John Rush is a singer and songwriter from Glasgow, Scotland. He has played in some of Glasgow’s greatest venues with regular appearances at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 02 Academy, Barrowlands Ballroom and, most recently, Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall. In 2017 and 2018, Josh became a regular at Sofar Sounds and Rockwood Music Hall during three whistle stop tours of New York City. His new album, “Beneath the Apple Tree”, is a collection of acoustic stories with narratives like falling in love, or sailing from cloud to cloud all the way to the moon.
“Drink With Me” is a single by John Rush from his recently released album, “Beneath the Apple Tree”. This is a delightfully relaxing tune with great vibes. There is a tangible old school folk vibe to this song that nevertheless has a modern twist. Rush has natural and blissful sounding vocals that will make you feel instantly comfortable and at ease. The arrangement is great, and couldn't get simpler, with just a man and his guitar. Despite the simplicity of the instrumentation, the production sounds lush and full, wanting for nothing. In fact, this simplicity allows the listener to hook onto each and every dynamic subtlety of Rush’s guitar playing and singing, of which there are many. Rush is clearly a talented songwriter, and this single is no exception. He has managed to capture a mood of grace and elegance with apparent ease. This song is warm and inviting, and we can’t recommend this tune enough, so check it out today along with the rest of John Rush’s recently released album!
Listen to “Drink With Me” here and get to know more about John Rush below!
Hey John, thanks for catching up with us! Can you start us off by describing a bit about your background and how you first became involved with music? -
I was interested in music from a really early age, I remember singing elvis songs during school intervals from the age of 4/5 (Teachers thought I was a tad odd as he had been dead for around 10/15yrs at this point). My dad made me watch documentaries of the king at such an early age, I fell in love with it instantly. Early footage of him singing "Houndog" and "That's Alright Mama" just blew me away and wanted to sound like him, act like him (I was often found infront of the mirror trying to replicate his moves and curled lip haha) I then got into the Beatles when I was around 11, started playing guitar and trying to write songs to emulate Lennon and McCartney and I've never stopped loving music since...
As a resident of Glasgow, how would you describe the music scene there? -
Vibrant... there is such a plethora of music in Glasgow. Every night theresl is a gig on or an open mic. Things like TenementTV in the city help so many musicians. Obviously places like King Tuts with its heritage of being the place where Oasis where found has a massive impact. But I suppose the city in a whole has such a creative culture with the Mackintosh building "The Glasgow School of Art" etc its hard not to get involved in someway, be it art, music or writing.
You’re on a desert island and you can only listen to three artists for the rest of your life. Who are they and why?
1 - The Beatles, I've always thought their back catalogue is so different, each album is so different to the next it can be like listening to a few different bands so I wouldnt get to bored haha and if I'm on a desert island it woild be crazy not to listen to octopuses garden just to make sure I go proper insane.
2. The Band, again such a wide catalogue but I was turned on to these guys late on. I had heard of them a few times when I was young but never gave them too much thought (probably because I was was swaggering about like liam gallagher with my oasis haircut and tried to have some attitude at that stage of my life) but once I got a hair cut I started taking music a little more seriously haha. Since then, songs like "state I'm in" and "up on cripple creek" have really influenced my songs.
3. The Seahorses, one and only album "Do it Yourself" this album is the perfect album to me. Chris Helmes voice on this is just sublime. The quintessential pop album. Songs like "Blinded by the Sun" and "Hello" are just perfectly written tracks. I think me and a friend listened to this religiously everyday for around 3years haha no joke. I'd happily listen for another 3 on a desert island.
Can you talk a bit about your songwriting process? How does the music really get made? -
We'll im not the most competent musician so generally I need to wait for a melody to come first. I'd say thats the hardest part but when I get a melody thats when the fun starts for me. I really enjoy the process of working on a melody and writing lyrics. I can have a melody for a good while before I've completed the lyrics fully as I'll write these in my head while walking about or on the bus (thats usually the best one)
What can we hope to see from you in 2019 and beyond? -
Well 2019 has seen me release my first full album "Beneath The Apple Tree" I'm looking forward to playin some shows and having as many folk listen to my album as possible. Over the summer and into Autumn I am going to release a few stand alone single also that I have already recorded, I'm really looking forward to just getting as much songs out there as possible and just enjoying playing some shows with other songwriter.
Connect with John Rush on social media
www.instagram.com/johnrushmusicuk
www.facebook.com/johnrushmusic