Josh Jensen On the Making Of “Windbreaks & Waves”
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind "Windbreaks & Waves" and the story it tells?
The inspiration for “Windbreaks & Waves” came to me while I was playing my guitar on a picturesque Puget Sound shoreline and the song just came together. “Windbreaks & Waves” is an instrumental piece intended to put the listener into a place by the water where the waves lap the shore and the breeze puts your soul at ease.
Could you discuss the lyrical themes or messages conveyed in "Windbreaks & Waves?"
I like to think that the message conveyed in “Windbreaks & Waves” is one that brings the listener to their happy place.
How do you feel "Windbreaks & Waves" represents your artistic identity?
When I started getting into the guitar, I had a dear friend who exposed me to a variety of amazing musicians and musical styles. So, as a budding guitarist, I listened to a lot of fingerstyle guitar players, including D’Gary and Leo Kottke for example, and I think this song really picks up hints from many of them. “Windbreaks & Waves” definitely draws from those early influences that helped form my artistic identity.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started in music?
I live in Seattle, Washington and am blessed with beautiful family including a wife and three kids. My kids are young, so my days are typically spent with them and then I escape to play music after everyone in the house is asleep. Music has always been somewhere I go to decompress. I started getting into music at an early age – I always loved singing and performing and was lucky that my parents enrolled me into piano lessons when I was 6 or 7. I started playing guitar when I was 13 years old, my first guitar was a Takamine acoustic guitar. Shortly after that I got a Fender Stratocaster and amplifier. I was hooked! Naturally, I continued performing and playing in bands or doing solo gigs because I have always been driven by music. In high school, my band Popular By Association got to record an album at Seattle’s famous Dutchman studio that Kurt Cobain referred to as “the grungiest place in Seattle.” We were flying so high after that experience. I have had so many unexpected but incredible experiences through music and it is something that I hope my kids get to experience someday with whatever drives their passions.
Are there any particular skills or techniques that you have been working on lately?
Lately, I have been working on bluegrass flatpicking and fingerpicking. I’ve been listening to a lot of Doc Watson, Tony Rice, Billy Strings, Sierra Hull, Punch Brothers, and other artists of that ilk. I have found that bluegrass is catchy and pleasant to listen to but is played proficiently by such skilled artists that can play fast and accurate. A lot of the recent material I have written leans more towards Americana and bluegrass, which is a bit of a departure from what I was writing with my last band, Water Felon, before the pandemic hit.