Songwriter Joe Pug

By Brian D'Ambrosio

Joe Pug appreciates it when you listen – really listen – to his music.

Pug is a singer-songwriter who is genuinely interested in your attention. And some of his recordings beckon it. Body language, word choice, tone of voice – you’ll be impressed at what you may have been missing. Indeed, seizing notice is one of the singer-songwriter's most challenging tasks – the interest of recording labels, new fans, or general curiosity in a cluttered genre. It requires a dizzying array of cleverness, strong lyrical content, and passion.

“I believe that the audiences who come and see me are a mindful, self-selecting, present audience,” said Pug, 31. “Over seven years, though, I’ve learned how tough it is to compete with and just how interesting the phone is.”

Pug, a former general contractor and “glorified laborer,” may have a big future. For the most part, the emotional life and inner being of his acoustic-folk rock is rich and paints a glow. Multi-layered feeling is what gives his music a personal edge and renders many of his songs worth listening. Some of his sharpest tunes, such as “All Ours” from “Nation of Heat” sweep us up and allow us to ride them.

Pug said the lines on his roadway ahead are straight and evident.

“I think the main thing is that musicians struggle to reach the point of real achievement and reach the point where they are supporting themselves playing music, not having another job. It’s been six, seven years, and sometimes you want more, more accolades, more money, and that’s a human thing. But I don’t lose track of the point that I can do what I love to do for a living.”

Pug dropped out of the University of North Carolina's playwright program in his senior year to pursue songwriting full-time. He ended up in the Chicago-area, laboring on construction sites, stooping, bending, hammering – and, well, thinking.

“I didn’t want to work for someone else for a living,” said Pug. “I would be writing during the day on the job sites and playing open mic every night to get to the top of my game. At one point, I was on fire, at least in my early 20s, as far as being creative. It was the right time and place to be playing in Chicago.”

He is confident in his capacity to handle a blizzard of ideas and yet pick out the good ones. Positive press from the 2015 release of “Windfall” supplies him a little more space, the breathing room, necessary to be lucid and focused.

“It’s been nice playing for a few years, because the longer you do, the less pressure there is,” said Pug. “The more confident you get, the less of your whole life, ego and personal life is riding on one song, in one club, and in what one person thinks. Now I feel more at peace with trying something if I like. And it isn’t a death knell for that one song, if someone doesn’t like it. I don’t judge a song by what one reviewer says or YouTube.”

His music has allowed him to better know how the world operates and how to interact with it.

“I cannot tell you the feeling of traveling all over the country or overseas having a small group coming to meet you after a show or welcome you to a town, learning of the best places to eat, having a beer. It’s a pretty charmed life.”

For several years, Pug mailed out free copies of his music to anyone who asked — which more than 20,000 did. He said that technology doesn’t rule or ruin a musician; one just needs to know it better.

“I think I have learned that the Internet at first makes it tougher because it’s a lot of white noise,” said Pug. “But if you have something to say, mechanically the disadvantage that was working against you starts actually working in your favor.”

Pug credits fellow musician Josh Ritter with generously providing material and emotional support. Ritter was the guy who mentored Pug through beginner land when he wanted to be all advanced.

“Josh has from day one been a real supporter and he certainly didn’t have to be,” said Pug. “He has gone out of his way in critical junctures of my career of getting me to the next place. He’s a model of what I’m going for and the North Star for my whole career.”

Since his first full-length album in 2009, “Nation of Heat,” Pug (born Joe Pugliese in the suburbs of Maryland) has let listeners get perilously close to his thoughts and perceptions.

“I think all of the songs and albums are telling you a close story of who I am,” said Pug. “I get a little annoyed when you hear an actor or writer complaining that this or that character is not based on me. Let’s face it: that’s you in the show or in the song. They are snapshots of who I was when I wrote them. Once or twice on an album, I will write something from a different character perspective. But, in truth, they are conversations I’ve been having with myself for many years.”

“Windfall” sounds like a man observing his own good kismet.

“I am in very positive place in my life right now,” said Pug. “I’m getting married in a week.”

Nevertheless, such fulfillment can be wobbly and “Veteran Fighter” concedes expectations of many long, hard years of creating, touring and trying. “Don’t give up, it’ll get brighter / Stand your ground like a veteran fighter.” “If you’re in it for the long haul … there’s not a drought could drag you down.”

One advantage of having five records under his belt is a deeper selection to cull. He admits that recording is oftentimes a hit or miss venture and that some of his material isn’t exactly worthy of celebration.

“It’s a comforting thing to know you have some songs to choose from,” said Pug. “I guess I can take the great parts of several albums and I don’t have to fill a set with clunkers anymore. And the great thing about the shows and festivals is that if people end up liking it, they will inevitably become supporters.”

- Brian D'Ambrosio © July 2015