The Tin Can Phone Line
The Official Newsletter of Josh Urban - May 2013


The "How to Tour" Edition

 
  Comrades!  It's just a few days till the 2013 Search for Good Tour, another Interactive Rail Tour, kicks off!  I'm hopping on a train with a guitar on my back, a suitcase at my side (that weighs fifty thousand pounds), and traveling to find the the people, sights, and sounds that rock the world.  I'm playing hospitals, cancer centers, veteran's centers, street corners, subways, and other places that don't have a lot of music.  And - I'm going with you.  That's right, I'm "touring" with buddies from all over the world, and you too.  

  It's not just a "oh, see what Josh is doing."  No, m'am!  It's interactive, and every comrade is...you guessed it - equal!  

One comrade cannot go on tour without all comrades going on tour!


That's actually the main focus of the event.  However, it's a little confusing, so this newsletter is dedicated to making sure that YOU know how to jump on the epic party train.  Consider this your top-secret tour memo spy train deal (although tell every single person you know!)  All comrades to the party train!  All comrades to the party train!  No matter where you are in the world, I say, Freddie...I say....

All Abooooooooaaaaaaard!


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OK, so how exactly does this work?  There's three parts to the simple plan:
 
1.  Find some Good  
    "Good" means many different things, but in general, we're looking for the people, sights, and sounds that make the world a better place.  These can be everyday heroes, people who are kind, sunsets that are beautiful, good news, personal triumphs, songs written, etc.  Here's a few ideas of things to look for, collect, document, and so on:

- Personal triumphs of those around you - people winning a fight with cancer, quitting smoking, etc.

- Interview a senior citizen.

- Take a photo of the sunrise or sunset.

- Tip a hardworking server extra - and take a picture of the receipt.

- Record a song about hope, peace, joy, positive stuff, or whatever, and post it on soundcloud.  Tweet the link back.

- Someone save your life?  Bingo!  Write about them!

- Hear good news about healing?  Post about it!

- Find a flower growing out of the concrete, stop a moment, appreciate it, see how it might apply to you, and then Instagram that sucker!  

- Blog about some kindness you saw.  

- See someone doing a good job?  Compliment them - and see step 4 of the list (the uRock.)  

(And hey, this is just to get ya thinking.)  


2.  Put it online 

OK, so once you've got your medium, then what?  

Facebook:  Post it on your page, of course!  Say what it's part of, and invite your friends to join in the search.  www.JoshUrbanRailTour.blogspot.com is a great way to introduce them.  BUT - to really connect, make sure that you post it on my Facebook page, and even better, join and post in the Facebook group!

Twitter:  Put the hashtag #JURT at the end of your post - this lets anyone search by that tag, and makes my audience your audience.  You can also mention me (@dontjoshme)  I'll see it faster, and be able to retweet it faster.

Instagram:  Same as Twitter - use the #JURT tag, and mention me if you like:  @joshurban 

Google+:  I'll be hosting a lot of online concerts (hangouts) here, so definitely keep an eye out for live shows!  You can hang out, chat, and join in the fun!  As far as posting goes, hashtags work here, too.

Soundcloud:  This is a great place to post interviews, sounds, stories, and songs.  I recommend re-posting the link on Twitter and Facebook, too.  

YouTube:  I'll be uploading YouTube videos, and you can, too!  Again, cross-post to Twitter and Facebook to make sure it's connected.  

Now, there's other sites, too - Vine, Flickr, etc.  Feel free to use 'em!  Just cross post to guarantee connection.

3.  Interact

  OK, now that you've posted your findings, check out some of the other tour events!  Search the #JURT hashtag to see what other folks are saying, and stay connected on Facebook!  It's a paaaaaarty train, and it's gonna ROCK!

4. (Optional)  The uRock 

  Speaking of rocks...OK, so let's say you see a waiter who's just making it happen, and who might not be appreciated.  You Instagram them, post 'em on the tour, but they might not even know.  Here's what I'll be doing:  I'm carrying a sharpie, and I'll be drawing a big U on the closest pebble I can find.  I'll present it to them, and say "Hey, YOU ROCK!"  I think it's gonna be snazzy.  Feel free to join me!



What I'll be doing:

Here's where I'll be, and what I'll be doing:

New York City, NY, May 24 (Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)

New York City, NY, May 25 (NYC subwaysystem and street shows)

Philadelphia, PA May 26 (SEPTA Suburban Station, street shows)

Washington, DC, May 27 (Veteran's Medical Center, and 6 pm show at Market Square, Alexandria)

Online worldwide May 28-30

Alexandria, VA, May 31 (Street corner)

Charlottesville, VA, May 31 (Universityof Virginia Hospital Cancer Center)

Raleigh, NC June 1 (Wakemed Children's hospital)

Richmond, VA, June 2 (Sitter and Barfoot Veteran's Home)

La Plata, MD, June 4th(Assembly and concert at Matula Elementary School.)


Are you near any of these cities?  Come hang out!  In many of the places, I'll be playing street music.  Even if you don't play music, come chill and look for Good in the world.  I'll be hosting a few specific events for musicians (and other people!) too.  DEFINITELY try to come to these:


NYC:  I'll be jamming on the street the afternoon of Friday the 24th, and all day on the 25th.  If you're in town, hit me up, we'll chat, jam, or get something good to eat.  


Philly:  Like NYC, I'll be playing street music all day.  If you're in town on Saturday the 26th, you know the deal!


DC:  It's the street music jam in Old Town Alexandria!  The event is on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27th, at 6pm.  The location is Market Square, King Street, and here's the FB event:

  https://www.facebook.com/events/450367625055651/?notif_t=plan_user_joined

Charlottesville:  I'll be headed over to the downtown pedestrian mall after my show at the UVA cancer center.  I expect to be there around 5:30 pm or so, and I'll be setting up in front of C'ville Arts (another cool place that carries my mom's art!)  Come on by, say hello, or play some street music with me!


Richmond:  After I hang out with the senior soldiers at the Sitter and Barfoot VA home, it's off to busk in front of the Main Street Station before the evening train carries me home.  That jam should start around 5 pm.  Hope to see you there!


ONLINE:  Many of these shows will be streamed live over Google +.  Are you in the VIP circles over there?  I'm at gplus.to/joshurban  I'll be announcing street shows on social media, but I also plan on broadcasting in the evening of Tuesday, May 28th, and Thursday, May 30th, and in the morning of Wednesday, May 29th.  I'll be home, but still on tour as I'm concerned.  I'll have my ELECTRIC guitar, so tune on in to see some jazz, some shred, some blues, and all fun!  Times TBA, all times Eastern Standard.  

  Just like the in-person jams, you're encouraged to join, either as an audience member or musician.  The more, the merrier!  It's a party train, people!  

The Album!

Ya remember that EP I keep talking about?  Well - it's DONE!  I'm doing a pre-release in conjunction with the tour!  It drops on Thursday, May 23rd (Happy Birthday to my Dad, too!)  You can get it for FREE in one special way:  all comrades in the Facebook group will receive the download code!  

https://www.facebook.com/groups/359591340827641/

So, join up there, and you'll get the album, called Onward.  It's inspired in part by the last rail tour, and I'm very excited about it.  There's new tunes, a song I wrote with my mom, a remastered and re-vocal tracked Handy Street, a solo guitar version of the same song, a totally ROCKIN' Radio W-HAM with an authentic Soviet voice by comrade Andrew Apanov, and the cigar box guitar even makes an appearance.  Again, you can get it for free, just join the facebook group. 

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Now, this album will be released to everyone in June, where it will be available on all the major outlets (iTunes, Amazon, etc), but in the meantime - get your exclusive copy now!  Join that Facebook group, share your stories of good - and get the album for free!  There will also be photos and stories from the last tour, so it's gonna be WAY COOL!  You don't want to miss it!

 Speaking of WAY COOL, I've also got WAY COOL Tour Lanyards which access the same stuff, but are again, way cool tour lanyards.  These are five bucks for most comrades, but sick kids in hospitals get 'em for free.  If you'd like one, let me know (email me by replying to this newsletter or throw something at me), and I'll get you set.  (I don't have the store set up for them yet.  They're THAT fresh!)  Here's what the front looks like.  The back has the download code (same as the free cards), and tour instructions. You know you want one!  Show the world that you're VIP, that you're on tour, and that you're looking for good!  As a side note, I can't wait for hospital patients to get these - I bet the kids don't think they can tour from their room, but they surely can with the power of social media!

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Special Thanks

  I'd like to thank a few people especially...John Hunt at The Phoenix, where he'll be airing exclusive tour updates on his show!  Check it out at www.phoenixintermedia.com!  Abe at The Herald Square Hotel...Abe is sponsoring my NYC stay by putting me up for free at his hotel.  Look, there's good being found, and the train hasn't even left yet!   My brothers, Noah and Zakk from www.Mazuzu.com, for the incredible web hosting, design, tech support, you name it!  That new JoshUrban.com is built by them, as well as the album downloading ability!  My mom, terri st. cloud, for the years she spent teaching me to write, and then co-writing a song with me!  (Her Beauty, based on her poem of the same name.) What a fun trip to the mountains to write the song (man it was cold on Skyline Drive!), and thanks to letting me "borrow" the inspiration from the poem.  Andrew Apanov, for his awesome Soviet voiceover, and featuring the tour on his website. www.DottedMusic.com, and Dean Pokorny, for doing such a great job doing the mastering work for the tracks! (www.DeanPokorny.com

All Aboard!


OK, comrades!  Let's do this!  Let's go have a magical (mystery?) tour, filled with fun, laughter, music, memories, and adventure!  Let's go put some GOOD on the news!  I can't wait to tour with YOU!  Post away as much good news as you can!  Let's make this an event!  It's a party train!  All Aboaaaaaaard!


- Josh

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JoshUrban.com

Rock God Music, LLC 3195 Old Washington Road, Suite 222 Waldorf MD 20602 240. 682. 2801
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