Wake of Echoes

Josh Groban's voice has always seemed to me like gold dust filling the air, but it's more than that. Yes, he's funny and dorky and charming, but he is also driven and courageous, trying new things rather than being content with the faux-opera easy-listening rut where some would like to park him. Since he first emerged as a seventeen-year-old rehearsal fill in for Andrea Bocelli, Josh has carefully pushed boundaries, respecting the roots that made him a fan favorite while adding more of his own flavor to each album. Despite all of his talents and risk taking, Josh's award shelf remains empty, which may be why he left the studio behind in 2015 and took another risk: a stint on Broadway in "Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812." The musical turned out to be quite successful, earning several Tony nominations, including one for Josh for lead actor in a musical. Sadly, he didn't win (something he and Sara Bareilles made light of when they performed ...

“Music expresses that which cannot be said, and on which it is impossible to be silent. ” – Victor Hugo We all find ways of coping with the challenges of Spectrum life.  I run, I write.  I pray a lot.  Music is also pretty high on my list. When the love I feel for my children  – the joy, the fears, the admiration, the protectiveness – builds up inside me to the point that it is inexpressible with mere words, I turn to music.  Maybe it’s a sad song that mirrors my fears, or a rousing anthem that spurs me toward my next goal.  Maybe it's one of those angry songs that rails at the inequities in life.  But if a song grabs my heart, it's because it has expressed something that mere words cannot. These are those songs – it’s my Au-some Autism Playlist.  While they don’t all, word for word, match every emotion I have felt during the past six years since we were diagnosed, they do represent a nice spectrum of feelings that, to me, represe...

Produced by Reprise Records, A Warner Music group Company Long anticipated by fans, Josh Groban’s sixth studio album, All That Echoes , was released on Tuesday, February 5.   Don’t you love the title?  I won’t say that Josh has been reading my blog, Wake of Echoes , but I will say that great minds think alike. I got my copy in the mail Monday (happy dance) and have since pretty much hijacked my husband’s fancy stereo. When an artist has a fan base that ranges from tweens to great grandmas, there’s always a chance that he’ll begin to appeal to one end of that spectrum at the expense of the other – especially when new producers are involved, which has been true of both his fifth album,  Illuminations (Rick Rubin), and All That Echoes  (Rob Cavallo)*.   But not to worry.  Josh is not a wedding singer, an opera wanna-be or a Vegas gonna-be.  He’s not going to press an album every two years filled with easy-listening vanilla, just b...

There’s a mesquite tree on the west side of I-10 halfway between Phoenix and Tucson that I will never forget.   We bonded several years ago – I left my mark on him, and he left his on me.   But our brief encounter was not the most memorable part of that day – that came much later under a desert sky when my favorite singer returned to the stage after a stunning performance and played an encore just for me. It was Mother’s Day, May 9, 2004, and my husband and I decide to pass on the tortuous three-hour wait outside Olive Garden for a mediocre lunch and a wilted pink carnation.  We had bigger plans.  We were going to Tucson to see Josh Groban in concert. After dropping the kids off with the in-laws in Sun City, we high-tailed it out of Phoenix, stopping only for a quick bite at In-N-Out on the edge of town.  Thirty minutes later, I was sucking air through my straw, rattling ice in the bottom of my cup and staring at a long line of red tail lights in fr...

Tickets for Josh Groban's STRAIGHT TO YOU tour go on sale today in much of the country.  I have to wait until tomorrow to buy mine -- and I have to drive to Portland  to see him (Why not Boise, Josh? WHY? )  If you want to see Josh on a stage near you, go here:   http://www.joshgroban.com/splash/ .  If you want to know about Josh's latest album,  ILLUMINATIONS , here's my review: Once again, Josh creates an album that exceeds my expectations.  And if you know me, you know they were pretty high.  Josh refuses to remain in even the rut of success, but pushes to remain fresh and vibrant, offering something new and yet familiar.  Illuminations is honest, vulnerable, bold, fun and gut wrenching.  His voice is tonally perfect, his writing better than ever and finger work too good to be left to the background.  Illuminations makes me remember that my heart has an ooey-gooey core. THE WANDERING KIND        ...