Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: So what you been up to, man? I know you've been on the move and getting to it.
Joshua Foster: Man, you know, ironically, you know, as much moving as that's normally happening, like right now, it's been a lot of locking in here at home. being here
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay.
Joshua Foster: with the wife, getting her ready for her shows, a lot of programming, a lot of studio stuff, a lot of recording, not a lot of road stuff since March, the last run with Renee. Once I got back from that, it's been like a couple of in and out things, but for the most part, definitely home base. And it's It's been really grounding, I will, I will say, like, cause
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay.
Joshua Foster: I don't know if we talked about it, but like I we have bought a home in 2025. So thank
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Congrats.
Joshua Foster: you, bro. So at the top of 2025 to now, you know, it's just like finally being able to enjoy home for a while. Cause as soon as we got in the house the next day I was I was gone. So
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: He was out of there.
Joshua Foster: I was out of there. So this year I've actually been able to enjoy home. And so it's a blessing, man. It's it's a real blessing. 'cause it's the rest of the year gets pretty pretty moving. So I'm I'm I'm enjoying it, bro. I'm enjoying it. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. How's that transition from home or from tour to home been?
Joshua Foster: It's been cool, you know, when you have when you have a talented creative wife as well,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: you know, a lot of the being away, like cause she's focusing on her thing, I'm focusing on my thing, but we it's we're still a unit. So finding that healthy balance is often pretty cool. It's challenging, but it's cool for us because in a lot of ways, you know, if we have rehearsals or different things where I'm stationed somewhere long enough. I'll fly her to wherever wherever we are.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right, right, right.
Joshua Foster: and and and and it kind of works out unless she's gigging or doing doing whatever it is she's gotta do. But I think it is a little different at first because you get used to moving so much that you fall in love with the go. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, yep.
Joshua Foster: and for me, I am like she's that way too, where it's like, I'm always ready to just go, man. Like If I feel like I'm at the house too long, like I man, I just gotta drive down the street or I I gotta go to
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: the gym, I gotta go wash the car. Like I gotta, it's just that movement thing that like you get
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: to that I will say is difficult when for a while, for for a moment you're just sitting. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: it's like you start feeling like lightweight, out of place, and and not necessarily depressed, but kind of it's confusing, yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's confusing. Yep.
Joshua Foster: And that navigating that space is the difficult thing. and I'm sure we'll get into it, but I'll throw this last thing in there because that for me as a man, a
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: lot of where I've put my worth is in my movement and how much I'm doing.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Wow.
Joshua Foster: And and and it's and it's not something that I feel bad about because I I love working. I love like I'm I love to to provide in that way. I love to go, but sometimes that you attach yourself too much. To the movement and to the goal. And it's and it's and it's slightly an ego thing, but it's also a pride thing where it's like, I take pride in doing that thing that helped
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: my family, but it ultimately sometimes can bite you in the butt because you're like, you've put so much stock into that. And so you Yeah. And so when you get
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes. Like your identity almost gets wrapped into it. Yep.
Joshua Foster: home, then you realize I'm more than that.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, it it's a it's like a delicate dance we have to do because now man is the priority thing, right? That that's just like our our what we are. This we're we're
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: men and what we believe in with our faith and religion and you know that kind of space. We are the leaders of our household. And we'll clarify this does not mean our ladies don't have a say that they're they're not in this isn't a dictatorship. You know, that that's
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Right, right, right. Just gonna put that up there.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: yeah, we want to be very clear about this. They're they're one hundred percent equals. In terms of what we do with in our household. However, where we are is like we we try to provide, and how we provide is attached to that that go. The thing
Joshua Foster: Yeah, yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: that had to shift for me, and I don't know if you feel this way, was ultimately, what is my life, right? What what do I believe in? What do I want it to look like? And it's like my lady is a part of that, you know, and she deserves the equal amount of attention that we put behind our instruments, or we're MDing, or we're going. It's like so the. What I my last tour I came home, it was easier because
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: my purpose wasn't attached to the gig. You know,
Joshua Foster: Right.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: like it's been for so long, right? Because we've worked for twenty plus years to get as excellent
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: as we are, you know, at what we do, and this is the world saying that, not us. you know, this this is just one of those
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: things. But I don't know if you feel that way, is it's like shifting the brain and being like, well, I don't have to just do this right now. I could just love and and be there and you know.
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Yeah. And and that's a real thing. I you know, I and that's what I was gonna say too in this season that I have been home more lately, the past couple of months. I've all I've been focused on is being present.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: Being present at home. So that's that's what it's been for me for the past few months, where it's just like that's all I care about right now. So like yeah, I'm still getting calls and and doing stuff and working on, you know, my program and and then cutting drums for different things and recordings and all of that, but I'm still just trying to be present in a different way and and in the best way possible. Because you're right, man. Like I've always tried my best to and to never get let the hype get to me mentally anyway. That's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: naturally just been me. And anybody that really knows me, such as yourself and and many of us, like I like, I'm grateful for the for the for the love that's shown and the people that admire what I do. But I know that, you know, God has blessed me with what I do in a in a
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: great way. and the different opportunities that has come from that, I'm very aware. So it's like it would be, it would be crazy for me to be walking around wearing that stuff. Like,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: you know, like I just I personally can't do it because I'm I'm gonna feel some type of way. And then once you get home, as you already know, none of that stuff matters anyway. It all stays at the door.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mattering.
Joshua Foster: 'Cause like your wife or your girl, whoever that may be watching this and will look at this, y'all already know when you around your family, you're just Josh, you're just Jarvis, you're just whoever they know
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: you as, not what you do, not what you can contribute. So yeah, man. Yeah, bro. We'll be on that all day. We'll be on that all day.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right. They they know us. But I bro, it's so important, man, because the younger cats and and we've been there so and we're not far removed, which is secretly this is why I love this podcast, because I'm talking
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: to people that were in it and we're not necessarily OG space where our our mentors guide us, but we're not
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: the younger cats either. But we didn't develop this mindset and ideology until recently. You know, this isn't Something we were thinking we were eighteen or twenty or we were thinking, I
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: wanna have a house, you know, I want to have a nice car, I wanna be able to provide, I wanna be able to do certain we weren't thinking that stuff, man. We were just like, yo, how do I get on the stadium gig and all these endorsements?
Joshua Foster: Right. bro. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Now. Like that was not a thing we're
Joshua Foster: That's such a conversation that I'm like, you know, we gotta unspook unspookify this endorsement conversation. And like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yo, go for it. spook of fire, bro.
Joshua Foster: as soon as you said it, and and I have young homies that may see this that will n they know I'm probably like talking about them. but
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Ha ha ha.
Joshua Foster: when it comes to like all of that stuff, bro, yes, the reason we got into this to and to stay on where we're at, that wasn't the why anyway. The endorsement, the gig like first you love to play. Like you just genuinely love to play. And then
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: you see someone that you admire that, I can do this with my gift. I can do
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: this with my talent. Then you're like, all right, so now I know I could do that type of gig. I could do TV, I could do a tour, stadium, whatever it is. Then it's like, okay, now the gear thing. Why they play that kit? Why do they play those symbols? Why do they play those drum heads? Like all of the steps, like that, that's like the last thing. And so when we get to this place where like everybody is like trying to do it the reverse way,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: how do I get the endorsements? How do I get the gear? I want my setup to look like this. I want all of this to look like this. And then, but the gig I want is all the way over here. Like that's the last
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: I'm like, bro. If we can get out of the mentality of like what gear I'm playing, who sees what gear I'm playing?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: How much, what setup do I have? And bro, do you know this music? Are you gonna show up on time for this music? Are you gonna have the gear that's needed for the gig, the music you're about to play?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm.
Joshua Foster: So it's just I I don't want People to get the wrong idea that there are levels to the understanding of like what it is you should be doing. The the endorsements and shout out to all the companies that we rep, you know, across
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: the board. This is no shade. What I am saying is there's a priority list that musicians have as a whole, we should have. And the music should be number one. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. Yes.
Joshua Foster: then right with that, these the companies that we work with and that endorse us and we endorse them and we and we have this. unique di a relationship between us. It's it's a partnership, but
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. It's really a partnership. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: but that shouldn't be why you do what you do. It should help you do what you do at the
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: highest level. You know, because at the end of the day we, you know, relationship is gonna be the thing anyway.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Everything.
Joshua Foster: but it's just like man, like that always blows me when it's like, well what gear are they playing? Can you tune a kit that's $200? If you can tune a kit,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Man.
Joshua Foster: and that that's just for drummers, but it's like, man, like if you grew up in church, if you couldn't play a Casio as a keyboard player, I don't really care if you got a Nord or a Motif and and and we
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It didn't matter. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: have the the rack. And man, I don't care about none of that stuff. Like, if you can play the instrument with care and intentionality, regardless
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: of what it is, then yeah, man, when that endorsement comes, it it'll feel better. But it it's not it you are The chef cooking the meal. That those ingredients, okay. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right. Right. That's a beautiful way of putting that. Like a beautiful way of putting that. Yep.
Joshua Foster: That's what it is. Like, it don't matter what kit, bro. If Jarvis don't sit down and feel like I can do this regardless of what I'm playing, then then that's a problem. And we need to look at something else deeper, you know, to to focus on. But but no, man. So yeah, just, you know, because that's a rabbit hole too. I just that's the one thing that always gets me because if I be honest, it took me a long time to get endorsements. So that's why.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Same.
Joshua Foster: My view on that is a little different because and it's not out of bitterness, it's out of priority. Like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: I didn't care. I was doing the gigs. I don't care what gear
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: I'm playing. I'm on the gigs. And guess what? That goes to my bank account.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Whole conversation too, man.
Joshua Foster: So it's just like, I don't care. Like, bro, I could be playing like bro, I gotta I I I have an old CB seven hundred kit that some people probably don't even know that. Like bro, I recorded on that thing so much. That joined us on some
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: Ryan Carey songs on some albums on the last album
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Ay.
Joshua Foster: dropped. And it's like it sounds like a love wig, but it's not that. And I say all of that to say, man, it's just like one of those things where it's just like I'd rather be the I'd rather be the value and have the value and then
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: company that. Obviously, now is Tamlin. I love them. And other companies that where we come together and now the value goes up.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: But I think people put the value with the company and not with themselves. And so when you get together, if you no longer are with that company, now your value's gone.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right. And I'll co-sign this point. Is like when you get to that, when you finally get there, it's like Josh just signed a town. We'll just use this as an example because it's it's here and now.
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: You're able to negotiate things a lot differently because of where you are, who you are as a person, what you're able to do on top of the gigs that you've been able to, you know, to to land and place and secure and keep. You know, that that's very important. Right.
Joshua Foster: That's that's another thing.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: But But this is this is the most important thing is like because now when you get there, you're not just on the roster. You now become a name that's on the roster. You know, now
Joshua Foster: Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: you become a valuable asset who they also want to pour into. And now they're saying, Josh, we got a Tamma shoot that we wanna do. Are you available to come shoot some content with us? Okay, so now we're partnering, we're cross promoting brands and we're doing If you're just in a and this is known not to anybody, but if you're just a person that is doing some local stuff, that's not as valuable to them on on in a marketing standpoint because we are the marketing. You know, they're deciding
Joshua Foster: Right. Right.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: to take their marketing budget and saying, Here's artist. We're giving them the money, aka the gear or whatever our deals are. And then in
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: return, we need you all to promote it. So then we move product off the shelf. That's
Joshua Foster: Absolutely.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: the circle.
Joshua Foster: Business. It's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's it. There's no other way of cutting this. And it doesn't matter how sweet you are. If no
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: one sees the product, they it's not it's not marketable. You know, I could take some eyeliner right now and put it on, but no one's looking at Jarvis for eyeliner. You go give it to Kim Kardashian, that makes a lot more sense.
Joshua Foster: Absolutely.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's why Josh is valuable. Josh is valuable to a, you know, who are you with now? Zildjian? Yep, yep.
Joshua Foster: Zildjian, Zildjian, Tama, Evans, well Diodario Evans.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: And then All Claire.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes, sir.
Joshua Foster: I'm looking around so I make sure I don't miss nobody. Gibraltar Gibraltar.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Any electronics right now? Yep.
Joshua Foster: Roland. I so Roland is the only thing. Yeah, if y'all watching this, we need to have a conversation. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Same.
Joshua Foster: But no, rolling is the only thing I'm not like fully endorsed with. Everything else, I I don't think I missed anything. sorry, dial tune, King's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm-hmm. Duh.
Joshua Foster: King's custom drums. so yeah, all of those, like, you know, and those and all based off of really great relationships. And yes, value, where it's like a lot of those companies. And I told people that too, where it's just like, you know, obviously it's great to have dope gear, but like I can call each of the rep, like I can get, I can get a hold of them. They want to talk. We we you know it's not that thing where it's like you said, you're just another person on the roster.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: And that's a big deal, man. That's a big deal for me.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: and it's always been like I I always wanted to make sure that like I was doing the thing that made it valuable. I would rather you put my name with those people than like I don't care about no hype at all. And most people know that. Like I just don't. Like I'm I there's a lot of people I love, but like for myself personally, no matter where you put me, I want you to put me in the working category. That's that's it.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Th there you go.
Joshua Foster: That's it. And the people that need to know me in that category, they know me and and we'll we'll we'll leave leave it at that.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. Well was that always your your mindset and personality, or was that something that you developed later on?
Joshua Foster: No, I th i i I think it was always there. you know, I I was blessed to leave home and then go to Berkeley, right? And so going to Berkeley, I was exposed to a miniature version of what the world as as music would look like, right? All these different genres, different opportunities, whether it be production, whether it be studio playing, whether it be live playing. and and I think that For me, my biggest thing was how versatile could I be. That was what
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm, okay.
Joshua Foster: I want to be, because what people have seen me do versus what I've done like in recordings or as a whole, I've been able to do a lot like from straight ahead to to Neo Soul to to RB, hip hop, pop, rock, funk, whatever it is. I I
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: I biggest thing was I want to play every genre authentically, no matter what.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: And you've been doing it that well for a long time. People don't know what a dog. I first
Joshua Foster: Thank you, bro.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: found you when you were doing Tyler Perry.
Joshua Foster: For real? Damn, bro. That's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Dog Yes.
Joshua Foster: that's several years ago, 2019.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's dog. I remember watching the play and I was like, who in the hell is in this band? Like 'cause y'all were killing. And I mean killing. And I'm like, Good.
Joshua Foster: So thank you. Yeah, shout out shout out to Ronnie Garrett. in that unit. we had Ronnie Garrett's Tyler Perry's MD, and then we had Good Times Horns, who are out with the homie DJ with with Doge, Melvin Jones, Mike Burton, Will Williams,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Legends right there.
Joshua Foster: Dominic Sanchez on guitar, Natalie Reagan's on Keys, Ox and Oregon, and then my bro Pat Wright from Texas was also on. mains, ox, and keys. They both switched versus what we were playing. And then
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: but no, on this tour, Mel Mike Burton wasn't with us. It was Jamel Mitchell on
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Got you.
Joshua Foster: saxophone while Mike was doing a couple of other things. And then lastly, making sure I'm not leaving nobody out, Darius Fentress on percussion. Yeah,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay, yes, sir.
Joshua Foster: Darius Fentress on percussion. So yeah, that's the guitar base. Both keys and all the horns. Yeah. It was nine, it was a nine piece special, is what we called it. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sheesh. Y'all were so killing.
Joshua Foster: yeah, man, thank you, bro. So that was that was I did a tour before that, but that's the first tour that I count that was like eye-opening to like doing thing, doing everything intentionally, no matter what. And I felt like that was it. But that show, we played a lot of different stuff.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay.
Joshua Foster: Bro, like what people don't know is like, yeah, when we get to the show, it probably ends up being about 15 songs total. And a lot of that is the medley at the end, you know, at the end of a Tyler Perry play, there's the medley and they do all songs. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: there's other stuff we play throughout the show. But rehearsal? We went through like 50 songs, bro, in one week.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Really?
Joshua Foster: yeah. Because what's gonna get cleared that we can perform live and record it later. Cause this
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: I see.
Joshua Foster: is it, cause it went to BET Plus. That's on BET Plus now for you know from then, because we recorded that in 2020. The top of 2020, right before the pandemic, was like our last few shows. And because the first run lasted six months, bro. The first run was six
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's crazy.
Joshua Foster: months. It was crazy, bro. And we played like Eight, nine shows a week. It was Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, two on Saturdays, sometimes three, and two on Sundays.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: So you're like a real Broadway schedule? Yeah, okay.
Joshua Foster: Yes, bro. Like you with with what what QB doing all the time? just doing Hamilton. It was like that type of schedule where you gotta be so
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: But Hamilton? Yeah. Yep, you're on the move.
Joshua Foster: but yeah man, so that's crazy that you you know that's how you found out because that's really where it starts. That led to everything else. That's where I met Daniel more.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: That's how I Daniel does Mariah, of course. He MDs that, but then he mds black music honors, stellars, urban one music honors.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay. So this is the the bridge that kind of connects everything. Wow. And I only brought up
Joshua Foster: yeah. That's the bridge. Yeah. That that
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Tyler because you you were saying how much you play all these genres and you were killing it. That that was the only reason I was co-signed.
Joshua Foster: Thank you. No, and I appreciate it because that led to everything else. Like, I ain't gonna lie, like it legit that gig, and that's why I tell people all the time though, even before that gig here and when I moved to Atlanta from Berkeley,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm-hmm.
Joshua Foster: I was playing around everywhere. But I was playing these club gigs, like my life depended on it. And it did to me mentally.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: I did, yeah.
Joshua Foster: Cause I'm I'm I'm I'm in I was like, man, I'm going to be working. That was my thing. That's my MO. So to answer your question as far as Did I know or did I grow into it? It's like, no, I knew. I all I did was grow into the opportunities. My mentality
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Understood.
Joshua Foster: was already set, but it was more so of like, okay, now these opportunities have validated my mentality. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay. And then did you get that did you learn that from like a OG? Did you have mentorship? Were your parents involved? Like where where did you get 'cause that's not a that's not a young mentality. That's a very mature mentality.
Joshua Foster: Yeah. It's not so before my I like list or put some OGs or mentors out there, like my dad is a musician, Nero Foster. So back home in Fort Worth, Texas, everybody who knows, like my dad is one of the dopest bass players, musicians, pastor,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Crazy.
Joshua Foster: all of all of the things, man. And so I between him and my uncles, that's where it starts, right? Where like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Got you.
Joshua Foster: cause I you know, I played from the time I I could barely talk at two years old, whatever. All the way up through church and that whole thing. But my dad the whole time, really like from the beginning, was like a slightly nicer Joe Jackson. But like lock locking me into like, hey man, like don't do that here, do this here. Quit hitting those cymbals, man. Like, we like we ain't even at the course yet. Like, why are you doing that? Stop touching stuff, stop fixing the drums, stop. Just play the song, play the pattern, play whatever. And so that's where it starts. And then later, again, I I brought up Ronnie Garrett with Tyler. He's still to this day one of my main like OG mentors in my life.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Love.
Joshua Foster: but it's not just him now, you know, him, Daniel Moore, Rick Watford, amazing guitar player, one of the most recorded guitar players, you know, especially in gospel, after Johnny DuBos, like, and everybody that know, know who I'm talking about, Rick Watford. Dario Edgecomb, who does a lot of stuff with us too, with Daniel and Mariah. Dario done recordings across the world, but like a lot of gospel stuff. He's a producer. Like these guys are like the guys. And so I've
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: been blessed to like play with those guys on a consistent basis with the award shows. And then, of course, him with Mariah. I would have to shout out Trent Phillips too, who's here in Atlanta. But he's done mad recordings too. and All of these guys mentorship, Lance Tolbert, who was in LA, we met with Mariah, another guy, Terrence Vaughn.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Legend.
Joshua Foster: T is is definitely like a mentor and and he and a lot of these guys, man, that have come and I there's many others. There's many others. some with music and some that I just have that are just that help me in life.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: The most important.
Joshua Foster: The most important, but a lot of it, you know, me and Ronnie kind of talk on a regular basis. And there's a lot of drummers too that I, you know, could name from Sput to and different people that, you know, we Lil' John out here and just like people
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: saying and but yes, I had to I I you know, to to help you with the frame of reference, I love gangster movies. And the one
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay.
Joshua Foster: thing and and it's because of my dad, the one thing about Gangsters and gangs and how things roll. Everyone had an OG.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: Everyone had that mentor of like, hey, this is how the game is played. And you watch them and what and they'll tell you about what they've gone through and these things. So you can kind of like omit a lot of your failures. And then that way you can get right to where you're trying to get to. And you're still gonna
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: your head a couple of times, but like for me. It was important to have that because I never wanted to just be out here doing whatever. So like Yeah,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: bro, having a OG is is completely a part of the program. Like if you don't
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: For sure.
Joshua Foster: if you don't have one to all the people watching this, like get one, like quick because they they have already been and done this. And the thing that I will say is a lot of people feel like because we're in a our social media world is such a big thing now that like your OGs ain't gonna be able to help you. No. They will because if you made it without social media, then adding it is it you can there's a way to do it in a way that can help you. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: if you can't do the thing that they were doing, social media doesn't help you because you could be killing on social media and then you show up and now it's time to do the opportunity in person.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yikes.
Joshua Foster: Because that's another thing. It's like, no, like that all of that stuff, you know, to help navigate having a OG your mentor, yeah, bro. So yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's the biggest is it is the biggest cheat code. Steve O you know Steve Yeah,
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Steve O said it a long time ago, man, and it stuck with me. He's like the the only way to take a shortcut is to have a mentor. That's the only way.
Joshua Foster: It's the only way 'cause if not, you just out here just bumping your head everywhere, man.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Everywhere and you there's there's no you can still get there. You can still get there, but it is so much easier just to have someone to say, Hey man, this is what they're asking me to do. What you think about these rates? And then they can give you a real perspective on, bro. I had one of my closest friends, John was like, You haven't done shit, so sounds like you need to go. Okay, let's get it. You know what I mean? Because in my brain, all of our friends are
Joshua Foster: Wow. I love it.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: are moving and grooving. They're in and they got these things happening. And he's
Joshua Foster: Yeah, yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: like, But you're not them. Got it. And then I had times where guys were like, No, you can't go for that. Like you are doing other stuff now. You are you see what I'm saying? Like you you have done enough. And that's the Yeah, man.
Joshua Foster: Doing this. Yeah. Yep. Somebody telling you the truth. And that's bro, that's such a big thing. That I and for sure, bro, I feel like that's a big thing. A lot of people told me the truth. I think some
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: people come to me and ask me for the truth, and then I give them the truth and then they don't then they feel some type of way about it. And I'm like, Well
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: What is that?
Joshua Foster: I I what it is is a is a is is entitlement and
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Wow. Okay.
Joshua Foster: and a little bit of pride, but But it's like, because I'm gifted, I should be here. And it's like, no, like that's not true. Because that's the same way people feel with endorsements. Back, it's all the same conversation where it's just like you, you, you're focused on the wrong thing. Like you putting your priorities all in this mixed up per this mixed up place where it's just like, I'm glad you said that. Like someone needs to tell someone the truth about what it is that. That's coming from a respectable source, too. Cause it would be different if it
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: if you had an OG that wasn't doing the stuff that you do. But that's the point of having an OG or a mentor. You are you admire what they've done already. You already
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes, you respect it.
Joshua Foster: see what they and you respect it. Like when I bring up Ronnie, like if you go to you see his man, that man got plaques for days of records he's played on. You know what I'm saying? He lives a different type of lifestyle, drives a nice car, got a nice crib, dope family. All of these different things that like I admire and
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: the way that he l gets to live his life. Do we talk about music sometimes now? Do we talk about that all the time? No. And and it's just one of those things where it's just like, all right, cool. You there there has to be something you could glean from. And and a
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm-hmm.
Joshua Foster: lot of I don't know what it is, but like a lot of the younger guys, and this is what I hear. This is not what I necessarily have experienced. I I haven't run into anyone that's felt any type of way to my personally for me from
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sorry.
Joshua Foster: telling them the truth. But I feel like that's why some people don't ask. I have heard or it has gotten back to me at different times where someone was like, you know, I wish he would kind of like pour, you know, show me some love with different things. And I'm like, well, bro, I'm an open book. If you really want
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: to know, if you want to ask me some questions or want to know. Let's do it. But I know some people feel like they're already killing. So why do I need to talk to him about something or ask him a questioner? And that's the first problem. Your your pride won't let you do it. Like I'm doing
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: gigs and and I'm doing stuff. I'm touring. I'm doing a lot of stuff that people want to that people wanna do. But I'm
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: I still got someone I'm talking to.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes, all the time.
Joshua Foster: All the bro, I'm talking to people all the time, bro. Like I'm literally reaching out. Like I program and do all of this stuff. I send my stuff to T Von. I send my stuff to to DJ. I send my stuff to people and let them be and let them put their ears on it. And it's like,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, bro. Yes.
Joshua Foster: and and all of it ain't and it sometimes they be like, yo, that's cool. Sometimes they don't respond. And so in my mind, it's not go back to the drawing board. You know,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's it ain't sweet, yeah, it ain't sweet.
Joshua Foster: and and and it's like okay, like it's all right.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: I think for any other line of work, it's okay. But this, so Jar, just so you know about me and so other people understand me. So I played basketball too coming up, like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay.
Joshua Foster: like heavy, like AAU, high school, everything. Like I like, I really play, and there's a group of musicians here in Atlanta, like we go hoop. So I don't like that music is that sensitive. Like people that do music are like super sensitive. Like it bothers
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yep.
Joshua Foster: me because I wasn't raised that way. My dad was super hard on me. So it was just like I My thought process when it comes to stuff like is very militant like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: and so when people feel some type of way easily about stuff with music, it drives me insane because I everything relates back to sports to me. It's it's basketball. Where it's just
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: you don't get playing time unless you're killing.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, and you're trying to be the best at something. You know, and if you want to be the best at something, you gotta be able to be polished. You know, a diamond isn't a diamond because it was okay being dirt and not going through all the pressure and all this other stuff. It it had to go through the weathering. It had to go through all that other stuff to become that thing. Well, the
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: pressure is having your your mentors say, Yo, you thought that was good, didn't you? Got it. You know, gold redo that. With some with some positive and constructive criticism, not just you trash, that's not that's not helpful. It's yo,
Joshua Foster: Right. Yeah. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: okay, I feel what you're trying to do, but that that feel was too busy. Simplify it. You
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: know, all those little nuggets and not taking it personal because they're not taking it personal. They're just like, okay, if you're asking for it and and you're yearning for this information, I'm gonna help you. The other side of that is too, is when people will ask for this stuff. If I'm like, yo, Josh, check out this video, what you think? And you give me your honest feedback, and I'm like, but. But I did it this way because of this, then why'd you ask me?
Joshua Foster: Right, because you don't really care to to understand like, you know, how it can grow, how how you can grow and how it could be better. You wanted me to validate how you feel about it. And if that's the case, post it or do whatever else you want to do with it because
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: Yeah, like there is a point where you make the decision in your head where you don't care and you just do it. But like if you do care about what someone else has to say about it, then you should listen to it and And really like try to see if there's something you could learn from it. I've had that happen a couple of times where it I felt some type of way about like feedback because I wanted my plane or I wanted my stuff to be validated and it wasn't. And I had to eat that, where it's just like, okay, but they're saying this, and I don't necessarily agree, but let me see though
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: they're saying because. If it can help me moving forward, then I need to, I need to, I need to see what they're talking about. Because they
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes. Like you
Joshua Foster: they wouldn't have just said it for no reason. And based on the person and and the people that have said stuff, it's not malicious intent. So it's just like, nah, man, we we gotta grow from that. And and and I wanna clarify that you're we're all trying to be the best that we can be. That's the difference from what it is in sports, where it's just like, like, it's not like we're saying we want to be better than ex. X, Y, and Z personnel. No, like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: I wanna be the Kobe I can be, the Jordan I can be of what I do. And you should be that for you because music is different as far as like it it it also does become a team sport all the time, especially in
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, yes.
Joshua Foster: a band setting, unless you wanna do the artist route. But but yeah, I think it's just important that people understand that you really have to You can't you can't lead out that way. Like you really gotta be able to to humble yourself with this thing, cause the this music thing is is is is in a cycle where
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: people that you meet along the way and then even though the circle may get bigger for you, you s there's somebody it comes back around to certain individuals and people that where if you handled certain things a certain way, like it it can bite you.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: And that's why people say you don't burn them bridges because you may have to walk over it again.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: You will. You're you're gonna see these people again. There's there's no way around it.
Joshua Foster: Well small though. The music world is super small.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It at this level, 100%. You know, we are seeing the same faces over and over and over again in in all capacities from TMs, PMs, people who are handling playback, people who are MD and stuff, you're seeing the same faces. So you violating their trust or handling things a certain kind of way that that wasn't ideal for them, that's gonna be it's gonna be damaging for you. And you never
Joshua Foster: It is, man.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: want that to happen where they're like. who's playing drums? Jarvis. shit. You know, you never want that kind of vibe
Joshua Foster: Yeah, and
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: to happen. You want to be like, who's on kit? Okay, Josh is we good all the time. You know, from the playing
Joshua Foster: Right. Right. That's good.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: aspect, from the hang aspect, that's what you want to happen. So that's
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: people gotta understand that the to your point, you can't be too emotional about this. And we understand that music is an emotion. You know, you can draw emotions
Joshua Foster: Yes.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: out of it.
Joshua Foster: The music itself.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes, but don't take that feedback crazy. Like it's it's just not that deep. And more importantly, it's not your song.
Joshua Foster: Please it's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: I don't understand this. Like, people have this yearn put themselves into something completely that no one asked your opinion on. You know,
Joshua Foster: It's due to right, right. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: they they made this a hit before you even knew it came out.
Joshua Foster: Right.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: You found out when the masses found out, and you didn't get the opportunity to play it until someone decided that you were the right call to go play it.
Joshua Foster: Right.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Why why are you why are you so emotional about this? Just just calm down, yo. This I don't know.
Joshua Foster: Man, sometimes sometimes people get we get caught up in the fact that because music is such a gift and talent conversation that
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: people forget that it's still a job. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay.
Joshua Foster: and it's hard sometimes for people to separate the fact that like even though you care so much about your creativity and you're an artist and all of these things and like you have artistic value, you're getting paid today to play that instrument.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's it.
Joshua Foster: That's it. Like I got ideas all the time. I I can before it people even gave me an opportunity to arrange, like I'm already arranging, I'm already doing stuff. But if T Vaughn called me, bro, do you think we get on the phone and I'm like, bro, T what if you what if you what if you No, bro, when I got the call to do Renee with him, he had saw me do the Stellar Awards and he he had called a few of my OGs and and and big bros in that band to see how I was as a person.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: But I see he can play, but how is he? All right, cool. We get in rehearsal. I don't come in there talking about nothing. I come in there and play the drums. And just play the drums, man. Like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: play the hell out of what you're getting called to do. And then that'll open the door for the other conversations. But like that whole I have this thing. Yeah, you're gonna have that thing at home.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, at the crib.
Joshua Foster: At the crib, bro. And it's cool if you want to have that thing at at home and be at the crib. I just speaking of where we wanted to be and where I I where I saw myself,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: that just wasn't I couldn't do that. I don't I told myself a long time ago, like I can't go back home. Like Texas, and I love Texas.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay, never an option.
Joshua Foster: I love Texas. I love home. When I left Berkeley, I was never going back to Texas. It was either Atlanta, LA, or New York. But I I never even thought of going back home. I just never thought about it. And it wasn't that I didn't love home. It was like I didn't need to be, I d I I don't want to be comfortable anywhere I go. And you know, Lyric
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm.
Joshua Foster: and I are by by coastal at this point, like I be in LA all the time, in Atlanta, you know, and we'll be out there more, like I talked to you about. But it's just like I don't like the feeling of like being in that comfortable spot. But it's like, man, for a lot of people, like you need to get comfortable enough. In that one position to then be put into other things that you want to do that
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: will use your other gifts and will make you a little uncomfortable and it'll be a nice challenge. But I think people should challenge themselves with like focusing intentively on like the the job at hand because people
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: don't understand, like I said earlier, that one gig led to every other gig I've ever done.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's insane.
Joshua Foster: If I take you through from Tyler Perry. That on that same tour, that's how I met the Mariah and all the TV show empty. That's how I met Cameo.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yep. Mm-hmm.
Joshua Foster: One of Larry Blackman's best friends, Miss Carol Jones, put me on a three-way call with Larry Blackman.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Wow.
Joshua Foster: Came to a show on a Sunday, I was on the phone with him on a on a Monday. That same week after the show we did with Alex.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: So that's how I meet the Mariah stuff, TV stuff, cameo, right?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: From the TV show stuff, that's how I meet T Vaughn. That's how I do Renee. That's how I do all of these other recordings we've done for TV shows, every other tour.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: all of these things just keep leading to the next thing. But you gotta show up and do the the first thing at the highest level. It can't be I'm gonna start showing up when I'm in the stadium either. It's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm-hmm.
Joshua Foster: like, or I'm gonna start showing up when I when I get that gig, bro, my setup is gonna be cold. I'm gonna have all the triggers. I guarantee you if you don't know how to load triggers and load sounds, whether you have a tech or not, that's not gonna be good. Because what if they want to change something in rehearsal right on the spot and hear it back? But you don't know how to
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, like right now.
Joshua Foster: do it. But now you're gonna do it because you you doing an arena tour. Man, get out of here with that, bro. Like I
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Not how it works.
Joshua Foster: it's not how it works, bro. Like for the longest, I didn't even go to a T D50 because I wanted I needed I needed to see it done. Like I'm a
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: learner, but shout out to Lawrence Bowens. When I started with Renee,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Ow.
Joshua Foster: when I L all day long, when I started with Renee, I told L straight up, I said, bro, I know how to use the SPD super quick. I can put triggers in it, I can put sounds in it, I can do whatever's needed. If you show me, if you give me a crash course on the TD50, I've been waiting to get into it, but because this is a new tour, I can't,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: I can't just jump into that and I don't believe in doing that. And he was like,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: I got you. So we got up the whole time. He set me up. And then I from that point he showed me how to use it. Showed me how to
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: do all of the ins and outs, how to troubleshoot, how to do all of these things, having an OG mentor. He showed
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yep.
Joshua Foster: me how to do all of these things quickly. And then once he learned, I have not gone back. I only play S T D sometimes at chaining or sometimes
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: if it's a if it's a quick something. But like Now I'm married to it, but like I I was cool and humble enough with being like I'm not comfortable with that coming into a
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: situation. And it was my first time working with T. So like I didn't wanna make that relationship weird because in other things I already had my flow.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: So but now that I know it, cool. I don't need nothing else. I can do that. But that's the kind of thing, bro, like preparing yourself before the opportunity shows up. Be it was the same thing with Daniel when my first award show. And I mean, every day it was like a new thing that I was learning and not with playing or or programming, but more so of how people think.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes, yes.
Joshua Foster: Yeah, bro, Daniel would be like, yo, can you like change the threshold to where like, you know, when you play softer, it's softer and louder and like and all of those things. And like on the spot, I was like having to like do that. And it's like for
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: people that want to get into this, do that now.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: Can't wait on the opportunity to show up and then now you're like trying to get sweet on all of that stuff. No, that's not how it goes.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's a dangerous business, you know. It could be now one thing we gotta add though. L, that's his just being. And L
Joshua Foster: Absolutely. Absolutely.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: will will give you the shirt off his back. Like L was El was teching for DJ, and I was with Tate, I just got the Tate gig. And
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: he was they were next door, and I I walked over. I was like, L L, can you show me something really quick? And he was like, baby boy, I got you. And literally
Joshua Foster: That's Billy
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Left,
Joshua Foster: all day.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: hippos over, walked me through some stuff on the SPD SX Pro. And he was like, Yeah, but do this, save it this way. And I'm just like, man, thank you, bro. Like, you didn't have to do that. You know, but his character. So we just to give that man his flowers right now, the L is.
Joshua Foster: Absolutely, bro. L L then and and and and I I swear, man, like from the longest time, like he really you him and I go back and forth about tuning because I know I can really tune drums. And he he can
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: he can tune too, but that's just me and him, like we we got that little beef. But no,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: L is literally like second to none, bro. Like he he is is legit one of the best to ever do it and do it for multiple instruments and And and make sure everything's consistent. Like man that that dude has really helped me a lot in in my trajectory and my life and in my ears, like just different people. And then of course, you know, Philly got its own industry
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: takeover energy where like a lot of them have been doing this for a long time. So L is, yeah, man. yeah, definitely give his flowers, bro. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Absolutely. And then another thing you said that I think people really should should realize is that you didn't throw something on your rider just because you got a new gig. You you
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: you you literally said, I'm putting this here because I know what I know on it. I can navigate this, I got a solid workflow. And when you get to these opportunities, you don't want your your gear to be your focus. That's the least.
Joshua Foster: Yeah. It yeah. We wanna be able to play this play this music down, you know, make some money, but but play some good music, make some great relationships, and for it to be a smooth selling process.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: but you don't wanna you don't wanna put yourself in a bind that quick because I ain't gonna lie, man, like even the same way when I met Daniel, it led to eighteen other opportunities. It's the same thing with T. I didn't know
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: what we would be doing in the future, but I've I've always planned that If you're intentional, man, and ready to go, like the opportunities will come. Just show up. Just show up.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Just show them, be ready.
Joshua Foster: Show up and be ready. And L No, that same day, bro. I kid you not, the SPD, we had that joint on the rider. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: he was like, bro, I'm going to, I got you. I got you. I'm gonna show you how to use it. Cause I was like, bro, if it if if one thing happens that goes wrong at any point, pull the
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's outta here.
Joshua Foster: pull the SPD back up, bro. SF.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Straight up.
Joshua Foster: All day. This before the pro, everybody was talking about the pro.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: But but yeah man. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: You have to though, man. You you gotta be ready for for whatever feedback and and obstacles that are gonna come your way and you can't be you can't be the holdup.
Joshua Foster: Let's talk about that real quick.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: Being the holdup in rehearsal. So there's this, because I I really want, like, for especially for the younger guy, it's funny us saying that. Cause like we're not older, like you said earlier, but like we definitely have been doing stuff for a while now. So I mean, I
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: just turned 30. So it's like you at that point where it's just like, you know what I'm saying? Like, you're not the in some rooms you were the youngest, and then now you're the second youngest.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. Yep.
Joshua Foster: so you're not close to the older, but you definitely are like got a little. season on you but not just a little this a sprinkle, you know?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Low season, nothing crazy. This Yeah, absolutely.
Joshua Foster: Learned from a lot of OGs where I've watched in different rehearsals when we have to wait on people or wait on something. And and someone may never say directly to you, yo, like hurry up, or you should have that already. But that's the energy. And so to
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: anyone that wants to get into this, like heavy, that's why we're that's why we're saying everything we're saying. Like, learn your gear right now, learn your setup right now. Learn Think about visualize how you would approach stuff with your own setup that you already have at your home. Cause most people now got a home studio. You can record. Start playing the stuff the way you see yourself doing it. Cause when you get these opportunities in rehearsal, bro, like timing is everything, you know, not just literally because we're playing drums. If if you're a drummer, but for any musician, like you don't want to be the whole up patches, guitar players, keyboard players. Bass players, key bass, all of those things like man, I brother. Playback.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: All that. Playback, you need to know you get everybody in the room.
Joshua Foster: You gotta that's honestly, let's that's that's what it is, and I'll leave it there. Doing a gig now is about knowing how to troubleshoot.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: That's that's really the that's why you get the call. If you
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: troubleshoot, you're gonna be good. If you can't troubleshoot, bro. That's when you fall into some some things where it's just like, you know, if you know, if you don't even for drummers, like, you know, if you drop a stick, how quick you can grab the other stick and it don't like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, you gotta move.
Joshua Foster: little stuff like that. But with playback, same thing, knowing your rig, you got your A B rig and your redundancy and all of that stuff. And it's like for bass players and key bass players, like knowing where the saw is and your cutoff and like and like all of that stuff and like, man. I've learned so much now from different MDs and producers and different things that were like troubleshooting is a part of the gig now.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Y yes, it's primarily what the gig is.
Joshua Foster: Yeah, so I tell anybody right now, like, you know, you gotta know your stuff inside and out and troubleshoot because nine times out of ten, that's what it's gonna be. How do you handle a malfunction?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right. And and okay, this is kind of once take me to my next question for you. You are one of my favorite drummers. And in and this is no straight up, you just are. This is your approach, your feel, how you hear music, where you decide
Joshua Foster: Thanks, bro.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: to put your fills, where you decide to put your chops, and where and how you you play groove. You know, it it just it just makes sense. So
Joshua Foster: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: when you're getting a a call, let's say you you're getting an on a call to do a different artist, right? What is your process like to start learning the music, retaining the music, learning how to adapt the the right feel, right approach, where where you decide you want to take fills and stuff like that? How how are you approaching that?
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Well, I I mean, great question. 'cause I I I feel like I get this question pretty pretty often. I initially, like what we talked about, is like immersing myself in that genre, in that music. Whatever that song is, like, when I listen to songs, it's like, okay, wax is important for the main reason of like what we said earlier. Like that song sold and is listened to because of that. Like whatever made
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: felt right to that artist and their creative expression. So for me, it's like, how do I play this song with the intent of what the studio had? Okay, but now that we're live, how do I make the artist feel like it's still exciting?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: And then okay, like, but it's that's just a lift. It's not really like me just doing all this stuff, it's like it's just a lift. Just a little bit of like, okay, this energy, because we gotta play this song every night for the next few months or whatever. And the best example I feel like as far as I I literally immerse myself in that sonic. So feels and everything, like, what makes sense for that thing? Like,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Got you.
Joshua Foster: for instance, like I had just played to India Sean's Till Infinity, right? So like Initially, when I hear that song, it's like it's got a 70s in it. So I love vintage stuff in it in general. And so
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: D Bowl's the producer on that, right? I get immersed
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Incredible, by the way.
Joshua Foster: in literally one of my favorite producers, but he's doing everybody direct at this Victoria Monet Airport. So yeah, yeah, he's cool, bro. He's chill.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. Yeah. I just met him and we we kicked it for a few hours. That cat is is so chill, but he
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: knows his shit. my goodness.
Joshua Foster: He all is it, bro. He he he cold with it. And so with that being said, that's that kind of stuff that I fall into. I know who did the records.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay, I see.
Joshua Foster: You know what I'm saying? Like I care, because I'm a producer, like, like and an artist myself. So like I I can't help but hear the production as a whole.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: I see. Okay.
Joshua Foster: So I'm like, okay, how do I give that what it needs and then make it live? And a lot of that I feel like is shown from my stuff with Renee.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm-hmm.
Joshua Foster: And I think for Mariah too, but like with Renee with T, like we get a lot of musical liberty because Renee loves live music, but there's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: still this level of integrity that I still want to uphold. So
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: when I'm listening to it, I'm like.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Good. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: There we go. so yeah, it's like I initially am like, okay, I wanna play the record and then I just wanna give it a little bit of a lift. But I think like people should be, come on, man. It's okay. I'm not mad at it, whatever.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Now's a vibe, you good.
Joshua Foster: But yeah, so it's just like I think If the integrity is what's on Wax then live, I should just be an extension of it. Like it should just be a little more present because I'm doing it. But like I never want to take away from the song itself. It's already what it is.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: and yeah, I think I feel like there's been a couple of times on certain things where I felt like I needed to add something to it. just like anyone else. But I fell out of that really quickly because when you get to hear yourself back on a recording
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm.
Joshua Foster: and you're like, That didn't need to go there. this didn't need to go there. And I think Tim talked about it too. Like when on on the episode y'all did where it was just like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, yeah.
Joshua Foster: you hear yourself back enough times, I guarantee you you won't you won't do certain things anymore. Just because now you're exposed to yourself. So I would say with learning music too for people, like especially if it's a new opportunity or something, but just in general, play
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm-hmm.
Joshua Foster: to the stuff and record yourself. And like record.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay.
Joshua Foster: So you can listen back. Like a lot of that stuff now with me learning songs, like the way I'm learning stuff for upcoming things, I don't it's not always a lot of time to like sit down and and record. But initially it was. It was enough time for me to do that to where it's like now I'm either sure I'm sure of myself. Like, okay, I
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: know I can do that and do this here, don't do that there. but song format, we should know that. We should know that, okay. Live, if the record didn't have a s a feel, a quick little feel going into the chorus, live, you're probably gonna need one of those.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: and how do you grow the song? You know,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: intro, verse, chorus, some songs have bridges, some don't now. So, but how do you grow a song of each song throughout the entire performance? So that
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: way telling the story from the beginning of the performance to the end. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: I think every musician should really value production and get into who's producing what records, why did they make these choices? Because if you can listen and learn what that is, that's ultimately gonna make your playing that much more versatile, one, but two intentional. And I tell
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: everybody that, even the lessons I've done, intentional, I use that word over and over because that's what it is. Like the more intentional
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: you are, the more opportunity you're gonna have because people trust. That you're thinking.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right. You you're not just arbitrarily just making decisions. You you confidently knew why you went where you went to. You know.
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Cause that's what wins anyway. It's like you're call I'm getting called based on how I think, not just how I play.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: Cause like I mean Ronnie talk about this all the time, but it's like the NBA or the WNBA, right? Where it's like everybody can play, everybody can dunk. You know what I'm saying? Everybody
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right, right, right, right.
Joshua Foster: is like six, three and up, right? So like everyone's tall, everyone has this amazing physique and and what they can do in athleticism and what what they can accomplish with that. But it's like, okay, but how do they think? That's what separates
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: someone who's who comes off the bench than someone who starts or
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's a fact.
Joshua Foster: or someone who has crazy stats. You know, that's that's what it is, man. It's just like how do how do you think? and
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: we can focus on how we think that'll that'll take care of the playing because then you won't just do random stuff. You you'll like be very thought out to where when you do play, you can think less because of your process before you actually got on the instrument.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm. Okay, so when you're when you first start, so let's say you got a week a week before rehearsal date for you.
Joshua Foster: Right.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: And you get this music and we're just gonna say that you got it a week in advance. And I'm only laughing because
Joshua Foster: Yeah, that that must happen.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: that well, a lot of times we get it less, you know. So
Joshua Foster: I know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: let let's just be kind to the situation to say you got a week before rehearsal. How soon are you putting hands on the on the music? Are you going straight into it? Are you taking a few days to what's that process like?
Joshua Foster: Glad you said that, bro. Honestly, like I'm the type of person that I don't go straight to like just jumping on the kit. I really because I have this thing where I've told people the foster rule of five. Of course, you know, when you're making something, you always put your name in it. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: but I said that because each time that you listen, you're subconsciously listening five times. But for for us as drummers, right? And and for people that may be watching and be a drummer, you just sub out based on your instrument. But the first time you listen is a blank listen. The second time you listen, you listen for your instrument. So for us drums, your third listen is for keys, synths and ox stuff. Your that's our third listen. Your fourth listen is for a guitars world and bass.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay.
Joshua Foster: Okay, what is the guitars and bass world doing? And then your fifth listen is just for vocals. So this is like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm.
Joshua Foster: if you gotta do something quick. And the reason I say that is because each time you listen, like you're still catching what's happening as a whole picture subconsciously.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: But but your focus dials in to a specific thing.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Got him.
Joshua Foster: so I would try that if it's not like, but if it's a lot of music in a weak time in a lot of the what we end up getting stuff to, like last minute sometimes, you
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: really gotta focus on your patterns because you're not gonna really have a lot of time to like focus on like what is the vocal doing every single song. That'll
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: happen as repetition happens and then you start to notice other things around
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: you, but like A lot for me has been off the kit, like just immersing myself and just hearing it back enough times to where I can like, okay, this is what the pattern changes. Okay, this kick pattern kind of does that here, it does that. and then I as a professional will go, okay, so these are the patterns. This is the record.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay. Yep.
Joshua Foster: But as a professional, it's like, all right, live? How would I then like, okay, so then we boom to. Got to go ahead. Cause now it's like, okay, as a pro, I'm being paid to to know how to know when to do that. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, yeah, okay.
Joshua Foster: but but I'm not even worried about that right now. I'm just like, all right, this is the pattern, this is the song. When we get in rehearsal or before rehearsal, I'm already kind of planning out my extra little things so
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: that way I can confidently play it and the and the musical director and the rest of the band can hear it.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: And we can all in that way, no one's like unsure of what I'm gonna do, or like, or in that way it's all intentional. But yeah, bro, for me, before I even sit at the kit with music, I sit and listen to all of it and and vi
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: and visualize what I would do where, but still kind of focus only on what's actually happening so that way I know verbatim, this is happening right here, this is happening right here. Like I don't like going into a situation unprepared with not knowing what's supposed to be happening where.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: Cause we I like an interpretation is not the record. An interpret no. Like I'm a verbatim type of guy, bro. Like it's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: it can't be an interpretation, bro. Like I and I and I that's the way I I was taught with that level of mentality. So I expect the same from everyone else. It's like, yeah, no. But yeah, bro.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right. But that's why they call you. It's like they understand you're you're not trying to interpret you or listening, dissecting, and then executing what's there. And then
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: to your point, you know when to add a lift or how to even if even if you're just playing the the the the pattern, right? You're you're you're
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: just you still got a a a something to it.
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: You know what I mean? It's a it's a little razzle dazzle to it that that makes that joint move live. You know that
Joshua Foster: Yeah. And and that's what you want to add. That's what you want to be in control of and how you add it because that's why you get called versus someone else getting called. Because at the end of the day, someone's gonna get the call. But that's why
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right, yeah.
Joshua Foster: I love people like I don't I just to throw out real quick, that's why I love Stanley Randolph so much. And that's why I love Daryl Lil Man Hal. And there's so many
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm-hmm.
Joshua Foster: other drummers I could name, but the reason I'm bringing up those two specific people. It's not what they play, it's how it feels from what they're playing. Like, like this man, Stanley, like for anybody, for me, being versatile is like playing Stevie's gig like that and then going to go play with Tim's and whoever else and play whatever. But with Stevie, you sound like like super Stevie. Like you don't sound like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: In there. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: it's not super clean. It's not super like. This is my version of Stevie. It sounds like that's what needs to be there. And the same thing with Daryl, bro, like Lil' Man, bro. He gets on those with and and he and he's played mad other gigs, you know, Nicki Minaj and all that stuff. But when people watch with him, Maxwell, I don't know if they're really paying attention all the time to like, he has made that thing like feel like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's crazy.
Joshua Foster: no one will sound like that on that.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's a fact.
Joshua Foster: It's like listening to Robert Glasper, and it's like. There's been several different dramas. But when when Chris does his little stuff
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: You know, said
Joshua Foster: And we all are like, man. Like now you can't unhear it because you've made it that valuable. And so that's what I want
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yep. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: to do. Long story short, that's that's how I think like when people call me, like they know they're gonna get the song, they're gonna get the record, they're gonna get that integrity, but you also gonna get a little bit of the finesse of like, but this is like that extra sauce that like I need that too. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: it's not gonna get in the way, it just helps the burger. It's the burger was already good, but like this that's the Big Mac sauce on the burger.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right. Right right.
Joshua Foster: That's that's what I wanna be, you know what I'm saying?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes, sir. That's dope, man. It that's a perfect way of describing that though. You know, you're you're not I find that when I hear guys that like when I ask them like how how'd you listen to this? Man, I I I was just listening to my part. I'm like, got it. So now I understand. You missed the whole picture. You only learned how to be a drummer. You didn't learn how to be musician. And there is and I that's my segue back to a point you made about music being a team sport, you know.
Joshua Foster: Yes.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's it's important and I would love to hear your ideology on this because you framed it that way, being a team sport. But what I notice is that if we just focus on our part, we've missed the team.
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right. It is that kinda your your your space of where you navigate as well? Okay.
Joshua Foster: I agree. I think You know, as a as a as a drummer, I feel like just in general, but for any band person, I think if you really want to do this at a high level, you're always gonna be doing it with a group of people. You're y you know, it's literally group one on one skills and just learning how to navigate, doing stuff with a team. I think
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: if you can't conceptualize teamwork, then you can't really do this at the highest level because what you do affects everyone else all
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: the time. And and especially on drums like Even if you're not the MD on paper, bro, you're the unspoken MD, bro. Like period.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: And I don't know how many times people can say that. MDs have said that. You know,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: but a lot of the times when yes, when people are like, Well, I was just listening to the drum pattern. Yeah, I'm the same way. I think you know, you've missed it if you are only focused on what you're doing. You need to be focused on what you're doing to understand how it affects everything else. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm.
Joshua Foster: Can't be focused only on that because you need to know what is happening with everything else. And yes, that's why I'm telling everyone, get into music production as a whole. Why did those producers do that from from like we I know we just talked about D Mile, but like Camper from all of these different who were producing people now, but that produced people then, Rodney Jericho, you
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: know, Tricky Stewart, L LA Reed, Babyface, all of these things like Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, why do they why did they do that with these songs? Because you want this specific thing to feel a certain way. So like if you don't understand why the bass player's pattern does that with the drums and how the vocal sits right in that spot and like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: And then like sonic spaces and stuff like that and and understanding that, then yeah, you're gonna miss it. And un unfortunately, bro, in this industry, what people are paying you for is to already know.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: On un and so to anybody that wants to be doing this, like if you don't already know enough, then you're not it it's gonna be gone before it even happens because when you get in these rooms, people are expecting you to know, man. There and I don't know how many times to say that because I really want people to do I want people to make it. I want people that really
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: want to tour. I really wanna see people win. I really do. And and a lot of the times it's so simple, it's too complex.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: Because it's like when people are like, this is what it takes to like, and yeah, and you tell them they're like, Man, it's gotta be, it's gotta be. And it's like, no, it's actually like these couple of principles, like if you can lock in on those and like stay consistent with that, you'll be good. But then you get
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Be solid.
Joshua Foster: but then you get a couple of opportunities and then now you now you showing up with a little more entitlement. And you, you know, then now you showing up late, and then all of the stuff that if you just kept doing that stuff, you would never worry about. But As long as we can focus on those beginning areas, you'll be fine.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: but yeah, man, serve serve the music. Be be intentional with that, you know. And hopefully, I would say that this doing what you do in music should really honestly just model how you are in life.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm.
Joshua Foster: And the more you're focused on on living life in a intentional way, in a
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: In a grounded way, whatever your belief may be. I feel like that's what's ultimately going to put people where they need to be. Because that's a that's really the thing, is like who you are when you off that instrument anyway. Like that's what people are gonna feel when
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes,
Joshua Foster: you're on it. So lean into that. But yeah, man, I think for people that want to get into this, learn about all the instruments. Learn about the the grand scape of music so that way when you get in these opportunities it's it's easier to go straight to what you should be doing.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yep.
Joshua Foster: You know, but yeah, man.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: And people can now you can go watch this stuff now. You producers are showing bro, Ryan Ryan Leslie was one of the first people I saw as a producer show his whole process.
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: You know, and that was eye-opening for me because I realized how much I wasn't hearing all of the music. You know, when you can watch someone
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: program this little synth that it then becomes panned all the way to the left that has a reverb on it, it's like when I can watch you play it, I know what I'm listening to. You know, and
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: it For musicians who have common folk as you know, a a
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: significant other or friends, it's when you're playing something and your your your friend is like, I didn't even hear that. That's the moment for you as a musician. You need to be able to hear everything. So when to Josh's point, if you can go back and watch a producer, T-Pain will literally do his entire process on stream. You can watch it.
Joshua Foster: Love it. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: So it's like if you can watch it now, you're you don't have to necessarily learn how to hear it. They're showing you what you should be listening right now.
Joshua Foster: Absolutely.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: And then you can apply it more. So for people who may not be able to, when Josh is saying immerse yourself in the music, this is what he's talking about is like learning how to hear the intricate details, learning how to hear that seventh background harmony that is, you know, tucked all the way in the back. Cause then when now when he's playing a verse and it might be a boring verse. If he can accent that seventh BGV back there, that's when an artist is like, you listening? Okay. Yeah,
Joshua Foster: You really listening because
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: you you hear me. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Joshua Foster: And that that leads to more things when you when they know that you listen to that, because it's like, you really care about the whole thing as a whole. You're not just back there playing drums. And then that leads you to more doors for everybody that wants to do more. Like just get in the room and do the first thing well. And like you'll get the other calls for the other stuff. But yeah, man, I yeah, bro. Again, a
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: lot of this stuff is stuff we could stay on. But yes, when I say Merse, it's definitely that. Like, Get into the details.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: For sure. Now you've you've had a crazy career so far working with a wide variety of musical directors. How did you navigate that? Because every MD is very different. You know,
Joshua Foster: Mm. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: the the their standards are the same. You know, they still want excellent, they still want the product
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: to be phenomenal. That the standards are the same. But they're I call it their ecosystem. You know, DJ has a certain way he wants to work, T Vaughn has a certain way he wants to work. You know, every MD is gonna have a way to certain work. So how have you navigated that? Because that's not easy.
Joshua Foster: Yeah, so the same way people that get paid that are actors and actresses, I'm not saying you have to act, right? What I'm what I'm trying the point I want to make is there's a there's different characters that people play in different places. And so as a musician, my versatility has to be in a place with these all the different MDs that I work with where it's like I already know what they're looking for for that for this sound. So Instead of me coming into it with my ideology of what it should be, I go straight to that thing where it's like, when I'm working with Daniel, like he don't mind me like being creative and stuff, as long as like for the majority of what we're doing, I'm like locked into what the song is and the feeling of what that song is.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: He could on it like he know that I got chops, but he does not care. Out of context. And a lot of the stuff that we've done, like, there's been times where I remember I'll never forget, we was doing this jagged edge segment on the black music honors. And I would do stuff like I've there's this the ending, there was this part at the end that had hits in it. It was like it was like four bars of basically an outro. Bro, I took all four bars in sound check. I mean, I'm I'm going. I'm
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, I don't know.
Joshua Foster: just letting them have it, right? And but I was like, at least let me do this. And then if he's like, yo, like cut it to a bar or two bar, whatever. So yeah, bro, that joint got cut to like a bar. And like right before the last one. And I wasn't sensitive, like I wasn't like mad, like, no, like this is what it is.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: But I was prepared to just go and then let him pull me back. Cool. So that's our dynamic. Now with T, T likes tasteful stuff in in different things and like that sneaky stuff. style approach where like with Renee and like and other stuff I've done with him where I can get in and get out, but it's not but it's still about the pattern. It's still about the song and then doing other things around. Cause T doesn't really care for him and Daniel. They neither one of them really care for like the super like fast chops, like the super
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: 30 second nodes and stuff. They do not r care about that stuff. And when I've heard it back, when I've done stuff like that, I also didn't stop. caring because then I'm like it don't actually fit. I'm getting off, but like that like it don't fit. So what
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, it doesn't work.
Joshua Foster: we're doing, but yeah, they everyone has a different thing that they like. But instead of me just like trying to see if they're gonna bend, I just go straight to it. And then if they're like, bro, you can you can you can
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, you can go. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: you can then I was like then cool. But I don't come to them in the energy of like I'ma just try something new each time I'm with them. I'm like no I know who they are
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: So I'm just like, I'm gonna do that. And that's kept me working with them. Instead of just, you know, being like, man, well, I'ma just do me. Okay. Yeah, no. But even
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: crib. Go you Yeah, you're going straight to the crib.
Joshua Foster: but I'm yeah, bro. Every MD I've ever worked with, once I once I understand what they care about, I then take on that. Like, okay, well, I should care about this. And then ultimately it ends up changing my ear too, because you start
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: value things a little bit differently. And they're both the guys I'm talking about are producers as well, outside of doing musical direction or arranging. So it's like they have a thought process where it's like, no, but this is why live, this elevates it a little bit.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: but yeah, man, I I I definitely go in and like play that character. Like so
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: with Daniel, I'm this character. With T, I'm this character. And then when I'm MD in my own stuff, I'm like, man, a little bit of that in my thing. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: then even with DJ, like, because we started doing some stuff. And like same thing. It's like he had there's a thing that you that he's and of course you know, but like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yep.
Joshua Foster: but like yeah everybody got their thing. And it's like all right just tap into that thing.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That yeah, it it's it really is that because you it's it's not it's not performance based of a a character. It's you have to take on their care, if that makes sense. Because
Joshua Foster: Absolutely.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: when they're calling us and it and we're assuming we're just being instrumentalists, they're really calling us to be executioners of their vision. It's it's not it's we don't have thoughts, right? We have influence and we have ability to execute, but If Daniel's telling you to do one thing or T Vaughn says to do something and DJ says to do something different, well then okay, that's just what's gonna have to happen right now. But you learn their care because I know DJ does not like all that fast stuff either. He he's he's not with it. He likes powerful Aaron Spears chops. Give me power.
Joshua Foster: Absolutely. Yeah. Stuff that's stuff that's gonna cut through everywhere.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Every time as soon as you go to finesse world, I immediately I'm like, my bad, bro. He's like, Yeah, yeah, what you doing, man? Go, go for it. But you you have to take their care on because now when T-Von's making this thing or Daniel's making this thing, and meaning they're arranging it, they're programming it, they had the conversation with the artists and creative and all these people, they know the whole picture. You don't, you only see what they told you. So now when they're telling you, yo, Josh, I need you to go here or Josh, I need you to do something different, you're trusting that they have the full picture in mind. Cause then when you get there, it's like, okay, now I understand when I when I went out to the front of the house and you sit next to Tim listening back to something, you're like, okay, now I see
Joshua Foster: Yes, bro.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: why this was what it was.
Joshua Foster: Absolutely. No, that I mean, yeah, that's that's what it is, man. And then yes, thank God for friends like Tim Hibbert, where it's like, hey man, you know, just come out the front of the house, man. Come
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Ha ha ha
Joshua Foster: Come listen. And no, I mean it helps. He don't, you know, obviously that's my dog, so we joke around and and
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: All day.
Joshua Foster: rag on each other all day, but like it really is all love and it's it's a growth thing where it's like, hey, bro, like Some of this is cutting, some of this ain't cutting. Like it may you may think it is, but like no, bro. But yes, with different MDs and different people, like it's important to like tap into their care. That was the best way. I've never actually heard it said like that, but that's what it
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: is. Because a lot of people don't understand, like with these different gigs and opportunities. Like people are calling the people that they're calling. One because they they l like that that person cares as much as them and that they can just trust you. Like a lot of people treat these gigs because it is. The same way someone else is going to a nine or five, this is our livelihood. So like if
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: you show up and like mess this up, like you're messing up someone's livelihood. So that
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Their dream. This there's how to provide for the Yes. All day.
Joshua Foster: Bro, so that's why that's why this thing is such so cutthroat. And why people like, man, this industry's so clicked up and it's not clicked up, bro. It's and if it is, it's clicked up for a reason. But it's it's not that it is clicked up. It's like, no, people got the people they rock with because they know they're gonna get the same thing every single time.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: And it's like that's why you you call the same people because you don't need it to go bad. I actually can't afford for it to go bad. Not one time.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, and they're busy. You know,
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: T Vaughn is is not just at the crib twin his thumbs right now. That's that's not how
Joshua Foster: No, he's not actually.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: this works. So when he gets into a space, he's calling Josh because Josh can get this across the finish line quickly. And the least amount
Joshua Foster: Yes, because
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: of time we gotta spend in this room, the better.
Joshua Foster: The better. And like also he gonna send me stuff and like like how do the drums sound? Are they already done like 'cause he ain't finna sit there and edit me. You know, and and was the trigger where it needed to be and all bro, nobody's finna do that, bro. Like I All of that being said, that's what it is, cause we that's that's another long discussion. But it's just like, yeah, man, like we
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: I'd love to dive down if if you're okay with it, man, because there there's a thing that we always well, at least I hear often, is a lot of gatekeepers and I can't get in and they always
Joshua Foster: Let's talk about that.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, I I would love to hear your your your mindset on 'cause you you you sprinkled on it, you know, a little bit but I
Joshua Foster: Yeah. I and it's kinda come up several times in the conversation because like it it's a thing where like, you know, again, like kind of that like that gang gangster mentality where it's like there's a unit and this is how we do things and the like mafia, like seeing
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. Right.
Joshua Foster: American gangster with Denzel Washington, like like same, like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: One of my favorite movies. Yep.
Joshua Foster: I'm I are there gatekeepers? Yes. Is that a bad thing? No, it's not a bad thing. And the reason is not because there's a certain standard and there's a certain integrity. That music has always had. And unfortunately,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: because of desperation,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm.
Joshua Foster: some people diminish the value to just get on or do whatever it is. And it's like, so that's why people will take a gig or take an opportunity that doesn't pay well.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm-hmm.
Joshua Foster: Just because of your hunger to just and your desperation to be on something, or that's why you'll cut corners with how you learn music or different things.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: And not it to your best of your ability. So, yes, we have gatekeepers because there's the integrity that needs to be upheld. Do I think we should we shouldn't have gatekeepers? No, I'm not gonna say that because every level of music and every level of business has a gatekeeper.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: Now, the the thing that people should be asking is not why do we have gatekeepers? It's how do I get through to a gatekeeper? And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: that's the better question because. You put the power on yourself to then become what's necessary to poke through.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. Yep.
Joshua Foster: When you when you're from a mindset of why do we have gatekeepers, you've already lost your mentality
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: winning mentality because you feel frustrated and more like on the defense. And it's like, no, like, how can you grow to the point where the gatekeeper is like, I need them.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: Because to be honest, bro, like even with with in the in the media world where as far as like movies and television and film, like there's gatekeepers everywhere. Tyler Perry is a gatekeeper, Oprah, all these people, right?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: But how many people have they blessed? How many people have worked with those gatekeepers and become a gatekeeper for themselves?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: People don't ask themselves why. Why are they gatekeeping the information? Why are they gatekeeping this thing? And all to your point, it's it's really just the ecosystem. You know,
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: I I've learned I saw this early on and I didn't know what I was seeing, but I I took away some valuable nuggets from it. I couldn't articulate it the same way I'm going to, but I I got a privilege of watching Adam Blackstone and they they were get they were rehearsing for Versus in Flow, the the TV show that was happening way
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: back in the day. one of my close friends, John Whit, they were rehearsing in Philly. And I lived in Delaware at the time. So was up the street.
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Gotcha.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: And John was so gracious to even to ask if I can come in and just observe. I went in with the mindset of shutting the hell up, sitting down, and just let me see what I see.
Joshua Foster: Right. Yeah. Right.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: So I I watched Adam Need Something from James, who was running monitors at that time. And and James
Joshua Foster: Game, hard emoji.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: said to him, It's already there. And I immediately said to me, that's why he called him. Because he had, they, they were running, they were running the song down. And once the song completed, Adam was like, hey, James, can we get this here? He was it was already there. Because during it, James heard it, knew it needed to happen, and immediately did it. That's why James got the call. That's why everybody in that room gets the call. That's why Josh is getting the call. That's why your favorite musicians, your favorite playback engineers, your favorite monitor engineers, your favorite PMs, TMs, road managers, everybody across the board, when they're getting these calls over and over again, it's because of their intuition. They understand their ecosystem, what they need. Chris Pooley calls a Sing American Idol Band for a reason.
Joshua Foster: Absolutely.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's because these men and women are gonna knock this out. They're not gonna complain. They're not gonna be, my God, this is so many songs. And they're just gonna get it done.
Joshua Foster: Right.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's why. You know, that's why you see the same people doing all this other stuff. But here's a news flash. There's room for you. Like where there's a need for it. Cause there's
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Well
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: there's times where I'm hitting our group chat. Yo, anybody know anybody that's available to do this? You know, and
Joshua Foster: Yeah, done.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: y'all will send names and things like that to to do whatever. But this is real. It's like we need people, but not at the expense of the quality going down. That's
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: the difference of what these people are. Gatekeeping to me, they're protecting their name and their dream and their vision. And I see nothing wrong with that. You know,
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: nothing at all. And there's one other question I would love to ask you topic-wise, if you got some time for it, is you
Joshua Foster: Yep, no for sure. Shoot.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: the there's a standard that is is out here that you know we'll we'll hear. I want to say a standard. Let's say this. There is a Some phrases and mantras that that are out here of you're you're diluting the game or y'all younger cats are messing up the the industry by taking gigs
Joshua Foster: yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: and and doing all this other stuff. So I've I've been toying with this concept because, bro, we want to help. Our our our fundamental being is that we want to help. So I'm like, how do we teach them a standard that was never defined? Right? So here's
Joshua Foster: Mm-hmm.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: what I mean. If we Want to be teachers, right? There is a trajectory. You go to school, go for four years, you at least have to get a bachelor's. And if you want a different pay scale, well, the state has decided that this is what you need to get this pay scale, and then go from here, and then you can go to college, you can be an adjunct, right? There's a trajectory, and we can Google off of
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: a state website what their numbers look like. Of course, they
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: can negotiate more, of course, there's tier systems in there, but we don't have that for musicians. We couldn't right now say. If you go to a club gig, this is on an average range of what you should get paid. There's nothing
Joshua Foster: Right.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: right now that says if you take an arena gig, this is what should get paid, right?
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: How do we help this if we don't define it? Right. Do you have any thoughts on this idea? You know, and and I'll add this. It's tough to tell someone not to take something when Whatever they're making at the crib is gonna be less than what it been to go.
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Yeah. Especially if they if they're in that position and they haven't done the thing that they feel like they should be doing, which is the opportunity that's calling. I mean,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: I agree. Certain things have not been defined as far as what the industry standard of each role and what it pays. I think if people care about longevity, then you care about relationships and then you have to I I put it like this, me being a teacher, when people ask me, I tell them Based on the relationship that they're bringing up and with the opportunity itself, I asked them, based on where you are and where you see yourself going, does this help you in your trajectory? If it if it helps you in your trajectory, then you have to think twice about saying no, even if it's not paying what it what it could be. If because if I tell you it's not paying enough, I could be telling you it's not paying enough for me.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: But that's after all of the stuff that I've already done. So no, it actually may be a great price for them at that point. However, or
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: even when I was at that point, right? But I do understand that, like, no, like I would tell somebody the truth and be like, hey, like if you're gonna do a tour, like you wanna be around, like as a teacher, I'm gonna give someone like a a quick class on like, hey, you wanna be around here. Like,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: even starting out, you wanna be around this number. Do you wanna be around this day rate? You wanna be around this per diem? You wanna be around this. But if they can't offer that. Then I'm like, okay, for your trajectory, how do you do you feel like if you don't do this, that you're not missing out on anything? Or that
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm.
Joshua Foster: do you feel like if you don't take it, you're gonna miss out on more because the whoever the MD is could lead to more? And so there's a lot that with music that we have to keep in mind. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: it's it's frustrating at a certain point because, yeah, you could do a gig and it's like, But we all trust God. So it's like he he gonna provide and and so I don't need to just take anything. But it's like, yeah, you don't need to take anything, but there's some things you do need to take. And a lot of I think a lot of what the the younger generation, what they're gonna find is like a lot I think what it is, a lot of people don't like the phrase, pay your dues, like you're gonna have to pay your dues. Because that's what it is. Paying your dues is like actually doing the thing that should have paid more.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: And it's like, it's not that it wasn't a cool opportunity. It was just that it didn't pay what it could have paid.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: But that's not a reason for you not to do it. Like my first tour paid before the Tyler Perry thing, my first tour paid $800 a week.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Bro.
Joshua Foster: And I'm just putting it out there because I'm like, I was doing Redemption of a Dog. It was Snoop Dogg's play on his life.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm-hmm.
Joshua Foster: and it was a play with Dakaris Johnson. I'll never forget. Was I making eight hundred dollars a week at home? Nope. My rent was actually dumb cheap. And that was more than rent a week doing that tour. So I took
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: my on that road. Was that tour the most amazing a as far as how it felt and all the accommodations? No. But if I stayed at home, there wasn't a guarantee that I was gonna make that amount of money a week. And at that time, me
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: So
Joshua Foster: and my homie had a room, a house that we were splitting, we were splitting the rent. It was like 475 for me. So making $800
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: a week, I win it.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, out of a week you was all your bills was paid in more. Right.
Joshua Foster: I'm gonna wait on every bill, every single bill. So yeah, at that time it made sense for me to take a eight hundred a week job. At this point in the game. That's not paying gas in Atlanta right now. Cause it's as high as LA gas. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, that's a fact, man.
Joshua Foster: but yeah. So with that being said, I'd I'd I would never shy someone away from an opportunity if they've never done an op something like that. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sorry.
Joshua Foster: but I wouldn't I would always base it off of their circumstance because you have to base it off of you. It can't be well. Well, they was making this with Janet. But that but that's Janet. You going out with such and such who just who was on their first tour.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, man. Yes, sir. Yep.
Joshua Foster: Your day rate and your day rate ain't finna be $2,000 a day. It's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: No.
Joshua Foster: not it's not gonna be that. And can that happen one day? Yeah, but like, is that what it is right now? No. And my thing is my biggest question, my not biggest question, my biggest thing to people is whatever gig you do say yes to, you cannot get on and complain after you say yes to it. Like, because
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: that be the thing, that really the main thing, like people be like. Man, I'ma just do it and then get on it and then now be frustrated. And it's like, no, like that's why in the beginning, you need to recognize is this something that is going to propel me forward? Is this something that I can make something for myself? Like, one thing for me, even with content, bro, like from those TV shows I was doing, I took that stuff and was like, I'm going to science experiment on myself and just post and be consistent. And what
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: do that led to my following? That led to other things, but I was cool. Even like those shows at that time compared to now paid two different things. Like when we first started, it wasn't like the most amazing pay, but was it and it's I'm not saying that it wasn't good pay, but from what I would hear about, which is why it's important
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right, right.
Joshua Foster: for everybody to not get caught up in what you hear. but like that thing from where it started to where it is now, and shout out to Daniel for a lot of that stuff. Like in a lot of the things that we've done, he's been an advocate for pay raises and different things, but like it was the opportunity. It led to the exposure. It led to
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Joshua Foster: the disability. but yeah, I think it's just people understanding that like there is no right or wrong price. There is more so of a does it is there a right or wrong price for you?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: For you. That's fair.
Joshua Foster: You know, if you got kids already and a wife, I would think about your time in a different way. And and
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: the value of your time. If you're single and you maybe you have a roommate or you don't, you know, all right, cool. I I I definitely feel like if I had to just put a number with stuff though really quickly for people, like if you're playing a gig and For a day rate with an artist, in general, I feel like a good rule of thumb, just in general, like being as close to $500 a day for a day rate is amazing. Like to start with any artist, at least that would be great. For a lot of artists, I would definitely bring it up much higher than that. But like, if I feel like if you've never done a gig, if you've never done a tour. And you make it and you go from making this amount of dollars a day to five hundred
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: dollars a day. Now in LA, that may not make the most sense, but here in Atlanta or
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: or in Philly or somewhere else where like the cost of living is not the same, that that goes a good bit of a way. And and obviously I feel like money is like is obviously a conversation that people need to be more open to having. but I feel like just a good na I'm not counting per dam in that. I'm just saying, like in general, like a good rule of thumb is like for me and what I tell people all the time, like shoot high and let someone tell you no. Ask them what the budget is or if
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Do I Yeah.
Joshua Foster: for your rate, shoot. But don't not put yourself out there and then and if they can't do it or something, because that's the another thing. I think being rejected is a fear. So like people are just like, I'm not gonna. Say what it is that I really want because they're gonna probably say no anyway. So then you're like, I'll take $200 a day. And they're like, cool, but they would have paid you seven.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. I said don't don't be scared to have the money conversation because before
Joshua Foster: Yeah, don't.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: you even got the call, they already had the money conversation. That's the biggest thing people forget is like before they called you, they've already said we want a ban and they've already allocated funds of some kind for the band. Now they may have to go back and say, Okay, well, we got Josh Foster who's this, this, and this, and he's needs whatever. All right, can we can we move this money around?
Joshua Foster: And we'll do that.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right. And they might finesse it. You know, if the MD's really going to bat for you or they they understand your value, they might finesse it. But to
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Josh's point is if you undercut it and they already allocated, let's say, because we're saying the number $500 a day, if they've already allocated five and you were scared and you threw out 200, they like, bet. They're now once again, the TM's responsibility is to save as much money as possible.
Joshua Foster: Yeah, it's possible.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's their job. So you can't get mad at them for doing their job. Their job is that. So if they're saying cool, well, I was able to get save us an extra $300 a day, the real management is like, yo, RTM is killing it right now. We they sell an extra, what is it, $2,100
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: a week? They were able to find.
Joshua Foster: Absolutely. And that's what I'm saying. It's like this is show biz. It ain't show friends. And so, like, which is why, and I'm not saying that like people should just stay at that number. What I'm saying is to, we're just using that number as an example. But yes, it's like, yeah, like ask what the budget is and see what they say. And then if it's like, again, get you a mentor, an OG, because
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: Budget is and then text your OG or your mentor and be like, Hey, I got called to do X, Y, and Z. What do you think about this?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. Yep.
Joshua Foster: And most of the time, the OG is not thinking about them being on the gig. They're thinking about what does that do for you? And they're like, they answer it based on you. And they're like, actually, man, like you should do that.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, it's not too bad.
Joshua Foster: You that's not too bad. You should do that. Or something else will come, man. Something else will come.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: What people gotta be okay with is when the OG says something else will come. And you shouldn't take it because when people don't take an opportunity, I know that I noticed that with a lot of the young homies and like opportunity don't go through. Before I did that first tour, guess what? My first tour I ever went on, it lasted one week and we was sent home. So I like that was my first experience with touring. And I remember
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: they said, damn, bro, don't worry about it. You gonna, bro, you gonna do something else. Exactly a year from that is when the Tyler Perry thing happened.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Wow.
Joshua Foster: So yeah, man, like be okay with them being like, nah, brother, I think you should sit this one out. Something else
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: something else better will come. But yeah, nah, man. Text that homie, that OG, bro. Like, text someone that's been there so that way you also don't shoot yourself in the foot. And that's what people are talking about when they talk about undercutting and and all of that thing. It's just like you are not getting the value of that job, regardless of you. This is your first time doing it, or you've been in the game for a while, is yeah, at a certain point, this opportunity should be paying this. Yeah,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right, exactly. Yes.
Joshua Foster: but it's just like, but if you got a mentor in your life that you can talk to, then they can help you with that because, or like honestly, like if people don't all have a mentor, like and and it ends up being one anyway, but a big sis or a big bro, it's the same thing. If someone in proximity to you is touring and doing a lot of recordings. And you look at they life, they drink they they got a nice crib, they got a nice car, they living. You
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: should be asking questions about what they drink what this
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: does this pay well? Because yeah, bro, like look at people's life.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: They're they're real live, not not the highlight reel on Instagram. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: They're not the highlight real. Look at their real life, bro. Like look how they pull up game is and and and you know what I'm saying. You go to their crib, like how they live and and and I've and I know some of it is not like s there's some people who are like very modest that make a lot of money that won't show a lot of stuff. So yeah, but when you go to their home, like you gonna know. When
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: You know.
Joshua Foster: when you you know who's who, cause they move a certain way and it's like Yeah, those are the people you should be asking, like, hey, what what do you think about this? And for me, I got several. One big brother I didn't name that I want to give his flowers to is Dre Bowman. Andre Bowman.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: yeah.
Joshua Foster: I just thought about that as it relates to talking about rates and stuff like I've I've talked to Dre about stuff forever, but amazing playback engineer, producer, bass player. y'all for those of you that do or don't know, Garga, Ariana Grande,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Insane.
Joshua Foster: Did Usher. Did everything he works with natural. Natural's amazing. The whole the whole crew is amazing. But Andre Andre Bowman is like when I say like family, he's been very vocal to me as far as like, hey, like I've brought up that conversation to him several times. Like, is this cool, that cool, whatever? He's like, Yeah, no, but you should do that. Or
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: I don't know, I don't know. For you, maybe, I don't know. And if he does that, then it's all Then If he put the ball in my court, cool. But he's been a big bro that's comfortable with making that conversation comfortable. So then it makes me feel like, okay, I can do that. And same thing with Daniel, same thing with Terrence, man. But Dre's been very influential in that. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: Terrence has always been that way, man. Like, hey man, don't ever be afraid to talk business because it's business. It's it's more business than it is music anyway.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: So yeah, bro, like you said, these TMs, they already know what it is. If they can save a coin, they're gonna save a coin. So
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: They gonna save it, man. I think that the the mentorship has kind of been our our
Joshua Foster: That's the anchor.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: you know, that's where we at. But for people who don't even have a mentor, so many musicians offer consultations. Pay for it. Just pay for
Joshua Foster: Bro, just pay for
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: it. You know, and if you become a cool cat, I've done it. I still do it. You know, if there's if there's some information out there that I really need to know and and
Joshua Foster: Yep. Yep. I forgot it.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: and I don't know that person. I don't necessarily want to use I can use my resources and have my friends be like, dog, you're you're enough that now you don't have to. But still, I'm like, I I don't know, man. I'ma just pay you for your time, bro. Just because I want your undivided attention. I don't want you to give me the generic, man, you be good, bro. You can't save that. I
Joshua Foster: And yeah. Right. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: just want the real now. And if I pay you for your time, we now agree that this hour block, we locked in for a second.
Joshua Foster: Absolutely.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: And it bro, it helps so much. So for anybody who doesn't necessarily have a, you know, a
Joshua Foster: It would.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: L, a, you know, a a DJ, a John Whip from from me, like all these people, bro, pay for it, man. I I've done bro, I pay Brian and I still would pay Brian over and over and over and over again anytime because he is a wizard.
Joshua Foster: He is. He broke he invited me to the crib. Like we've had we've had our moment. I've had I've had a lot of moments with a lot of people. I've
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah me.
Joshua Foster: had my my time with Teddy. I've had my time with with a lot of with Spud. I've had my you know, and even more with Spud. Like it's growing, which a lot of people don't even know because we from the same place, Dallas Fort Worth. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right, right, right.
Joshua Foster: a lot of our relationship has been since I've lived there in and in my trajectory now versus when I grew up. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: but yeah, like I think having these different people to to to you know talk to and it's important. And and I would say I would tell people too to pay for it. And like like because then now it's like your respect for it and your your hunger for that wisdom and knowledge is a good place where you sow into that. And then like that's gonna actually help you. So I mean, especially like like what you said, even with Brian and just like different people who've been doing this during for so long, where it's just like, It's undeniable, and if you don't go, that doesn't change Brian's life.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: No.
Joshua Foster: It it just doesn't. Like he's still gonna be doing it. And it's just like and there's a lot of mentors and people in my life that that nobody else will have certain access to that I wish they would have that access to. And that's why I'm like, if you can find someone who's willing to give that knowledge, bro, like hold on to it because that's not another thing Rick Watford would always say is mentors don't seek mentees.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: No.
Joshua Foster: But mentees think that way. Where it's like, well, they should. Nope. Mentees go after mentors. Rick Waffer says that all the time, bro. Like, like, and people had that messed up. Because that's the entitlement thing. But it's like, man, if you can
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: yourself and get with one. Bro, I got so many sayings and so many things from all of these dudes where it's just like,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: where it's just like, man. If you follow these roadmaps right here, you're gonna be good. And they tell me when I see it, it's not something that I'm saying for myself. They're like, man, Josh, you you man, I'm really proud of you doing what you're supposed to do. You listen. So
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, you listen.
Joshua Foster: and so then they want to give you more information that because they're like, all right, well, the last thing I told them he's doing. So because some people don't know that some of their mentors are actually testing them to see if they can call them for a gig. It's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's always that.
Joshua Foster: it's always, but that's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's always that.
Joshua Foster: But nobody nobody really thinks that way for the most part. Like I've seen people like it be like and I'm like, man, like a part of the reason I can't call you to fill in for me is and 'cause a lot of people ha asked that question. And I'm just like, It's how you think.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's also a weird question. That's also a weird question.
Joshua Foster: I mean, it's a weird, it's only a weird question because the the fact that you like if you see already this, especially if you're close to me, like if or if you get close enough where it's like, you see the stuff that I'm doing to do the things that I'm doing. And I'm not saying you have to play like me or approach stuff like me, because I'm never thinking that way. And I don't think any other person who wants to help someone is thinking that way. It's so of the same conversation about the MDs. And the level of care. When you see some when we see something in someone else, and when a mentor sees something in us, it's like they see the hunger to be excellent and to care and all of these things. And they're like, bro, I'll get this dude like anything. This will I'll get this girl anything. Like I know mad people that are that are cool with doing that. But yeah, bro, I mean, that's really what that is. I mean, it's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yep.
Joshua Foster: it's that simple. for the people who have mentors. keep applying yourself with them. For the people who don't, I would get it. And then to your point earlier, if you can't, if there's no one in your proximity, you there's so many YouTube videos of different people talking about what they're listening for, what they what they value, what they're listening, and then use your social media and use your presence to build on the thing that you've been seeing that works for
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: for what you want to be doing, not for what's working for the other person. What do you What do I, John Doe, want to do and then now I apply that to me and then watch God do the rest of the stuff because now you're activating your faith by actually doing something. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: then he can come in and then like add this stuff, but like, yeah, bro, there's too much information out here now to like to work. There's too much
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: opportunity to work. Like. But yeah, the same people are gonna keep getting called until the our generation and the generations on continue to like shift the mentality to like what matters. And as that
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: mentality shifts, more opportunity will come and more, you know. So yeah, man.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Absolutely. I love that. I know we I gotta get you out of here, but I would love to also talk about your artistry, man, because
Joshua Foster: yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: the world well the world knows how phenomenal you are as a drummer, right? That's what we know. But dog,
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: your artistry's phenomenal, man. So so is that always been a goal for you? Is that been
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: your primary for where where is your head at with it and talk about your artistry, man? Because we got to promote
Joshua Foster: So no,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: this.
Joshua Foster: I I appreciate it, you know. And so a lot of people obviously so which I'm glad I I'll say it here is the first time I'm I'm saying it, but like so like because people go to my page, like a couple of people didn't understand, like even me changing it to abbreviate. It's my last name. I'm going by foster,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: but it's foster world is the only thing that was available because foster wasn't available. me to use. But in my artistry, I feel like you know, a drummer is who I am. There was a time when I was trying to figure out how to like rebrand to where it was just me as an artist, regardless if I'm playing drums or whatever. And it just it just felt it didn't feel genuine. And I remember my mother-in-law and I had this conversation, and she was like, when I said something like, I'm more than a drummer or you know, and and I was on my rant one day just about how I see myself and and all of that kind of stuff. And she
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: was Josh, like nothing's wrong with that. Like I understand, like you you're you're a businessman, you wanna get in all these things and that have nothing to do with music solely. And and but you are a drummer and that's great. Like and and and so like with like I said, with being at home, I've been in that space of gratitude of like what drums has actually done in my life. So
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: my artistry will forever be attached to that.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: The song I put out, you remind me, is a cover Patrice Russian. And I did that because I wanted to now show people me playing and singing. And like, okay,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm.
Joshua Foster: where is he like, all right, he's bringing us into something? Drums is always gonna be a part of it and the instrumentation will be there. my original stuff, bro, I'm very excited to share. I plan on dropping an album this fall.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Great.
Joshua Foster: and I plan on touring as an artist. I plan on doing my own tours. It'll be with a band.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Let's go.
Joshua Foster: But yeah, man, I I've always felt like there was more for me than just playing drums. I'm a producer. I'm a I'm a I I look at myself as like just I I just love all of music. Like so playing drums, what people experience for me while playing drums is ultimately how much I care. That's what people are experiencing. It's like I care about every note. So that's why when you go see videos and stuff, or if it looks like I'm kind of dancing and and all of that, it's like, or like the feeling is all the way in it. Like my playing is very emotional because it it is that. But it's it my artistry is the same thing where it's like, okay, I'm not gonna claim myself to be anybody's best singer or anything like that. But I understand that the message I have is for a lot of instrumentalists that may not ever do this, which
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: I want to inspire instrumentalists. That are gifted at several different things to like go after their thing, go after whatever it is. And for me, I just like creating music. I like production. I like so yes, my artistry is is an avenue where I can like just do my thing. Because
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: for instance, a lot of people that are aware that after party, we did that. The last one we just did was I did two. I did one in 2024 and then one in twenty the top of this year, 26. And This last one I just did was the last time I'm just gonna do like covers and we play stuff. And it this next one is literally gonna be original music.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Let's go.
Joshua Foster: I plan on turning that into a festival. I plan on like doing a lot of other stuff. But jumping into artistry is like, bro, like I know there's a lot of a lot of guys and girls with a voice that they that they just won't use it because it's cool. You can make a living doing what we do. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: you and if you want to do that. I say go for it.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: Me and Jermaine Poindexter had that conversation all the time. We've known each other since Berkeley and we've talked, and he knows too. Like, I've told him what I wanted to do and with my artistry and different things. And he was like, bro, like you can do it, but don't ever for one second think that you couldn't do it from drums. And and a
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: lot of that stuff is what stays with me, where it's like, that's my superpower. So
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: my art, and then I started thinking, okay, well. What took me so long to even be okay with it and and should I go is cause like but we already have Anderson Pack. We already we already have Phil Collins, we already have Larry Blackman, we already have Maurice White, we already have all these band leaders and bands and different people. We have Ghost Note, we have all of these things where you're you're playing and singing or or rapping or whatever. But it's like Yeah, but that's authentic to them.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: To them, yes, yes, yes.
Joshua Foster: My sound is my sound. My music is a mesh between Phil Collins, D'Angelo, Prince, McGee, Dejan, like all of that
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: stuff where it's like it's everyone music. It's not really musician music.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: It's it's not instrumentalist music. It's the average listener music. Like it sounds good. The drummers are gonna love the drum tones.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Of course.
Joshua Foster: you know, and the in the musicians gonna love the sonics, but I want people who, you know, I want my family members. I want your cousin, your your auntie to listen to it. And even when they
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: the house and they just having a family gathering. And you can play my stuff in the in the background and and like D'Angelo and all these other people we love, like we love it because of how it felt. So, bro,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: with my artistry, I'm very excited about it. that's coming very soon. And My goal is either whether if not this year, 2027, I do plan on like doing a tour.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Great.
Joshua Foster: and and my goal is in between touring with other artists. And of course my wife is an artist, so I program her stuff, put her shows together. The goal for our household, bro, is for both of us as artists to be on the move, on the go. And that's that's what the future is gonna ultimately hold. But in the meantime, I'm not you know, not playing gigs or not doing stuff because I want to do my artist.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: No. It's just like Kenyan Dixon or, you know, mad other people who sing background for other people and then they go do their thing and like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: both Duran Bernard with Eric B with Erica Badu. Like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Absolutely.
Joshua Foster: you do all the things and then when your moment comes ride
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yep, go for it.
Joshua Foster: ride that wave, go for it. But that's where I'm at. That's where Foster is. That's where, you know, Josh is Josh is I'm still Josh, but like My artist is foster. Like that's what that is. And so, you know, it's still me. It's still
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. Right.
Joshua Foster: me, but it's another layer of me. and so man,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: I'm excited.
Joshua Foster: man, I'm excited too, bro. I really am. Like,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: I was just talking to a friend before this call, Eli and Boho plays base. A lot of people, you know, he know him. Like he's he's amazing.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: I was gonna put out another Cover before I dropped like the album stuff. And then I was like, I don't know if I'm gonna do it. He's like, bro, you got to, bro. I just did like 48 takes of this song.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Ha ha.
Joshua Foster: Cause he he wanted it to be perfect. Cause he know I'm
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: he don't need that many takes. But but yeah, I think this this this new level, man, I'm excited about navigating that. And for a lot of the drummers and different people to just see, hey man, like whatever you put your mind to, like. you can do. I'm a very optimistic person. I'm a very like, hey man, whatever the goal is, we going.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, it's good to it, yeah.
Joshua Foster: But yeah, bro, I plan on doing it soon. So I I'll keep you posted. Keep you posted. Yep.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: I'm excited. Yeah, please do. Please do. And we'll and we'll we'll definitely promote all that for you as well. You know, in addition to everything you're doing.
Joshua Foster: You're science.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's that's important. I I hope people understand a lot of what you're saying and and really understanding that you've diversified yourself off of your instrument. You
Joshua Foster: Yeah, yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: know, you're not just a drummer. You're you're talking about programming, you talked about arranging, you talked about doing your production, you know, you've talked about your your lessons and consultations and You know, growing your brand and your social media stuff. It's like, I I I know people love their instruments and I feel you. Like I really, I'm with you.
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: But to really make a living at this and have some solid, some solid ground to stand on, you do need to diversify yourself a bit.
Joshua Foster: You do. You do, man. And until you do that, you know, you won't see the biggest return on your investment. But once once people do that, man, I think it'll really it'll start paying off in a in a very great way. In a very
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: and I appreciate you, man, for you know, having me and taking the time to to have me on here. And you know, 'cause I I knew it would happen at some point. For those of you who don't know, I hit Jarvis and I was like, man, so I I I guess I can But but no, I I
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's nonsense. That's complete nonsense.
Joshua Foster: really do appreciate it, man, because I I I feel like us creating this conversation and having it more and more for people to see from different people at every level is very
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: important. Because yeah, bro, we didn't I didn't see this. I didn't see a bunch of conversations like social media happen for everybody at the same time. So
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: when and and even YouTube and how big like podcasts and all of these things are where you can get all this information. Man, just think, you know, rest in peace, bro. Aaron Spears. If more people heard Aaron talk, 'cause like in the conversations I did have with him and a lot of people can speak about those conversations.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: This type of dialogue with him at that height of everything that was happening for him and for most people that know him know how sweet of a guy like just like this
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: great guy, bro. Like, and I mean it's super genuine
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Everybody says that. Everyone. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: and will take your head off on drums. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Quick.
Joshua Foster: but like just that kind of stuff, like us having this opportunity, man, is a is a really big blessing because you know every all of these voices that that you're bringing on here, it's it's a it's a you know it's a a really a love to you and just like a shout out to you for taking the
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Thank you, man.
Joshua Foster: time to create that space because sometimes as creators we feel like I don't think I have all the tools to get started at whatever that is. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: you went on ahead and was just like I'ma just do it. I'ma just
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes, let's get it done.
Joshua Foster: I'ma just get it done. And that's really all it is and everything that we're saying. If you just the mind the mindset shift to just to go. So thank you, bro, for for having me and for having all the people that you've had. And because I've been able to watch and just see like you're
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Thank you.
Joshua Foster: like, you know, just because you're your yes and like I'm gonna do it, it's led to so much more. Even for you outside of drums and like your the the philosophical mind and like how you care about bringing community and that
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: The thing, even in our and you know, in the group chat and all of that too. So yeah, man. Thanks again, bro.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Thank you. Yeah, it's it's it's just important. You know, we we didn't have a lot of that. And all to your point, it that's the whole reason is that there's there's so much information out there. And then when people are asking questions like, where did you learn this from?
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay, we have to help you, you know. So and and bro, it for some reason everybody in our class right now is on this give, give, give aura.
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: And I'm loving it. You know, I'm loving every minute of it. I can I can text Kyrie. I can text you. I can text Clem. I can hit everybody right now
Joshua Foster: And people
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: and everybody's just down.
Joshua Foster: Yeah, yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: You know, so so thank you, man. I do appreciate it. So once again, Josh, you you're you're one of my favorite people, bro. But I respect you. You you're I'm proud of you. You know, I'm honored to call you a friend. I'm I'm honored to watch you develop as a man and love your wife and and be a good person. And bro, just thank you for just taking time. That was two out of your time that you didn't have to take for us, man. But thank you for making the time, bro. It it means a lot. My dad.
Joshua Foster: No, for sure. Thanks again, Mc Thanks again. I enjoyed my
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: My dog. I appreciate you, man.
Joshua Foster: Yeah, man. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Well everybody, thank you so much for tuning in, ladies and gentlemen. Josh Foster, man.
Joshua Foster: Man, you know, ironically, you know, as much moving as that's normally happening, like right now, it's been a lot of locking in here at home. being here
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay.
Joshua Foster: with the wife, getting her ready for her shows, a lot of programming, a lot of studio stuff, a lot of recording, not a lot of road stuff since March, the last run with Renee. Once I got back from that, it's been like a couple of in and out things, but for the most part, definitely home base. And it's It's been really grounding, I will, I will say, like, cause
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay.
Joshua Foster: I don't know if we talked about it, but like I we have bought a home in 2025. So thank
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Congrats.
Joshua Foster: you, bro. So at the top of 2025 to now, you know, it's just like finally being able to enjoy home for a while. Cause as soon as we got in the house the next day I was I was gone. So
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: He was out of there.
Joshua Foster: I was out of there. So this year I've actually been able to enjoy home. And so it's a blessing, man. It's it's a real blessing. 'cause it's the rest of the year gets pretty pretty moving. So I'm I'm I'm enjoying it, bro. I'm enjoying it. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. How's that transition from home or from tour to home been?
Joshua Foster: It's been cool, you know, when you have when you have a talented creative wife as well,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: you know, a lot of the being away, like cause she's focusing on her thing, I'm focusing on my thing, but we it's we're still a unit. So finding that healthy balance is often pretty cool. It's challenging, but it's cool for us because in a lot of ways, you know, if we have rehearsals or different things where I'm stationed somewhere long enough. I'll fly her to wherever wherever we are.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right, right, right.
Joshua Foster: and and and and it kind of works out unless she's gigging or doing doing whatever it is she's gotta do. But I think it is a little different at first because you get used to moving so much that you fall in love with the go. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, yep.
Joshua Foster: and for me, I am like she's that way too, where it's like, I'm always ready to just go, man. Like If I feel like I'm at the house too long, like I man, I just gotta drive down the street or I I gotta go to
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: the gym, I gotta go wash the car. Like I gotta, it's just that movement thing that like you get
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: to that I will say is difficult when for a while, for for a moment you're just sitting. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: it's like you start feeling like lightweight, out of place, and and not necessarily depressed, but kind of it's confusing, yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's confusing. Yep.
Joshua Foster: And that navigating that space is the difficult thing. and I'm sure we'll get into it, but I'll throw this last thing in there because that for me as a man, a
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: lot of where I've put my worth is in my movement and how much I'm doing.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Wow.
Joshua Foster: And and and it's and it's not something that I feel bad about because I I love working. I love like I'm I love to to provide in that way. I love to go, but sometimes that you attach yourself too much. To the movement and to the goal. And it's and it's and it's slightly an ego thing, but it's also a pride thing where it's like, I take pride in doing that thing that helped
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: my family, but it ultimately sometimes can bite you in the butt because you're like, you've put so much stock into that. And so you Yeah. And so when you get
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes. Like your identity almost gets wrapped into it. Yep.
Joshua Foster: home, then you realize I'm more than that.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, it it's a it's like a delicate dance we have to do because now man is the priority thing, right? That that's just like our our what we are. This we're we're
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: men and what we believe in with our faith and religion and you know that kind of space. We are the leaders of our household. And we'll clarify this does not mean our ladies don't have a say that they're they're not in this isn't a dictatorship. You know, that that's
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Right, right, right. Just gonna put that up there.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: yeah, we want to be very clear about this. They're they're one hundred percent equals. In terms of what we do with in our household. However, where we are is like we we try to provide, and how we provide is attached to that that go. The thing
Joshua Foster: Yeah, yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: that had to shift for me, and I don't know if you feel this way, was ultimately, what is my life, right? What what do I believe in? What do I want it to look like? And it's like my lady is a part of that, you know, and she deserves the equal amount of attention that we put behind our instruments, or we're MDing, or we're going. It's like so the. What I my last tour I came home, it was easier because
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: my purpose wasn't attached to the gig. You know,
Joshua Foster: Right.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: like it's been for so long, right? Because we've worked for twenty plus years to get as excellent
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: as we are, you know, at what we do, and this is the world saying that, not us. you know, this this is just one of those
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: things. But I don't know if you feel that way, is it's like shifting the brain and being like, well, I don't have to just do this right now. I could just love and and be there and you know.
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Yeah. And and that's a real thing. I you know, I and that's what I was gonna say too in this season that I have been home more lately, the past couple of months. I've all I've been focused on is being present.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: Being present at home. So that's that's what it's been for me for the past few months, where it's just like that's all I care about right now. So like yeah, I'm still getting calls and and doing stuff and working on, you know, my program and and then cutting drums for different things and recordings and all of that, but I'm still just trying to be present in a different way and and in the best way possible. Because you're right, man. Like I've always tried my best to and to never get let the hype get to me mentally anyway. That's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: naturally just been me. And anybody that really knows me, such as yourself and and many of us, like I like, I'm grateful for the for the for the love that's shown and the people that admire what I do. But I know that, you know, God has blessed me with what I do in a in a
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: great way. and the different opportunities that has come from that, I'm very aware. So it's like it would be, it would be crazy for me to be walking around wearing that stuff. Like,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: you know, like I just I personally can't do it because I'm I'm gonna feel some type of way. And then once you get home, as you already know, none of that stuff matters anyway. It all stays at the door.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mattering.
Joshua Foster: 'Cause like your wife or your girl, whoever that may be watching this and will look at this, y'all already know when you around your family, you're just Josh, you're just Jarvis, you're just whoever they know
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: you as, not what you do, not what you can contribute. So yeah, man. Yeah, bro. We'll be on that all day. We'll be on that all day.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right. They they know us. But I bro, it's so important, man, because the younger cats and and we've been there so and we're not far removed, which is secretly this is why I love this podcast, because I'm talking
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: to people that were in it and we're not necessarily OG space where our our mentors guide us, but we're not
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: the younger cats either. But we didn't develop this mindset and ideology until recently. You know, this isn't Something we were thinking we were eighteen or twenty or we were thinking, I
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: wanna have a house, you know, I want to have a nice car, I wanna be able to provide, I wanna be able to do certain we weren't thinking that stuff, man. We were just like, yo, how do I get on the stadium gig and all these endorsements?
Joshua Foster: Right. bro. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Now. Like that was not a thing we're
Joshua Foster: That's such a conversation that I'm like, you know, we gotta unspook unspookify this endorsement conversation. And like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yo, go for it. spook of fire, bro.
Joshua Foster: as soon as you said it, and and I have young homies that may see this that will n they know I'm probably like talking about them. but
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Ha ha ha.
Joshua Foster: when it comes to like all of that stuff, bro, yes, the reason we got into this to and to stay on where we're at, that wasn't the why anyway. The endorsement, the gig like first you love to play. Like you just genuinely love to play. And then
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: you see someone that you admire that, I can do this with my gift. I can do
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: this with my talent. Then you're like, all right, so now I know I could do that type of gig. I could do TV, I could do a tour, stadium, whatever it is. Then it's like, okay, now the gear thing. Why they play that kit? Why do they play those symbols? Why do they play those drum heads? Like all of the steps, like that, that's like the last thing. And so when we get to this place where like everybody is like trying to do it the reverse way,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: how do I get the endorsements? How do I get the gear? I want my setup to look like this. I want all of this to look like this. And then, but the gig I want is all the way over here. Like that's the last
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: I'm like, bro. If we can get out of the mentality of like what gear I'm playing, who sees what gear I'm playing?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: How much, what setup do I have? And bro, do you know this music? Are you gonna show up on time for this music? Are you gonna have the gear that's needed for the gig, the music you're about to play?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm.
Joshua Foster: So it's just I I don't want People to get the wrong idea that there are levels to the understanding of like what it is you should be doing. The the endorsements and shout out to all the companies that we rep, you know, across
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: the board. This is no shade. What I am saying is there's a priority list that musicians have as a whole, we should have. And the music should be number one. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. Yes.
Joshua Foster: then right with that, these the companies that we work with and that endorse us and we endorse them and we and we have this. unique di a relationship between us. It's it's a partnership, but
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. It's really a partnership. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: but that shouldn't be why you do what you do. It should help you do what you do at the
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: highest level. You know, because at the end of the day we, you know, relationship is gonna be the thing anyway.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Everything.
Joshua Foster: but it's just like man, like that always blows me when it's like, well what gear are they playing? Can you tune a kit that's $200? If you can tune a kit,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Man.
Joshua Foster: and that that's just for drummers, but it's like, man, like if you grew up in church, if you couldn't play a Casio as a keyboard player, I don't really care if you got a Nord or a Motif and and and we
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It didn't matter. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: have the the rack. And man, I don't care about none of that stuff. Like, if you can play the instrument with care and intentionality, regardless
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: of what it is, then yeah, man, when that endorsement comes, it it'll feel better. But it it's not it you are The chef cooking the meal. That those ingredients, okay. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right. Right. That's a beautiful way of putting that. Like a beautiful way of putting that. Yep.
Joshua Foster: That's what it is. Like, it don't matter what kit, bro. If Jarvis don't sit down and feel like I can do this regardless of what I'm playing, then then that's a problem. And we need to look at something else deeper, you know, to to focus on. But but no, man. So yeah, just, you know, because that's a rabbit hole too. I just that's the one thing that always gets me because if I be honest, it took me a long time to get endorsements. So that's why.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Same.
Joshua Foster: My view on that is a little different because and it's not out of bitterness, it's out of priority. Like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: I didn't care. I was doing the gigs. I don't care what gear
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: I'm playing. I'm on the gigs. And guess what? That goes to my bank account.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Whole conversation too, man.
Joshua Foster: So it's just like, I don't care. Like, bro, I could be playing like bro, I gotta I I I have an old CB seven hundred kit that some people probably don't even know that. Like bro, I recorded on that thing so much. That joined us on some
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: Ryan Carey songs on some albums on the last album
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Ay.
Joshua Foster: dropped. And it's like it sounds like a love wig, but it's not that. And I say all of that to say, man, it's just like one of those things where it's just like I'd rather be the I'd rather be the value and have the value and then
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: company that. Obviously, now is Tamlin. I love them. And other companies that where we come together and now the value goes up.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: But I think people put the value with the company and not with themselves. And so when you get together, if you no longer are with that company, now your value's gone.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right. And I'll co-sign this point. Is like when you get to that, when you finally get there, it's like Josh just signed a town. We'll just use this as an example because it's it's here and now.
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: You're able to negotiate things a lot differently because of where you are, who you are as a person, what you're able to do on top of the gigs that you've been able to, you know, to to land and place and secure and keep. You know, that that's very important. Right.
Joshua Foster: That's that's another thing.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: But But this is this is the most important thing is like because now when you get there, you're not just on the roster. You now become a name that's on the roster. You know, now
Joshua Foster: Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: you become a valuable asset who they also want to pour into. And now they're saying, Josh, we got a Tamma shoot that we wanna do. Are you available to come shoot some content with us? Okay, so now we're partnering, we're cross promoting brands and we're doing If you're just in a and this is known not to anybody, but if you're just a person that is doing some local stuff, that's not as valuable to them on on in a marketing standpoint because we are the marketing. You know, they're deciding
Joshua Foster: Right. Right.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: to take their marketing budget and saying, Here's artist. We're giving them the money, aka the gear or whatever our deals are. And then in
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: return, we need you all to promote it. So then we move product off the shelf. That's
Joshua Foster: Absolutely.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: the circle.
Joshua Foster: Business. It's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's it. There's no other way of cutting this. And it doesn't matter how sweet you are. If no
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: one sees the product, they it's not it's not marketable. You know, I could take some eyeliner right now and put it on, but no one's looking at Jarvis for eyeliner. You go give it to Kim Kardashian, that makes a lot more sense.
Joshua Foster: Absolutely.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's why Josh is valuable. Josh is valuable to a, you know, who are you with now? Zildjian? Yep, yep.
Joshua Foster: Zildjian, Zildjian, Tama, Evans, well Diodario Evans.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: And then All Claire.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes, sir.
Joshua Foster: I'm looking around so I make sure I don't miss nobody. Gibraltar Gibraltar.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Any electronics right now? Yep.
Joshua Foster: Roland. I so Roland is the only thing. Yeah, if y'all watching this, we need to have a conversation. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Same.
Joshua Foster: But no, rolling is the only thing I'm not like fully endorsed with. Everything else, I I don't think I missed anything. sorry, dial tune, King's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm-hmm. Duh.
Joshua Foster: King's custom drums. so yeah, all of those, like, you know, and those and all based off of really great relationships. And yes, value, where it's like a lot of those companies. And I told people that too, where it's just like, you know, obviously it's great to have dope gear, but like I can call each of the rep, like I can get, I can get a hold of them. They want to talk. We we you know it's not that thing where it's like you said, you're just another person on the roster.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: And that's a big deal, man. That's a big deal for me.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: and it's always been like I I always wanted to make sure that like I was doing the thing that made it valuable. I would rather you put my name with those people than like I don't care about no hype at all. And most people know that. Like I just don't. Like I'm I there's a lot of people I love, but like for myself personally, no matter where you put me, I want you to put me in the working category. That's that's it.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Th there you go.
Joshua Foster: That's it. And the people that need to know me in that category, they know me and and we'll we'll we'll leave leave it at that.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. Well was that always your your mindset and personality, or was that something that you developed later on?
Joshua Foster: No, I th i i I think it was always there. you know, I I was blessed to leave home and then go to Berkeley, right? And so going to Berkeley, I was exposed to a miniature version of what the world as as music would look like, right? All these different genres, different opportunities, whether it be production, whether it be studio playing, whether it be live playing. and and I think that For me, my biggest thing was how versatile could I be. That was what
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm, okay.
Joshua Foster: I want to be, because what people have seen me do versus what I've done like in recordings or as a whole, I've been able to do a lot like from straight ahead to to Neo Soul to to RB, hip hop, pop, rock, funk, whatever it is. I I
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: I biggest thing was I want to play every genre authentically, no matter what.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: And you've been doing it that well for a long time. People don't know what a dog. I first
Joshua Foster: Thank you, bro.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: found you when you were doing Tyler Perry.
Joshua Foster: For real? Damn, bro. That's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Dog Yes.
Joshua Foster: that's several years ago, 2019.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's dog. I remember watching the play and I was like, who in the hell is in this band? Like 'cause y'all were killing. And I mean killing. And I'm like, Good.
Joshua Foster: So thank you. Yeah, shout out shout out to Ronnie Garrett. in that unit. we had Ronnie Garrett's Tyler Perry's MD, and then we had Good Times Horns, who are out with the homie DJ with with Doge, Melvin Jones, Mike Burton, Will Williams,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Legends right there.
Joshua Foster: Dominic Sanchez on guitar, Natalie Reagan's on Keys, Ox and Oregon, and then my bro Pat Wright from Texas was also on. mains, ox, and keys. They both switched versus what we were playing. And then
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: but no, on this tour, Mel Mike Burton wasn't with us. It was Jamel Mitchell on
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Got you.
Joshua Foster: saxophone while Mike was doing a couple of other things. And then lastly, making sure I'm not leaving nobody out, Darius Fentress on percussion. Yeah,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay, yes, sir.
Joshua Foster: Darius Fentress on percussion. So yeah, that's the guitar base. Both keys and all the horns. Yeah. It was nine, it was a nine piece special, is what we called it. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sheesh. Y'all were so killing.
Joshua Foster: yeah, man, thank you, bro. So that was that was I did a tour before that, but that's the first tour that I count that was like eye-opening to like doing thing, doing everything intentionally, no matter what. And I felt like that was it. But that show, we played a lot of different stuff.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay.
Joshua Foster: Bro, like what people don't know is like, yeah, when we get to the show, it probably ends up being about 15 songs total. And a lot of that is the medley at the end, you know, at the end of a Tyler Perry play, there's the medley and they do all songs. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: there's other stuff we play throughout the show. But rehearsal? We went through like 50 songs, bro, in one week.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Really?
Joshua Foster: yeah. Because what's gonna get cleared that we can perform live and record it later. Cause this
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: I see.
Joshua Foster: is it, cause it went to BET Plus. That's on BET Plus now for you know from then, because we recorded that in 2020. The top of 2020, right before the pandemic, was like our last few shows. And because the first run lasted six months, bro. The first run was six
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's crazy.
Joshua Foster: months. It was crazy, bro. And we played like Eight, nine shows a week. It was Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, two on Saturdays, sometimes three, and two on Sundays.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: So you're like a real Broadway schedule? Yeah, okay.
Joshua Foster: Yes, bro. Like you with with what what QB doing all the time? just doing Hamilton. It was like that type of schedule where you gotta be so
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: But Hamilton? Yeah. Yep, you're on the move.
Joshua Foster: but yeah man, so that's crazy that you you know that's how you found out because that's really where it starts. That led to everything else. That's where I met Daniel more.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: That's how I Daniel does Mariah, of course. He MDs that, but then he mds black music honors, stellars, urban one music honors.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay. So this is the the bridge that kind of connects everything. Wow. And I only brought up
Joshua Foster: yeah. That's the bridge. Yeah. That that
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Tyler because you you were saying how much you play all these genres and you were killing it. That that was the only reason I was co-signed.
Joshua Foster: Thank you. No, and I appreciate it because that led to everything else. Like, I ain't gonna lie, like it legit that gig, and that's why I tell people all the time though, even before that gig here and when I moved to Atlanta from Berkeley,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm-hmm.
Joshua Foster: I was playing around everywhere. But I was playing these club gigs, like my life depended on it. And it did to me mentally.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: I did, yeah.
Joshua Foster: Cause I'm I'm I'm I'm in I was like, man, I'm going to be working. That was my thing. That's my MO. So to answer your question as far as Did I know or did I grow into it? It's like, no, I knew. I all I did was grow into the opportunities. My mentality
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Understood.
Joshua Foster: was already set, but it was more so of like, okay, now these opportunities have validated my mentality. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay. And then did you get that did you learn that from like a OG? Did you have mentorship? Were your parents involved? Like where where did you get 'cause that's not a that's not a young mentality. That's a very mature mentality.
Joshua Foster: Yeah. It's not so before my I like list or put some OGs or mentors out there, like my dad is a musician, Nero Foster. So back home in Fort Worth, Texas, everybody who knows, like my dad is one of the dopest bass players, musicians, pastor,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Crazy.
Joshua Foster: all of all of the things, man. And so I between him and my uncles, that's where it starts, right? Where like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Got you.
Joshua Foster: cause I you know, I played from the time I I could barely talk at two years old, whatever. All the way up through church and that whole thing. But my dad the whole time, really like from the beginning, was like a slightly nicer Joe Jackson. But like lock locking me into like, hey man, like don't do that here, do this here. Quit hitting those cymbals, man. Like, we like we ain't even at the course yet. Like, why are you doing that? Stop touching stuff, stop fixing the drums, stop. Just play the song, play the pattern, play whatever. And so that's where it starts. And then later, again, I I brought up Ronnie Garrett with Tyler. He's still to this day one of my main like OG mentors in my life.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Love.
Joshua Foster: but it's not just him now, you know, him, Daniel Moore, Rick Watford, amazing guitar player, one of the most recorded guitar players, you know, especially in gospel, after Johnny DuBos, like, and everybody that know, know who I'm talking about, Rick Watford. Dario Edgecomb, who does a lot of stuff with us too, with Daniel and Mariah. Dario done recordings across the world, but like a lot of gospel stuff. He's a producer. Like these guys are like the guys. And so I've
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: been blessed to like play with those guys on a consistent basis with the award shows. And then, of course, him with Mariah. I would have to shout out Trent Phillips too, who's here in Atlanta. But he's done mad recordings too. and All of these guys mentorship, Lance Tolbert, who was in LA, we met with Mariah, another guy, Terrence Vaughn.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Legend.
Joshua Foster: T is is definitely like a mentor and and he and a lot of these guys, man, that have come and I there's many others. There's many others. some with music and some that I just have that are just that help me in life.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: The most important.
Joshua Foster: The most important, but a lot of it, you know, me and Ronnie kind of talk on a regular basis. And there's a lot of drummers too that I, you know, could name from Sput to and different people that, you know, we Lil' John out here and just like people
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: saying and but yes, I had to I I you know, to to help you with the frame of reference, I love gangster movies. And the one
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay.
Joshua Foster: thing and and it's because of my dad, the one thing about Gangsters and gangs and how things roll. Everyone had an OG.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: Everyone had that mentor of like, hey, this is how the game is played. And you watch them and what and they'll tell you about what they've gone through and these things. So you can kind of like omit a lot of your failures. And then that way you can get right to where you're trying to get to. And you're still gonna
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: your head a couple of times, but like for me. It was important to have that because I never wanted to just be out here doing whatever. So like Yeah,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: bro, having a OG is is completely a part of the program. Like if you don't
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: For sure.
Joshua Foster: if you don't have one to all the people watching this, like get one, like quick because they they have already been and done this. And the thing that I will say is a lot of people feel like because we're in a our social media world is such a big thing now that like your OGs ain't gonna be able to help you. No. They will because if you made it without social media, then adding it is it you can there's a way to do it in a way that can help you. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: if you can't do the thing that they were doing, social media doesn't help you because you could be killing on social media and then you show up and now it's time to do the opportunity in person.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yikes.
Joshua Foster: Because that's another thing. It's like, no, like that all of that stuff, you know, to help navigate having a OG your mentor, yeah, bro. So yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's the biggest is it is the biggest cheat code. Steve O you know Steve Yeah,
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Steve O said it a long time ago, man, and it stuck with me. He's like the the only way to take a shortcut is to have a mentor. That's the only way.
Joshua Foster: It's the only way 'cause if not, you just out here just bumping your head everywhere, man.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Everywhere and you there's there's no you can still get there. You can still get there, but it is so much easier just to have someone to say, Hey man, this is what they're asking me to do. What you think about these rates? And then they can give you a real perspective on, bro. I had one of my closest friends, John was like, You haven't done shit, so sounds like you need to go. Okay, let's get it. You know what I mean? Because in my brain, all of our friends are
Joshua Foster: Wow. I love it.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: are moving and grooving. They're in and they got these things happening. And he's
Joshua Foster: Yeah, yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: like, But you're not them. Got it. And then I had times where guys were like, No, you can't go for that. Like you are doing other stuff now. You are you see what I'm saying? Like you you have done enough. And that's the Yeah, man.
Joshua Foster: Doing this. Yeah. Yep. Somebody telling you the truth. And that's bro, that's such a big thing. That I and for sure, bro, I feel like that's a big thing. A lot of people told me the truth. I think some
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: people come to me and ask me for the truth, and then I give them the truth and then they don't then they feel some type of way about it. And I'm like, Well
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: What is that?
Joshua Foster: I I what it is is a is a is is entitlement and
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Wow. Okay.
Joshua Foster: and a little bit of pride, but But it's like, because I'm gifted, I should be here. And it's like, no, like that's not true. Because that's the same way people feel with endorsements. Back, it's all the same conversation where it's just like you, you, you're focused on the wrong thing. Like you putting your priorities all in this mixed up per this mixed up place where it's just like, I'm glad you said that. Like someone needs to tell someone the truth about what it is that. That's coming from a respectable source, too. Cause it would be different if it
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: if you had an OG that wasn't doing the stuff that you do. But that's the point of having an OG or a mentor. You are you admire what they've done already. You already
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes, you respect it.
Joshua Foster: see what they and you respect it. Like when I bring up Ronnie, like if you go to you see his man, that man got plaques for days of records he's played on. You know what I'm saying? He lives a different type of lifestyle, drives a nice car, got a nice crib, dope family. All of these different things that like I admire and
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: the way that he l gets to live his life. Do we talk about music sometimes now? Do we talk about that all the time? No. And and it's just one of those things where it's just like, all right, cool. You there there has to be something you could glean from. And and a
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm-hmm.
Joshua Foster: lot of I don't know what it is, but like a lot of the younger guys, and this is what I hear. This is not what I necessarily have experienced. I I haven't run into anyone that's felt any type of way to my personally for me from
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sorry.
Joshua Foster: telling them the truth. But I feel like that's why some people don't ask. I have heard or it has gotten back to me at different times where someone was like, you know, I wish he would kind of like pour, you know, show me some love with different things. And I'm like, well, bro, I'm an open book. If you really want
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: to know, if you want to ask me some questions or want to know. Let's do it. But I know some people feel like they're already killing. So why do I need to talk to him about something or ask him a questioner? And that's the first problem. Your your pride won't let you do it. Like I'm doing
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: gigs and and I'm doing stuff. I'm touring. I'm doing a lot of stuff that people want to that people wanna do. But I'm
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: I still got someone I'm talking to.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes, all the time.
Joshua Foster: All the bro, I'm talking to people all the time, bro. Like I'm literally reaching out. Like I program and do all of this stuff. I send my stuff to T Von. I send my stuff to to DJ. I send my stuff to people and let them be and let them put their ears on it. And it's like,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, bro. Yes.
Joshua Foster: and and all of it ain't and it sometimes they be like, yo, that's cool. Sometimes they don't respond. And so in my mind, it's not go back to the drawing board. You know,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's it ain't sweet, yeah, it ain't sweet.
Joshua Foster: and and and it's like okay, like it's all right.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: I think for any other line of work, it's okay. But this, so Jar, just so you know about me and so other people understand me. So I played basketball too coming up, like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay.
Joshua Foster: like heavy, like AAU, high school, everything. Like I like, I really play, and there's a group of musicians here in Atlanta, like we go hoop. So I don't like that music is that sensitive. Like people that do music are like super sensitive. Like it bothers
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yep.
Joshua Foster: me because I wasn't raised that way. My dad was super hard on me. So it was just like I My thought process when it comes to stuff like is very militant like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: and so when people feel some type of way easily about stuff with music, it drives me insane because I everything relates back to sports to me. It's it's basketball. Where it's just
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: you don't get playing time unless you're killing.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, and you're trying to be the best at something. You know, and if you want to be the best at something, you gotta be able to be polished. You know, a diamond isn't a diamond because it was okay being dirt and not going through all the pressure and all this other stuff. It it had to go through the weathering. It had to go through all that other stuff to become that thing. Well, the
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: pressure is having your your mentors say, Yo, you thought that was good, didn't you? Got it. You know, gold redo that. With some with some positive and constructive criticism, not just you trash, that's not that's not helpful. It's yo,
Joshua Foster: Right. Yeah. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: okay, I feel what you're trying to do, but that that feel was too busy. Simplify it. You
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: know, all those little nuggets and not taking it personal because they're not taking it personal. They're just like, okay, if you're asking for it and and you're yearning for this information, I'm gonna help you. The other side of that is too, is when people will ask for this stuff. If I'm like, yo, Josh, check out this video, what you think? And you give me your honest feedback, and I'm like, but. But I did it this way because of this, then why'd you ask me?
Joshua Foster: Right, because you don't really care to to understand like, you know, how it can grow, how how you can grow and how it could be better. You wanted me to validate how you feel about it. And if that's the case, post it or do whatever else you want to do with it because
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: Yeah, like there is a point where you make the decision in your head where you don't care and you just do it. But like if you do care about what someone else has to say about it, then you should listen to it and And really like try to see if there's something you could learn from it. I've had that happen a couple of times where it I felt some type of way about like feedback because I wanted my plane or I wanted my stuff to be validated and it wasn't. And I had to eat that, where it's just like, okay, but they're saying this, and I don't necessarily agree, but let me see though
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: they're saying because. If it can help me moving forward, then I need to, I need to, I need to see what they're talking about. Because they
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes. Like you
Joshua Foster: they wouldn't have just said it for no reason. And based on the person and and the people that have said stuff, it's not malicious intent. So it's just like, nah, man, we we gotta grow from that. And and and I wanna clarify that you're we're all trying to be the best that we can be. That's the difference from what it is in sports, where it's just like, like, it's not like we're saying we want to be better than ex. X, Y, and Z personnel. No, like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: I wanna be the Kobe I can be, the Jordan I can be of what I do. And you should be that for you because music is different as far as like it it it also does become a team sport all the time, especially in
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, yes.
Joshua Foster: a band setting, unless you wanna do the artist route. But but yeah, I think it's just important that people understand that you really have to You can't you can't lead out that way. Like you really gotta be able to to humble yourself with this thing, cause the this music thing is is is is in a cycle where
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: people that you meet along the way and then even though the circle may get bigger for you, you s there's somebody it comes back around to certain individuals and people that where if you handled certain things a certain way, like it it can bite you.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: And that's why people say you don't burn them bridges because you may have to walk over it again.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: You will. You're you're gonna see these people again. There's there's no way around it.
Joshua Foster: Well small though. The music world is super small.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It at this level, 100%. You know, we are seeing the same faces over and over and over again in in all capacities from TMs, PMs, people who are handling playback, people who are MD and stuff, you're seeing the same faces. So you violating their trust or handling things a certain kind of way that that wasn't ideal for them, that's gonna be it's gonna be damaging for you. And you never
Joshua Foster: It is, man.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: want that to happen where they're like. who's playing drums? Jarvis. shit. You know, you never want that kind of vibe
Joshua Foster: Yeah, and
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: to happen. You want to be like, who's on kit? Okay, Josh is we good all the time. You know, from the playing
Joshua Foster: Right. Right. That's good.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: aspect, from the hang aspect, that's what you want to happen. So that's
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: people gotta understand that the to your point, you can't be too emotional about this. And we understand that music is an emotion. You know, you can draw emotions
Joshua Foster: Yes.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: out of it.
Joshua Foster: The music itself.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes, but don't take that feedback crazy. Like it's it's just not that deep. And more importantly, it's not your song.
Joshua Foster: Please it's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: I don't understand this. Like, people have this yearn put themselves into something completely that no one asked your opinion on. You know,
Joshua Foster: It's due to right, right. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: they they made this a hit before you even knew it came out.
Joshua Foster: Right.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: You found out when the masses found out, and you didn't get the opportunity to play it until someone decided that you were the right call to go play it.
Joshua Foster: Right.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Why why are you why are you so emotional about this? Just just calm down, yo. This I don't know.
Joshua Foster: Man, sometimes sometimes people get we get caught up in the fact that because music is such a gift and talent conversation that
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: people forget that it's still a job. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay.
Joshua Foster: and it's hard sometimes for people to separate the fact that like even though you care so much about your creativity and you're an artist and all of these things and like you have artistic value, you're getting paid today to play that instrument.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's it.
Joshua Foster: That's it. Like I got ideas all the time. I I can before it people even gave me an opportunity to arrange, like I'm already arranging, I'm already doing stuff. But if T Vaughn called me, bro, do you think we get on the phone and I'm like, bro, T what if you what if you what if you No, bro, when I got the call to do Renee with him, he had saw me do the Stellar Awards and he he had called a few of my OGs and and and big bros in that band to see how I was as a person.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: But I see he can play, but how is he? All right, cool. We get in rehearsal. I don't come in there talking about nothing. I come in there and play the drums. And just play the drums, man. Like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: play the hell out of what you're getting called to do. And then that'll open the door for the other conversations. But like that whole I have this thing. Yeah, you're gonna have that thing at home.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, at the crib.
Joshua Foster: At the crib, bro. And it's cool if you want to have that thing at at home and be at the crib. I just speaking of where we wanted to be and where I I where I saw myself,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: that just wasn't I couldn't do that. I don't I told myself a long time ago, like I can't go back home. Like Texas, and I love Texas.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay, never an option.
Joshua Foster: I love Texas. I love home. When I left Berkeley, I was never going back to Texas. It was either Atlanta, LA, or New York. But I I never even thought of going back home. I just never thought about it. And it wasn't that I didn't love home. It was like I didn't need to be, I d I I don't want to be comfortable anywhere I go. And you know, Lyric
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm.
Joshua Foster: and I are by by coastal at this point, like I be in LA all the time, in Atlanta, you know, and we'll be out there more, like I talked to you about. But it's just like I don't like the feeling of like being in that comfortable spot. But it's like, man, for a lot of people, like you need to get comfortable enough. In that one position to then be put into other things that you want to do that
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: will use your other gifts and will make you a little uncomfortable and it'll be a nice challenge. But I think people should challenge themselves with like focusing intentively on like the the job at hand because people
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: don't understand, like I said earlier, that one gig led to every other gig I've ever done.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's insane.
Joshua Foster: If I take you through from Tyler Perry. That on that same tour, that's how I met the Mariah and all the TV show empty. That's how I met Cameo.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yep. Mm-hmm.
Joshua Foster: One of Larry Blackman's best friends, Miss Carol Jones, put me on a three-way call with Larry Blackman.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Wow.
Joshua Foster: Came to a show on a Sunday, I was on the phone with him on a on a Monday. That same week after the show we did with Alex.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: So that's how I meet the Mariah stuff, TV stuff, cameo, right?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: From the TV show stuff, that's how I meet T Vaughn. That's how I do Renee. That's how I do all of these other recordings we've done for TV shows, every other tour.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: all of these things just keep leading to the next thing. But you gotta show up and do the the first thing at the highest level. It can't be I'm gonna start showing up when I'm in the stadium either. It's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm-hmm.
Joshua Foster: like, or I'm gonna start showing up when I when I get that gig, bro, my setup is gonna be cold. I'm gonna have all the triggers. I guarantee you if you don't know how to load triggers and load sounds, whether you have a tech or not, that's not gonna be good. Because what if they want to change something in rehearsal right on the spot and hear it back? But you don't know how to
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, like right now.
Joshua Foster: do it. But now you're gonna do it because you you doing an arena tour. Man, get out of here with that, bro. Like I
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Not how it works.
Joshua Foster: it's not how it works, bro. Like for the longest, I didn't even go to a T D50 because I wanted I needed I needed to see it done. Like I'm a
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: learner, but shout out to Lawrence Bowens. When I started with Renee,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Ow.
Joshua Foster: when I L all day long, when I started with Renee, I told L straight up, I said, bro, I know how to use the SPD super quick. I can put triggers in it, I can put sounds in it, I can do whatever's needed. If you show me, if you give me a crash course on the TD50, I've been waiting to get into it, but because this is a new tour, I can't,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: I can't just jump into that and I don't believe in doing that. And he was like,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: I got you. So we got up the whole time. He set me up. And then I from that point he showed me how to use it. Showed me how to
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: do all of the ins and outs, how to troubleshoot, how to do all of these things, having an OG mentor. He showed
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yep.
Joshua Foster: me how to do all of these things quickly. And then once he learned, I have not gone back. I only play S T D sometimes at chaining or sometimes
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: if it's a if it's a quick something. But like Now I'm married to it, but like I I was cool and humble enough with being like I'm not comfortable with that coming into a
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: situation. And it was my first time working with T. So like I didn't wanna make that relationship weird because in other things I already had my flow.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: So but now that I know it, cool. I don't need nothing else. I can do that. But that's the kind of thing, bro, like preparing yourself before the opportunity shows up. Be it was the same thing with Daniel when my first award show. And I mean, every day it was like a new thing that I was learning and not with playing or or programming, but more so of how people think.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes, yes.
Joshua Foster: Yeah, bro, Daniel would be like, yo, can you like change the threshold to where like, you know, when you play softer, it's softer and louder and like and all of those things. And like on the spot, I was like having to like do that. And it's like for
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: people that want to get into this, do that now.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: Can't wait on the opportunity to show up and then now you're like trying to get sweet on all of that stuff. No, that's not how it goes.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's a dangerous business, you know. It could be now one thing we gotta add though. L, that's his just being. And L
Joshua Foster: Absolutely. Absolutely.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: will will give you the shirt off his back. Like L was El was teching for DJ, and I was with Tate, I just got the Tate gig. And
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: he was they were next door, and I I walked over. I was like, L L, can you show me something really quick? And he was like, baby boy, I got you. And literally
Joshua Foster: That's Billy
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Left,
Joshua Foster: all day.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: hippos over, walked me through some stuff on the SPD SX Pro. And he was like, Yeah, but do this, save it this way. And I'm just like, man, thank you, bro. Like, you didn't have to do that. You know, but his character. So we just to give that man his flowers right now, the L is.
Joshua Foster: Absolutely, bro. L L then and and and and I I swear, man, like from the longest time, like he really you him and I go back and forth about tuning because I know I can really tune drums. And he he can
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: he can tune too, but that's just me and him, like we we got that little beef. But no,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: L is literally like second to none, bro. Like he he is is legit one of the best to ever do it and do it for multiple instruments and And and make sure everything's consistent. Like man that that dude has really helped me a lot in in my trajectory and my life and in my ears, like just different people. And then of course, you know, Philly got its own industry
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: takeover energy where like a lot of them have been doing this for a long time. So L is, yeah, man. yeah, definitely give his flowers, bro. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Absolutely. And then another thing you said that I think people really should should realize is that you didn't throw something on your rider just because you got a new gig. You you
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: you you literally said, I'm putting this here because I know what I know on it. I can navigate this, I got a solid workflow. And when you get to these opportunities, you don't want your your gear to be your focus. That's the least.
Joshua Foster: Yeah. It yeah. We wanna be able to play this play this music down, you know, make some money, but but play some good music, make some great relationships, and for it to be a smooth selling process.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: but you don't wanna you don't wanna put yourself in a bind that quick because I ain't gonna lie, man, like even the same way when I met Daniel, it led to eighteen other opportunities. It's the same thing with T. I didn't know
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: what we would be doing in the future, but I've I've always planned that If you're intentional, man, and ready to go, like the opportunities will come. Just show up. Just show up.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Just show them, be ready.
Joshua Foster: Show up and be ready. And L No, that same day, bro. I kid you not, the SPD, we had that joint on the rider. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: he was like, bro, I'm going to, I got you. I got you. I'm gonna show you how to use it. Cause I was like, bro, if it if if one thing happens that goes wrong at any point, pull the
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's outta here.
Joshua Foster: pull the SPD back up, bro. SF.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Straight up.
Joshua Foster: All day. This before the pro, everybody was talking about the pro.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: But but yeah man. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: You have to though, man. You you gotta be ready for for whatever feedback and and obstacles that are gonna come your way and you can't be you can't be the holdup.
Joshua Foster: Let's talk about that real quick.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: Being the holdup in rehearsal. So there's this, because I I really want, like, for especially for the younger guy, it's funny us saying that. Cause like we're not older, like you said earlier, but like we definitely have been doing stuff for a while now. So I mean, I
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: just turned 30. So it's like you at that point where it's just like, you know what I'm saying? Like, you're not the in some rooms you were the youngest, and then now you're the second youngest.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. Yep.
Joshua Foster: so you're not close to the older, but you definitely are like got a little. season on you but not just a little this a sprinkle, you know?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Low season, nothing crazy. This Yeah, absolutely.
Joshua Foster: Learned from a lot of OGs where I've watched in different rehearsals when we have to wait on people or wait on something. And and someone may never say directly to you, yo, like hurry up, or you should have that already. But that's the energy. And so to
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: anyone that wants to get into this, like heavy, that's why we're that's why we're saying everything we're saying. Like, learn your gear right now, learn your setup right now. Learn Think about visualize how you would approach stuff with your own setup that you already have at your home. Cause most people now got a home studio. You can record. Start playing the stuff the way you see yourself doing it. Cause when you get these opportunities in rehearsal, bro, like timing is everything, you know, not just literally because we're playing drums. If if you're a drummer, but for any musician, like you don't want to be the whole up patches, guitar players, keyboard players. Bass players, key bass, all of those things like man, I brother. Playback.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: All that. Playback, you need to know you get everybody in the room.
Joshua Foster: You gotta that's honestly, let's that's that's what it is, and I'll leave it there. Doing a gig now is about knowing how to troubleshoot.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: That's that's really the that's why you get the call. If you
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: troubleshoot, you're gonna be good. If you can't troubleshoot, bro. That's when you fall into some some things where it's just like, you know, if you know, if you don't even for drummers, like, you know, if you drop a stick, how quick you can grab the other stick and it don't like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, you gotta move.
Joshua Foster: little stuff like that. But with playback, same thing, knowing your rig, you got your A B rig and your redundancy and all of that stuff. And it's like for bass players and key bass players, like knowing where the saw is and your cutoff and like and like all of that stuff and like, man. I've learned so much now from different MDs and producers and different things that were like troubleshooting is a part of the gig now.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Y yes, it's primarily what the gig is.
Joshua Foster: Yeah, so I tell anybody right now, like, you know, you gotta know your stuff inside and out and troubleshoot because nine times out of ten, that's what it's gonna be. How do you handle a malfunction?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right. And and okay, this is kind of once take me to my next question for you. You are one of my favorite drummers. And in and this is no straight up, you just are. This is your approach, your feel, how you hear music, where you decide
Joshua Foster: Thanks, bro.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: to put your fills, where you decide to put your chops, and where and how you you play groove. You know, it it just it just makes sense. So
Joshua Foster: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: when you're getting a a call, let's say you you're getting an on a call to do a different artist, right? What is your process like to start learning the music, retaining the music, learning how to adapt the the right feel, right approach, where where you decide you want to take fills and stuff like that? How how are you approaching that?
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Well, I I mean, great question. 'cause I I I feel like I get this question pretty pretty often. I initially, like what we talked about, is like immersing myself in that genre, in that music. Whatever that song is, like, when I listen to songs, it's like, okay, wax is important for the main reason of like what we said earlier. Like that song sold and is listened to because of that. Like whatever made
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: felt right to that artist and their creative expression. So for me, it's like, how do I play this song with the intent of what the studio had? Okay, but now that we're live, how do I make the artist feel like it's still exciting?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: And then okay, like, but it's that's just a lift. It's not really like me just doing all this stuff, it's like it's just a lift. Just a little bit of like, okay, this energy, because we gotta play this song every night for the next few months or whatever. And the best example I feel like as far as I I literally immerse myself in that sonic. So feels and everything, like, what makes sense for that thing? Like,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Got you.
Joshua Foster: for instance, like I had just played to India Sean's Till Infinity, right? So like Initially, when I hear that song, it's like it's got a 70s in it. So I love vintage stuff in it in general. And so
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: D Bowl's the producer on that, right? I get immersed
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Incredible, by the way.
Joshua Foster: in literally one of my favorite producers, but he's doing everybody direct at this Victoria Monet Airport. So yeah, yeah, he's cool, bro. He's chill.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. Yeah. I just met him and we we kicked it for a few hours. That cat is is so chill, but he
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: knows his shit. my goodness.
Joshua Foster: He all is it, bro. He he he cold with it. And so with that being said, that's that kind of stuff that I fall into. I know who did the records.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay, I see.
Joshua Foster: You know what I'm saying? Like I care, because I'm a producer, like, like and an artist myself. So like I I can't help but hear the production as a whole.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: I see. Okay.
Joshua Foster: So I'm like, okay, how do I give that what it needs and then make it live? And a lot of that I feel like is shown from my stuff with Renee.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm-hmm.
Joshua Foster: And I think for Mariah too, but like with Renee with T, like we get a lot of musical liberty because Renee loves live music, but there's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: still this level of integrity that I still want to uphold. So
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: when I'm listening to it, I'm like.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Good. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: There we go. so yeah, it's like I initially am like, okay, I wanna play the record and then I just wanna give it a little bit of a lift. But I think like people should be, come on, man. It's okay. I'm not mad at it, whatever.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Now's a vibe, you good.
Joshua Foster: But yeah, so it's just like I think If the integrity is what's on Wax then live, I should just be an extension of it. Like it should just be a little more present because I'm doing it. But like I never want to take away from the song itself. It's already what it is.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: and yeah, I think I feel like there's been a couple of times on certain things where I felt like I needed to add something to it. just like anyone else. But I fell out of that really quickly because when you get to hear yourself back on a recording
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm.
Joshua Foster: and you're like, That didn't need to go there. this didn't need to go there. And I think Tim talked about it too. Like when on on the episode y'all did where it was just like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, yeah.
Joshua Foster: you hear yourself back enough times, I guarantee you you won't you won't do certain things anymore. Just because now you're exposed to yourself. So I would say with learning music too for people, like especially if it's a new opportunity or something, but just in general, play
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm-hmm.
Joshua Foster: to the stuff and record yourself. And like record.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay.
Joshua Foster: So you can listen back. Like a lot of that stuff now with me learning songs, like the way I'm learning stuff for upcoming things, I don't it's not always a lot of time to like sit down and and record. But initially it was. It was enough time for me to do that to where it's like now I'm either sure I'm sure of myself. Like, okay, I
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: know I can do that and do this here, don't do that there. but song format, we should know that. We should know that, okay. Live, if the record didn't have a s a feel, a quick little feel going into the chorus, live, you're probably gonna need one of those.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: and how do you grow the song? You know,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: intro, verse, chorus, some songs have bridges, some don't now. So, but how do you grow a song of each song throughout the entire performance? So that
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: way telling the story from the beginning of the performance to the end. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: I think every musician should really value production and get into who's producing what records, why did they make these choices? Because if you can listen and learn what that is, that's ultimately gonna make your playing that much more versatile, one, but two intentional. And I tell
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: everybody that, even the lessons I've done, intentional, I use that word over and over because that's what it is. Like the more intentional
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: you are, the more opportunity you're gonna have because people trust. That you're thinking.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right. You you're not just arbitrarily just making decisions. You you confidently knew why you went where you went to. You know.
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Cause that's what wins anyway. It's like you're call I'm getting called based on how I think, not just how I play.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: Cause like I mean Ronnie talk about this all the time, but it's like the NBA or the WNBA, right? Where it's like everybody can play, everybody can dunk. You know what I'm saying? Everybody
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right, right, right, right.
Joshua Foster: is like six, three and up, right? So like everyone's tall, everyone has this amazing physique and and what they can do in athleticism and what what they can accomplish with that. But it's like, okay, but how do they think? That's what separates
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: someone who's who comes off the bench than someone who starts or
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's a fact.
Joshua Foster: or someone who has crazy stats. You know, that's that's what it is, man. It's just like how do how do you think? and
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: we can focus on how we think that'll that'll take care of the playing because then you won't just do random stuff. You you'll like be very thought out to where when you do play, you can think less because of your process before you actually got on the instrument.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm. Okay, so when you're when you first start, so let's say you got a week a week before rehearsal date for you.
Joshua Foster: Right.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: And you get this music and we're just gonna say that you got it a week in advance. And I'm only laughing because
Joshua Foster: Yeah, that that must happen.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: that well, a lot of times we get it less, you know. So
Joshua Foster: I know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: let let's just be kind to the situation to say you got a week before rehearsal. How soon are you putting hands on the on the music? Are you going straight into it? Are you taking a few days to what's that process like?
Joshua Foster: Glad you said that, bro. Honestly, like I'm the type of person that I don't go straight to like just jumping on the kit. I really because I have this thing where I've told people the foster rule of five. Of course, you know, when you're making something, you always put your name in it. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: but I said that because each time that you listen, you're subconsciously listening five times. But for for us as drummers, right? And and for people that may be watching and be a drummer, you just sub out based on your instrument. But the first time you listen is a blank listen. The second time you listen, you listen for your instrument. So for us drums, your third listen is for keys, synths and ox stuff. Your that's our third listen. Your fourth listen is for a guitars world and bass.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay.
Joshua Foster: Okay, what is the guitars and bass world doing? And then your fifth listen is just for vocals. So this is like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm.
Joshua Foster: if you gotta do something quick. And the reason I say that is because each time you listen, like you're still catching what's happening as a whole picture subconsciously.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: But but your focus dials in to a specific thing.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Got him.
Joshua Foster: so I would try that if it's not like, but if it's a lot of music in a weak time in a lot of the what we end up getting stuff to, like last minute sometimes, you
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: really gotta focus on your patterns because you're not gonna really have a lot of time to like focus on like what is the vocal doing every single song. That'll
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: happen as repetition happens and then you start to notice other things around
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: you, but like A lot for me has been off the kit, like just immersing myself and just hearing it back enough times to where I can like, okay, this is what the pattern changes. Okay, this kick pattern kind of does that here, it does that. and then I as a professional will go, okay, so these are the patterns. This is the record.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay. Yep.
Joshua Foster: But as a professional, it's like, all right, live? How would I then like, okay, so then we boom to. Got to go ahead. Cause now it's like, okay, as a pro, I'm being paid to to know how to know when to do that. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, yeah, okay.
Joshua Foster: but but I'm not even worried about that right now. I'm just like, all right, this is the pattern, this is the song. When we get in rehearsal or before rehearsal, I'm already kind of planning out my extra little things so
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: that way I can confidently play it and the and the musical director and the rest of the band can hear it.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: And we can all in that way, no one's like unsure of what I'm gonna do, or like, or in that way it's all intentional. But yeah, bro, for me, before I even sit at the kit with music, I sit and listen to all of it and and vi
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: and visualize what I would do where, but still kind of focus only on what's actually happening so that way I know verbatim, this is happening right here, this is happening right here. Like I don't like going into a situation unprepared with not knowing what's supposed to be happening where.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: Cause we I like an interpretation is not the record. An interpret no. Like I'm a verbatim type of guy, bro. Like it's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: it can't be an interpretation, bro. Like I and I and I that's the way I I was taught with that level of mentality. So I expect the same from everyone else. It's like, yeah, no. But yeah, bro.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right. But that's why they call you. It's like they understand you're you're not trying to interpret you or listening, dissecting, and then executing what's there. And then
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: to your point, you know when to add a lift or how to even if even if you're just playing the the the the pattern, right? You're you're you're
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: just you still got a a a something to it.
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: You know what I mean? It's a it's a little razzle dazzle to it that that makes that joint move live. You know that
Joshua Foster: Yeah. And and that's what you want to add. That's what you want to be in control of and how you add it because that's why you get called versus someone else getting called. Because at the end of the day, someone's gonna get the call. But that's why
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right, yeah.
Joshua Foster: I love people like I don't I just to throw out real quick, that's why I love Stanley Randolph so much. And that's why I love Daryl Lil Man Hal. And there's so many
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm-hmm.
Joshua Foster: other drummers I could name, but the reason I'm bringing up those two specific people. It's not what they play, it's how it feels from what they're playing. Like, like this man, Stanley, like for anybody, for me, being versatile is like playing Stevie's gig like that and then going to go play with Tim's and whoever else and play whatever. But with Stevie, you sound like like super Stevie. Like you don't sound like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: In there. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: it's not super clean. It's not super like. This is my version of Stevie. It sounds like that's what needs to be there. And the same thing with Daryl, bro, like Lil' Man, bro. He gets on those with and and he and he's played mad other gigs, you know, Nicki Minaj and all that stuff. But when people watch with him, Maxwell, I don't know if they're really paying attention all the time to like, he has made that thing like feel like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's crazy.
Joshua Foster: no one will sound like that on that.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's a fact.
Joshua Foster: It's like listening to Robert Glasper, and it's like. There's been several different dramas. But when when Chris does his little stuff
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: You know, said
Joshua Foster: And we all are like, man. Like now you can't unhear it because you've made it that valuable. And so that's what I want
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yep. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: to do. Long story short, that's that's how I think like when people call me, like they know they're gonna get the song, they're gonna get the record, they're gonna get that integrity, but you also gonna get a little bit of the finesse of like, but this is like that extra sauce that like I need that too. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: it's not gonna get in the way, it just helps the burger. It's the burger was already good, but like this that's the Big Mac sauce on the burger.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right. Right right.
Joshua Foster: That's that's what I wanna be, you know what I'm saying?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes, sir. That's dope, man. It that's a perfect way of describing that though. You know, you're you're not I find that when I hear guys that like when I ask them like how how'd you listen to this? Man, I I I was just listening to my part. I'm like, got it. So now I understand. You missed the whole picture. You only learned how to be a drummer. You didn't learn how to be musician. And there is and I that's my segue back to a point you made about music being a team sport, you know.
Joshua Foster: Yes.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's it's important and I would love to hear your ideology on this because you framed it that way, being a team sport. But what I notice is that if we just focus on our part, we've missed the team.
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right. It is that kinda your your your space of where you navigate as well? Okay.
Joshua Foster: I agree. I think You know, as a as a as a drummer, I feel like just in general, but for any band person, I think if you really want to do this at a high level, you're always gonna be doing it with a group of people. You're y you know, it's literally group one on one skills and just learning how to navigate, doing stuff with a team. I think
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: if you can't conceptualize teamwork, then you can't really do this at the highest level because what you do affects everyone else all
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: the time. And and especially on drums like Even if you're not the MD on paper, bro, you're the unspoken MD, bro. Like period.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: And I don't know how many times people can say that. MDs have said that. You know,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: but a lot of the times when yes, when people are like, Well, I was just listening to the drum pattern. Yeah, I'm the same way. I think you know, you've missed it if you are only focused on what you're doing. You need to be focused on what you're doing to understand how it affects everything else. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm.
Joshua Foster: Can't be focused only on that because you need to know what is happening with everything else. And yes, that's why I'm telling everyone, get into music production as a whole. Why did those producers do that from from like we I know we just talked about D Mile, but like Camper from all of these different who were producing people now, but that produced people then, Rodney Jericho, you
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: know, Tricky Stewart, L LA Reed, Babyface, all of these things like Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, why do they why did they do that with these songs? Because you want this specific thing to feel a certain way. So like if you don't understand why the bass player's pattern does that with the drums and how the vocal sits right in that spot and like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: And then like sonic spaces and stuff like that and and understanding that, then yeah, you're gonna miss it. And un unfortunately, bro, in this industry, what people are paying you for is to already know.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: On un and so to anybody that wants to be doing this, like if you don't already know enough, then you're not it it's gonna be gone before it even happens because when you get in these rooms, people are expecting you to know, man. There and I don't know how many times to say that because I really want people to do I want people to make it. I want people that really
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: want to tour. I really wanna see people win. I really do. And and a lot of the times it's so simple, it's too complex.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: Because it's like when people are like, this is what it takes to like, and yeah, and you tell them they're like, Man, it's gotta be, it's gotta be. And it's like, no, it's actually like these couple of principles, like if you can lock in on those and like stay consistent with that, you'll be good. But then you get
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Be solid.
Joshua Foster: but then you get a couple of opportunities and then now you now you showing up with a little more entitlement. And you, you know, then now you showing up late, and then all of the stuff that if you just kept doing that stuff, you would never worry about. But As long as we can focus on those beginning areas, you'll be fine.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: but yeah, man, serve serve the music. Be be intentional with that, you know. And hopefully, I would say that this doing what you do in music should really honestly just model how you are in life.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm.
Joshua Foster: And the more you're focused on on living life in a intentional way, in a
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: In a grounded way, whatever your belief may be. I feel like that's what's ultimately going to put people where they need to be. Because that's a that's really the thing, is like who you are when you off that instrument anyway. Like that's what people are gonna feel when
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes,
Joshua Foster: you're on it. So lean into that. But yeah, man, I think for people that want to get into this, learn about all the instruments. Learn about the the grand scape of music so that way when you get in these opportunities it's it's easier to go straight to what you should be doing.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yep.
Joshua Foster: You know, but yeah, man.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: And people can now you can go watch this stuff now. You producers are showing bro, Ryan Ryan Leslie was one of the first people I saw as a producer show his whole process.
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: You know, and that was eye-opening for me because I realized how much I wasn't hearing all of the music. You know, when you can watch someone
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: program this little synth that it then becomes panned all the way to the left that has a reverb on it, it's like when I can watch you play it, I know what I'm listening to. You know, and
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: it For musicians who have common folk as you know, a a
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: significant other or friends, it's when you're playing something and your your your friend is like, I didn't even hear that. That's the moment for you as a musician. You need to be able to hear everything. So when to Josh's point, if you can go back and watch a producer, T-Pain will literally do his entire process on stream. You can watch it.
Joshua Foster: Love it. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: So it's like if you can watch it now, you're you don't have to necessarily learn how to hear it. They're showing you what you should be listening right now.
Joshua Foster: Absolutely.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: And then you can apply it more. So for people who may not be able to, when Josh is saying immerse yourself in the music, this is what he's talking about is like learning how to hear the intricate details, learning how to hear that seventh background harmony that is, you know, tucked all the way in the back. Cause then when now when he's playing a verse and it might be a boring verse. If he can accent that seventh BGV back there, that's when an artist is like, you listening? Okay. Yeah,
Joshua Foster: You really listening because
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: you you hear me. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Joshua Foster: And that that leads to more things when you when they know that you listen to that, because it's like, you really care about the whole thing as a whole. You're not just back there playing drums. And then that leads you to more doors for everybody that wants to do more. Like just get in the room and do the first thing well. And like you'll get the other calls for the other stuff. But yeah, man, I yeah, bro. Again, a
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: lot of this stuff is stuff we could stay on. But yes, when I say Merse, it's definitely that. Like, Get into the details.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: For sure. Now you've you've had a crazy career so far working with a wide variety of musical directors. How did you navigate that? Because every MD is very different. You know,
Joshua Foster: Mm. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: the the their standards are the same. You know, they still want excellent, they still want the product
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: to be phenomenal. That the standards are the same. But they're I call it their ecosystem. You know, DJ has a certain way he wants to work, T Vaughn has a certain way he wants to work. You know, every MD is gonna have a way to certain work. So how have you navigated that? Because that's not easy.
Joshua Foster: Yeah, so the same way people that get paid that are actors and actresses, I'm not saying you have to act, right? What I'm what I'm trying the point I want to make is there's a there's different characters that people play in different places. And so as a musician, my versatility has to be in a place with these all the different MDs that I work with where it's like I already know what they're looking for for that for this sound. So Instead of me coming into it with my ideology of what it should be, I go straight to that thing where it's like, when I'm working with Daniel, like he don't mind me like being creative and stuff, as long as like for the majority of what we're doing, I'm like locked into what the song is and the feeling of what that song is.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: He could on it like he know that I got chops, but he does not care. Out of context. And a lot of the stuff that we've done, like, there's been times where I remember I'll never forget, we was doing this jagged edge segment on the black music honors. And I would do stuff like I've there's this the ending, there was this part at the end that had hits in it. It was like it was like four bars of basically an outro. Bro, I took all four bars in sound check. I mean, I'm I'm going. I'm
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, I don't know.
Joshua Foster: just letting them have it, right? And but I was like, at least let me do this. And then if he's like, yo, like cut it to a bar or two bar, whatever. So yeah, bro, that joint got cut to like a bar. And like right before the last one. And I wasn't sensitive, like I wasn't like mad, like, no, like this is what it is.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: But I was prepared to just go and then let him pull me back. Cool. So that's our dynamic. Now with T, T likes tasteful stuff in in different things and like that sneaky stuff. style approach where like with Renee and like and other stuff I've done with him where I can get in and get out, but it's not but it's still about the pattern. It's still about the song and then doing other things around. Cause T doesn't really care for him and Daniel. They neither one of them really care for like the super like fast chops, like the super
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: 30 second nodes and stuff. They do not r care about that stuff. And when I've heard it back, when I've done stuff like that, I also didn't stop. caring because then I'm like it don't actually fit. I'm getting off, but like that like it don't fit. So what
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, it doesn't work.
Joshua Foster: we're doing, but yeah, they everyone has a different thing that they like. But instead of me just like trying to see if they're gonna bend, I just go straight to it. And then if they're like, bro, you can you can you can
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, you can go. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: you can then I was like then cool. But I don't come to them in the energy of like I'ma just try something new each time I'm with them. I'm like no I know who they are
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: So I'm just like, I'm gonna do that. And that's kept me working with them. Instead of just, you know, being like, man, well, I'ma just do me. Okay. Yeah, no. But even
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: crib. Go you Yeah, you're going straight to the crib.
Joshua Foster: but I'm yeah, bro. Every MD I've ever worked with, once I once I understand what they care about, I then take on that. Like, okay, well, I should care about this. And then ultimately it ends up changing my ear too, because you start
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: value things a little bit differently. And they're both the guys I'm talking about are producers as well, outside of doing musical direction or arranging. So it's like they have a thought process where it's like, no, but this is why live, this elevates it a little bit.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: but yeah, man, I I I definitely go in and like play that character. Like so
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: with Daniel, I'm this character. With T, I'm this character. And then when I'm MD in my own stuff, I'm like, man, a little bit of that in my thing. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: then even with DJ, like, because we started doing some stuff. And like same thing. It's like he had there's a thing that you that he's and of course you know, but like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yep.
Joshua Foster: but like yeah everybody got their thing. And it's like all right just tap into that thing.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That yeah, it it's it really is that because you it's it's not it's not performance based of a a character. It's you have to take on their care, if that makes sense. Because
Joshua Foster: Absolutely.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: when they're calling us and it and we're assuming we're just being instrumentalists, they're really calling us to be executioners of their vision. It's it's not it's we don't have thoughts, right? We have influence and we have ability to execute, but If Daniel's telling you to do one thing or T Vaughn says to do something and DJ says to do something different, well then okay, that's just what's gonna have to happen right now. But you learn their care because I know DJ does not like all that fast stuff either. He he's he's not with it. He likes powerful Aaron Spears chops. Give me power.
Joshua Foster: Absolutely. Yeah. Stuff that's stuff that's gonna cut through everywhere.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Every time as soon as you go to finesse world, I immediately I'm like, my bad, bro. He's like, Yeah, yeah, what you doing, man? Go, go for it. But you you have to take their care on because now when T-Von's making this thing or Daniel's making this thing, and meaning they're arranging it, they're programming it, they had the conversation with the artists and creative and all these people, they know the whole picture. You don't, you only see what they told you. So now when they're telling you, yo, Josh, I need you to go here or Josh, I need you to do something different, you're trusting that they have the full picture in mind. Cause then when you get there, it's like, okay, now I understand when I when I went out to the front of the house and you sit next to Tim listening back to something, you're like, okay, now I see
Joshua Foster: Yes, bro.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: why this was what it was.
Joshua Foster: Absolutely. No, that I mean, yeah, that's that's what it is, man. And then yes, thank God for friends like Tim Hibbert, where it's like, hey man, you know, just come out the front of the house, man. Come
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Ha ha ha
Joshua Foster: Come listen. And no, I mean it helps. He don't, you know, obviously that's my dog, so we joke around and and
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: All day.
Joshua Foster: rag on each other all day, but like it really is all love and it's it's a growth thing where it's like, hey, bro, like Some of this is cutting, some of this ain't cutting. Like it may you may think it is, but like no, bro. But yes, with different MDs and different people, like it's important to like tap into their care. That was the best way. I've never actually heard it said like that, but that's what it
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: is. Because a lot of people don't understand, like with these different gigs and opportunities. Like people are calling the people that they're calling. One because they they l like that that person cares as much as them and that they can just trust you. Like a lot of people treat these gigs because it is. The same way someone else is going to a nine or five, this is our livelihood. So like if
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: you show up and like mess this up, like you're messing up someone's livelihood. So that
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Their dream. This there's how to provide for the Yes. All day.
Joshua Foster: Bro, so that's why that's why this thing is such so cutthroat. And why people like, man, this industry's so clicked up and it's not clicked up, bro. It's and if it is, it's clicked up for a reason. But it's it's not that it is clicked up. It's like, no, people got the people they rock with because they know they're gonna get the same thing every single time.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: And it's like that's why you you call the same people because you don't need it to go bad. I actually can't afford for it to go bad. Not one time.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, and they're busy. You know,
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: T Vaughn is is not just at the crib twin his thumbs right now. That's that's not how
Joshua Foster: No, he's not actually.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: this works. So when he gets into a space, he's calling Josh because Josh can get this across the finish line quickly. And the least amount
Joshua Foster: Yes, because
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: of time we gotta spend in this room, the better.
Joshua Foster: The better. And like also he gonna send me stuff and like like how do the drums sound? Are they already done like 'cause he ain't finna sit there and edit me. You know, and and was the trigger where it needed to be and all bro, nobody's finna do that, bro. Like I All of that being said, that's what it is, cause we that's that's another long discussion. But it's just like, yeah, man, like we
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: I'd love to dive down if if you're okay with it, man, because there there's a thing that we always well, at least I hear often, is a lot of gatekeepers and I can't get in and they always
Joshua Foster: Let's talk about that.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, I I would love to hear your your your mindset on 'cause you you you sprinkled on it, you know, a little bit but I
Joshua Foster: Yeah. I and it's kinda come up several times in the conversation because like it it's a thing where like, you know, again, like kind of that like that gang gangster mentality where it's like there's a unit and this is how we do things and the like mafia, like seeing
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. Right.
Joshua Foster: American gangster with Denzel Washington, like like same, like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: One of my favorite movies. Yep.
Joshua Foster: I'm I are there gatekeepers? Yes. Is that a bad thing? No, it's not a bad thing. And the reason is not because there's a certain standard and there's a certain integrity. That music has always had. And unfortunately,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: because of desperation,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm.
Joshua Foster: some people diminish the value to just get on or do whatever it is. And it's like, so that's why people will take a gig or take an opportunity that doesn't pay well.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm-hmm.
Joshua Foster: Just because of your hunger to just and your desperation to be on something, or that's why you'll cut corners with how you learn music or different things.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: And not it to your best of your ability. So, yes, we have gatekeepers because there's the integrity that needs to be upheld. Do I think we should we shouldn't have gatekeepers? No, I'm not gonna say that because every level of music and every level of business has a gatekeeper.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: Now, the the thing that people should be asking is not why do we have gatekeepers? It's how do I get through to a gatekeeper? And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: that's the better question because. You put the power on yourself to then become what's necessary to poke through.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. Yep.
Joshua Foster: When you when you're from a mindset of why do we have gatekeepers, you've already lost your mentality
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: winning mentality because you feel frustrated and more like on the defense. And it's like, no, like, how can you grow to the point where the gatekeeper is like, I need them.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: Because to be honest, bro, like even with with in the in the media world where as far as like movies and television and film, like there's gatekeepers everywhere. Tyler Perry is a gatekeeper, Oprah, all these people, right?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: But how many people have they blessed? How many people have worked with those gatekeepers and become a gatekeeper for themselves?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: People don't ask themselves why. Why are they gatekeeping the information? Why are they gatekeeping this thing? And all to your point, it's it's really just the ecosystem. You know,
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: I I've learned I saw this early on and I didn't know what I was seeing, but I I took away some valuable nuggets from it. I couldn't articulate it the same way I'm going to, but I I got a privilege of watching Adam Blackstone and they they were get they were rehearsing for Versus in Flow, the the TV show that was happening way
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: back in the day. one of my close friends, John Whit, they were rehearsing in Philly. And I lived in Delaware at the time. So was up the street.
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Gotcha.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: And John was so gracious to even to ask if I can come in and just observe. I went in with the mindset of shutting the hell up, sitting down, and just let me see what I see.
Joshua Foster: Right. Yeah. Right.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: So I I watched Adam Need Something from James, who was running monitors at that time. And and James
Joshua Foster: Game, hard emoji.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: said to him, It's already there. And I immediately said to me, that's why he called him. Because he had, they, they were running, they were running the song down. And once the song completed, Adam was like, hey, James, can we get this here? He was it was already there. Because during it, James heard it, knew it needed to happen, and immediately did it. That's why James got the call. That's why everybody in that room gets the call. That's why Josh is getting the call. That's why your favorite musicians, your favorite playback engineers, your favorite monitor engineers, your favorite PMs, TMs, road managers, everybody across the board, when they're getting these calls over and over again, it's because of their intuition. They understand their ecosystem, what they need. Chris Pooley calls a Sing American Idol Band for a reason.
Joshua Foster: Absolutely.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's because these men and women are gonna knock this out. They're not gonna complain. They're not gonna be, my God, this is so many songs. And they're just gonna get it done.
Joshua Foster: Right.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's why. You know, that's why you see the same people doing all this other stuff. But here's a news flash. There's room for you. Like where there's a need for it. Cause there's
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Well
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: there's times where I'm hitting our group chat. Yo, anybody know anybody that's available to do this? You know, and
Joshua Foster: Yeah, done.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: y'all will send names and things like that to to do whatever. But this is real. It's like we need people, but not at the expense of the quality going down. That's
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: the difference of what these people are. Gatekeeping to me, they're protecting their name and their dream and their vision. And I see nothing wrong with that. You know,
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: nothing at all. And there's one other question I would love to ask you topic-wise, if you got some time for it, is you
Joshua Foster: Yep, no for sure. Shoot.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: the there's a standard that is is out here that you know we'll we'll hear. I want to say a standard. Let's say this. There is a Some phrases and mantras that that are out here of you're you're diluting the game or y'all younger cats are messing up the the industry by taking gigs
Joshua Foster: yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: and and doing all this other stuff. So I've I've been toying with this concept because, bro, we want to help. Our our our fundamental being is that we want to help. So I'm like, how do we teach them a standard that was never defined? Right? So here's
Joshua Foster: Mm-hmm.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: what I mean. If we Want to be teachers, right? There is a trajectory. You go to school, go for four years, you at least have to get a bachelor's. And if you want a different pay scale, well, the state has decided that this is what you need to get this pay scale, and then go from here, and then you can go to college, you can be an adjunct, right? There's a trajectory, and we can Google off of
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: a state website what their numbers look like. Of course, they
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: can negotiate more, of course, there's tier systems in there, but we don't have that for musicians. We couldn't right now say. If you go to a club gig, this is on an average range of what you should get paid. There's nothing
Joshua Foster: Right.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: right now that says if you take an arena gig, this is what should get paid, right?
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: How do we help this if we don't define it? Right. Do you have any thoughts on this idea? You know, and and I'll add this. It's tough to tell someone not to take something when Whatever they're making at the crib is gonna be less than what it been to go.
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Yeah. Especially if they if they're in that position and they haven't done the thing that they feel like they should be doing, which is the opportunity that's calling. I mean,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: I agree. Certain things have not been defined as far as what the industry standard of each role and what it pays. I think if people care about longevity, then you care about relationships and then you have to I I put it like this, me being a teacher, when people ask me, I tell them Based on the relationship that they're bringing up and with the opportunity itself, I asked them, based on where you are and where you see yourself going, does this help you in your trajectory? If it if it helps you in your trajectory, then you have to think twice about saying no, even if it's not paying what it what it could be. If because if I tell you it's not paying enough, I could be telling you it's not paying enough for me.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: But that's after all of the stuff that I've already done. So no, it actually may be a great price for them at that point. However, or
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: even when I was at that point, right? But I do understand that, like, no, like I would tell somebody the truth and be like, hey, like if you're gonna do a tour, like you wanna be around, like as a teacher, I'm gonna give someone like a a quick class on like, hey, you wanna be around here. Like,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: even starting out, you wanna be around this number. Do you wanna be around this day rate? You wanna be around this per diem? You wanna be around this. But if they can't offer that. Then I'm like, okay, for your trajectory, how do you do you feel like if you don't do this, that you're not missing out on anything? Or that
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm.
Joshua Foster: do you feel like if you don't take it, you're gonna miss out on more because the whoever the MD is could lead to more? And so there's a lot that with music that we have to keep in mind. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: it's it's frustrating at a certain point because, yeah, you could do a gig and it's like, But we all trust God. So it's like he he gonna provide and and so I don't need to just take anything. But it's like, yeah, you don't need to take anything, but there's some things you do need to take. And a lot of I think a lot of what the the younger generation, what they're gonna find is like a lot I think what it is, a lot of people don't like the phrase, pay your dues, like you're gonna have to pay your dues. Because that's what it is. Paying your dues is like actually doing the thing that should have paid more.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: And it's like, it's not that it wasn't a cool opportunity. It was just that it didn't pay what it could have paid.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: But that's not a reason for you not to do it. Like my first tour paid before the Tyler Perry thing, my first tour paid $800 a week.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Bro.
Joshua Foster: And I'm just putting it out there because I'm like, I was doing Redemption of a Dog. It was Snoop Dogg's play on his life.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm-hmm.
Joshua Foster: and it was a play with Dakaris Johnson. I'll never forget. Was I making eight hundred dollars a week at home? Nope. My rent was actually dumb cheap. And that was more than rent a week doing that tour. So I took
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: my on that road. Was that tour the most amazing a as far as how it felt and all the accommodations? No. But if I stayed at home, there wasn't a guarantee that I was gonna make that amount of money a week. And at that time, me
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: So
Joshua Foster: and my homie had a room, a house that we were splitting, we were splitting the rent. It was like 475 for me. So making $800
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: a week, I win it.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, out of a week you was all your bills was paid in more. Right.
Joshua Foster: I'm gonna wait on every bill, every single bill. So yeah, at that time it made sense for me to take a eight hundred a week job. At this point in the game. That's not paying gas in Atlanta right now. Cause it's as high as LA gas. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, that's a fact, man.
Joshua Foster: but yeah. So with that being said, I'd I'd I would never shy someone away from an opportunity if they've never done an op something like that. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sorry.
Joshua Foster: but I wouldn't I would always base it off of their circumstance because you have to base it off of you. It can't be well. Well, they was making this with Janet. But that but that's Janet. You going out with such and such who just who was on their first tour.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, man. Yes, sir. Yep.
Joshua Foster: Your day rate and your day rate ain't finna be $2,000 a day. It's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: No.
Joshua Foster: not it's not gonna be that. And can that happen one day? Yeah, but like, is that what it is right now? No. And my thing is my biggest question, my not biggest question, my biggest thing to people is whatever gig you do say yes to, you cannot get on and complain after you say yes to it. Like, because
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: that be the thing, that really the main thing, like people be like. Man, I'ma just do it and then get on it and then now be frustrated. And it's like, no, like that's why in the beginning, you need to recognize is this something that is going to propel me forward? Is this something that I can make something for myself? Like, one thing for me, even with content, bro, like from those TV shows I was doing, I took that stuff and was like, I'm going to science experiment on myself and just post and be consistent. And what
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: do that led to my following? That led to other things, but I was cool. Even like those shows at that time compared to now paid two different things. Like when we first started, it wasn't like the most amazing pay, but was it and it's I'm not saying that it wasn't good pay, but from what I would hear about, which is why it's important
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right, right.
Joshua Foster: for everybody to not get caught up in what you hear. but like that thing from where it started to where it is now, and shout out to Daniel for a lot of that stuff. Like in a lot of the things that we've done, he's been an advocate for pay raises and different things, but like it was the opportunity. It led to the exposure. It led to
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Joshua Foster: the disability. but yeah, I think it's just people understanding that like there is no right or wrong price. There is more so of a does it is there a right or wrong price for you?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: For you. That's fair.
Joshua Foster: You know, if you got kids already and a wife, I would think about your time in a different way. And and
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: the value of your time. If you're single and you maybe you have a roommate or you don't, you know, all right, cool. I I I definitely feel like if I had to just put a number with stuff though really quickly for people, like if you're playing a gig and For a day rate with an artist, in general, I feel like a good rule of thumb, just in general, like being as close to $500 a day for a day rate is amazing. Like to start with any artist, at least that would be great. For a lot of artists, I would definitely bring it up much higher than that. But like, if I feel like if you've never done a gig, if you've never done a tour. And you make it and you go from making this amount of dollars a day to five hundred
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: dollars a day. Now in LA, that may not make the most sense, but here in Atlanta or
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: or in Philly or somewhere else where like the cost of living is not the same, that that goes a good bit of a way. And and obviously I feel like money is like is obviously a conversation that people need to be more open to having. but I feel like just a good na I'm not counting per dam in that. I'm just saying, like in general, like a good rule of thumb is like for me and what I tell people all the time, like shoot high and let someone tell you no. Ask them what the budget is or if
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Do I Yeah.
Joshua Foster: for your rate, shoot. But don't not put yourself out there and then and if they can't do it or something, because that's the another thing. I think being rejected is a fear. So like people are just like, I'm not gonna. Say what it is that I really want because they're gonna probably say no anyway. So then you're like, I'll take $200 a day. And they're like, cool, but they would have paid you seven.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. I said don't don't be scared to have the money conversation because before
Joshua Foster: Yeah, don't.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: you even got the call, they already had the money conversation. That's the biggest thing people forget is like before they called you, they've already said we want a ban and they've already allocated funds of some kind for the band. Now they may have to go back and say, Okay, well, we got Josh Foster who's this, this, and this, and he's needs whatever. All right, can we can we move this money around?
Joshua Foster: And we'll do that.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right. And they might finesse it. You know, if the MD's really going to bat for you or they they understand your value, they might finesse it. But to
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Josh's point is if you undercut it and they already allocated, let's say, because we're saying the number $500 a day, if they've already allocated five and you were scared and you threw out 200, they like, bet. They're now once again, the TM's responsibility is to save as much money as possible.
Joshua Foster: Yeah, it's possible.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's their job. So you can't get mad at them for doing their job. Their job is that. So if they're saying cool, well, I was able to get save us an extra $300 a day, the real management is like, yo, RTM is killing it right now. We they sell an extra, what is it, $2,100
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: a week? They were able to find.
Joshua Foster: Absolutely. And that's what I'm saying. It's like this is show biz. It ain't show friends. And so, like, which is why, and I'm not saying that like people should just stay at that number. What I'm saying is to, we're just using that number as an example. But yes, it's like, yeah, like ask what the budget is and see what they say. And then if it's like, again, get you a mentor, an OG, because
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: Budget is and then text your OG or your mentor and be like, Hey, I got called to do X, Y, and Z. What do you think about this?
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. Yep.
Joshua Foster: And most of the time, the OG is not thinking about them being on the gig. They're thinking about what does that do for you? And they're like, they answer it based on you. And they're like, actually, man, like you should do that.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, it's not too bad.
Joshua Foster: You that's not too bad. You should do that. Or something else will come, man. Something else will come.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: What people gotta be okay with is when the OG says something else will come. And you shouldn't take it because when people don't take an opportunity, I know that I noticed that with a lot of the young homies and like opportunity don't go through. Before I did that first tour, guess what? My first tour I ever went on, it lasted one week and we was sent home. So I like that was my first experience with touring. And I remember
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: they said, damn, bro, don't worry about it. You gonna, bro, you gonna do something else. Exactly a year from that is when the Tyler Perry thing happened.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Wow.
Joshua Foster: So yeah, man, like be okay with them being like, nah, brother, I think you should sit this one out. Something else
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: something else better will come. But yeah, nah, man. Text that homie, that OG, bro. Like, text someone that's been there so that way you also don't shoot yourself in the foot. And that's what people are talking about when they talk about undercutting and and all of that thing. It's just like you are not getting the value of that job, regardless of you. This is your first time doing it, or you've been in the game for a while, is yeah, at a certain point, this opportunity should be paying this. Yeah,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right, exactly. Yes.
Joshua Foster: but it's just like, but if you got a mentor in your life that you can talk to, then they can help you with that because, or like honestly, like if people don't all have a mentor, like and and it ends up being one anyway, but a big sis or a big bro, it's the same thing. If someone in proximity to you is touring and doing a lot of recordings. And you look at they life, they drink they they got a nice crib, they got a nice car, they living. You
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: should be asking questions about what they drink what this
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: does this pay well? Because yeah, bro, like look at people's life.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: They're they're real live, not not the highlight reel on Instagram. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: They're not the highlight real. Look at their real life, bro. Like look how they pull up game is and and and you know what I'm saying. You go to their crib, like how they live and and and I've and I know some of it is not like s there's some people who are like very modest that make a lot of money that won't show a lot of stuff. So yeah, but when you go to their home, like you gonna know. When
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: You know.
Joshua Foster: when you you know who's who, cause they move a certain way and it's like Yeah, those are the people you should be asking, like, hey, what what do you think about this? And for me, I got several. One big brother I didn't name that I want to give his flowers to is Dre Bowman. Andre Bowman.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: yeah.
Joshua Foster: I just thought about that as it relates to talking about rates and stuff like I've I've talked to Dre about stuff forever, but amazing playback engineer, producer, bass player. y'all for those of you that do or don't know, Garga, Ariana Grande,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Insane.
Joshua Foster: Did Usher. Did everything he works with natural. Natural's amazing. The whole the whole crew is amazing. But Andre Andre Bowman is like when I say like family, he's been very vocal to me as far as like, hey, like I've brought up that conversation to him several times. Like, is this cool, that cool, whatever? He's like, Yeah, no, but you should do that. Or
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: I don't know, I don't know. For you, maybe, I don't know. And if he does that, then it's all Then If he put the ball in my court, cool. But he's been a big bro that's comfortable with making that conversation comfortable. So then it makes me feel like, okay, I can do that. And same thing with Daniel, same thing with Terrence, man. But Dre's been very influential in that. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: Terrence has always been that way, man. Like, hey man, don't ever be afraid to talk business because it's business. It's it's more business than it is music anyway.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: So yeah, bro, like you said, these TMs, they already know what it is. If they can save a coin, they're gonna save a coin. So
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: They gonna save it, man. I think that the the mentorship has kind of been our our
Joshua Foster: That's the anchor.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: you know, that's where we at. But for people who don't even have a mentor, so many musicians offer consultations. Pay for it. Just pay for
Joshua Foster: Bro, just pay for
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: it. You know, and if you become a cool cat, I've done it. I still do it. You know, if there's if there's some information out there that I really need to know and and
Joshua Foster: Yep. Yep. I forgot it.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: and I don't know that person. I don't necessarily want to use I can use my resources and have my friends be like, dog, you're you're enough that now you don't have to. But still, I'm like, I I don't know, man. I'ma just pay you for your time, bro. Just because I want your undivided attention. I don't want you to give me the generic, man, you be good, bro. You can't save that. I
Joshua Foster: And yeah. Right. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: just want the real now. And if I pay you for your time, we now agree that this hour block, we locked in for a second.
Joshua Foster: Absolutely.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: And it bro, it helps so much. So for anybody who doesn't necessarily have a, you know, a
Joshua Foster: It would.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: L, a, you know, a a DJ, a John Whip from from me, like all these people, bro, pay for it, man. I I've done bro, I pay Brian and I still would pay Brian over and over and over and over again anytime because he is a wizard.
Joshua Foster: He is. He broke he invited me to the crib. Like we've had we've had our moment. I've had I've had a lot of moments with a lot of people. I've
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah me.
Joshua Foster: had my my time with Teddy. I've had my time with with a lot of with Spud. I've had my you know, and even more with Spud. Like it's growing, which a lot of people don't even know because we from the same place, Dallas Fort Worth. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right, right, right.
Joshua Foster: a lot of our relationship has been since I've lived there in and in my trajectory now versus when I grew up. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: but yeah, like I think having these different people to to to you know talk to and it's important. And and I would say I would tell people too to pay for it. And like like because then now it's like your respect for it and your your hunger for that wisdom and knowledge is a good place where you sow into that. And then like that's gonna actually help you. So I mean, especially like like what you said, even with Brian and just like different people who've been doing this during for so long, where it's just like, It's undeniable, and if you don't go, that doesn't change Brian's life.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: No.
Joshua Foster: It it just doesn't. Like he's still gonna be doing it. And it's just like and there's a lot of mentors and people in my life that that nobody else will have certain access to that I wish they would have that access to. And that's why I'm like, if you can find someone who's willing to give that knowledge, bro, like hold on to it because that's not another thing Rick Watford would always say is mentors don't seek mentees.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: No.
Joshua Foster: But mentees think that way. Where it's like, well, they should. Nope. Mentees go after mentors. Rick Waffer says that all the time, bro. Like, like, and people had that messed up. Because that's the entitlement thing. But it's like, man, if you can
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: yourself and get with one. Bro, I got so many sayings and so many things from all of these dudes where it's just like,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: where it's just like, man. If you follow these roadmaps right here, you're gonna be good. And they tell me when I see it, it's not something that I'm saying for myself. They're like, man, Josh, you you man, I'm really proud of you doing what you're supposed to do. You listen. So
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, you listen.
Joshua Foster: and so then they want to give you more information that because they're like, all right, well, the last thing I told them he's doing. So because some people don't know that some of their mentors are actually testing them to see if they can call them for a gig. It's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's always that.
Joshua Foster: it's always, but that's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: It's always that.
Joshua Foster: But nobody nobody really thinks that way for the most part. Like I've seen people like it be like and I'm like, man, like a part of the reason I can't call you to fill in for me is and 'cause a lot of people ha asked that question. And I'm just like, It's how you think.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's also a weird question. That's also a weird question.
Joshua Foster: I mean, it's a weird, it's only a weird question because the the fact that you like if you see already this, especially if you're close to me, like if or if you get close enough where it's like, you see the stuff that I'm doing to do the things that I'm doing. And I'm not saying you have to play like me or approach stuff like me, because I'm never thinking that way. And I don't think any other person who wants to help someone is thinking that way. It's so of the same conversation about the MDs. And the level of care. When you see some when we see something in someone else, and when a mentor sees something in us, it's like they see the hunger to be excellent and to care and all of these things. And they're like, bro, I'll get this dude like anything. This will I'll get this girl anything. Like I know mad people that are that are cool with doing that. But yeah, bro, I mean, that's really what that is. I mean, it's
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yep.
Joshua Foster: it's that simple. for the people who have mentors. keep applying yourself with them. For the people who don't, I would get it. And then to your point earlier, if you can't, if there's no one in your proximity, you there's so many YouTube videos of different people talking about what they're listening for, what they what they value, what they're listening, and then use your social media and use your presence to build on the thing that you've been seeing that works for
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: for what you want to be doing, not for what's working for the other person. What do you What do I, John Doe, want to do and then now I apply that to me and then watch God do the rest of the stuff because now you're activating your faith by actually doing something. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: then he can come in and then like add this stuff, but like, yeah, bro, there's too much information out here now to like to work. There's too much
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: opportunity to work. Like. But yeah, the same people are gonna keep getting called until the our generation and the generations on continue to like shift the mentality to like what matters. And as that
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: mentality shifts, more opportunity will come and more, you know. So yeah, man.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Absolutely. I love that. I know we I gotta get you out of here, but I would love to also talk about your artistry, man, because
Joshua Foster: yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: the world well the world knows how phenomenal you are as a drummer, right? That's what we know. But dog,
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: your artistry's phenomenal, man. So so is that always been a goal for you? Is that been
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: your primary for where where is your head at with it and talk about your artistry, man? Because we got to promote
Joshua Foster: So no,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: this.
Joshua Foster: I I appreciate it, you know. And so a lot of people obviously so which I'm glad I I'll say it here is the first time I'm I'm saying it, but like so like because people go to my page, like a couple of people didn't understand, like even me changing it to abbreviate. It's my last name. I'm going by foster,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: but it's foster world is the only thing that was available because foster wasn't available. me to use. But in my artistry, I feel like you know, a drummer is who I am. There was a time when I was trying to figure out how to like rebrand to where it was just me as an artist, regardless if I'm playing drums or whatever. And it just it just felt it didn't feel genuine. And I remember my mother-in-law and I had this conversation, and she was like, when I said something like, I'm more than a drummer or you know, and and I was on my rant one day just about how I see myself and and all of that kind of stuff. And she
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: was Josh, like nothing's wrong with that. Like I understand, like you you're you're a businessman, you wanna get in all these things and that have nothing to do with music solely. And and but you are a drummer and that's great. Like and and and so like with like I said, with being at home, I've been in that space of gratitude of like what drums has actually done in my life. So
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: my artistry will forever be attached to that.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Sure.
Joshua Foster: The song I put out, you remind me, is a cover Patrice Russian. And I did that because I wanted to now show people me playing and singing. And like, okay,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Mm.
Joshua Foster: where is he like, all right, he's bringing us into something? Drums is always gonna be a part of it and the instrumentation will be there. my original stuff, bro, I'm very excited to share. I plan on dropping an album this fall.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Great.
Joshua Foster: and I plan on touring as an artist. I plan on doing my own tours. It'll be with a band.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Let's go.
Joshua Foster: But yeah, man, I I've always felt like there was more for me than just playing drums. I'm a producer. I'm a I'm a I I look at myself as like just I I just love all of music. Like so playing drums, what people experience for me while playing drums is ultimately how much I care. That's what people are experiencing. It's like I care about every note. So that's why when you go see videos and stuff, or if it looks like I'm kind of dancing and and all of that, it's like, or like the feeling is all the way in it. Like my playing is very emotional because it it is that. But it's it my artistry is the same thing where it's like, okay, I'm not gonna claim myself to be anybody's best singer or anything like that. But I understand that the message I have is for a lot of instrumentalists that may not ever do this, which
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: I want to inspire instrumentalists. That are gifted at several different things to like go after their thing, go after whatever it is. And for me, I just like creating music. I like production. I like so yes, my artistry is is an avenue where I can like just do my thing. Because
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: for instance, a lot of people that are aware that after party, we did that. The last one we just did was I did two. I did one in 2024 and then one in twenty the top of this year, 26. And This last one I just did was the last time I'm just gonna do like covers and we play stuff. And it this next one is literally gonna be original music.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Let's go.
Joshua Foster: I plan on turning that into a festival. I plan on like doing a lot of other stuff. But jumping into artistry is like, bro, like I know there's a lot of a lot of guys and girls with a voice that they that they just won't use it because it's cool. You can make a living doing what we do. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: you and if you want to do that. I say go for it.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes.
Joshua Foster: Me and Jermaine Poindexter had that conversation all the time. We've known each other since Berkeley and we've talked, and he knows too. Like, I've told him what I wanted to do and with my artistry and different things. And he was like, bro, like you can do it, but don't ever for one second think that you couldn't do it from drums. And and a
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: lot of that stuff is what stays with me, where it's like, that's my superpower. So
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: my art, and then I started thinking, okay, well. What took me so long to even be okay with it and and should I go is cause like but we already have Anderson Pack. We already we already have Phil Collins, we already have Larry Blackman, we already have Maurice White, we already have all these band leaders and bands and different people. We have Ghost Note, we have all of these things where you're you're playing and singing or or rapping or whatever. But it's like Yeah, but that's authentic to them.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: To them, yes, yes, yes.
Joshua Foster: My sound is my sound. My music is a mesh between Phil Collins, D'Angelo, Prince, McGee, Dejan, like all of that
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: stuff where it's like it's everyone music. It's not really musician music.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: It's it's not instrumentalist music. It's the average listener music. Like it sounds good. The drummers are gonna love the drum tones.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Of course.
Joshua Foster: you know, and the in the musicians gonna love the sonics, but I want people who, you know, I want my family members. I want your cousin, your your auntie to listen to it. And even when they
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: the house and they just having a family gathering. And you can play my stuff in the in the background and and like D'Angelo and all these other people we love, like we love it because of how it felt. So, bro,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: with my artistry, I'm very excited about it. that's coming very soon. And My goal is either whether if not this year, 2027, I do plan on like doing a tour.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Great.
Joshua Foster: and and my goal is in between touring with other artists. And of course my wife is an artist, so I program her stuff, put her shows together. The goal for our household, bro, is for both of us as artists to be on the move, on the go. And that's that's what the future is gonna ultimately hold. But in the meantime, I'm not you know, not playing gigs or not doing stuff because I want to do my artist.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: No. It's just like Kenyan Dixon or, you know, mad other people who sing background for other people and then they go do their thing and like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: both Duran Bernard with Eric B with Erica Badu. Like
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Absolutely.
Joshua Foster: you do all the things and then when your moment comes ride
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yep, go for it.
Joshua Foster: ride that wave, go for it. But that's where I'm at. That's where Foster is. That's where, you know, Josh is Josh is I'm still Josh, but like My artist is foster. Like that's what that is. And so, you know, it's still me. It's still
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah. Right.
Joshua Foster: me, but it's another layer of me. and so man,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: I'm excited.
Joshua Foster: man, I'm excited too, bro. I really am. Like,
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: I was just talking to a friend before this call, Eli and Boho plays base. A lot of people, you know, he know him. Like he's he's amazing.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: I was gonna put out another Cover before I dropped like the album stuff. And then I was like, I don't know if I'm gonna do it. He's like, bro, you got to, bro. I just did like 48 takes of this song.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Ha ha.
Joshua Foster: Cause he he wanted it to be perfect. Cause he know I'm
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: he don't need that many takes. But but yeah, I think this this this new level, man, I'm excited about navigating that. And for a lot of the drummers and different people to just see, hey man, like whatever you put your mind to, like. you can do. I'm a very optimistic person. I'm a very like, hey man, whatever the goal is, we going.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah, it's good to it, yeah.
Joshua Foster: But yeah, bro, I plan on doing it soon. So I I'll keep you posted. Keep you posted. Yep.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: I'm excited. Yeah, please do. Please do. And we'll and we'll we'll definitely promote all that for you as well. You know, in addition to everything you're doing.
Joshua Foster: You're science.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's that's important. I I hope people understand a lot of what you're saying and and really understanding that you've diversified yourself off of your instrument. You
Joshua Foster: Yeah, yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: know, you're not just a drummer. You're you're talking about programming, you talked about arranging, you talked about doing your production, you know, you've talked about your your lessons and consultations and You know, growing your brand and your social media stuff. It's like, I I I know people love their instruments and I feel you. Like I really, I'm with you.
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: But to really make a living at this and have some solid, some solid ground to stand on, you do need to diversify yourself a bit.
Joshua Foster: You do. You do, man. And until you do that, you know, you won't see the biggest return on your investment. But once once people do that, man, I think it'll really it'll start paying off in a in a very great way. In a very
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: and I appreciate you, man, for you know, having me and taking the time to to have me on here. And you know, 'cause I I knew it would happen at some point. For those of you who don't know, I hit Jarvis and I was like, man, so I I I guess I can But but no, I I
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: That's nonsense. That's complete nonsense.
Joshua Foster: really do appreciate it, man, because I I I feel like us creating this conversation and having it more and more for people to see from different people at every level is very
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: important. Because yeah, bro, we didn't I didn't see this. I didn't see a bunch of conversations like social media happen for everybody at the same time. So
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Right.
Joshua Foster: when and and even YouTube and how big like podcasts and all of these things are where you can get all this information. Man, just think, you know, rest in peace, bro. Aaron Spears. If more people heard Aaron talk, 'cause like in the conversations I did have with him and a lot of people can speak about those conversations.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: This type of dialogue with him at that height of everything that was happening for him and for most people that know him know how sweet of a guy like just like this
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: great guy, bro. Like, and I mean it's super genuine
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Everybody says that. Everyone. Yeah.
Joshua Foster: and will take your head off on drums. But
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Quick.
Joshua Foster: but like just that kind of stuff, like us having this opportunity, man, is a is a really big blessing because you know every all of these voices that that you're bringing on here, it's it's a it's a you know it's a a really a love to you and just like a shout out to you for taking the
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Thank you, man.
Joshua Foster: time to create that space because sometimes as creators we feel like I don't think I have all the tools to get started at whatever that is. And
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: you went on ahead and was just like I'ma just do it. I'ma just
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yes, let's get it done.
Joshua Foster: I'ma just get it done. And that's really all it is and everything that we're saying. If you just the mind the mindset shift to just to go. So thank you, bro, for for having me and for having all the people that you've had. And because I've been able to watch and just see like you're
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Thank you.
Joshua Foster: like, you know, just because you're your yes and like I'm gonna do it, it's led to so much more. Even for you outside of drums and like your the the philosophical mind and like how you care about bringing community and that
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Yeah.
Joshua Foster: The thing, even in our and you know, in the group chat and all of that too. So yeah, man. Thanks again, bro.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Thank you. Yeah, it's it's it's just important. You know, we we didn't have a lot of that. And all to your point, it that's the whole reason is that there's there's so much information out there. And then when people are asking questions like, where did you learn this from?
Joshua Foster: Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Okay, we have to help you, you know. So and and bro, it for some reason everybody in our class right now is on this give, give, give aura.
Joshua Foster: Yeah. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: And I'm loving it. You know, I'm loving every minute of it. I can I can text Kyrie. I can text you. I can text Clem. I can hit everybody right now
Joshua Foster: And people
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: and everybody's just down.
Joshua Foster: Yeah, yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: You know, so so thank you, man. I do appreciate it. So once again, Josh, you you're you're one of my favorite people, bro. But I respect you. You you're I'm proud of you. You know, I'm honored to call you a friend. I'm I'm honored to watch you develop as a man and love your wife and and be a good person. And bro, just thank you for just taking time. That was two out of your time that you didn't have to take for us, man. But thank you for making the time, bro. It it means a lot. My dad.
Joshua Foster: No, for sure. Thanks again, Mc Thanks again. I enjoyed my
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: My dog. I appreciate you, man.
Joshua Foster: Yeah, man. Yeah.
Jarvis 'Jeb' Barnes: Well everybody, thank you so much for tuning in, ladies and gentlemen. Josh Foster, man.
