Sunday, October 30, 2011

JOSEY GREENWELL - COUNTRY GENTLEMAN


When I wrote Nashville  Dreams, I didn’t know anything about Josey Greenwell. Then, my DNA Magazine newsletter arrived and whoa, in the cover is this amazing blond with a delicious beard, teasingly pulling a white speedo down his precious rump. (DNA # 142 in case you want to check it) 

To say the man is hot would be a simple understatement. However, beyond looks, what attracted my attention to Josey was his story. His Nashville’s Country Record Label dropped him after he came out. Yep, you can’t be openly gay in Country Land.

Lured by his handsomeness, I started investigating about him and found a very interesting interview from this last September at Gus’ blog QUEER ME UP.  After his display of sweetness in said interview, my interest kicked up several notches. Therefore, I went to --of course-- Youtube and immersed myself in JoseyTv!, where the Kentucky dreamboat has covers of many well-known hits with his acoustic guitar, which brought me back to Nashville Dreams since Jonah, one of the main characters began as a street singer when discovered by the love of his life (Ah… Guitars and blonds).

With a voice ready to melt boys and girls in equal proportions, Josey doesn’t label his tunes as gay music. His songs are songs about love and relationships and could easily apply to the boy next door in love with his best friend’s brother, to the girl suffering from exhaustive longing for the boy living across the street.

I succumbed and bought his debut album My Life on the Radio. It’s Country at its best and with that sweet naiveté that make us all dream of cowboys and battered pick-up trucks under the moon or mysterious rendezvous behind secluded haystacks.


One of my favorite songs of this 13-tracks CD (all written by Josey) is Sounds Good To Me. The story is simple but powerful all the same, two people (the lyrics portrayed it in a way that could be two guys, a guy and a girl or two girls) can’t get enough of each other and they have to steal moments of privacy, and when the chance happens it’s explosive.

Red Lights is an ode to long distance romances and that desperation urging you to take the car and drive, drive, drive until you reach your lover’s place. Anyone who had been away from his or her love could effortlessly relate to this song and blast it on the way home.

Did I mention Josey does covers of hits in his Youtube page?  Watch Josey singing Lady Gaga’s Judas was delightful, not just because Josey made the song his own, but by the way his muscular biceps were fighting to sidetrack me from his striking face (He was wearing a tank top, which is what he usually wears in these homemade videos, so go figure).

What makes me happy about Josey Greenwell is that despite his success as a model, singer-songwriter and internet heartthrob he still has that Southern gentleness of being nice and polite, especially with strangers.

Something many people with less talent, but more fame, could learn a lot from.