Minnesota Rockers, Household, have come to find understanding in the necessity of ensuring to take time to reflect on the wild journey that tends to come with being a part of the music industry. I caught up with Lead Vocalist, Josh Gilbert, to discuss ‘Everything a River Should Be’, accessing alternative thoughts and feelings, self-development work, balance and more.
Congrats on the recent release of ‘Everything a River Should Be’. Tell us about the creative and recording process this time around and what you learned about yourself along the way.
Thanks, this record was a huge process! We spent over 2 years writing in cabins, basements and parents houses to create EARSB. We went through 3 separate demoing processes which was a new strategy for us. ultimately I’m glad we had all that time to figure out what we wanted the new sound, through the new record to sound like!
Everything a River Should Be’ comes off quite poetic and so does your lyricism. Who spearheads the songwriting process?
The music is definitely collaborative for us. Nathanael spearheads most of the song structure, but the rest of us fairly split our own instrumentation on the record. I (Josh) wrote most of the albums lyrically save Dependable which nathanael wrote in it’s lyrical entirety.
Showcasing the human in you, what is a challenging thought that you recently had and were able to overcome over time?
Ooo, great question, that’s kinda what the whole album and band for that matter is about, challenging ideas, situations, relationships and just all of life! Recently I’ve been thinking about what actually makes each one of us who we are. Like which things, thoughts, actions, ideas contribute to our being and how can we accept and access those qualities to be true to ourselves. And when I don’t feel like myself, the challenge invites me to be myself and chose things that are true to me rather than putting on a front.
What is your perception on the digital world that we live in and social media culture?
It doesn’t do much for me. Like I mostly have the socials because of the band. Personally I’ve noticed a correlation between social media usage and a negative mood. Rarely does it uplift my state of mind, so staying away has proven to be beneficial for me. As far as the culture at large, I wonder if it has similar effects on others too. I think it can be used in positive ways like how it gives anyone a voice, I just think the negatives outweigh the positives for me individually.
No career path or amount of followers negates the fact that you are a human being that has feelings. Tell us about some parts of you beyond being a musician that you take pride in.
I do a lot of self~development work (Counseling, reading, introspective conversations) which is so rewarding. I think household has always wanting to be about more than a band, nothing extreme, but we just value how music can at times transcend the instruments and voices. I look forward to talking more about the pain that all of us have and how valuable giving each other permission to be ourselves is.
As you are exposed to tons of stimulus, how do you proactively take care of your mental and emotional health when you’re out on the road?
We could probably do a better job of keeping our emotional and mental health in check on tour. For me, home time is when I recoup and regather, but a busy tour year can add up and be quite strenuous.
You have toured with a wide variety of musicians over the past years. Tell us some words of wisdom that you collected along the way.
Be yourself! I’ve said it so much, but the people that are killing it are the ones that know who they are and own it. Copy paste music doesn’t work long term, so I’ve come to trust the idea that all we can do is take what you have an present it to others. kind of a beautiful concept there that a few people we’ve had the pleasure of playing with understand.
Last but certainly not least, any closing messages for your fans?!
Thank you for getting it, and letting us do this thing. It’s been a long windy thing we’ve done so it’s truly an honor to be invited to do more! Love you people out there.
