![\"Josh-Rouse-Issue-No25\"](\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Josh-Rouse-Issue-No25.jpg\")
<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nThe pensive singer-songwriter strikes an upbeat tone on his latest effort \u00a0 \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n For Josh Rouse, family played an important role in the writing and recording of his 10th album, The Happiness Waltz<\/i>. In 2006, Rouse moved from Nashville to Spain with his wife, and the couple now has a young child. He\u2019s settled happily into fatherhood and married life, but his newfound responsibilities make for a delicate balancing act. \u201cBefore I was just a selfish singer-songwriter,\u201d he says. \u201cNow I\u2019m responsible for somebody else. If I feel tired, I can\u2019t put the right energy into the songs. Thankfully the good ideas are still coming, and I try hard to find time to write them. I usually put them together first, and then the melody comes naturally after that.\u201d<\/p>\n The result is a collection that showcases the full scope of Rouse\u2019s talents, with compositions drawn from various stages of his career. \u201cThese are songs I\u2019ve collected over the years,\u201d he says. \u201cSometimes I\u2019ll write a lot of songs in one month and then nothing for a while. I\u2019m not a disciplined writer. I\u2019d love to be able to. I\u2019m not someone like Nick Cave who writes every day.\u201d<\/p>\n With its upbeat sound and uplifting theme, Waltz<\/i> marks a shift from Rouse\u2019s more introspective material. \u201cI liked the last few albums a lot, but they were less pop and not as immediate,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re kind of moodier and a bit more sophisticated compared to my records that are more popular. I\u2019ve put out a lot of records and have fans of all ages. Maybe it\u2019s a complex I have, but I feel like I have to please everyone. I try to give them a wide range.\u201d<\/p>\n Reunited with longtime producer Brad Jones, Rouse approached the making of Waltz<\/i> with a crisp, snappy focus. The two met in his Rio Bravo studio in Valencia and completed most of the recording within a week. \u201cIt started with me cutting demos,\u201d Rouse says. \u201cThen Brad flew over and the musicians just banged it out. I\u2019ve been lucky to play with great musicians. We did some additional overdubs later, but besides that it was us playing in the studio\u2014very organic. You can do a lot of production stuff and try to make it sound amazing, but if the storyline and melody isn\u2019t there, it won\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n After a brief hiatus from touring, Rouse is eager to get back on the road and gauge reaction to the new songs. Each show represents a fresh challenge for the veteran performer. \u201cI have a younger audience here in Spain,\u201d he says. \u201cIn the States, it\u2019s kind of a mix, but there are a lot of people my age\u2014in their 40s, more public-radio listeners. I\u2019m just glad that people want to<\/p>\n come and see the shows.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2013Blake Boldt<\/p>\n JOSH ROUSE The pensive singer-songwriter strikes an upbeat tone on his latest effort \u00a0 \u00a0 For Josh Rouse, family played an important role in the writing and recording of his 10th album, The Happiness Waltz. In 2006, Rouse moved from Nashville to Spain with his wife, and the couple now has a young child. He\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[4525,6164,396,10156,6189,6190],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9297"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9297"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9299,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9297\/revisions\/9299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"