Josh Hogan sings in Orchid's Curse and runs Diminished Fifth Records and Hogan Media Relations.
If you’ve paid any attention to East Coast Noise or any other media outlets that give play to east coast music news or news from the world of metal, you know all about Diminished Fifth Records. The little label that could continues to grow, sign new bands and promote the heaviest of east coast sounds.
The man behind the music is Josh Hogan, a busy-as-hell musician, label head, promoter and all-around nice guy. In addition to running the label, which includes Rusted Dawn, The Daisy Antithesis, Last Call Chernobyl on its roster, Hogan rips it up as singer in Dartmouth band Orchid’s Curse.
As if that weren’t enough, he operates Hogan Media Relations, helping bands like The Motorleague and Iron Giant get their music out to the masses.
There’s never any downtime in Hogan’s world, as you’re about to find out …
1. What are you up to these days, musically or otherwise? (Feel free to plug whatever you’ve got coming up.)
2009 was really a fantastic year for growth of Diminished Fifth Records and Hogan Media Relations and so far we are trying our hardest to make sure that this year tops it. We kicked off 2010 with a highly successful ECMA Loud Tour and Showcase. On March 30th, Diminished Fifth released two new albums (Rusted Dawn and The Daisy Anthesis) which are already both receiving praise from various metal publications in Canada and internationally, and the label is currently working on our third compilation CD. You can help by voting for the cover art here: http://diminishedfifthrecords.com/poll.htm
Plus, later this summer we have new releases coming by Last Call Chernobyl, who will be performing on the 2010 Vans Warped Tour, as well as the band I sing in, Orchid’s Curse, has finally completed the recording of our follow up to our 2006 debut Goodbye is when the Casket Closes.
2. How did you get into the music business and what was the first major lesson you learned once you got your feet wet?
I got into the business mostly by necessity. Diminished Fifth was started when my band (Orchid’s Curse) began looking for support for our debut album. Likewise, Hogan Media Relations and the now-defunct Horns High Online Magazine were launched out of the label’s necessity to provide exposure for our artists and other artists who are not often featured in the musical spotlight of the east coast music scene. As for my feet getting wet, I jumped in head first but I’ve yet to drown and am still learning new lessons each and every day.
The first big lesson I learned is still the most important … Be courteous and help others out as much as you can … you can often learn more listening then asking questions. The industry isn’t all “Me, Me, Me” anymore and people need to value the strong community of individuals which are working towards building and strengthening the east coast scene regardless of their musical genres.
3. What song or album have you been listening to most lately?
As usual, copious amounts of Thin Lizzy and the new Dillinger Escape Plan album Option Paralysis.
4. What’s your favourite way to waste time or relax?
Relax? I don’t have any clue what you are talking about…
5. The Internet and social media are allowing artists to get closer to their fans than they ever were in some respects. What are your thoughts on this?
Like it or not this is the path to the future of music … I, for one, like it. I think it’s great that there are a lot less famous and super-wealthy because there are a lot more “middle-class” people in the industry and more artists than ever have the option to sustain a possible career by playing music … I think the new music generations will see a lot less “superstar/stadium bands” playing to tens or hundreds of thousands but more bands playing to hundreds or thousands. I’m eagerly awaiting what the new era of the music industry will bring.
6. If you weren’t in the music industry in some capacity, what would you be doing today?
This is a scary question, ha ha … I had no ‘plan b’ going into the label and I still don’t. Music is one of the only things I have been passionate about since I can remember being a child. I can be quite certain that without the music industry my life would be significantly much less entertaining but also much more filled with sleep.
7. What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned recently?
That perseverance and hard work really do pay off. (I’ve also learned that saying cliché things like the previous sentence, although true, sounds incredibly lame.)
8. If you could hit the “delete” button on anything related to music (a song, artist, trend, whatever), what would you delete?
MuchMusic/MTV reality TV shows… likely reality TV in general.
9. What’s your favourite thing to drink (alcoholic or otherwise)?
A well-made caesar (with rye), an imported or microbrew beer or my morning coffee.
10. Finish the sentence below and please elaborate on what you mean:
The east coast music scene … is full of talent and despite the small population we can go pound for pound with any other region for talented musicians.
11. What’s the next thing you want to accomplish, musically or otherwise?
Keep pushing the envelope for heavy music in the east coast with Diminished Fifth, and keep working with artists through Hogan Media Relations.
Check back to EastCoastNoise.com next Friday for a chat with: Thee Requiems and Fear of Lipstick’s Josiah Barnett
