Artist on the Lookout: Joshua Panda

From certain angles, Joshua Panda looks like the Joker from Batman, but not the Jack Nicholson Joker – the cartoon Joker. He literally looks like he was peeled off a comic book’s page.

But Panda’s music is no joke.

“He’s got a voice that just won’t fucking quit,” producer Eric Fiegenbaum said.

In February, Panda started working on his debut solo album, All Grown Up?, with Fiegenbaum at Studio One East in Manhattan. Panda said it will be finished by the end of May.

“A lot of this record is a message of love, whether it’s personal, between two people, or more broad love between people in general,” Panda said.

Panda said Sam Cooke, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, and Ian Thomas are all influences for him on the record.

Panda solo in the studio is a less raucous version of himself with his band, the Humans. The funky rock and roll quartet from Charlotte, N.C. has a strong local following, and when they reunited at the Evening Muse in March, old fans packed the bar.

Their driving, bluesy riffs had everyone on their feet. While all the members of the Humans are exceptionally talented musicians, it is difficult not to look at Panda. Music and sexual charisma just ooze out of him.

Even when he pulls back the reins to play folk or bluegrass with Heidi Sidelinker and the Brown Water Band, Panda still delivers his voice with power and remarkable precision, looking like a child throwing a temper tantrum when he reaches for those super high notes.

Panda learned how to use his voice from listening to his mother, grandmother, and aunt’s trio at Church. He sang in the choir and listened to his mother sing around the house, all the while developing a technically sound voice.

Panda's first band formed after he enrolled in a new high school for ninth grade, and he befriended a group of “wannabe musicians” who wanted to start a band. He bought an Epiphone SG bass, joined the group, and started playing, he said.

“The whole beginning of my music career was bullshit,” Panda said. “I didn’t know how to play anything.”

But Panda has mastered his musical skills since his high school “bullshitting”, and now he performs all over the East Coast.

He landed a residency this summer at Nectar’s Restaurant in Burlington, V.T., where his girlfriend, Ruth Hill, will attend graduate school. Panda hopes to find some new people to start a band with.

“A band is what I need,” Panda said. “I can be a solo performer, but it’s not what I want.”

But Panda keeps himself busy with side projects like Hip-Hop groups Eyes of the Elders and Parker Mosli.

Panda has a good feeling about this year, he said. He wrote and recorded the music for one of the Vermont Teddy Bear Company’s Valentine’s Day commercial. He is wrapping up his debut solo album, and as he travels more and more around the country, he continues to catch peoples' attention.

“I’m really excited about this year,” Panda said. “I have no idea what to expect for 2009, but I think 2008 will be a pretty good year for me.”

Click HERE to visit Joshua Panda's MySpace page.

Joshua Panda - Balloon Song