In May 2005 Josh released "February"; a collection of songs mostly written and recorded in February 2005 as part of February Album Writing Month (www.fawm.org). That Summer was also Joshs first national tour from Vancouver, BC to Lewisville, NC.
Josh can now be found in Seattle, WA playing at local coffeehouses and bars. Josh relocated to Seattle in August, 2005.
Reviews of "February":
Smother.net
By J-Sin
The album was mostly written in the cold winter month of February, hence the title. Joshua Schramm is a folk rocker whose voice is commanding with a genuine twist. A multi-instrumentalist, Joshua recorded himself playing guitar, banjo, percussion, and keyboards. The vocal arrangements that he manages throughout the album are impeccable. He just moved to Seattle and I hope our readers from the Pacific Northwest make him feel at home because his music sure offers a nice reprieve from the cold of stagnant folk-pop music. Excellent and highly recommended!
Sacramento News and Review
By Becca Costello
Presumably Joshua Schramm titled his album February because that was the month in which he composed the majority of its songs--Schramm wrote and recorded nine of these tunes during this years February Album Writing Month. Speed-writing gimmicks aside, though, the musics sedate, snowed-in feel embraces the title like a mitten hugs a cold, chapped hand. With quiet acoustic orchestration and thoughtful lyrics, February inspires the feeling one gets when staring at a gray late-winter sky and wondering why spring doesnt just get here already. The subtle nature of these tracks lends itself to pensiveness, without ever turning morose. Schramm left Sacramento for Seattle this year, where hes likely to find more of the sort of weather that complements his work.
EarCandyMag.com
by J.R. Oliver
Mellow is as mellow does whatever the hell that means. Dont ask. Anyway, Joshua Schramm is mellow but not boring by any means. An acoustic singer /songwriter in much the same vein as someone like Dave Matthews. Actually, he sounds like Elvis Costello and Dave Matthews stitched together in Tom Pettys laboratory / studio. A folk rocker, and folk rockers are few and far between these days, with a great sense of how to command your attention without clubbing you over the head with loud beats or profane lyrics. He sort of sneaks up on you like a Pink Floyd song or middle age or your girlfriends cat. The next thing you know youre caught up in the middle of it all.
The Celebrity Cafe
Lynda Dale MacLean
Joshua Schramm is a talented singer, songwriter and musician whose album February is a beautiful, mellow album with a lot of guts and heart throughout its 15 tracks. Joshua Schramm's down-to-earth, captivating vocals are in perfect partnership with the mixed influences of folk, rock and pop heard on February.
The songs "Silent Fall," "Someday," "Nothin' from the Old House," "Another Year," "Far Away," "Braced for the Fall" and "Sorry" had such a strong hold on me that I felt as though I had sunk into my chair and had gotten lost for a precious little while.
I've become a big fan in a short time, and I'm honored to strongly recommend February.
Indie-Music.com By Dan MacIntosh
This project differs significantly from a musical foggy mountain breakdown in how quiet it all is. In addition to banjo, Schramm - who plays everything - adds acoustic guitar, harmonica, and piano as well. The piano is striking on the sad Sorry. Harmonica, on the other hand, gives Slowly Unwind a folk-y feel. Firefly is a song that can best be described as dreamy, which is also a word that sums up much of this gentle, faraway music.
Interestingly, Schramm doesnt do absolutely everything here. His mom, in fact, wrote the lyrics to Greener Pastures. But the rest of this was written, played, and recorded by Mr. Schramm.
February was such a good month musically for Joshua Schramm, itll be fun to hear what this talented man dreams up for the other eleven months of the year.
Mobdog.com
by Sherri Prunier - Mobdog Music
What redeems the work most is Schramms vocal tone and range. In the track Nothing from the Old House, Josh starts to reveal a strength of timbre and a comforting deeper pitch to his voice evident again in a some later tracks (Slowly Unwind and I'm Getting Older Too) that he should visit more. However, he sounds so different between some songs that he becomes unrecognizable and at times could very well be mistaken for two different artists.
Track 11, Lines Drawn, is by far a favorite and is a great showcase of Schramms potential. The following track, I'm Getting Older Too is also worth a listen. With further exploration of this kind of style and a little guidance in the right direction Joshua Schramm could unlock something powerful.
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