Who has what it takes to get up on a stage and perform in front of peers with lights shinning down on them? Josh Loss, a second year student at West Chester University dares to sing and play guitar to his original songs at open mike nights. Loss is majoring in Literature to pursue working in movies, possibly as a screen writer. To him, college is “plan B” and he is going for his degree while he is trying to succeed as a singer and guitarist. “Plan A” is to have a career in music, his passion. Teaching himself how to play the guitar, Loss has been playing and singing since he was eight years old. He was in many different bands, but went solo in 2003. When he came to WCU, he met Mike Voss, who became a good friend and co-performer. The two go to perform at the same shows and even produced a song together with Loss singing and playing the guitar and Voss rapping to tell the story.
The song that Loss and Mike Voss perform together is titled “Traveler” which is about everyday life. Loss said that Voss writes great stories and described him as a metaphoric genius. He explained how he opened up his mind to more writing.
Loss and other musicians played in Sykes ballrooms for the Sykes After Dark presentations. Loss has been told that he will be able to perform again next semester and has been given support by staff members. He was also showing at open mike nights hosted by the English Club on campus, also in Sykes. He plans to attend them again next year to get his music more known. To hear him next year, this event will take place the first Tuesday of the month. Near campus, Loss enjoys watching and playing at Fennario’s, a coffee shop, every Wednesday at their open mic nights. His last show this year was at Fennario’s on April 26.
Loss’s songs can be heard on myspace.com/joshloss. He also produced a CD labeled “This Just In.” Every song on the CD is based on a major event in his life from 2005 through 2007. Songs have emotion driving them and personal attachments to them as Loss explained. Some of his songs discuss break-ups, about love, and why he decided to come to WCU.
Some of the songs on the CD include “Car Crash,” “Rosaline” and “Safety Net.” “Car Crash” is about the car crash that Loss and one of his friends were involved in.
“[It shows that] something so tragic can bring a downfall,” Loss said. He explained how he became depressed after it happened. Music became his outlet.
“Rosaline” is a song written for the ladies and dedicated to Rosaline. Loss took care of a woman named Rosaline for two years while he worked at a nursing home. The song describes her lifestyle as she grew up in the 50s. She passed away before he could play it for her. Loss sings and plays guitar with Voss rapping in “Safety Net.” The title comes from a song that shows how people can be fake, even pretentious. The artist do not want to fall into that category, they do what they like which is anything involving music.
With Loss and Voss joining together they hope to get people to open up and listen to rap and acoustic. For people to understand what these genres actually mean between lyrics and emotionally based. “Melted Plastic,” a CD that Loss produced the beats for while Voss rapped. Loss has been working on new material with the hopes to produce another CD with about 12 to 15 tracks on it titled “Recovery.” Loss’s new songs will tell stories and lyrics will be very crucial to understand the full meanings behind the songs. He is highly influenced by a band called Atmosphere.
On his CD that has not been released yet, Loss went into depth about the stories he is writing for his songs. One titled ‘He Said, She Said” describes two people that fell in love, but their relationship did not last. When they both are in new committed relationships, they feel that the only way out is by suicide. Without realizing it, they both take their own lives on the same day, even at the same time. This proves that they were meant for each other Loss said, that suicide defined the realism. In Loss’s songs, he relates stories, some which are negative, to people who do not want to be able to relate them. These stories that apply to people when they do not want them to are taboo events that are told in the songs. This includes one song dealing with a girl at a party; nobody knows what happens except that someone slipped a pill into her drink. Turns out, she was date raped by one of her friends. Loss thinks that it is sad but true that girls can relate to something like this.
Another song to be released, “Ones and Twos,” is about a boy that is in love with a girl that does not exist. He does not realize this until later on. The lyrics “Sleep walking, keep talking,” describes to the listener what is really happening.
While writing the storyline out, lyrics and beats become especially important. They can back up the meaning and the point of the song. To tell the story, Loss is in favor of using literature lingo. He especially likes to include similes and personification in his songs. This gives listeners a perspective that they would not ordinarily think of. It gives the audience a different angle to look at, getting them to think about it. Loss personally loves to think outside the box. Loss puts great amounts of emotion into his songs this is especially apparrent in the lyrics most of all.
To Loss, the best part about being up on stage performing is when people that he does not know personally, know the lyrics and sing along. It makes him feel great that fans pay attention to his songs by knowing the words
He would also like to thank all of his fans for their support by seeing him at shows. He thanks Sykes for hosting the performances.
Ginger Rae Dunbar is a first-year student majoring in English with a minor in journalism. She can be reached at RD655287@wcupa.edu