Joshua Ray Walker has been playing in bands for more than a decade and performing as a solo country artist for about half that time. But even that wealth of experience isn't enough to keep the promising East Dallas resident cool and calm when it comes time to take the stage.
"It's taken me a long time to become comfortable singing in front of people," the 28-year-old said as he prepared for the release of his outstanding debut solo album, Wish You Were Here. "That's not something that's come naturally to me, and for a while I didn't like the tone of my voice, so it's taken me a long time to feel comfortable with performing my own songs."
Most recently, Walker has served as the guitar player for local country-rock outfit Ottoman Turks. "Playing guitar is easy for me because I get to stand to the side, and it's not as personal as singing songs about myself."
Finding comfort in familiar spots is a major theme in Walker's life. As a youngster in the Casa Linda area of Dallas, Walker lived with his parents on one side of a duplex, while his grandparents lived on the other. His grandfather, Raymond, was Walker's musical guide. Although sounds as diverse as African funk and salsa music would waft through Raymond's workshop, it was rustic bluegrass music the duo bonded over the most, thanks to the banjos and mandolins lying around that Walker would pick up and play.
Raymond died on Christmas Eve 2009 from lung cancer, and it was in the hospital parking garage that night that Walker finally began piecing together the chorus and verse of "Fondly," the first song he wrote. Included on his new record, it's an elegantly raw, acoustic-driven tune appropriately accented with the plucking of a banjo as the tempo builds to an emotional crescendo.
Not too long ago, Walker bought and moved into the side of the duplex his grandparents had lived in during those formative years. And, more confident in his singing voice now, he's certain he's at least adapted to, though not eliminated, his anxiety.
"I'll never get over my stage fright," he says. "I'm extremely nervous before every show, but I've learned how to deal with it and turn it into performance energy and not let it choke me up.
"I even build my sets around knowing I will feel that anxiety. I start out with songs I know I'm comfortable with and put the more emotional ones in the middle of the show so I will be sure I'm emoting properly and allowing people to connect with the songs better."
Walker credits his producer, John Pedigo, with bringing out the best in him for this record. As one-half of Americana duo the O's and a producer for twangy acts including the Old 97's, Pedigo is a local music vet respected as much for his skill and ear as he is for his humor and easygoing manner. The comfort of having a friend in the studio paid dividends, as evidenced by the stellar album's no-skip collection of country jewels built around Walker's Dwight Yoakam-esque backwoods twang.
Playing in front of a crowd of familiar faces or singing in a recording booth with a trusted buddy is perhaps easier for Walker now than ever, but with a busy few months ahead featuring tour dates outside of Texas, playing to unfamiliar, nameless throngs, is something altogether different. Walker's getting the hang of it, though -- slowly but surely.
"I opened for Colter Wall in Oklahoma City recently, and I didn't know anyone there out of 1,200 people," he says. "By the end of my 30-minute set, I had everyone listening really close. That was a big moment for me, and I realized, 'Hey, I can do this.' I guess all the years I've spent being nervous about small things has prepared me for bigger shows now."
Album-release show Jan. 25 at 8 p.m. at Sons of Hermann Hall, 3414 Elm St., Dallas. $15-$40. prekindle.com.
Kelly Dearmore is a Dallas-area writer and former staff critic.