Seinfeld or The Office? Josh Gluck Struggles to Decide

Cover photo from Substream Magazine

Name: Josh Gluck

Pronouns: He/him

Age: 22

Zodiac: Gemini

OFF THE RECORD - CAMILLA JOHNSON: Um, so first, what have you been keeping—what have you been doing to keep yourself busy during quarantine and self-isolation, non-music related?

JOSH GLUCK: Yeah, that’s a great question. So, um, mostly, at least recently, I’ve been trying to read a lot. I had a lot of books that I’m sure, like, a lot of people do, that have just been sitting there for years. I’m always saying, like, “Well, I ought to read that book, I gotta get to it,” and, um, now we have a lot of time on our hands, so I’ve been definitely reading more. Um, I like to spend a lot of time outside, so I—I really like riding my bike? I got a bicycle like, uh, maybe a year ago, and ever since I’ve rode it everyday since I got it, so riding my bike a lot, reading a lot of books, um, spending time with my family. I just graduated from USF, and so I live up in Orlando, but also down in Broward County in Florida. So, I’ve been with my family a little bit, so we’ve been playing, like, ping pong, a lot, y’know. So, like, that.

CAMILLA: So, what have you read? Any good book recommendations you wanna give?

JOSH: Yes. Um, hm… What’s… One that I just read was called—I don’t know who it was by—but it was called the Tao of Pooh. Like, Taoism but through the eyes of Winnie the Pooh. And, I know it sounds kind of funny, but to be honest, it was very, very eye-opening. It was like, really an enlightening book, so that’s a definite.

CAMILLA: I’ll check it out!

JOSH: Yeah, that’s a good one.

CAMILLA: Um, so, now we’re gonna move onto some music related questions. What is it like having your music out in the world? And whenever you release music, are you ever scared of how it’ll be perceived, or like, critics? What’s it like?

JOSH: It’s a really crazy feeling. Um, I remember when I released my first song, which was, I think, two years ago, or something like that, when I released my first song, that was also the first song I ever completed. Like, that was the first original song that I ever finished, and then I released it, and I just… I remember—I even posted the video, and I was like, “I can’t believe I can finally say this, but my music’s out in the world. Like anybody, anywhere, can listen to it now.” That’s a crazy, crazy thought, that anybody that has access to a streaming platform, to YouTube, whatever the case is, can listen to it? And that’s a really, really cool thought. Um, in terms of, like, being scared when I release a song, I wouldn’t say that I’m, y’know, scared or nervous, but very, like, antsy? Like, I put a song out, and as soon as it drops, I’m already like, “Aw man, I hope people like it, what do they think?” You know? I want to hear people’s thoughts on the song, you know? And sometimes it takes a little bit of time for people to listen to it and whatnot, to, y’know, let me know what they think, but it’s definitely like a rush. That’s the best way I can explain it. It’s a definite rush.

CAMILLA: So, as you mentioned, you just released—well, not just—but two years ago, you released your first song, so what’s it like being a fairly new artist? Like, do you ever feel pressure to succeed and like, what’s it like breaking into the industry, if that makes sense? Or is it easy to just go with the flow, just release what you love?

JOSH: So, um, the thing is this: I—especially now, you know, during this whole time where we’re in lockdown, under quarantine and whatnot—no one knows anything. You know what I mean? We all just are doing our best and, like, living and, um, and trying to be the best version of ourselves that we can be, and it’s very hard to be able to say like, “Okay, well, three months from now, I wanna be here.” It’s very difficult to like, say that, and sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t. Um, and so, I kind of have tried to stay more in the mindset of “I’m really proud of myself and, um, happy for where I am now today, and I’m gonna keep doing my best, writing my best, um, and hopefully, you know, one day I’ll be in a place that I’ll be able to say the same thing”. You know? Like, I wouldn’t want to get into the mindset—and, for other artists, too—I wouldn’t want people to be in the mindset where they’re thinking that they should be somewhere else as opposed to where they are right now, you know what I mean?

CAMILLA: Yeah.

JOSH: So, I feel like the moments that you’re in right now? That’s important, that’s just as important as where you’re gonna be ten years from now, where you’re gonna be twenty, thirty, whatever the case is. And being in the mindset of “I’m looking, you know, I’m looking forward to what’s gonna happen tomorrow,” switching that up and being like, “Oh, well I wish I was here instead of where I am now,” you know, then what’s the point of the journey? So.

CAMILLA: Yeah. I think that’s actually an admirable mindset, because a lot of people nowadays, especially like artists, they’re just trying to get—I don’t know where they want to be—

JOSH: They’re just trying to break out, they’re trying to break out, they’re trying to pop off, they want—they want to get a hit that’s gonna, like, shoot them through the roof right away, and one thing—one thing is how do you know that, if you get there, you know, wherever it is that, you know, you’re trying to get to, the top, whatever that means—who’s to say that you get there and then you realize that dang, you really liked it the way things were before this? You know what I’m saying? So like, I mean, whatever kind of, like, fanbase you have as an artist, whoever is supporting you? Just in the fact that somebody is listening to your music, just in the fact that somebody is supporting you—I’m talking about myself now—just that somebody listens to my music, it doesn’t matter how many, but if anybody listens to it and feels something from it, gains some kind of new perspective or something from it, then that’s it. That’s a win. You know?

CAMILLA: Yeah! No, I think that’s actually—I feel like that’s what music should be about, rather than, like, having, you know, a whole audience slash fanbase. I mean, obviously, that’s kind of what propels music, having the audience and the fanbase, but I feel like a lot of people just don’t appreciate where they are and like… only focus on how to get where they’re going. So, that’s kind of nice to hear.

JOSH: Super important, yeah.

CAMILLA: So, um, your most recent single “Like Fire”: Can you talk about the process of creating that song? The lyrics, production, and recording? How’s that been?

JOSH: Yeah, definitely. So, the song: relatively new. I don’t know what it is now, a month and a half ago I released it, something like that? But I wrote the song maybe like a week or two before I released it. So it was like a really, really new song, like I wrote it fast. Like, there are some songs that I’ll sit on that I still have right now that I’m sitting on, that I’ve been sitting on for two years. You know, there are like songs that’ll take a really long time, but this one—I was just sitting in my backyard, I just started playing, y’know, noodling around on the guitar, and that song came to be in like, a day. And it was during this whole period of time, right at the beginning kind of, where like lockdown, quarantine, and stuff was going on, and, uh, that—the song, writing it was my way of kind of putting things into perspective for myself. Um, and so, the song is about change, it’s about being able to adapt to change, and, um, a lot of it was inspired by a quote that I heard a long time ago that said something along the lines of, “The only thing permanent is change.” And, I mean, that’s powerful. Very powerful. So that inspired a lot of that writing, um, and it was like a really, you know, like for most writers, writing stuff is like therapy to me. So that was like a therapeutic thing for me to come out—you know, to go into a song-writing session, to go into it with nothing and come out with that, and to be able to look back at it and be like, “Wow. That helped me.” That helped me, like, get through whatever it is I was going through, whatever emotions I was feeling, so that’s when I realized, like, “Okay, I gotta release this. I want other people to hear it now.”

CAMILLA: Okay, so what song out of those released—cuz’, as you just said, you have tons of songs that you’re sitting on—but what songs out of the ones that you’ve released would you choose to introduce people to Josh Gluck? Like what song encapsulates your vibe, for lack of better words?

JOSH: I think this newest song “Like Fire”, um, that’s like, absolutely the kind of direction I’m going in now, um, and even still yet, a lot of these songs that I’m sitting on now, a lot of songs that I’m working on at the moment now that will be out soon, um, even still then it’s like, kind of changing in different ways. I’m influenced by a lot of music and a lot of genres and whatnot, so, um, the way that “Like Fire” is, I would say that’s the best representation of my music, you know, at the moment right now, but things change.

CAMILLA: Okay, so moving onto some non-music stuff. What would you say is your spirit animal?

JOSH: Hmm… spirit animal… Maybe, uh, like a prairie dog? I only say that because I find them very cute. I don’t really know much about them or what they do, or… So, I really like otters, I think they’re very cute but then I learned that they’re kind of vicious, and, like... Yeah, so—I don’t know what the lifestyle is, of a prairie dog, you know? I just think that, on the surface, they’re cute? So… And they’re funny and goofy, so maybe them? Not sure?

CAMILLA: <laughing and collecting herself> I’m sorry, we’ve gotten—we’ve asked this question for like, a bunch of people that we’ve interviewed, and all of the ones—I like that no one gives, like, what you would usually think someone would say their spirit animal is. Like, a lion, or a tiger.

JOSH: <growly voice> Yeah, a lion... or a tiger!

CAMILLA: Like, we’ve gotten a turkey—what was interesting—and now we’ve got a prairie dog. So, I love it.

OFF THE RECORD - MISCHA WHITE: <nodding>

JOSH: I don’t know—I don’t know why. To be honest, I don’t have a good explanation for that answer, but I feel like I can closely identify with them. I don’t know why, though.

CAMILLA: Okay, so what would you say your three biggest fears are? Non-existential.

JOSH: Haha... Non-existential fears. Frogs is number one. Absolutely. Terrified of frogs. Um, hmm, let’s see... Okay, frogs are number one, number two is starting a panini—you know, throwing a panini into a panini press, starting it—and then forgetting about it and then coming back to it burned completely crisp. That’s a huge fear of mine. Wow. I’m going to have nightmares about that later. And then number three… um, hmm… Wow… Yellow skittles.

CAMILLA: Yellow skittles? What did they ever do to you? They’re not that bad.

MISCHA: <confused expression>

JOSH: They’re not—they’ve done nothing wrong, the same thing w—well, no, frogs, frogs? They’ve done some things… but, yellow skittles, I don’t think they’ve done much, it’s just that I—it’s an irrational fear maybe?

CAMILLA: Also, back to the panini press—has that almost happened to you? Cuz’ that’s a fairly specific situation.

JOSH: It happens—and you know what else? So, I just got a new toaster, and I haven’t acclimated to how fast it warms up, and I—I don’t know—okay, if you put, you know, a waffle, or whatever you want to toast, if you put something into a toaster, and then you stand there and you watch it? You’re a psychopath. No one does tha—

CAMILLA: Okay, I do that!

MISCHA: <look of mild disgust>

JOSH: No way! You don’t do that, I know you don’t! I know you don’t! I know you put it in and you go—

CAMILLA: Yes I do!

JOSH: —and you go check your phone, or you go like watch something real quick on the TV—there’s no way you put it in and then, like, you’re just sitting there staring at it for five minutes. I can’t believe that.

CAMILLA: Yes I do. Because—

MISCHA: <maintaining the look of mild disgust>

CAMILLA: —it’s because when you sit at the toaster and you stare at it and you put your toast in, you want to make sure it doesn’t overburn, so sometimes—maybe my toaster is janky, so maybe that’s why I stand and watch it, to make sure that it’s not over-burned, cuz’ I like to—

JOSH: I hear you, yeah.

CAMILLA: —crisp, but not too crisp, cuz’ then your toast is ruined.

JOSH: Well, that’s definitely the—the logical approach to it, I don’t think, um, my approach is very logical.

CAMILLA: I only eat toast at, like, twelve in the morning. With peanut butter.

JOSH: I—that’s the weirdest thing ever, right? I don’t eat toast for breakfast, I eat toast for like, after dinner, like, I dunno, three AM I wake up in the middle of the night and I’m like, “Huh, little hungry, I guess I’ll go make toast.” But I’ve never had it for breakfast.

MISCHA: <nodding>

CAMILLA: And, frogs. Is there like a little backstory there? Do you mind sharing, or is it too…?

JOSH: I dunno why but frogs are just out—out for me. They’re just out to get me. Yeah, they’re always—always after me. There’s a frog probably listening to this right now, so—

CAMILLA: Yeah, and they’ll be at your door—

JOSH: —I wouldn’t want to upset their community.

CAMILLA: Okay, next question. So what are your thoughts on the TV show Friends?

JOSH: <laughing> On the TV show Friends? Why is—all of a sudden, like—I know this has been a topic for, like, y’know, like, a long time, but I feel like all of a sudden now it’s all over the place. Um, listen, growing up, I watched Friends a lot. It was like a family thing with us, like I watched it with my mom, my brother, my dad… We watched Friends a whole lot. And I did—I found comfort in it as a kid. I still do have an appreciation for it. But, having watched it a couple of times now in my older years, I have… an appreciation… for other shows. That’s what I’ll say.

CAMILLA: That’s a very diplomatic answer.

JOSH: Yeah, I feel like a politician. But uh, I—I like The Office more. A lot more.

CAMILLA: Okay, that’s valid, I agree.

MISCHA: <nodding>

CAMILLA: I’m not that much a fan of Friends, so.

JOSH: The Office and Seinfeld—if it was between those three—if it—well, I wouldn’t be able to choose between The Office and Seinfeld, but—out of those three, if one had to go… eh…

CAMILLA: Well, actually… Let's make you choose. Seinfeld or The Office, weigh the options, let’s talk about it.

JOSH: That’s not fair… Ugh, I don’t know about that… Um… No. I cannot do it. I’m trying so hard to like—throw out the pros and cons, I’m trying to weigh it in my head and find a balance, and I cannot do it. My—my brain is overheating right now. I don’t know if I can—

CAMILLA: Is there a show you like just a little bit more?

JOSH: Um… no. Maybe—ugh, gosh—maybe The Office, only because I’ve seen Seinfeld, like, so... many… times… so, so many times, and I’ve watched The Office maybe three times already, so I have seen The Office a lot, but I’ve seen Seinfeld so many times, and every episode so many times, that, like, I don’t even know if watching it would be me watching the TV or just running the episodes in my head. I see no difference anymore.

CAMILLA: The Office wins. Okay. Cool.

CAMILLA: Um, so I’m not sure if you’re on Tiktok, but there have been many discussions about if you are the main characters in life or the side character? So, um, if you were the main character— I’m not saying you’re not, that is not what I’m saying, but—what would your TV show be called and what is your theme song?

JOSH: Hmm… um… The title would be… “Boop D Floop”... and the theme song would be… mmm… maybe… Ugh, this is a crazy question… Um, there’s this one song, uh, like, called, like, Flamingo, something?

(EDITOR’S NOTE: He starts humming the song “Flamingo” by Kero Kero Bonito. Anyone who follows animation memes  on YouTube, you know this one by heart.)

CAMILLA: Is that the theme song?

JOSH: Uh, I think it’s called “Flamingo”. Uh, yeah. That’s the theme song.

CAMILLA: Why “Boop D Floop”? Is that just how you feel currently?

JOSH: Yeah. I feel like—like pretty “Boop D Floopy” at the moment.

MISCHA: How would you spell that?

JOSH: Boop D Floop. Uh, B-O-O-P, um, and then next word, D, the letter D, and then, um, floop. F-L-O-O-P. Boop D Floop.

MISCHA & CAMILLA: <simultaneously> Okay.

JOSH: Yeah. I’d also say that definitely—that really defines how I feel about everything at the moment.

CAMILLA: Boop D Floop.

JOSH: Yeah. I’d use that as a describing word for just about anything right now.

CAMILLA: What does it it mean?

JOSH: I’m not sure. That’s why.

CAMILLA: Exactly.

JOSH: Yeah.

CAMILLA: Um, if you could have a forty-five minute conversation with any musician or band, who—or what—I mean, is a band a what—I don’t think a band is a what—would it be? What would y’all talk about?

JOSH: I gotta have two people. It’s gotta be a room, with me—oh man, maybe three. Can it be three? Can it be like a round table discussion?

CAMILLA: Okay, round table discussion.

JOSH: Okay, round table discussion.

CAMILLA: But you have to have only one discussion. One discussion.

JOSH: Yeah, that’s cool. It would be a round table discussion with me, Kendrick Lamar, Chris Martin from Coldplay, and Rick Rubin. Those—that’s the discussion right there.

CAMILLA: What would the discussion be about?

JOSH: We would talk about the perfect sandwich.

MISCHA: <confused expression>

CAMILLA: And what’s your idea of a perfect sandwich?

JOSH: I’m only twenty-one, so I don’t know if ever I’ll ever find a perfect sandwich, or the ingredients to create a perfect sandwich, and that’s why I think that having those three minds in one room and me being able to be in their presence? I think that maybe—we’d get close to it. I don’t know if they’re—I don’t know if it exists, but I think we could get close.

CAMILLA: So what is the best sandwich you’ve had so far? And like, what’s on it?

JOSH: Ooh, the best sandwich I’ve had so far. Um… hm… Uh, where are you guys based from? Where are you located?

CAMILLA: Memphis, Tennessee.

JOSH: Tennessee?

CAMILLA: Yes.

JOSH: Okay, so, I don’t know if this is in Tennessee, but we have a grocery store here called Publix—

CAMILLA: Yeah.

JOSH: —and, okay, doesn’t matter what you get, but a Pubsub tops any sandwich I’ve ever had, anywhere. And any time I’m out of state, all I can think about is Publix, and all I can think about is coming back to get a Pubsub. I actually have a friend—

CAMILLA: We don’t have a—

JOSH: You don’t have a Publix in Tennessee?

CAMILLA: No, we don’t have a Publix in Memphis, we have a Publix in Nashville, and probably other places? So I’ve never had a Pubsub. But when I go to Nashville, I would try it out.

JOSH: I’d say, go to Nashville, skip all the stuff that Nashville has, and just go to Publix. And then come back to Memphis.

MISCHA & CAMILLA: <both nodding>

JOSH: A good trip. It’s a good trip. And then next time—cuz’ I feel like a Publix trip should just be to Publix in itself. I wouldn’t do anything else. I would just let it just be a trip to go to Publix, and then come back and then go back and do Nashville stuff.

CAMILLA: So would you say Publix is your favorite grocery store?

JOSH: Oh, yeah. Hands-down. I have a friend who moved to Minnesota and we overnighted—like, like, I don’t know—like, the one day shipping, overnighted her a Pubsub so she could have one. It’s a—it’s a big deal. Pubsubs are—it’s a bit of a craze.

CAMILLA: I’m trying to think about how the trip would work. A Pubsub overnight…

JOSH: Dunno. Don’t know how it works, but it did. Proper story, and honestly, it happened, so, not thinking about it too much.

CAMILLA: Um, okay, next question, what is—like—living rent free in your mind currently? Like, you think about it all the time.

JOSH: What’s like—living rent free in my mind? What I’m thinking about all the time right now?

CAMILLA: Yes. Like you can’t get rid of it. It’s just there.

JOSH: Uh-huh. Hm… So… That’s—you know, it’s weird, you asked that question, and so I went back into my head and I was like, looking around, like, “What’s around here? What’s going on?” And, I don’t know if this is necessarily how I feel, but you know that Spongebob thing? That meme? It’s not a meme, but it’s where Spongebob—where, um—all the little Spongebobs are running around, they’re like, “His name? His name? What’s his name?” You know what I’m saying? That’s how I felt when you asked me that question. So it was like—‘What is it? Give me—give us a thought, give me a thought?’

CAMILLA: So you think about nothing, to sum it up.

JOSH: I think it’s nothing, I think it’s nothing? Yeah. But in a very hectic manner, maybe. I don’t know. Or I’m thinking about Spongebob. Or I’m just really, really thinking about Spongebob. As a matter of fact… Let’s see if I still have this thing… Hold on. Yep. This is why.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: He gets up and starts walking, carrying us with him. The camera pans to show a massive stuffed Spongebob on screen.) Mischa and Camilla’s mouths drop open.

JOSH: Subliminally, Spongebob has been in the back of my head for a long time now. Here it is. There’s Spongebob.

CAMILLA: Yeah, maybe he’s stuck in your subconscious. I feel like that’d be pretty hard to ignore.

JOSH: Mhm, yeah. I’d go with Spongebob on that one.

CAMILLA: Whenever you’re walking through your house, do you not get scared by that? If it’s dark?

JOSH: Of course not! I find so much comfort in that! That’s why it’s there.

CAMILLA: It reminds me of this Elmo chair I used to have, and it—it slept on this couch, and when I used to go to the kitchen to get, like, a midnight snack, it’d just be there staring at me.

JOSH: Yeah, I do that—I do that, I come downstairs to get a midnight snack, I do my midnight toast, you know, and I look over and I’m like, “Sup’, Bob.” Sometimes he’s like, “Yo, what’s up.”

CAMILLA: That’s what I respect.

JOSH: Mischa’s like, “This kid’s crazy, holy cow.”

CAMILLA: So, what’s up next for Josh Gluck after quarantine is over?

JOSH: Well, once quarantine is over, I cannot tell you how much I want to get back into live performances. That is like—oh man—that is like my favorite part about what I do, is the life performances, and like, you know, obviously, the performance and the playing and the music and stuff, but really it’s just the people that I meet. And people, especially if they resonate with the kind of music that I make and I put out, stuff like that—those are like—if you were to ask me what the greatest moments of my life up until this point, those are like—they’re definitely in my top ten, like, best moments, so I can’t wait to get back on a stage and do some live performances and whatnot. Honestly, really just… I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of my friends too. You know, just like, I can’t wait to just—just go to a bagel place with my friends, you know?

CAMILLA: What do you put on your bagel?

JOSH: I’m very boring. Cream cheese.

CAMILLA: Cream cheese?

JOSH: I do an everything bagel with cream cheese. Toasted.

CAMILLA: That’s a solid choice. I mean, I don’t really eat—

JOSH: It’s a good choice, I know. But I know a lot of people do some crazy things here and there. But I have had a—what the heck is it… So I do, like, a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel as well, I don’t remember what the name of the place was, but I had a pizza—pizza bagel bacon egg and cheese thing or something like that, somewhere, I think in New York, and it was. I don’t—I couldn’t recreate it if I wanted to, it probably wouldn’t taste as great, but that was crazy. It was a crazy thing to try.

CAMILLA: The bagel question just popped up another question in my mind: what is your favorite Poptart flavor, if you do like Poptarts?

JOSH: Mm, s’mores, hands down. I did—back in—I remember I haven’t had a Poptart in years, maybe since middle school or something, but I remember, vividly, that when I was going to middle school in the mornings, that was just like… sometimes I wouldn’t sleep cuz’ I was like, “Oh man, I can’t wait for this s’mores Poptart.” And so, that just started my day off right. So, s’mores Poptarts? I don’t think you could ever go wrong with it. I, uh, have had other flavors, and other flavors are great, but s’mores? That’s just the one.

CAMILLA: I don’t really eat Poptarts, but bagels and Poptarts are related in my mind for some reason, so that was why I asked.

JOSH: That’s… That’s interesting. I can see—kind of a similarity, maybe… not, but?

CAMILLA: Last question: what inspires you? This can be everything.

JOSH: Everything around me, to be honest. There’s not like one thing. I’m very, very—I find inspiration when I’m outside, um, like when I’m outside and in nature, around trees, stuff like that… That’s where I find a lot of inspiration, um, but in terms of what inspires me? Everything around me, especially things that are happening, um, right now that are present emotions and present things that are going on. The people around me inspire, events around me inspire me, again, nature inspires me.

Thanks again, Josh Gluck, for chatting with us! Make sure to check out his Spotify below!