Erin's Journal: Josh Groban
98.1 CHFI, Toronto
October 31, 2006
By Erin Davis
I hope you were with us between 8:30 and 9:00 yesterday when we welcomed 25-year-old singing phenom Josh Groban to the CHFI studios. Can I tell you that I was a little nervous? I don't exactly know why; perhaps it was the hour-long special with Josh that Mike and I were going to record at 9 am that had to be co-ordinated with CD cuts, and had very specific times assigned to each segment. That sort of regimentation - and the tandem interview - can be a little daunting. But we played "You Are Loved" (Don't Give Up) from his new CD "Awake", which comes out a week today on November 7th. I'd had the rare pleasure of listening to the disc on the weekend, having been given a stealth copy that came with everything but a Brinks guard to make sure that no one got their hands on this before it was released. Even that felt exciting.
Rob, Lauren and I listened in the acoustic comfort and seclusion of the car on the way north, talking about each track as I jotted down notes, formulating some sort of flow for the lengthy interview awaiting on Monday. Truly the CD cuts a wide swath; the rich, lush arrangements and melodies you've come to know through past works like "You Raise Me Up" and "To Where You Are", soft lingering ballads like "Solo Por Ti" and "Romeo and Juliet" (both in Italian) as well as cuts in Spanish and even Zulu - the latter being where the co-stars of the Paul Simon's "Graceland" album, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, come in and truly shine. Oh, the song "Lullaby" is gorgeous; it features Josh and LBM and gives you goosebumps from the moment it begins, quietly and without musical accompaniment.
Then we have "February Song", written by Josh and on which he plays piano. We, um, had a little adventure with that one; turns out that unbeknownst to us, we were only to play the single that CHFI debuted (first in North America to add it to our playlist) "You Are Loved". Once that had been played and we got talking with Josh, I leaned over and whispered to Gord and Ian, asking if they could cue up "Lullaby" while we talked about it. They did, and (hopefully) you heard some of the gorgeous harmonies.
Then we took a break and came back and started talking about Josh's adventures in writing "February Song". So, naturally, as you'd expect listening to your radio, we cued it up and played it. And it's not as though Josh's people weren't nearby to run into the studio and say, "No! No!" but as it turns out, if you heard that song, you were hearing something even more special than you initially thought: Josh's label rep Ken came in to tell us when we were in our next commercial break: "I can just about guarantee you guys that that was a world premiere." I guess we were just supposed to play the one....oops...
One of the memories I'll take with me always from yesterday is that, during "February Song", Josh put on his headphones. It was a little uncharacteristic, given that we'd been chatting, the three of us, so animatedly during our visit. And then I realized what he was doing and when the song he'd written ended, I said to him, "Josh, you had your headphones on during that song. Now, I know you're not narcissistic - were you hearing that for the first time on the radio?"
And he said yes. That is a moment that is truly, truly special for an artist; he said that when he records things he doesn't usually go back and listen. But he had that experience (immortalized in the movie "That Thing You Do" when Liv Tyler hears her boyfriend's group on the radio in a furniture store and does this wonderful joyous dance, screaming and running to tell the guys). The song he wrote. His baby. And there it was - on the radio.
There's the teeniest bit of me that recognizes how he felt; our band did a Blue Jays song - wrote the lyrics, recorded the music at Sony Studios and then had the joy of seeing it released on a CD - and I'll never forget the day Rob and I were shopping in a Loblaws and heard it - heard us - on the store's music system. It was silly, it was grand, it was one of the reasons that I love the power of radio. And for us to witness a moment like that in our own studio yesterday, experienced by a man of Josh's talent and worldwide fame, was truly special.
I haven't mentioned yet what a sweet and down-to-earth guy he is. He talks wisely about living in the moment, remembering every concert, and trying - one day - to be the parent that his were to him. If I gushed a bit on the air, so be it. I harbour no Demi/Ashton fantasies (I'll keep my Bruce Willis, thanks), but oh my...he'd make a fine, fine son-in-law one day. I promise I would never nag and we'd invite them over often. And the lid to the piano would always be open.
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