Meet Josh Sullivan | Guitar player/producer/songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Josh Sullivan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Josh, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I started playing music when I was 13 and I started a band around this same time. When we started writing and playing our music live, I realized that it fulfilled me in a way that other things in my life just couldn’t.

We started our band, Year of October, back in 2010 while Phlecia and I were in college at the University of Kentucky. We started writing our own music and wanted to start playing shows, so we started the band.

At this point music is the most important thing to me and I love every part of it.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Year of October is an alternative rock band out of Nashville, TN. We play heavy fuzzed out rock and soul music and tour around in our minivan all over the eastern United States. We started the band back in 2010 and it definitely hasn’t been easy. Being an indie band is insanely hard and it is constant work for all three of us. We have had many member changes over the years. In 2019 James Varner joined the band as our drummer and we have had the same lineup since. We have 5 studio albums out, one live album, and a 45. We released our last studio album, “Keep on Fighting” in the spring of 2023.

The best piece of advice I can give for artists and bands is to never give up. If you truly love what you’re doing, then don’t give up when things go wrong.

Another tip that I would give to a musician looking to start a band is to play with people that you enjoy being around. Most of the time when you’re on the road you’re not playing music, you’re in the van, or just hanging out. If you can’t hang around the people for a long period of time, it’s going to make touring in a small space miserable.

There are many aspects to being in a band. Some of those aspects include, songwriting, performing live, touring, booking shows, making merch, recording, and doing interviews. It’s important to be well rounded in these different duties and realize that being in a band is a lot more than just playing songs.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend were visiting Nashville, I would say we should go to lunch at my favorite Mexican food truck, which is Taqueria Lunas in Hermitage. Then I would say we should drive to East Nashville and check out my favorite local record shop, the Groove. After we browsed there, we would head to Hillsboro Village and catch a flick at the Belcourt Theater. Then we could get some ice cream at Jeni’s Ice Cream right up the road. I think after all this food and ice cream we’d need to go for a walk, so I’d recommend heading to Centennial Park to walk around. For dinner I would say my favorite Indian food restaurant, Green Chili in Madison. Then we could go to a show at the Cobra in East Nashville.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would say the biggest mentor I had growing up was Dave Salsman. He was my bass and guitar teacher for like 13 years and he was very instrumental in learning music and what I wanted to be as an artist. He was a good friend, and I learned so much from his example, both musically and how he handled himself.

Website: https://www.yearofoctober.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yearofoctober/

Twitter: https://www.instagram.com/yearofoctober/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yearofoctober

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/yearofoctober16

Other: Bandcamp:
https://yearofoctober.bandcamp.com/

Image Credits
Both pictures are by Punk Rock Photography