Photograph taken at The Duke’s Refresher + Bar, 709 Queen St East, Duke’s Refresher + Bar

Like most clubs in Toronto, they usually have an artist or band as their resident artist.  In the case of C’est What, they asked a young man named Josh Taerk to fill that spot. Blast Toronto sat down with him to find out why he was a great choice for this spot.

Blast: How long have you been truly playing?

Josh: I have been doing this since I was 16 years old in around 2007. My dad is a drummer and turned me onto Bruce Springsteen and the Eagles. My Mom brought a different kind of music to me by the way of Michael Jackson, Hall and Oates pop side. I have always enjoyed anthem style song with really catchy melodies and hooks.

I went to a friend’s party when I was 13 years old and my buddy was in a band, they played AC/DC’s You shook me all night long. It was at that moment I knew this was something I wanted to do. I started learning chord and was becoming a rhythm guitar player. When I became a camp counselor and would bring my guitar around the campfire, I understood the power of rhythm guitar.

Blast: With younger people today, do you think they still contain the capacity for truly understanding songs because of all the distractions of technology today?

Josh: I think so; I don’t think that can leave us. Storytelling is one of the oldest traditions we have as human beings. It is a universal experience. It doesn’t matter if it comes from a Tik Tok video or Instagram or YouTube, people can attach themselves to it in their own way. These are all forms of communication.

Blast: When I was growing up, I would buy and album and flip it several times to understand the entire album. Today it seems artists are trying to get people just to listen to just one song. It feels like to music world is over saturated.

Josh: I hear you. There is so much opportunity to get your message out on so many platforms. It can be scary for creators to try and figure out how do I fit in all of this. For me, I found that will more and more stuff is available, it is easier to find your people. Because you know that the people who are resonating with you are actively seeking you out.

Blast: For me, the best way to experience music is live. So, if you are up on stage what does that feel like?

Josh: There is an energy that happens. There is a communication that happens between you and your band mates. There are no words, but you learn to anticipate each other. You know when there are starts and stops and where everything fits. The same thing starts happening with the audience. When I am playing live, I begin to get these little messages, like I should be playing this song next. The vibe seems to guide me on what to play or what I should say next, or what story to tell next.

Blast: The last time I saw you, you were playing with your brother. Tell about your connection with him.

Josh: I did a tour in the UK and when I got home the first thing my brother Ryan said to me was, I want to write a song with you. So, we wrote a song. He brought a different style with him and that created a musical moment that was bigger than the both of us.

I was doing a show that could use some harmonies, so I asked him to come up and sing with me. When we did that, we seemed to have a natural banter that went back and forth naturally. It was really fun to have that translate so easily on stage.

Blast: Let get right to it. I heard C’est What is giving you a residency. How did this come to fruition?

Josh:  I did a couple of band shows at C’est What.   We were doing shows at the El Mocambo, The Rivoli, the Dakota Tavern, and Lee’s Palace. We wanted to do a Christmas show and C’est What came through and showed us the ropes of what to do. We played to a packed audience. Fast forward one year and we wanted to it again. So, we set it up and I got a call from a friend telling us we just sold out the pre-sale tickets.  Not only did we start picking up a solid following, but we were catching the attention of the locals who loved coming to C’est What.

Blast: It sounds like you found a good spot in Toronto. Kind of like back in the days of Yorkville.

Josh: They called me and said we want to do something with you, let’s talk about what a residency would look like. I thought about if we are going to do this once a month, let’s give it a singer/songwriter/storyteller kind of vibe. I wanted to start in May, and they wanted me to start in September. I asked why wait until summer is over? C’est What started a patio program outside in the summer, so music was not a big priority.

Josh went on to explain, that he thought it would be a good idea to have live music in the beer garden and he would be up for the challenge. As it turned out, people began to ask when Josh would be back doing this again. It seemed to be a good idea, and Josh is the kind of guy that likes taking his shot when it is presented to him.

Blast: When I saw you on the patio that day, you did a lot of cover songs as well as your original material. Now you have a residency where you have to prepare a variety of set lists. How many songs do you have under your belt so you can keep things interesting for a returning crowd?

Josh: I remember doing a wine festival in Liberty Village and had to do 3- 45-minute sets. I barely had enough to get through that. Then the pandemic hit, and it gave me the chance to listen to different songs and replicate them within a couple of minutes of hearing them.

Through a friend I heard about a platform called Twitch and you could do a livestream. It was normally used for gaming, but there was some music that you could livestream. The only hurdle I had then was that you would have to do your livestream for a four-hour period. So, I went back and learned a lot of songs from my childhood that I grew up with. People began to put in their requests, and I would ask if they would send me a link so I can learn it.

Blast: You still haven’t given me the number of songs you know.

Josh: I haven’t kept track of every song. With Twitch, they have a song list that people could choose from and the last time I checked it was around 400 songs. Not all the songs I know are on that list so I would say probably closer to 500.

With that said, I think we can all agree that if you are a fan of singer/ songwriter kind of music, if you are fan of the 70’s up to present day, Josh Taerk is an entertainer you should go and witness. In fact, I will make a prediction that if you do go out and see him, you will come back a month later and you will have written down a couple of songs that you would like him to do. With his extensive playlist, I am sure he will have that in his repertoire. I think I am going to test him and request a song just before his show and see if he can pull it off. I will be in the audience so come over and say Hi and I will let you know if he did pull it off. I throw down this challenge for Josh to read and pick it with his confident attitude.

Josh will be playing C’est What on this date: Friday December 13,2024. Stay tune to see his future dates in the New year.