Josiah Siska is out "To Get a Girl” with new single

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By Preshias Harris

“For me, the greatest reward from performing is the satisfaction of realizing people in the crowd understand you,” says Josiah Siska, the Black River Entertainment recording artist and songwriter.  He explains, “When I write songs, when I play my music or when I cut a song, it’s always something that I can relate to; a story from my life, something that I’ve lived or an experience, a mood or a love that I’ve felt.”

That’s also what draws Josiah to songs written by other songwriters such as “To Get A Girl.” It’s his current single written by Danny Myrick, Josh Ronen, and Landon Wall and released by Black River in early March 2021. Watch the official lyric video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz8YGjMGYuo 

“I’m not too great at communicating with strangers all the time,” Josiah admits, “But when I play my music on stage, the people in the crowd get to hear me. When they tell me that it’s good, I feel real good.  That’s the most rewarding thing about being an artist for me.”

The Gwinnett, Georgia native is a multi-instrumentalist. He plays electric, acoustic and classical guitar, as well as the banjo and piano. He was working at a Dacula, Georgia, golf club when he auditioned for Season 15 of American Idol, impressing the judges with his rendition of “Ghost Riders in the Sky.” It was the first big step on his musical journey. 

“It was kind of a blind leap, just blind faith,” he says of his decision to try out for Idol. “I went out to Hollywood by myself. I auditioned when I was seventeen, I turned eighteen when I got accepted on the show and I did it all on my own.”

Despite getting cut, it was a significant experience for Josiah. “The takeaway from it for me was, ‘I can do this. I can be an artist, I can be a singer.  I can be a performer and if I try really hard, I can do really well.’”  The entire experience served as an eye-opener for what expect from a career in music.  “When I got cut in Hollywood week, picking myself up and moving forward,” he notes, “That was a big takeaway too, because I know that’s not going to be the only time that I’m going to have to pick myself up and move forward.”

Through a family friend, Josiah came to the attention of Mark Miller (Sawyer Brown). Mark listened to the CD that Josiah sent him and probably put it aside. Looking back, Josiah says of the CD, “It wasn’t very good.  I mean, really, I wouldn’t let nobody hear this thing! It was just me and my acoustic guitar; no mixing, no tuning, no nothing. Just ten songs I wrote.”

But the mutual friend insisted that Mark see Josiah perform which he did – and was impressed.

“Ever since then, Mark and me, we’ve been throwing ideas off each other and just working to develop my career as much as we can,” said Josiah, expressing his gratitude. “That was, I’d say, four years ago and he’s been hands-on with everything. I’m so thankful for someone like him to believe in me and the gift that God’s given me.”

With Mark’s guidance, Josiah met with Black River Entertainment in 2017. After performing for the BRE staff, he was presented with a cake bearing the words, “Welcome to the Family,” announcing that he was being offered a record and publishing deal. Josiah’s first single, “World Gone Mad,” was released on September 11, 2020, by Black River Entertainment. Watch an acoustic version of “World Gone Mad” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHQK12gMD6M 

Having been born into a musical family, I have seen firsthand the four characteristics needed by an artist to eventually reach superstardom. The first is Passion. I saw it in Alan Jackson’s eyes when I watched him perform an acoustic show in 1991, just as I saw it in Garth Brooks at the 1990 Nashville Songwriters Awards. Passion is evident in every Josiah Siska performance.

The second characteristic is being Proactive, something that Josiah demonstrates when he listens and responds to his fans, making them feel so special; a major component in Taylor Swift’s success. Josiah didn’t wait for opportunity to find him; he made it happen by auditioning for Idol, entirely on his own.

Perseverance is the third element of success. “Even when I was eliminated from Idol, I wasn’t going to let it get the best of me,” he says. “I knew in my heart that this is just the beginning.”

Finally, an essential characteristic for any entertainer is Patience, something that is hard to maintain when a career seems to be moving forward at a snail’s pace. But as Josiah says, “I use the time to get my plans laid out to make this a reality.”

His music career is definitely on the move. “I’ll never forget the first time I heard ‘To Get a Girl’ and ‘World Gone Mad,’ when I heard the mixes listening in my pickup truck. It was surreal to me,” he recalls.  “Even listening back, having the band perform it when we were in the studio, watching the band and seeing these professional musicians that are the Music Row Cats that have been in town recording hits for forty years, playing electric guitar and hearing them making a guitar part for something that’s my song. There are just special moments like that. You don’t get a lot of them and they are ‘first-time’ special moments.”

Josiah hasn’t been idle during the pandemic. “I’ve been writing a lot and in the studio recently. I just want to really keep pushin’ out music online,” he says.  “I’m getting ready to do my own show on YouTube titled The Rhinestone Review. I love to listen to old vinyl – I love 80s pop, classic country, all the vinyl I can find. On the show, I’ll review these vinyl records and pick a song off them and doing a cover version from all these different genres of music.  

For Josiah, music is like a universal language. “I love to sing not just country music but to explore other genres and make it my own,” he explains. “I hope that people who are looking for more cover videos and content online from me are going to enjoy that series.”

Josiah Siska is recognized as a naturally gifted storyteller and fans often tell him what his songs mean to them. “That really touches my heart,” he says, “Because people recognizing that is the reason why I sing and play. When I sing, I pour my heart out and when someone sees that, it makes my heart really happy.” 

His captivating vocals and classic storyteller artistry take you back to 90s country with the inspirations of Alan Jackson and George Jones sprinkled with the charismatic delivery of his music. Every time he performs, you will want to hear more. I know there is more to come and it will be well worth the wait as Josiah is part of country’s new generation of storytellers. 

Read more about Josiah Siska and his music at https://josiahsiska.com and https://www.facebook.com/josiahsiskamusic/  

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Preshias Harris  is a music journalist and music career development consultant with the emphasis on new and aspiring artists and songwriters. Her book, ‘The College of Songology 101: The Singer/Songwriter’s Need to Know Reference Handbook’ is available at   www.collegeofsongology.com   Follow her blog at  www.nashvillemusicline.com