SMALL SCHOOL, BIG DEAL
AS A kid, Josh Arnold grew up in a small town. His dad was a shearer who spent Friday nights singing at the local RSL, so music was an integral part of his childhood.
Fast-forward the decades and Josh, who won a Golden Guitar in 2002 and has three albums to his name, has become renowned across south-west Queensland for his feats in school circles.
For this Toowoomba-based father of three it all started back in 2012 when he launched Small Town Culture, a concept designed to help school students identify the positives about their communities through songwriting, singing and music clips.
“I grew up in Tara so I know what it’s like to live in a small town and I wanted to encourage young people to see what was good about where they came from,” Josh said.
“I think feeling good about where you come from is an important part of self-confidence and building self-esteem.”
Today, in partnership with the University of Southern Queensland, he has a full-time job “making music” with school students from regional Queensland.
“There is something special about growing up in a small town, so we try to capture the unique spirit and way of life of country towns through music and film,” he said.
“So it was definitely about installing pride and making them feel good about where they come from.
“But importantly it was also about showing everyone in the city what these kids can do and what great talent we’ve got in the country.”
USQ spokeswoman Mary Roberts has also been part of the first Small Town Culture week-long camp.
From a university perspective she said the project was about connecting with regional communities and encouraging young students to believe in themselves and feel confident about their place in the world.
“Josh has a very special way of bringing out the best in students. They love working together to write songs and to then perform them and make film clips is a pretty unique, and very special opportunity,” Ms Roberts said.
“The 16 students involved in this first camp were chosen for their enthusiasm, their motivation to do music and their talent.”
She said the initial workshop had proved a major success with students coming from Augathella, Charleville, Dirranbandi, Taroom, St George, Mitchell, Tara, Thargomindah and Texas to be involved.
St George schoolgirl Madie Espie was one of the students selected for the week-long camp.
The 16-year-old said it was a great opportunity to see what really went into writing, producing and recording a
They love working together to write songs...
MARY ROBERTS
song.
“I can be a very shy, especially at school, so this has been such a positive, powerful experience,” Madie explained.
“Thanks to Small Town Culture and Josh we’ve written songs, recorded songs made film clips and watched them on YouTube.
“For a small moment in time it feels like we’re famous and that’s been awesome.”
The Year 11 student, whose father is a songwriter and music director, lived in Dallas, Texas, before returning with her parents to her mum’s hometown on the Balonne River.
“I’ve lived in both small towns and big cities and both have their positives and their problems,” Madie said.
“But I think it’s very healthy to focus on the good things in your life and sharing our stories through Small Town Culture is about exactly that.”
TO CHECK out Small Town Culture clips go to www.ruralweekly.com.au.