U&U Interview :: Josh Scogin of '68
Josh Scogin is no stranger to many of the venues you’ve grown up going to and he’s certainly spent more time than most on the road. We caught up with the former The Chariot frontman to talk about his new band '68, his thoughts on being “a band dude”, and more. Check out our exclusive Q&A below.
So you’ve gone from a band that’s notorious for their live show to a two piece where you have more responsibilities and pressure, etc. After The Chariot, did you know that you wanted to do a smaller project in the future? Why?
It wasn’t immediate but eventually I came to the realization that I was going to do a duo. The thought behind it was- I’ve been able to tour for a long time and its something that I’m comfortable with. So, it was an attempt to take something back and flip it upside down. I love touring but I want to make it fresh and new. So for me, taking something as commonplace as touring and making it completely different is new. It’s just two dudes and now I have to worry about guitar and everything that could be different is different. Musically, it has been something that I’ve really enjoyed. I’ve enjoyed trying to create something big out of something so small. Everything sort of lined up into place once I came up with the idea of making this project a duo. It’s been quite nice and now being over a year into it, it’s still an adventure.
This is a duo but people are more likely to recognize you because of your former bands. Who’s Michael McClennan and how did you both originally meet?
Michael is a friend of mine from Atlanta, GA and his brother works at a studio where I’ve recorded all my records at (Glow In The Dark Studios). I originally knew him from that. We just became friends through the studio and then when it came time to do this, he was the first person I thought of. He’s excited about touring and how he plays drums really fit the vibe I was going for. It worked well together so it was an obvious choice.
You all just put out a music video for “Track 9” that was super unique. Lyrically what stands out for me is “If they take your crown away. Is that all that makes you king?” What was the inspiration behind that line?
The metaphor there is sort of like, if they stripped you of the legal title, would people still treat you as such because you’re a good person? It’s a complicated song but it’s the idea of trying to maintain being a good person and a good human and treating people fairly and thinking with sober judgement. You realize that we’re all humans and we can all treat each other kindly. That’s the short version.
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