Careful with That Song

"It was kind of a blind leap, just blind faith. 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." 

(Josiah Siska / countrymusicnewsinternational.com, April 17, 2021)

The location referenced above was not a movie set, but the location where auditions for American Idol, in particular the ones for 2016, were shot. The jury for the show was made up of Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick, Jr. and Keith Urban. And the young teenager who auditioned before them, was gushing over Johnny Cash and impressing with his surprisingly full voice.

Even though Josiah Siska didn't make it into the official season, his appearance eventually lead to a contact with Mark Miller, the charismatic lead singer of 1980's hit band Sawyer Brown. He was impressed with the young artist from Georgia and took him unders his wings. Together they started working on music and Mark Millers connections to Black River Entertainment eventually resulted in a publishing and record deal for Josiah Siska.

 

 

In 2020 a first track was released, the Mark Miller and Doug Johnson produced 'World Gone Mad'. The traditional midtempo ballad belied its spectacular title and held on to Josiah Siskas voice as the only striking asset about it. Apart from the fact, that the young singer had switched his looks to long hair and a beard. In 2021 the song 'To Get a Girl' followed, unremarkable, but clearly geared towards commercial radio country. Again the deep and warm voice of Josiah Siska let the song become more attractive with each listen.

On August 26, 2022 his first EP titled "Three Chords at a Time" was released. On 5 out of the 7 songs on the EP, Josiah Siska had been part of the songwriting process, while Doug Johnson functioned as the main producer for the project. The result of which was surpisingly versatile, proofing that Josiah Siska was capable of delivering more than just midtempo ballads.

 

Diverse and entertaining, very catchy and with a strong touch of 90's country, is how one might describe it. On uptempo songs like 'Come on Down' or 'Honky-Tonk', the prominent sound of the fiddle does not get sacrificed for some southern rock guitars. Which are still there, by the way. And the fun story about the little cantina in Cabo Wabo where a tequila is served, that nobody can take more than 3 shots of, surprises even more with its catchy chorus:

In a little cantina in Cabo Wabo
I poured a shot of mezcal in a glass
Started talkin' to the worm at the bottom of the bottle
We cried, and we laughed
'Bout then, I started losin' all feeling.

(3 Tequila Floor / Bobby Terry, Clayton Davis, Matt Rossi) 

It is difficult to forget the pulsating 'Be Careful with That Song', once heard, as it sounds like a bold hit song from the 1990's. In particular with its lyrics about the singer of a band in a bar, who played a song that he wrote about a woman who got cheated on by her man. Just to be approached by a guy from the audience, who suspects that there is more truth to the song. It is left to the listener to decide, whether the guy is the one referenced in the song or whether he just went through the same situation.

Old man walked up as I put my guitar down
Said, You play that pretty good, son, could I buy you a round?

That last one that you sang, the one you said you wrote,
I know you didn't mean to, but you really oughta know:

 

Be careful with that song
It could hurt someone
The one about the girl and the fool who did her wrong
Sounds too much like the truth.

(Be Careful with That Song / Doug Johnson, Scott White)

 

Jesiah Siska surprises with an entertaining EP that catches one attention in particular with a voice that shines on the right tracks. After all "Three Chords at a Time" marks a solid first base for a potential career, plain simply 3 chords at a time.