FORMER JONAH33 DRUMMER JOSH DOUGAN!!

To say that Joshua Dougan of Crawford County Heartache is a new artist; isn’t exactly an accurate statement. His most recent label homes have been Ardent Records, INO, and Epic Records. He has already written several songs that have reached the top on rock, pop and ac charts, and has penned numerous album cuts for artists including artists at Universal Publishing, in Nashville. While hitting the charts as a songwriter, Joshua toured full time, playing internationally and in 48 states for crowds like the one at the University of Massachusetts, in Boston of 18,000 students. Even though Joshua started his career as a drummer and continues to love playing drums, there was always an artist and songwriter welling up inside of him.

“There was this period in my life where I started to go through a lot of things; growing up, missing home, relationships, love and loss…to name a few. I just think that writing a song about these things in your life is a great way to remember the things that have happened. I started writing down lyrics and ideas, while touring fulltime as a drummer. In my spare time, I recorded some demos that became known as The Joshua Project and then became a record called the Recover Ep. I burned all the discs at my brother’s house, printed them myself and gave them away at shows, just because I wanted people to enjoy them. I never thought much of it, until a lot of people talked about how the songs had helped them, and they encouraged me to pursue it.”

Joshua began meeting a lot of well known song writers while on the road, and expressed that he desired to learn the craft of songwriting. After hearing Joshua’s material, they took notice that there was indeed far more than a drummer in him, and that his ideas and writing style had huge potential. After spending years writing for other artists and while still touring as a drummer, he began to again toy with the idea of being an artist himself and writing a solo record. Joshua spent 2 years writing for his upcoming record under the name Crawford County Heartache, that is a perfect mix of sonic landscape and depth, reminiscent of artist like One Republic, Switchfoot and Tonic with a little country thrown in.

“It’s really crazy; I have written over 60 songs for this record. It was recorded everywhere from Oklahoma City, Memphis, Nashville, to Venice, Florida. I played 99% of the instruments on this record, and produced it as well. Some of the songs are feel good rockers, yet some of them are things about my life that I don’t even like to talk about, let alone write a song and let the world hear it. But they say, “Those things make the best songs.” I just want people to sing, dance, laugh and have fun at a C.C.Heartache show, and let them know this is a crazy world, but I got your back.”

From countless trips around the world, to writing songs on his back porch under the moonlight, to being a hometown troubadour, it’s easy to get caught up in the limelight. But at the end of the day, it’s all about great songs and connecting with the fans as an artist. Joshua Dougan plans on bringing exactly that combination to the world with his release, Crawford County Heartache. Look for the record and Joshua on the road, and come by and sing along.