All Photos: Alan Mercer
With a lifetime of touring and performance experience between them, musicians Josef Crosby and Victor Gagnon have joined forces to create something new - a sound that's hard to define, but comes from deep roots and deep soul.
Joe began his career as a reluctant student of classical violin, but was able to parlay his mother’s insistence into an impressive career as a musician, co-founding the critically acclaimed Celtic/Roots band Scythian. Together, they went from playing on the streets for pocket change to headlining festivals all over the country - with a few stints abroad – and playing for Presidents, Popes and the very best fans anyone could ask for.
As front man and lyricist in Pigeon Kings, Joe wraps his songs in the rich tapestry of his experience and does not shy away from the dark moments, as those are often the times truths are revealed.
Pigeon Kings draws from Celtic and Rock influences, but they're not Celtic Rock; there are traditional elements, but they are by no means a traditional band. With elements of Americana and Bluegrass threaded in, they have a sound and persona all their own without gimmicks or pretense.
A true labor of love and passion, Pigeon Kings is an "insurrection resurrection" for anyone struggling to find their own voice amidst the noise of the status quo.
Other members include mega talented DC drummer/percussionist Andrew Toy, globe-trotting Belfast native Ciarán Quinn on guitar and the world class Shane Farrell on banjo/mandolin.
I met Josef in New Orleans this past June where he had been recording a new Maria Muldaur album. I flew in and went to the location where Josef, who was waiting to return home to Washington DC later in the day, was already there and we hit it off immediately. After we finished the photoshoot we both had flights at around the same time and as it turned out we even had the same gate! We talked about growing older, new responsibilities, overcoming addiction and life in general. He told me he would send a Pigeon Kings CD and he did. I fell in love with it immediately! I talked to him on the phone last week to catch up with what was new in his musical world.
Alan Mercer: Josef, let’s talk about the album you are working on now. Are you recording yet?
Josef Crosby: Yes, we are working on our second album.
AM: I want to hear all about it.
JC: Sure, man I was reminiscing about our time in New Orleans. Remember how fortuitous it was. We had time to kill in the morning and then we ended up at the same gate at the airport.
AM: That was awesome. I’m glad I didn’t know how talented of an artist you are, or I would have been a lot more intimidated.
JC: Well that’s ridiculous Alan, but thank you.
AM: The Pigeon Kings are amazing. I play you for everybody I know. Everyone who hears you falls in love with your sound.
JC: What do you call the music? I’m so close to it. I’ve heard Celtic fusion and there’s an Americana rootsy rock n roll thing, but I’m still not sure what it is.
AM: I think that’s the best you can say. Sometimes words fail.
JC: That’s why we got into music in the first place.
AM: Exactly! I’m also curious about the song cover choices you made for the first album. There’s two or three on there isn’t there?
JC: Yes, there’s three. The first one is Bill Wither’s ‘Grandma’s Hands.’
AM: I love it! I never thought this type of band would do that kind of a song.
JC: I didn’t either, but it turned out that my partner and I, who have very similar back stories as to how we got to where we are now, shared a passion, not only for Bill Withers but for that particular song. We played with it and toyed around with it and thought of maybe something more electronic sounding and then it just came together. I don’t even know if it was supposed to end up on the album.
AM: Did you have an opportunity to get to know a grandmother while growing up?
JC: My grandmother is from New Orleans and we were very, very close so the lyrics were very evocative of who she was as a person. That tied it all in together and before you know it, that was one of our covers on the album.
AM: The whole album is so satisfying to listen to.
JC: I had been sitting on some of the songs for years and years.
AM: You were in another band before this weren’t you?
JC: I started my first band, Scythian, in 2003. I’d been on the road with them for years and years and years. As I told you in the café in New Orleans, my own self destruction ended that.
AM: Do you blame yourself for the band ending?
JC: I blame myself to some degree, but at the same time, I stumbled into something that became a project of redemption. It became a musical lifeboat. I wouldn’t have been able to do it had my friend Victor, who was also in a very similar spot in his life, not been in Washington D.C. and over coffee, we came up with this concept for an album. We didn’t know where it was going to go or what we were trying to do.
AM: Where did you even start?
JC: ‘Race The Dead’ was the first song we arranged. I’d written it a couple years before. It’s one of those songs that a friend of mine used to say, “If you can’t be a shining example, you may as well be a stern warning.” So that song became that. It’s evocative of my own past and my own struggles with substance abuse and where I could have ended up. This is a concept of salvation and accepting your own rebirth. So, this was the beginning of the album, but it ultimately veered from that into something very different and kind of more diverse.
AM: The album is diverse, and I find that fascinating as well.
JC: I’ve played a lot of different types of music. My Mom is from Salzburg, Austria and her father was a composer and an organist. As a child there was lots of classical music. My sister is a classical cellist. My brother was a classical soloist. It was a big part of my life.
AM: You could have easily gone into classical music then.
JC: Music was always there, but then I had this real love for Rock n Roll. Maybe it was a rebellion that came with it or just the chaos. I was on a path of maybe classical performance and I veered off into something that was more my own compositions, find out what you want to say and be loud and proud about it.
AM: What is it you want to say loud and proud?
JC: What I really love to explore is the grittier side of life. I guess what I would call the authentic side of life. So often we gloss over or try to rectify the past by glossing over the parts that hurt and make them at worst, bittersweet. I wanted to dive a little bit deeper and the feel and the vibe of the band I was in before this didn’t fit that.
AM: I understand that.
JC: It’s been a real challenge to put this on its feet. This was the same as rebuilding my life from the ground up. I really didn’t even know if I would stay in music. That would have been the time.
AM: You could have had a clean break.
JC: The road is very hard and if you’re going to be successful you have to put yourself out there on tour.
AM: That’s for sure.
JC: The road is a very hard place for an addict. I didn’t know if I could do it. Really kind of by chance, not by design at all, everybody in this band has a similar story to me. They have taken similar falls and they’re trying to prop up their own lives.
AM: I have always found life takes you where you need to be.
JC: I’ve surrounded myself with these people that not only attracted to this redemption concept, but they are also very attracted to this style of music. It’s one of these serendipitous things where one piece leads to the next. It’s very organic and I hope the music comes across that way. The music is almost a patchwork of what my life has become.
AM: And what has your life become?
JC: Living one day at a time and live simply, live honestly and put it on paper and put it to music and see if people like it.
AM: That is a great story about the first record. How will this second one be different, or will it be different?
JC: This record will be different in the sense we are pursuing a bigger sound. The first album has a hodgepodge of players, but now I have this cohesive group. The themes from the first album will always be present because they are always present in my life in a different way as I move forward. The same themes of finding purpose is what we’re focusing on. There will be more input from the other players who have taken this on as their own project. I’m hoping for a little bit of enlightenment from people like the Punch Brothers, where it’s these gorgeous arrangements built around a deep understanding of music. I hope we can speak to people on many different levels.
AM: Well I can certainly see that being the case. Have you started recording yet?
JC: We have, yes. We’re four songs in.
AM: Are we looking for the release in the Spring?
JC: We’re probably looking at the end of May. It’s an all winter project and I’m really excited about it.
AM: Do you slow down the touring in the winter?
JC: I’m not in my twenties anymore so that life of touring and playing every night and recording isn’t happening anymore. I have a five-year-old daughter now who I’m trying to be present for. My priorities have shifted and at the same time I think it makes us a little more relevant. I’m overwhelmed by how many festival offers we have for next year. People are listening, and they are saying we are a little different and deserve a spot in their line-up. We’re grateful for that.
AM: What is your goal with the Pigeon Kings?
JC: My goal is to make music on our own terms without the wild aspirations we had in our twenties. There’s something about being able to make a living off the good will of people and to understand who these people are. They support you and fund your albums, not because they have the money, but because they believe in you. I find the give and take between the artist and their audience is a big part of it.
To learn more about Josef Crosby and the Pigeon Kings visit their website https://pigeonkingsmusic.com/band