Josh Humphrey & Scarred Nation : Alternative, Hard Rocking & Raw

I was sitting out on the terrace here in Mykonos, playing songs to the sunset this evening when I began to strum the chords to "What It Takes" (Aerosmith). I never noticed what a fantastic song it was, until I heard Josh Humphrey cover it with his acoustic guitar. The sound is stripped down, raw and as pure as it gets. Funnily enough, I play Aerosmith albums repeatedly but never considered that the song would sound so incredible solo. Well, have a listen and get lost in this incredible Aerosmith track. Josh definitely has "what it takes"!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjupkNX5FsE

Amazing, right? Anyone's who's ever tried covering Aerosmith tracks knows how hard it can be to match Steven Tyler. And Joe Perry is quite legendary too. For those who don't know this, he uses bass strings on his electric guitar. I guess that explains his "bear hands" and incredible acoustic sound. They've been commercial and done a bunch of "odd" things, but they're definitely a band that's got something for everyone. And as always, I really respect a band whose songs sound just as brilliant unplugged. And Josh is proof of that. And for those who haven't seen Aerosmith Unplugged, I recommend you watch that later. Now, let's get back to Josh.

As always, don't forget to subscribe to the artist's Youtube channel and have a look through their videos. A cover uploaded in January, 2013 really took me by surprise. Josh covers Tesla's "Love Song". And unlike "What It Takes", we really get the opportunity to get a taste of Josh's guitar playing. He really shows off some skill there, and once again bursts with that dynamic voice of his. I never took the time to really listen to the original but I'll definitely be listening to it again now. Here's Josh Humphrey's brilliant cover.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUi4c750woQ

Great one. I'm quite glad Josh re-introduced me to that track. So many times, I come across artists by looking up songs I know, and possibly enjoy and by looking through their channel find a couple gems that I either don't know, or had forgotten. So, if you enjoy someone's cover, I recommend you go through their other covers (and originals), and find something new. Quite honestly, of all the covers on Josh Humphrey's channel, "What It Takes" was the only one I knew well. The others were either new to me or forgotten, so there's another reason I really dug his channel.

And, having had a look at his channel, I've come to discover that Josh is the lead vocalist and guitarist in a band called Scarred Nation. And together with lead guitarist/vocalist Chris McQuillan and bassist/vocalist Steve Humphrey they create an alternative, hard rock sort of sound that a good deal of people would appreciate. Unfortunately, I didn't come across any original on Josh's channel but found an original of theirs on another channel. A track entitled "Remember", reminded me of those early '90's MTV unplugged sessions. In particular the Alice In Chains one. So, make sure you check out this great track of theirs and don't forget to "like" their Facebook page. Check back tomorrow for another fantastic artist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4e7NNDwipo

Alex Hamel