Barkeep – Joshua Caleb Smith
Release Date: September 19th, 2025
A story we’re all familiar with, Barkeep is a song that resonates with anyone who’s ever had a day—or month, or year—when the barkeep feels like your only friend. It isn’t a cry-in-your-beer ballad; it’s a story of longing and reminiscing.
The record was co-written and produced with songwriter and producer, Shane Alexander. It’s intended to sound and feel alive and organic, like those recordings of the early 70s singer-songwriters, whose collaborations and cross over projects would help blend and shape new sounds and move us in the direction of modern songwriting.
Recorded mostly in Buddhaland Studios in Thousand Oaks, CA across two days, with some added support in studios on Ojai, CA and Nashville, TN. The recording features elite Los Angeles and Nashville based musicians – Deron Johnson on keys, a frequent partner on Smith’s other records – https://www.discogs.com/artist/452650-Deron-Johnson, Rob Humphreys on drums – https://www.discogs.com/artist/3378123-Rob-Humphreys, Taras Prodaniuk on Bass – https://www.discogs.com/artist/993732-Taras-Prodaniuk. Of course, you can’t forget about JCS as the lead and only vocal, on guitars, and Shane Alexander plays some support electric and other guitars as well as some synth sounds here and there.
Influences:
Recorded in the style of some 1970s live recordings, post stereo, pre digital, in a live studio environment where you can hear the brush strokes of the drums and the finger motion on the acoustic guitar, the production influences range in the featured vocalists of the time like Rod Stewart, Paul Simon, Leon Russel or Terry Reid. Comparatively, the record is reminiscent of those early career records of Ray LaMontagne, Gary Clark Jr., or Tony Lucca with all the inspiration of early Memphis/Muscle Shoals R&B and southern soul.
