Country and rockabilly keyboard ace Josh Christina shares his distinctive honky tonk piano licks in this new installment of the Off the Cuff Piano Style series.
Christina's first radio single, "Cry You A River," shipped to country radio and can be heard on stations nationwide. The song is on his recent album release, Good Ole Love, available now on iTunes (j.mp/JC-iTunes).
On the subject of his sound - unique to the country genre - Josh Christina has made clear he's leading a trend that's been a long time coming.
"I think the country genre is beginning to shift back to its roots," said Christina. "Meghan Trainor has done it with the pop genre, taking it back to its roots with her sound's doo-wop influence. Bruno Mars has done the same in R&B with notes of funk in his sound. Slowly but surely, artists in the country genre are putting their foot down and adding notes of classic country and rock to their sound. If anything, I feel I'm at a bit of an advantage. My sound isn't headed that direction. It's already there."
Born into a musical family, Baltimore-based artist Josh Christina gets his musical chops from his father (a drummer),
his mother (Baltimore-area singer Patti Christina), and his grandmother, who was a big band singer in the '40's and '50's.
Christina's personal journey began at age six, when he took an interest in the King himself, Elvis Presley. By eight, Christina had organized a Junior Blues Brothers act that performed regularly at venues in the Baltimore area. At 15, he began playing piano after taking a trip to New York City with his parents to see Million Dollar Quartet on Broadway.
"While I bought tickets out of my love for Elvis, I remember being blown away by the styling's of Jerry Lee Lewis... He had such flare. He redefined the piano for me."
With his newfound passion for piano, Christina began writing, drawing inspiration from the "simple yet clever corny rhymes" of writers Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Stevie Ray Vaughn. After graduating from Dulaney High School in 2013, the Cockeysville native went to work on his debut album, produced by John Grant at Secret Sound Studio. Man From Another Time featured several rock and roll and rockabilly covers, along with a few original songs written by Christina.
Just a year later, his talents caught the attention of Nashville-based producer Kent Wells (Dolly Parton), who immediately got to work with Christina on his sophomore effort, Good Old Love. Aside from recording, Christina plays area venues regularly with his band, Good Old Stuff.
To learn more about Josh Christina, visit joshchristinamusic.com.
Intro and outro music: "Cry You A River"
Written and performed by Josh Christina
Available now on iTunes: j.mp/JC-iTunes
Recorded at Steinway Piano Gallery, Hunt Valley, Maryland.
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