Josh Ritter describes making a record as a sonic postcard home from the world of living as an artist. As a performer and singer/songwriter, Ritter has seen a great swath of the world has to offer, and he has lived a life outside the normal confines of modern life. Living as an artist forces one to live a life of openness, and vulnerability. A songwriter’s job is to broadcast myriad often, subtle observations on the human condition that are able to make the listener feel that they have been seen, heard, and understood. It is within the connections that Josh Ritter mines for gold.

In Ritter’s mind, a finished album is the tangible result of one portion of the never-ending journey for an artist. A set of songs is a snapshot into the mind of the artist at the moment the record was made, but it’s also a direct response and representation to the world that is going on around us.

When an artist releases a record, it no longer belongs to just the people that made it. It becomes a living, breathing organism when strangers interact with it and are moved by it in some way. The listener is allowed, and even encouraged to insert his or her own perspectives and experiences into the song or the record, to make the finished work that much greater.

Ritter describes songwriting as a sort of hallway in which he installs a variety of doors and a little bit of architectural framework around the hallway, allowing listeners to pass through the doors and connect with Josh and his songs even for just a few minutes at a time in that imaginary space.

During this riveting discussion, Josh shares his perspectives on songwriting, sharing art, and why we should all be knocking on the door of joy every day of our lives. Over the course of a career that has stretched on for the last 25 years, Ritter has beautifully woven together words and music to create a catalog of songs focused on the beauty of human connection.

We also hit upon the great Roger Miller, the empathetic bravery of artists that is so often overlooked, my theory on why artists are like Jack Nicholson’s character in A Few Good Men, and so much more.

Let’s get into it.

Cheers,

Matty C

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