Conversations with Josh Kemp

Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh Kemp.

Hi Josh, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hey! Thank you so much for having me. Well first off my name is Josh and I write music under the artist name Au Gres. Growing up, I didn’t have much of an interest in music. I actually spent a lot of my early childhood obsessing over  sports and video games, but on my birthday one year my sister gave me a ton of CDs and that’s sort of when I got hooked. Some of the CDs were mixes, some full-length albums, but all of it was “new music” to me. She told me music was better than video games and (eventually) I agreed with her. Among those albums were ‘Oh, Inverted World’ by The Shins, ‘Hot Fuss’ by The Killers, and both ‘Plans’ and ‘Transatlantacism’ from Death Cab For Cutie. These are still some of my favorite albums ever.

It was enough to get me hooked, but I didn’t start writing music until I was already out of high school. Sometime after graduation, I started my first band with my brother and two of my best friends. I was mostly just playing guitar back then, but I did some of the writing occasionally and sang backup vocals. We recorded ourselves (for a while), booked our own shows, and did our own screen-printing and design work. It was all very fulfilling and it was the most fun I’d ever had. After several years of playing in the band, I left to start writing my own music. I started a new band with a different set of friends, but this time I was the one writing and singing. The band was short-lived, but within that time we racked up a few million streams on Spotify, had radio play from all over the country, and performed in the Midwest house showcase at SXSW in Austin, Texas.

I started Au Gres about a year after that. It was the start of the pandemic and I was home a lot. Within that time, I wrote a lot of songs, including my first release “Nervous” which came out October of 2020. Things were very different at the start of the pandemic. No one was playing shows, there were no tours happening, no festivals, etc. and it was a challenge to build momentum the same way I had in the past. I found myself online a lot. I submitted my music everywhere I could think to. Radio stations, blogs, etc. I made a lot of TikToks and did whatever I could think to do to get the music out in front of people. Today these songs have been featured by thousands of outlets online which include numerous vlogs, blogs, TikToks, IG reels, etc. and I’ve been able to secure a lot more radio play. Au Gres still feels really new to me, but I’m really encouraged by the amount of support it’s garnered so far and I’m eager to see how much further I can take it this year.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Yes and no. There are things/relationships/opportunities that come naturally, but you have to be prepared for them when they do. I think I’m getting more prepared for them every day.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Absolutely. I write indie pop songs under the artist name Au Gres. I take a lot of influence from bands like COIN, Dayglow, and Hippo Campus. I love writing songs that stick with people. I think I have a great ear for melody and I love to find interesting sounds to tinker with.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
It looks to me like music is becoming more personable than ever. People seem to want to connect with artists in a more genuine way than they did when I was growing up. Meet and greets and “celebrity-ism” have always/will always be a thing, but “being cool” doesn’t carry as much weight as it used to. I think we’ll continue to see a push for authenticity and relatability in the art we enjoy.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/augresband/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuGresband
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/augresband
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNQRekGFNUwB5JLwzoA4upQ
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6hz3z9hlJ0gB5CkmxnnwHr?si=WKY9knmXQBOrNtT7iUkrmg 

Image Credits
Kris Herrmann
Sarah Nedam
Bryan Hugo Iglesias
Donatella Pompeo