Joe Arksey

Joe, what are your stand-out memories of your time here at Claremont?

I would have to say my stand out memories from my time at Claremont were the yearly ‘RockFest’ shows. These shows were an opportunity for me and other likeminded students to perform contemporary/rock/pop songs to our fellow students. While most music related school events come under the bracket of ‘recital’, these shows felt much more like a real gig in a music venue. It was the first time my classmates could see me embrace my passion for music and one of the moments I really felt like I could express myself through music. Other than music, my time playing football are some of my fondest memories of Claremont. We went on a football trip to Barcelona, led by Mr Gladstone who was in charge of the year 10 football team. Fortunately, myself and several other members of year 9 were offered the opportunity to be involved. I still own the custom football kits we had made for the trip, despite the fact that we were no match for the Spanish football teams we faced!

Whilst you were a pupil here, did you know that you wanted to become a musician?

If I’m being honest, I didn’t really know that I wanted to become a musician. I think when you are young there are so many options that it can be quite tough to decide at an early age what path you want to take. I always knew I loved music and that I had a natural understanding of the guitar, but I wasn’t totally sure how to apply it to the real world. I only knew that when I got home from school it was the thing, I wanted to do the most. I didn’t really have a plan on how to make a career out of it.

What are you up to at the moment?

Currently, I’m a session guitarist playing for different artists around London. The main artist I work with is called ‘Rex Orange County’ and I’ve been fortunate enough to travel all over the world with him. Currently writing this I am in Austin Texas about to perform our nineteenth show of a thirty-three show tour around America. As well as this I am a producer and songwriter working on various projects.

What have been your career highlights to date?

At this point in time, I’ve been lucky enough to perform at some of my all time favourite venues. Performing at venues such as Radio City Music Hall in New York, Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Red Rocks amphitheatre in Denver and performing a headline slot on the Park stage at Glastonbury. I have also been fortunate enough to have multiple TV appearances on shows like ‘Jools Holland’, ‘The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon’, ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ and ‘Late Night with Stephen Colbert’. That being said, the achievement that fills me with the most pride is that I’m able to pursue my passion every day. Being a professional musician is a blessing in my life that I will be eternally grateful for.

What’s next for you? Are there any career milestones you would love to hit?

The next chapter in my life will hopefully be much more in the production and songwriting part of the music industry. I would love to produce and write songs for multiple artists and help them achieve their dreams. This part of the music industry would allow me to have much of my own artistic expression and is something I’m really passionate about. There are many individual goals that I would love to achieve but my main aim is to continue being part of the music industry for the rest of my life. As long as I’m always involved in music in some capacity I will have lived a happy and fulfilled life.

In such an ever-changing world, what advice would you give soon-to-be Claremont Fan Court alumni who are considering breaking into the music industry?

My advice to anyone wanting to be part of the music industry has two parts. Firstly, work on your craft. This can take a variety of forms but practice makes perfect and it is vital you take yourself seriously. Many musicians fall short, in my opinion, due to lack of preparation and attention to detail. The second part of my advice is to always listen to yourself and what you think the right decision is. If it’s to make a totally new genre of music, great. If it’s to move closer to London and do open mic nights, also great. If you want to make music and post it on TikTok, even better. There are so many people that will tell you there is a ‘correct’ way to approach a career in music and in my experience, they’re very rarely correct. Everyone is different and what will make you a success will be staying true to your own voice. Now this doesn’t mean not working hard and lacking discipline but if you can combine the two, I think success is inevitable.

What advice would you give your sixteen-year-old self?

I think to further my previous point, just have belief in yourself. Stand up a little taller, be more confident in your opinions and how you feel. It can be easy to listen to others and shy away from your own emotions but being yourself is vital to a happy life. I don’t think my classmates really understood my passion for music. I think it was always perceived as my ‘weird’ hobby and no one understood why I would cut my lunch time in half to go to a guitar lesson. It never bothered me much at the time but, I guess I would go back and encourage myself to embrace that side of my personality a lot more. Many people give up an artistic passion due to peer pressure and not being perceived as ‘cool enough’. All I can say is, I’m glad I stuck with it!