I’ve been vibing on the brand Source. I’d love to get some surfing in with them as well, though I actually prefer to go a little further south for that (San Clemente). I’d also force them to try a lot of vegan food, whether or not they were vegan. Hard to say where — in general, I like Cafe Gratitude — but I’d probably ask them what there favorite meaty food was, and look up a vegan version of it in the area. Since I do eat meat, though, I’d also take them to Hotville Chicken for southern-fried heat, or Love Hour in Koreatown for a burger.

One of my favorite experiences was several years ago, when friends of my band Humming House took us out sailing for to see dolphins. We left from Redondo Beach toward Catalina, and it wasn’t too long before our vessel was SURROUNDED by dolphins! There were dozens upon dozens riding alongside us for miles, whistling and clicking and showing off tricks. It felt like they were friends, so happy to see us and play with us. I’m not sure how easy this experience would be to recreate, but I’d certainly try… I know you can do the tours, but having a small craft to yourself is really the way to go.

Finally, I’d want to take them outside the city. My cousin here loves motorcycles, but I recall heading north on Highway One with him in his grandmother’s old Thunderbird convertible. We’d just drive until we found anything worth exploring (or head all the way up to Big Sur, why not?). I’d also want to get into the mountains, and my choice would be Idyllwild. I try to stay there once a season, to write and reflect in the crisp, high-altitude air. I once enjoyed a psychedelic sunset there, and it was the most connected to nature I’ve ever felt. Even sober, there’s magic in that mountain town and it keeps me coming back for more.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
When I lived in Nashville, I collaborated often with fellow musician and college friend Justin Wade Tam. He has a knack for making shit happen, and I don’t think I could’ve made the leap to full-time musician without him. Through friends and friend connections, he put together our band Humming House, a five-piece folk-rock ensemble in which I played mandolin and sang harmony. While we were all creative and talented, Justin had a uniquely entrepreneurial mind that helped us see the band as a business. We were independent, so each of us took on various roles — social media, finances, tour management, merch, art direction — to grow our audience and get the bills paid. I don’t think that’s any artist’s favorite task, but it made us all feel so much more invested in the project and proud of what we accomplished.

Beyond the business aspect, our songs and performances allowed our diverse musical personalities to shine through. And we’ve had fantastic touring experiences all over the world — most notably Central Asia, via the American Music Abroad program. We don’t tour as much these days, as some of us have left Nashville, but we do still release great music. I’m so grateful for that.

Now that I’m out west, my fellow ex-Nashvillian Daniel Ellsworth (who was featured once on Shoutout LA!) has been a huge inspiration. He and his wife Beth took a massive leap of faith letting go of their old life and moving to LA, and it really paid off. Like me, Daniel creates music under many different monikers and styles — which reminds me that I don’t ever have to be just one thing, just one identity. I collaborated with him on a track “Still Waiting”, a low-key indie banger I’ll be releasing soon — follow Genuine Joy on Spotify or Instagram to stay tuned!

Website: https://theagnosticgospel.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/6enuine9oy/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GenuineJoyMusic/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH0j4p-YdJ4

Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5eBWRdzQWImja0jRVSBxFL

Image Credits
Blue Light Performance Image – Will Byington Piano Image + Dark Sky Image – Jon Karr Humming House Band B&W – Melissa Madison Fuller