The Stories of the Stories

Hello, everyone!

  Wow, I'm still thrilled about the success of the tour.  It was so great to have everyone involved!
I'm over here working on that montage of the media generated from the tour.  Stay tuned, it'll be out soon!

In the meantime, did you get a chance to SEE all of these stories about the event?  It's been unbelievable!

The Maryland Independent's story (With front page listing!)

The Richmond Times-Dispatch wrote about it!

It was picked up by Hypebot!

Clyde Smith, the author of the above story, wrote this follow-up after an interview
with him, also published on Hypebot.

Charlottesville, VA newspaper The Hook had a cool story about the event.

Dotted Music ran not one, but two of my guest posts about the idea, the first of which was tweeted by indie industry giant ReverbNation to over 100,000 followers!

Info about the show appeared on programming on XTSR Towson radio, WDCE 90.1 FM Richmond, WMUC 88.1 FM College Park, and the two biggest of all, I did a phone interview with Jason Roop (editor of Richmond's Style Weekly) on 1140 AM WRVA Richmond, AND a live on-location interview with Sandy Hausman of WVTF in Charlottesville!  That's my AM radio and NPR debut!

The tour even made it to TV - I did a shoot for The RamJam show in Fairfax, VA!

WOOOO!  Now that's what I call FUN!

Again, thanks to everyone who helped with this, all the retweets, connection over social media, and most of all, being you!  I'll have more updates soon.  I'm already planning the next tour, too.  Can't wait to tour with you again!

- Josh  

The Video Story

Comrades!  Rockers!

  OK, here's a silly little video I just made about the tour with some stories of life on the rails.  THANKS AGAIN - it was great to tour with you!

Here's the BIG NEWS:  Got an EP sketched out that's inspired by the tour and the people's stories I heard.  I hope to be dropping the first single by the end of October.

But that's not all!  In addition to writing the EP, I plan on starting my first-ever BOOK!  There were too many stories not to tell - so, I'll be typing away furiously, putting these stories into words, those night trains to paper, and the big city lights and lonely little towns into black and white.

Stay tuned - and once again, THANK YOU!




- Josh  

That's a wrap!

#JURT tour mates!  New fans from the streets!  Media folks!  Friends!  Comrades!

  Ouch, it hurts to type this.  I don't think I've ever played so much guitar for so long.  Those strings bite after a few days on the streets.

  I'm back home after a rockin' tour by train.  I'll have a detailed update soon, but in the meantime, just wanted to say THANK YOU.  It's been so much fun!  I pronounce the #JURT a resounding success!  

  I've met so many people, and heard so many stories.  Everything, and everyone, has been inspiration for a new EP that I'll be recording soon.  Can't wait to get started!  And I've also got an idea for a mini-tour around the holidays that encourages actual travel participation.  The ol' brain never stops, especially when fueled by NYC Mountain Dew - that stuff seems extra strong.

THANK YOU, WORLD!

- Josh 

How to Tour

Comrades!

  OK, you READY for phase II of the #JURT - Josh Urban Rail Tour???  Man, I'm excited.  I've been getting a few questions of how to get involved.  It's kind of a new, unusual idea, so here's some suggestions:

Remember, the point is to showcase you.  Some people have a great eye for photography.  Others have a story they might like to share - perhaps it's one of overcoming personal demons, or maybe it's one of dreams.  A lot of you play music or do some sort of art.  My idea is that everyone can go on tour.  I've been hearing some incredible stories, from the window-washer on the bus in Charlotte, to the 92 year old Italian lady in the nursing home today who said her marriage "had it's good days and bad days, but at least she got her son out of it."   

So, from now until Monday, feel free to use my stage for the tour.  Here's some specific examples:

Photos/Artwork:  Post pictures of life as you see it to Instagram with the hashtag #JURT, on my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/officialjosh , on Twitter with the hashtag #JURT, and ditto for Google +.  Anything works, but a few fun things are:  Where you are in the world, your artwork, your pet, the sky, and anything that you think is artistic.  You don't need Instagram, either.  To see the Instagram fun if you don't have a smartphone, check out:  http://web.stagram.com/

Stories/poems:  Everyone's got one, and too many people have sad ones.  But you know what?  If you have a sad story, and you're here walking around, you're a tremendous inspiration.  Almost didn't make it?  The fact that you're alive to say so would be called a great victory in sports, and I call it a great victory in life.  Your story of survival is not only one to be proud of, but one to inspire others.  What if it's just a quaint little story about how your grandma likes to bake cookies, or, like the 92 year old lady I saw today, with her favorite part of growing up in an Italian family of 14 outside of Cleveland, with dinnertime being the highlight of her youth?  That's great stuff, man.  Blog about it, and post the link back on my Facebook, tag it on Twitter or Google + with the hashtag #JURT, and share with the world!  You can also just write it on those places, too!  Put it on tour - you never know who you'll touch.

Songs:  

for my music buddies - got a song?  Is it recorded?  Post the link on Facebook, Twitter, or Google +.  For Facebook, make sure it's on my page for distribution.  The others the hashtag will work.  What if it's not recorded?  Put it on Soundcloud (it's free!), and then post that link, baby!  

Skills:  Got some mad skillz, dawg?  Have a video?  You know the deal - post that link!  

See you OUT THERE, comrades!  

#JURT  !  #JURT   !

- Josh

The Mid-Tour Update

Hey #JURT rockstars! Wow, talk about a FUN three days on the rails! I took five trains, got very little sleep, heard some incredible stories, and made new friends. Music was played, and inspiration was gathered for a new EP. SINCE I want the tour to be as entertaining and colorful as possible, I recorded this video about the southern half of the tour, when I visited Charlottesville, VA, Charlotte, NC, and Richmond, VA.

Although I'm not playing music till Friday, don't stop sharing stories, your view of life, and what matters to you!  (Special thanks to Aram G. for that last soundbite!)

See you in Alexandria, Philly, and NYC next!

- Josh 

#JURT Eve

Hey hey!

  It's the eve of the tour, and I could not be more excited.  Big things are going on - the tour got a tweet by ReverbNation to over 100,000 followers today.  That made my eyes get big!

Check THIS - My brother made a video for the tour.  It's EPIC.  Share it with your friends if you're going on tour with the #JURT!  Special thanks to Noah at www.mazuzu.com for his artistic wizardry.  




People are joining in all across the world.  It was tomorrow in Japan earlier this afternoon, and one of my buddies of many years got the distinction of the kick off post with a photo of a high-tech train in Japan.  He posted it on Instagram with the caption Future #JURT tour?  

Another friend is releasing a song tomorrow in conjunction with the tour.  Two DJ buddies are putting promos on the air as well.

I'd better try to get some sleep.

See ya on tour!

- Josh 

The Storm Clouds Gather

It's only two more more days until the tour - and things are picking up.  I should really start packing.  Flyers are being distributed, people are getting excited, the buzz has already started! You can almost feel the wind of excitement making the humid Maryland September (almost) bearable.  

The Interactive Rail Tour is getting some great media exposure!  Check it out:

Friday's Maryland Independent (with front page listing)

Labor Day interview on WRVA 1140 AM with Style Weekly's Jason Roop:  "That was musician Josh Urban - who's kicking off something you don't hear a lot about in this world of pyrotechnics and big tours..."  Archived show. 

Listing in Charlottesville's The Hook. 

Here's my guest post on Dotted Music!  

PLUS, I had a blast filming an appearance on the RamJam TV show on Channel 10 Fairfax on Saturday!  Look for that airing announcement soon.  I haven't heard a single Amtrak train horn, and yet, I feel like the even is already a tremendous success!  Now, off to some more emails.  I feel like it's Christmas eve eve eve over here!   

- Josh 

All Aboard!

Hello, everyone!

  Welcome to my new blog.  I'll be chronicling my music tour via Amtrak from Charlotte, NC, to New York City.  I hope you can join me!  Here's the details.

It's official

 Here's what's up.  On September 7th, I'll be boarding an Amtrak train, and playing street music in seven cities over two weekends.  It'll be old-blues style, traveling by train, playing the street corners and byways, singing with an acoustic guitar.  (I've gotta learn "Crossroads!") It'll be new style in the fact that I'll be broadcasting the whole thing over social media! Now, a lot of musicians go on tour, so you could rightly say "BIG DEAL."  BUT: here's why it's way cool, and different.

It will be completely interactive.  Everyone has a story to tell.  The world is made up of us ordinary people with extraordinary stories.  In the past, it was only the people with the stage (musicians, actors, poets, etc) who could share, interpret, and inspire.

Now, it's everyone.  That's right, I'm taking you on tour with me.  It's the world - on tour.
So how do you do this?  It's simple.  During the weekend of Friday 9/7 to Sunday 9/9, and again the following weekend (Friday 9/14 to Sunday 9/16), tag your view of the world with the hashtag #JURT (Josh Urban Rail Tour) back to

 Twitter @dontjoshme - Facebook.com/OfficialJosh - Instagram @JoshUrban - Google + @ gplus.to/JoshUrban - SoundCloud @JoshUrban - YouTube.com/poodlemanjosh

My audience will be your audience, and vice versa.

What should you tag?  I've gotta come up with a theme for each day (I'm thinking a different color for each day), but really, it's a platform for you to tell your story, your view of life, and your way to contribute to the snapshot in time.
At the end of the tour, I'll be taking all the media, and making a video out of it.
Make sense?  Let me know if you've got any questions.  I'm envisioning quite an event here...Just think:  People running a power plant could share with photographers in London.  California girls could Instagram the sunset, and skaters in Japan might put a video up of their art of defying gravity.  Meanwhile, I'll be roaming the rails and writing songs.
Now, if I'm in your city - I'll be playing street music.  You should come jam, or at least say hey and hang out!  Here's the tour dates:

Alexandria, VA 9/7
Charlottesville, VA 9/7
Charlotte, NC 9/8
Richmond, VA 9/9
Washington, DC 9/14
Philadelphia, PA 9/15
New York, NY 9/16

It's going to ROCK!

So, tell your friends that you're going on Tour with the #JURT, get 'em involved, and get ready to rock the world!


See you on tour!

- Josh