Expect a Bit of the Unexpected When Josh Flagg is on Stage
Joe Rayome photo
Josh Flagg would never be able to give a speech in front of thousands of people, but hand him a guitar and put him on a stage and it’s the most natural experience in the world.
Flagg, a Brooklyn-based power pop artist who will be playing two sets at the Pleasantville Music Festival this Saturday, said the ability to perform his music on stage is the most exciting and rewarding part of playing.
In a musical climate where many hit songs are written by a team of professionals locked away in a room, Flagg said he brings rock music back to his roots by focusing on writing his own music and then letting those songs take on a life of their own during shows.
“We’re kind of a throwback rock band in that we write these songs, we work in the studio and we take them out and play them and they take different shapes depending on when you’re doing it,” said Flagg, who came out with a four-song EP in 2009 and followed that up about two years later with his group’s first full-length album “Devastate Me.”
Flagg said he knew he would become a musician. He began playing as a young child when his dad taught him the mandolin. As he approached his teen-age years, Flagg decided that guitar was a cooler instrument. But his father remained an inspiration, encouraging him to experiment when writing songs.
“He kind of always instilled in me that you didn’t really need to follow any rules. You could make whatever you wanted up,” said Flagg, who once composed a piece using only the black keys on the piano.
Writing lyrics and music has always felt natural to Flagg, and heeding his father’s advice, he’s continued to venture into uncharted waters when writing and recording his music. Flagg said that his songs often trick listeners with unexpected subject matter, such as a love song on the “Devastate Me” album called “Bring Him Back to Life,” which is about the walking dead.
His next album, which will be released in October, takes a more personal approach and, as a result, took much longer to write. Flagg said writing music that can be considered a bit off beat grants him a little more freedom to take chances he might not otherwise take. Ultimately, though, the music and melody dictate what direction a song will go.
“I’m not going to write shiny, happy things with some sad song progression, so you’re just kind of looking for a verse or a line that tells you what the song is about and you go from there,” Flagg said.
This will be Flagg’s first time playing the Pleasantville Music Festival and he is excited to be sharing the stage with so many artists. Although a New Yorker for the past two decades, Flagg grew up in Philadelphia and is excited to be performing at the same festival as G. Love & Special Sauce, which also hails from his hometown.
“I snuck into G. Love concerts when I was way too young to be able to sneak into certain places so it’s crazy to be sharing the stage,” he said.
Josh Flagg is scheduled to perform on the Beer Garden Stage at 2:20 and 5:10 p.m.
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