All Aboard!

Comrades!

  It's Throwback Thursday, and on this day in 2012, I was jamming in Charlotte, NC on the very first rail tour!

  I'm absolutely thrilled to be hopping on a train tomorrow to NYC to kick off the next one!  Proud to present...THE DANCE PARTY!  The idea:  Make a music video with the world to counter all of this fear and political nonsense.  I hope you can join in.  As always, it's interactive, it's worldwide, and it's gonna rock!

Here's the deets:

https://mazuzu.com/hamilton/view/172952

See you out there!

All Aboard!

- Josh

5th Anniversary Tour!

For  Immediate Release

Join the Dance Party!

Despair, USA -  It’s a funny time for a message of unity.  A peculiar time to talk about song and dance when it feels like the sky is falling.  But that could also make it exactly right. Maybe with a little laughter, we summon courage to take our power back.  Maybe by playing the blues, we lose the blues.  

 Meet musician Josh Urban.  He plays a home-built broom guitar and DJs on the street.  Spoofing the red-hot political season, the seemingly-endless stream of bad news, and sharp polarization between communities, he urges you to join the dance party.  Traveling by train along the east coast, he’ll be bringing a mix of rock and dance music to the street corner, subway, hospital waiting room, and traditional venue while engaging a worldwide audience through livestreaming and social media.  The idea:  make a music video with the world dancing away our fears and division.  

 Running September 9th through the 25th, The Dance Party tour is an interactive experience designed to bring some levity into the world, because sometimes the serious problems need a lighter contrast to remind us of our humanity.  

Get in the video!  

Ready to make a music video? Record yourself dancing (preferably to the official tour song), and tag it to #JURT on social media.  To really fit the theme, people are writing a fear on a piece of paper (be it terrorism or a mean dog), dancing with it, then crumpling the paper and throwing it out of view with triumphant gusto.  Send your video to josh@joshurban.com and it’ll be mixed into the official tour video at the conclusion. (By the way, Josh is a terrible dancer, so don’t feel pressure!) Let’s make a stand - let’s dance!  

Tour Dates

9/9 and 9/10 New York, New York

9/11 Philadelphia, PA

9/16 Charlottesville, VA

9/17 Charlotte, NC

9/18 Richmond, VA

9/23 Baltimore, MD

9/24 Alexandria, VA

9/25 Washington, DC

Contact

 Josh Urban 240-682-2801 josh@joshurban.com Twitter: @DontJoshMe Instagram: @JoshUrban www.JoshUrban.com/DanceParty

 

2015 kicks off!

Happy #Music Monday, comrades! I'm terribly excited to announce...The 2015 Josh Urban Rail Tour is official! It'll kick off on Friday, September 4th. I'll be posting more details soon, but suffice to say, it's (of course) interactive, inclusive, and with a cool social experiment aspect. Hopefully when it's all over, the world will be a better place in at least a small way! Let me know if you'd like to be part of it, be you a musician, media outlet, sponsor, friend, or fellow railfan. (Drop me an email at josh@joshurban.com and we'll chat!)

  All abooooard!

 - Josh

I hear that train a-comin'!

Comrades!

  Holy smokes!  I can't believe it's less than a week till we all start this crazy Planetary Jam!

Got a few items of news that applies to you!

First off, the song is out!  Yep, kinda doing a quiet release before the tour.  I'll start yelling soon, but wanted to give you a preview of the track.  This one has my lead guitar on it - the one that we're all going to collaborate on will sound different, because everyone is invited to send in sounds!  So, here's the mix with my guitar:

https://soundcloud.com/joshurban/planetary-jam

And without lead guitar (guitar players, this is great for figuring out what you'll send in.)  https://soundcloud.com/joshurban/planetary-jam-no-lead-guitar

Hey comrades, want a chart for how the rhythm guitar works?  Here's the tune!

Of course, ALL musicians are invited to send in sounds, not just guitar players!

Special forces!

I've been having fun with the new cameras.  (Special thanks to tour sponsor Positive Impact Magazine for sending me one!  I'll be using it as a broom guitar cam!)  Here's a crazy video for you comrades...who wants to be part of the SPECIAL FORCES for the video?


OK, gotta run and do some more tour prep...like choreograph an amazingly silly dance for the official video!  Oh yes, Zumba has ruined me!

Tour Dates (at least a few of them)  

NYC - 8/1, 8/2.  Busking in midtown Manhattan.  Staying at the Herald Square Hotel.  THANK YOU FOR THE SPONSORSHIP!  I'll be tweeting locations @dontJoshMe

Philly  8/3.  Rittenhouse Square in the morning, Suburban SEPTA station from 12-3 pm, Love Park 3:30-6:30 pm

Online at Google + Hangouts Monday-Thursday, times TBA

Charlottesville 8/8  private show at the UVA medical center, then busking on the downtown mall from 5:30-7:30.

Charlotte 8/9  busking at the corner of Trade and Tryon, and nearby, all day.  Tweeting locations @dontJoshMe

Richmond  8/10  in front of Main Street Amtrak Station, 3:30-5:30

Online at Google + Hangouts Monday-Thursday, times TBA

Alexandria, Waldorf, Baltimore, DC...working on that, but the jams will be epic, and announced shortly!


Rock on, comrades, and see you on tour soon!

- Josh

Hello, Rockers!

  I hope everyone is getting as excited as I am about the upcoming tour.  One of the things I love about these projects is how interactive they are.  It's not only me on tour, but everyone!  I was mowing the back yard just now.  It was dusk, and the lightning bugs twinkled in the June night.  I'm sure I did a terrible job as far as landscaping goes, but it sure was pleasant.  After a day of sending press releases and recording tracks for the song, I thought about the project as the mower threw out sheets of dewy grass into the gathering darkness.

  There is something so punk rock about playing street music.  I went busking, as it's called, this past Friday evening.  I was joined by two young guitar comrades, and we jammed and hollered and entertained the people passing by as their mom and grandma watched and clapped along.  To be right in the street, and right in the middle of humanity, face to face and singing along...there's a magic in that.

  I look forward to harnessing some of this magic, and inviting people to join me to do the same as the tour rolls from city to city and propagates over the internet.

  It seems to me as this magic, and this spirit, is exactly what's called for in taking steps towards where most of us want to go, towards a more peaceful and happy world.  The division around us seems to grow daily. In addition to the war and violence, there's plain ol' hostility and intolerance towards our fellow citizens, even in the most innocuous ways.  Simplified answers to complex problems appear superimposed on photos as they show up on Facebook, and the news that trends is, at best, that of one person telling another off.

  The street is, in many ways, a perfect metaphor of the World.  As I stand there in the grit and the grime, the sea of humanity swirls around me.  Everyone is hurrying to where they have to go, not realizing that their neighbor, while different, has the same fears and hopes hanging over them like so many clouds and rays of sunshine, like an afternoon in the Appalachian mountains as the light plays over the landscape.

  So, the street seems an ideal place to stand firmly in the "rock stance", like Jack Black taught in School of Rock, and begin to play, gradually getting louder in a song that unites, singing "Hey brotha, commence the jam!"

  I'm looking forward to jamming with everyone, in cities and towns along the east coast, and worldwide on the Internet.  Let's get face to face with each other, and say "HI!  You're cool."  Let's start building those bridges right here, right now, in the middle of the street, on the subway platform, in line at the grocery store...

Let's start this jam!

Now, off to do more press releases...

- Josh  

A video!

Comrades!  It's 42 days till the first train departs, and MAN I'm getting excited!

Here's the official tour video!

And have you seen the site that Mazuzu.com built for the project?  www.JoshUrban.com/JURT

Plus, just added another week to the trip.  I'll be playing extended shows in Alexandria, DC, and Baltimore during the third weekend of August, as well as doing a bunch of online stuff during that week!  WOOO!

Big thanks to the sponsors who have signed on so far.  These comrades rock!  Thanks to Island Music Company, JTV Digital, We Spin, Mazuzu.com, Positive Impact Magazine, Bone Sigh Arts, and The Herald Square Hotel!

Talk to you soon - gotta go work on tour stuff!

- Josh 

JURT 2014 is a GO!

Hey rockers!

  I hope you're ready to hit the rails again, because the 2014 Josh Urban Rail Tour is gearing up, and man oh man, it's going to be epic!  Here's the official press release that just came out about an hour ago:

For Release 6/25/14 or later

Musician Josh Urban set to ignite Planetary Jam Session, take World on Tour.

Washington, DC: Us people will talk. Now, for the first time, we can – to anyone, anywhere. We are the pioneers in an era of ultra-connectedness. Friendships are formed halfway around the planet, and translation software breaks down language barriers. Yet much division and strife remains. Enter musician Josh Urban with an idea: Instead of arguing – let's jam! “When you look at it one way, we're really all in the same 'band'” states Urban, making the point that most people are after similar goals of happiness and a fulfilling life. Kicking off an international project on the 4^th of July, Urban aims to highlight the unity of humanity instead of the division so commonly seen. His goal: a worldwide “jam session” and tour for everyone, musician and non. His strategy: a collaborative music video.

The Rail Tour

Building the video in several phases, Urban will be touring east coast cities by train, much like a blues musician of olden days, playing street corners and subways, filming the journey, hosting impromptu jam sessions on the street, and taking the world on tour with him through collaborative social media. He'll be playing his new song We're in the band , available for download from iTunes and JoshUrban.com. People in each city are invited and encouraged to come to the jams and appear in the video. He'll be using a home-built guitar converted from a broom – tying into a special theme of the music video.

It's sweeping the world!

People the world over, musician and non, are invited to video themselves playing “broom guitar” (air guitar with a broom) to Urban's new song We're in the band. They would then post it to social media using the hashtag #JURT (Josh Urban Rail Tour) to jump on the global stage, tagging it back to the tour and including it in the official video. Don't want to shoot a video? No problem! Post a photo of yourself or a friend playing broom guitar back to the tour to show that you're in the band. No matter where you are, you're on tour – invite your friends! The worldwide jam is sweeping the planet!

Diversity

As a counterpart to the unifying theme of brooms, Josh suggests that participants include something in the video to illustrate who they are, such as auto enthusiasts appearing in front of their car, animal people with their pets, etc Additionally, musicians are invited to send in music parts for the We're in the Band, adding to the existing song. Urban will be collecting sound samples of his rail journey, and mixing that with guest artists' contributions for the soundtrack to the final video. “Music has shown me such respect for people I formerly considered enemies. I'd like to scale that up to the international. If we start seeing each other as “band-mates”, maybe we can realize that like good musicians, we can listen and learn from each other. Instead of arguing – let's jam!”

Schedule

Kicking off on the 4^th of July, a symbolic day of unity and freedom, and running through the 14^th, the tour will make stops in Washington, DC, Alexandria, VA, Waldorf, MD, Charlottesville, VA, Charlotte, NC, Richmond, VA, Philadelphia, PA, and New York, NY, as well as online concerts and venues TBA.

Everyone is invited to participate, either at the in-person jam sessions, or by posting a video or photo of themselves dancing to the new song, playing that broom guitar, of course! Use the hashtag #JURT (for Josh Urban Rail Tour) to show the world that you're in the band!

Contact: 240-682-2801, www.JoshUrban.com management@joshurban.com @DontJoshMe Facebook.com/officialJosh

Tour Stories - Part I - A Tangible Currency

Hey rockers!


It's with honor that I announce my guest blog series on Positive Impact Magazine. WOOO! They asked me to write some guest posts, and I've been chronicling the adventures on the rails from a human perspective and the view from the search for Good. I hope you enjoy!


A Tangible Currency

Many life changes happen in a flash, yet are disguised as ordinary events in the course of a day, played by unsuspecting actors, almost as a cosmic joke from an invisible casting department.
One of these lessons hit me in the face recently. I’m a rock musician, but one of my side “gigs” is a DJ. Through a strange series of events, I’ve found myself the host of my Classic Radio Hour show, where I bring my speakers and other sound equipment to assisted living communities and nursing homes, setting up to play Frank Sinatra, Glenn Miller, and other hits from a bygone era. I sit at my DJ table, and join the appreciative audience in listening as I spin the tracks of old. It’s quite moving to see people soak up the songs of their prime, and to hear their stories after the show.
One day, however, things took a different turn. The show was at a larger facility that, in addition to housing seniors, hosts an adult day care center. The mix of audience ages can create an unusual dynamic. One of the younger clients of the facility (let’s call her Sally) loves to dance to a favorite song that I have for her each time (the track is decidedly not Frank Sinatra.) Sally is standing in front of the room, as is her custom, dancing joyfully and charmingly off beat to the song, the personification of the fierce happiness that music brings us, no matter how “different” or “normal” we are.




“Mildred” was sitting in her wheelchair, and was probably having a hard day. Perhaps she was in a lot of pain, sad, or lonely. Whatever the cause for her discomfort, she was not enjoying the song, and was certainly not enjoying Sally’s dancing. ”Stop it! Sit down!” she shrieked.
Continue reading...

As the dust settles...

Hello, everyone!

  Wow, it's been just over a month since the tour ended, and ...what a trip!  

  So many trains, so many faces, and so much good found in the world.  From the 15th floor of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, to the pitch black outside the window on the southbound night train through rural Virginia (the train conductor remembered me from the last tour!), there was good, music, new friends, lessons, and a rockin' fun time all around.  Check out this recording from a hospital in Raleigh, NC.  I got to talking to a teenage patient after the show, and turns out he's a fantastic guitar player.  He's playing the acoustic guitar, and I'm on the cigar box guitar here, live from the hospital lobby, recorded right on my cell phone.

  I'd like to thank each and every one of you for being part of this worldwide, interactive Search for Good, and I can't wait to do it again.  Thanks for looking out for the bright things in the world, and posting it back online.  It was really very cool, and quite inspiring.  Thank you.

                                         A pint-sized audience enjoyed the concert assembly,
                                      and the 5th grade chorus singing along to a blues song!

Bowling with the Vliet family - they treated me like royalty
on the Raleigh tour stop!

  Another good thing:  The media!  You know, they're always getting slammed in the news (the irony of this is  just dawning on me), which is a bummer.  The reporters, editors, writers, radio show hosts, and TV folks that I had the privilege of working with were consummate professionals, a joy to work with, and very glad to share the news of good in the world with their audience. Thank you, everyone!

 

With Mariana N. of ReverbNation outside of
Wakemed Children's Hospital, Raleigh, NC

 
  And speaking of media, I'm honored to announce that I've been invited to write a guest blog for Positive Impact Magazine!  I'm currently writing a series about the tour, and I think you might enjoy it.  I'm outlining the tour in detail, and sharing the stories and lessons I learned while spending time searching for Good. Here's the series so far.  There's also other guest blogs happening, too!  ReverNation, Dotted Music.com, and JTV Digital all have been way cool to host some of my writings!

  The good news keeps rolling in, too.  On Thursday, the 4th of July, I released Onward on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, and all the other major stores with distribution from my new friends in France, JTV Digital.  If you missed the tour version of the album, check it out here!  

             

  So, what's next?  Well, I'm still getting caught up, but stay tuned for a Flickr gallery of the tour shots, a brand new podcast, with the first few episodes featuring audio from my tour journal I kept in mp3 format on the rails, and a radio campaign for the new album.  Let's get this thing charting, baby!

  But most of that is shop talk.  I'll be doing something interactive again soon. See, I was walking up the sidewalk to my house the other night, and through the hushed summer forest, I thought I heard the lonely whistle of the night train making it's way up the opposite shore along the Potomac river.

  And I knew it was almost time to start planning the next adventure with you.

See you soon!

- Josh

 

Mid-Tour Update

Hello, everyone!

  WOW, what a fun tour so far!  I've been rockin' out in places like NYC, Philly, DC, Alexandria, Mt. Vernon, and Waldorf, and am about to hop on the train to Charlottesville and points south tomorrow.  Check out this great write up the tour got in a Charlottesville paper:  http://www.c-ville.com/arts-pick-the-search-for-good-tour/#.UagcKkBJOAh

NEAT!

YOU'VE been rockin' the whole world, finding good EVERYWHERE!  Awesome!  Keep up the amazing work, and keep on posting things back to that hashtag #JURT (Josh Urban Rail Tour), or join the Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/359591340827641/

Here's a video for ya:




Off to get some sleep!  Looking forward to playing the UVA Cancer Center at Charlottesville tomorrow.

See ya on tour!

- Josh

A press release!

Hello, everyone!

  Well, things are cooking over here.  Tour stops are lining up, and the media outreach is starting.  Since everyone is included on the fun, here's the press release.  Feel free to forward it to your media buddies, or use it for your own blog.  See ya on tour soon!

Media Advisory

Josh Urban announces The Search for Good Tour – Finding those who rock the world.

There's good everywhere, but sometimes it doesn't make the news. So, we have to find it ourselves.

The search begins Friday, May 24^th, as musician Josh Urban sets out to find it. Join him via social media as he travels the east coast by train, playing music in children 's hospitals, veterans centers, and street corners, finding the people, sights, and sounds that make the world a brighter place. Start a hunt of your own – go fourth and find the everyday heroes around you. Tag your photos and stories back to the tour using the #JURT (Josh Urban Rail Tour) hash tag on social media to share Josh's stage to reach a worldwide audience. Invite your friends, family, and co-workers to join you. Together, we'll go on tour. Together, we'll change the narrative. All the world's a stage. Let's put some good on it. The train leaves May 24^th. All aboard!

Tour stops:

New York City, NY, May 24 (Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)

New York City, NY, May 25 (NYC subway system and street shows)

Philadelphia, PA May 26 (Hospital TBA, SEPTA transit system and street shows)

Washington, DC, May 27 (Veteran's Medical Center)

Online worldwide May 28-30

Alexandria, VA, May 31 (Street corner)

Charlottesville, VA, May 31 (University of Virginia Hospital Cancer Center)

Raleigh, NC June 1 (Wakemed Children's hospital)

Richmond, VA, June 2 (Sitter and Barfoot Veteran's Home)

Josh Urban is a one-man music show from Washington, DC. He's excited to bring The Search for Good Tour as a follow up to his 2012 Interactive Rail Tour, which engaged a worldwide audience to tell a collective story of the world as it's citizens saw it. Playing a mix of blues, rock, and pop, Urban engages his audiences from streets to stages with his stories, singing, guitar and energetic personality. The 2012 tour received coverage in many venues, including The Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Maryland Independent, The Charlottesville Hook, Hypebot.com, Dottedmusic.com, DIYdaily.com, 1140AM WRVA, 90.1 FM WDCE, 88.1 WMUC, XTSR, Charlottesville's NPR affiliate WVTF, The RamJam TV show (Fairfax, VA, NY, NY), and others. Additionally, Josh was invited to sit on a panel hosted by music industry giant Reverbnation.com to speak about his experience touring by rail.

Social Media connections:

Use the hashtag #JURT, or connect at www.JoshUrban.com , Twitter @dontjoshme, Facebook.com/OfficialJosh, Instagram @JoshUrban, Google + gplus.to/joshurban Soundcloud.com/JoshUrban

Contact: Josh Urban

240-682-2801

management@JoshUrban.com www.JoshUrban.com

The 2013 #JURT

Comrades!

  As I walk along the road near my house, I can hear the train rolling on the opposite shore of the river through the winter woods.  The distant horn of the diesels seem to be calling to me. And like the winter, the world seems to be especially dark right now.

  I'm pleased to announce that I'll be hitting the rails again soon, and inviting YOU to tour with me, just like last time!  This time, there's an even cooler theme.

The Search for Good - Finding Those who Rock The World!  

There's a lot of mean people out there.  There's murderers and robbers and liars out there.  And they usually get the stories written about them.  However, since the world is still in one piece, since there's still kind, loving, brilliant people surfacing - it seems to me that there are some people who must be pretty cool out there.  There must be a lot of Good in the world.

So, I'm going to find it.  I hope you'll join me.  I forget who said it, but the quote "What you think about, you bring about" sure seems cool.  So, let's combine our little lights in the world into a huge bonfire of Good.

I'll be taking the train up and down the east coast of the USA, and I invite you to join in using social media.  When it's time to tour, go out and find those things, sights, sounds, and people who rock the world.  Tag the photos, stories, songs, and videos back to the tour using the hashtag #JURT (and we'll probably have a new one, too.)  Actually, I encourage you to start today - the world needs it.  (Just hold off the hashtag stuff, it'll get confusing.)  I'll be playing in lots of places, with an emphasis on those that don't get a lot of music:  Street corners, children's hospitals, VA hospitals and rehab places, and the like.  Hey, might as well bring some of the magic of rock 'n roll to everyone, right?

I'm still in the planning stages, but the tour dates will be from May 24th to June 2nd, 2013.  I'll be playing in:

Raleigh, NC
Richmond, VA
Charlottesville, VA
Alexandria, VA
Washington, DC
Philadelphia, PA
New York, NY
And Worldwide through a bunch of online concerts!

I'll post definite dates, times, and venues soon.  For now, get ready to go on tour, comrades.  It's gonna ROCK!  It's time - let's change the narrative and give 'em something GOOD to talk about.

I can't wait!

- Josh

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