Five minutes with Josh Lee Hamilton

Hey josh, thanks for talking to forte, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I grew up in the northern rivers of NSW, where I surfed , lived the beach life and also the beautiful hills of the hinterland . Up until the last couple of years , I have always had music as a side project . Most of my twenties involved studying and working as an engineer. Up until recently the passion and conviction became strong to do music full time. So here I am on the journey.
How did you get involved in music?
My dad was an all round musician, and he encouraged me and my brother to play . Mainly because I think he wanted someone to jam with. I actually started out playing drums and then transitioned to bass in my teens , but songwriting and melody always had the biggest lure to me . I focused on that in my late teens, and started to craft a few songs. Naturally I began to focus on my acoustic guitar playing to accompany my songs.
How do you feel about the music scene around Byron Bay?
Even though Byron is a relatively small rural coastal town , there is a lot going on . It’s actually a good place to be a working musician, with a lot of venues booking live music almost every night of the week. There are a few singersongwriters who are getting breaks recently. So I think it’s a good place to be a singer songwriter and try and carve your path. I saying that there a a lot of music styles and scenes that go well. It can however be easy to be caught in a bubble and only notice the local scene.
Your ‘With the Wind’ tour is almost halfway, how have you been finding it?
It’s been an interesting one. I am playing a bunch of curated ticketed shows and a few open entry punter shows to help the finances. The curated shows have been magic. The open entries are hit and miss , however some have been amazing. People have been responding well to my new songs , including “with the wind” and other songs yet to be released I just finished the return trip from driving across the Nullarbor. What a mission! So there has been a lot of driving. I have been surfing along the way too . However I had a surf accident at Margaret River in WA , where I got whiplash and hurt my neck . There was an anxious moment where the tour could of ended as it was possible that I would be wearing a neck brace. That was quite traumatic. However it was all good and I have been doing Physiotherapy and my neck is recovering. I have only had to cancel one show . There is always a bit of car anxiety as well driving big kilometres in the middle of the desert in an old 1999 Hiace . Lucky it’s a Hiace. Oh it’s also a working holiday with my wife , so plenty of good times , but as you can imagine there are a few testing dynamics. She is very supportive though. Songs have also been emerging on the road too.
Is there anywhere you’ve really wanted to go and now you’re getting the chance?
Actually I have always wanted to go WA. Obviously it’s beautiful landscapes , great surf and thriving music scene were all draw cards.
What can we expect to see next from you?
The tour wraps up in late November, so I plan to release a new single “Here With You “ before Christmas. I have started working on an new album, which is planned to be released mid next year , and slipping in a few single releases . I really want to put out a honest and good quality singer songwriter album . I definitely looking forward to touring ustralia again , and I would love to try out another nations too … Europe or Canada would be cool.
You can catch Josh performing at the Barwon Heads Hotel on November 11 and at The Cally Hotel in Warrnambool on November 15.