Following on from our review of Joe L. Murgo’s song and video, ‘Strong!‘, we caught up with the man himself, and asked him about his inspirations and his music.
What artists do you look up to and why?
My favourite artists are those who can blend a great story with a great melody like Billy Joel’s, ‘Scenes from an Italian Restaurant’, or those who can take a great riff and put a great melody and scorching lyric over it like Guns ‘n Roses, ‘Welcome to the Jungle’. The artists I like best are the ones who have stick-in-your head melodies with great chorus hooks plus a cool story or lyric. In addition to the hundreds of classic rock artists such as Journey, The Who, Tom Petty, etc. who have such memorable tracks, more contemporary artists I think do some cool stuff include Luke Combs’, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ – great story and great chorus plus overall melody – and Jason Aldean’s, ‘She’s Country’. I’d also throw Michael Bublé in the mix who went completely against the grain by sticking to his guns with stuff that sounded like it was from the 50’s yet found a huge audience in the 2000’s.
Why did you choose this genre of music as your bread and butter?
Classic rock is my first love, but that genre has come and gone and will never be replicated. What is called Rock today sounds nothing like the classic stuff from the 60’s to the 90’s. So, the country-rock and country-pop genres allow me to mix in elements of classic rock but in a more contemporary sounding format plus tell good stories.
What was the inspiration for your music video ‘Strong!’?
Just all the many challenges that so many of us are going through in this day and age dealing with health, family, money, employment issues and personal setbacks and tragedies, not to mention the stress all of us feel when we watch the news. I just felt like the world needed encouragement to stay strong and keep fighting the good fight, kind of like Cheryl Crow’s “Soak Up The Sun” song she released after 9-11 to remind everyone that the sun always comes back out even after the stormiest of days.
How do you come up with these lyrics and put them all together with the images?
Wow, well that was a process. I probably went through 20 re-writes on the lyrics, which has eight different not-so-great things the main character has to deal with from getting his hours cut at work to his girlfriend dumping him. The verses then set up the cry in the chorus to stay strong and to get back up and never quit after taking a hard punch to the gut. The images were the easy part because the lyric dictated what image to look for.
What is the message to listeners?
I wrote ‘Strong!’ to help those who are down, to get back up. To encourage those close to quitting, to keep trying. To inspire those who have lost their faith, to keep believing. And to urge those who are discouraged and weary … to be strong!! If ‘Strong!’ doesn’t get you pumped up, better check the heart monitor!
How did you come up with these instrumentals for the song?
I wanted the song to have a driving, country rock beat with walls of electric guitars to evoke power and strength. The driving syncopated half-notes in the verses give the song lots of kinetic energy and are the perfect lead-ins to the chorus.
What does the video add to the song?
The video brings the ‘Strong!’ story to life by providing the listener with cool visual cues that match up perfectly with the track. ‘Strong!’ captures the essence of perseverance in the face of adversity and stands as a testament to the indomitable human spirit and the enduring power of music to uplift the soul.
Where do you want to take your music career from here?
As I am still an undiscovered and unsigned writer, I hope the video will be seen by publishers, A&R contacts and other influencers in the music universe who might have an interest in working with a writer like me who brings positive energy through all-original music to a darkened world. Songs like Strong! and the ones on www.joelmurgomusic.com. deserve to have quality artists perform them and quality publishers promote them!
Check out the music video for ‘Strong!’ below:
