Meet Josh Herren | Producer & Multi Instrumentalist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Josh Herren and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Josh, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Well, I grew up around music long before I ever considered making my own. When I was 12 my dad gave me an iPod that was loaded with all his favorite artists, so some of my first real memories listening to music are hearing bands like Boston, The Eagles, Queen, Pink Floyd, etc.. and it really shaped my taste and how I viewed music going forward. I played in my school worship bands from 4th grade all the way through high school and did multiple choirs in college, but I never considered making music of my own until covid hit. During the quarantine period of summer 2020, my brother and I would spend our nights talking about all the crazy stuff we wish we could accomplish, but then we would just spend another day playing video games and watching tv. Finally we had a talk where we basically said “we have to find something to do with all this time, we have nowhere to go and nothing to do” and I knew if I came out of that slow season of life with nothing to show for it I would have so many regrets. One day while doing yard work and listening to music I just had the thought of “you know what? I think I could do it. If I really put the hours in, practice the instruments, and hone my craft, I think I could do it.” I had just recently purchased Ableton and a midi controller, and that night I stayed up till 4am working on what would become ‘Launch Sequence-Re Entry’ on Galaxy Shores’ Debut EP. After that I just didn’t stop, and even when life picked back up I was working then coming home and making music for the rest of the night. I spent countless hours watching YouTube tutorials and putting random effects on sounds I was making and seeing what would happen. As I got more and more serious I began collecting gear, and before long I had a whole studio full of instruments and I knew there was no going back at that point.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Well, from the very start of Galaxy Shores, I’ve wanted my approach to stay away from being “me” centered. I didn’t even want to use my own name for the project because I never wanted it to be about me, I wanted it to be its own musical experience. There are people who have listened to the songs and think we record as a band and I love that, and in part they’re right because when we play shows we absolutely are a band; nothing would get done up there without the guys. Also, as a christian, my faith is extremely important to me, and my music is a reflection of that faith. Though the songs may not fall into the “worship” genre, to me each one is an act of worship, and I never finish a song without first having a moment with it where I feel a Holy Spirit type inspiration. I feel beyond blessed to have been given an incredible gift from God, and the unique opportunity to be able to pursue using that gift as a means to provide and make a living, and I want to spend every day working as hard as I can to achieve that and be worthy of that, and as far as I go in my career God will always receive the credit. I intend to pursue excellence in creating to please my creator, and I hope that when people listen they can feel that passion and inspiration that infuses every song I make. My biggest hurdle I think has been starting essentially from scratch in regards to recording and producing knowledge. At this point in my career, all my songs have been written, recorded, mixed, and mastered by me. I know the value of a good mixing or mastering engineer, but I was so fascinated with the songwriting process as a whole that I told myself I would just try to do the whole process myself. It definitely makes me get super in my head about little tweaks as the songs get closer and closer to being done, but I find that the satisfaction is far higher hearing a finished master after having worked on it for so long. I really don’t know that much in regards to music theory, so a lot of the songs are recorded by feel, and when I started, all I had to mix my songs were Beats by Dre headphones. The first time I plugged a mix into studio monitors I actually teared up cause it sounded so bad. But I knew I’d never get anywhere if I didn’t let myself be bad first, so I just kept watching tutorials online, practicing my playing, and doing trial and error until I started to like what I was hearing more and more.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Man, theres so many spots you can go! I think that’s one of my favorite things about the LA area; whatever the vibe is you’re looking for, you can absolutely find something that you’ll enjoy.

Day 1: If this is a week of my favorites, we’d probably start the off with a bang and hit Universal Studios. We’d have to hit Transformers, the Studio Tour, Jurassic Park, and Harry Potter world; anything else would be up to you. We could stay late and hit city walk and even catch a movie at the AMC they have.

Day 2: We could take it easy day 2 and head to the art district in Downtown LA. One of my favorite spots there is LACMA, which is an awesome contemporary art museum full of amazing exhibits, and they have a rotating showcase of art installations so whenever you visit you have a completely new experience. Best of all, it’s located right next to the Academy Museum of Motion Picture, where we can go see incredible behind the scenes looks at the movie making process, as well as seeing their current installation highlighting the making of an all time classic film, The Godfather.

Day 3: I think we get out of the city on day 3 and go to the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens. This is one of my favorite places in the entire LA area, and the perfect place to go to take a day off. It’s gorgeous; filled with different gardens and ecosystems from places all over the world, and even has multiple museums full of historical art and artifacts that transport you back to a different time. We could do a late lunch in their artisan tea room, and then hit old town Pasadena for dinner.

Day 4: We could sleep in, grab some acai for breakfast, then take some time and wander around downtown LA. We could hit rodeo drive and do some window shopping, then grab some street tacos for lunch. Once sunset hits, we’d head to Griffith Observatory, another of my favorite spots in LA. The view from the balcony during sunset offers the best view of the LA skyline that you can get in my opinion. After we explore all the exhibits in the observatory, night will have come and we can see if any amateur astronomers are on the front lawn offering us a chance to look at the stars.

Day 5: I love the beach, so we would have to take a trip out to Ventura for a beach day. We could drive up the coast to Malibu and take in the sights on PCH, stopping to relax once we found the perfect spot. After our day we could head to AV dreamland to grab some drinks and maybe even a concert.

Day 6: On our second to last day, we could dive back into the city and go grab food at Grand Central Market. This is an amazing spot with a huge range of foods and a great vibe. Afterwords we could walk around and soak in the sights of the downtown area before hitting the Hollywood Bowl for a one of a kind live music experience.

Day 7: If we time our trip right, it would be the second Sunday of the month by now, so we could hit the Rose Bowl flea market. we could get there early or sleep in, but either way we would have plenty of time to walk the massive lot looking for everything from vintage clothing and accessories, to furniture, to tech. It’s a great place to people watch too. We’d probably be wiped from the heat, so we could rest up in the afternoon and finish off going to my favorite venue in LA, The Goldfish, and catch a fun underground show of either jazz or indie rock, whatever they have playing that night.

These are just some of my favorites, theres so much to do around here and I’m constantly finding new things to enjoy.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
As far as recognition, I absolutely have to shoutout my dad, because he’s the one who has shaped my sound the most. When I was really young, he gave me an iPod that was loaded up with all of his favorites from when he was growing up, so I came up listening to classic rock from Boston and The Cars to Pink Floyd and Hendrix. I was fascinated by that era of music, and when i decided to make music of my own, I went in with those influences in mind, hoping to give people a similar feeling to the ones i had all those years ago hearing my dad’s music. There really would be no Galaxy Shores without his influence, and it’s meant the world to have the support of both him and my mom. It’s so comforting to be chasing my dreams and pursuing this passion with support from my parents and not in spite of them. I like the fact that my music is a reflection of the sounds my dad showed me all those years ago, because we have always shared a love of music and we still take time now and again to jam together along with some of my siblings, and it means a lot that he likes the music I make. Every live set we play, we do a cover of a Pink Floyd song, and besides being fun to play, it is an homage to my dad and a way that i can pay him back for all he’s done in my life, creatively and personally.

Instagram: www.instagram.com/galaxyshores

Facebook: www.facebook.com/galaxyshores

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfjqeikW55cKawy8kD9VY7g

Image Credits
Dylan Greenwood (Dissono)