Ithaca-based band Rev Ezra is gearing up for the release of their second studio album with a brand new single titled “Edge of a Knife,” out everywhere today.
Rev Ezra is the brainchild of singer-songwriter Josh Chamberlain. The project takes many forms with Chamberlain performing both as a solo artist and with a full-band. “Rev” invokes Reverend, a calling to the many religious themes in Chamberlain’s work. Ezra is “just a cool name,” Chamberlain says.
In 2022, Chamberlain released his first album as Rev Ezra. The record, titled “These Days” garnered tens of thousands of streams after being placed on multiple official Spotify editorial playlists.
“I kind of lacked a little bit of a confidence to really take myself seriously as an artist,” Chamberlain said. “I’m so glad I did [release the album]. That changed, like, everything for me.” he said.
Two years later, Chamberlain is preparing for his second album set to release this December. “Edge of a Knife” is the first single off the record.
“One of the lyrics is ‘How long can you live at the edge of a knife before you get cut too deep,’” Chamberlin explains. “It’s all about having too many late nights, not taking any breaks working every day… just feeling like I was at my wits end.”
At least that’s how Chamberlin says he felt before making a major change this year: namely, quitting his job of five years and making music his top priority. “Man it frees up your mind,” Chamberlain said. “I knew that I put in my time and that I was ready to be done with that chapter … and I’m a lot less stressed now.”
This new chapter sees Chamberlain with his hands full of numerous projects including his upcoming second album, as well as a second record he has planned for a group he co-founded called Cast Iron Cowboys. Since leaving his job, Chamberlain has also played several music festivals including the Finger Lakes GrassRoots festival in Trumansburg, NY and Red Ants Pants Music Festival in Montana.
Although originally from Pittsburgh, Ithaca has become Chamberlain’s new home since he moved there in 2021.
“This place has an incredible music scene, and I knew kind of pretty quickly that it was somewhere where I wanted to stay,” Chamberlain said.
The town has popular live music venues such as the Deep Dive as well as the State Theater. However, in recent years, other popular music establishments like the Haunt, Lot 10 and the Range have closed their doors to the dismay of many locals. Chamberlain has worked to expanded his reach to many of the wineries in the Finger Lakes region.
Chamberlain says living in Ithaca has affected his songwriting in more ways and one.
“Life transitions make their way into songwriting, whether you like it or not, so living in a new place and being surrounded by different things absolutely impacted me,” Chamberlain said. So in a way, ever since I moved here, every song I’ve written is about Ithaca in one way or another, and it’s also about the people that I know here.”
The new album also has ties to Ithaca, recorded at Electric Wilburland in the nearby town of Newfield. The Cast Iron Cowboys also released a live EP released earlier this year, recorded primarily at Deep Dive.
When he’s not doing music, Chamberlain works part-time on a few small farms, baling hay, spreading manure, chainsawing downed trees and occasionally wrangling horses. In short, he’s not afraid to put in hard work to accomplish his goals.
“I saved up a bunch to make it viable, but now I’m able to work part-time, and I’m able to treat music as my number one thing, and I really like that better.” he said.
With music at the forefront, Chamberlain has been able to really focus on his second album, which he says delves into themes of personal growth and supporting others in a sustainable way.
It’s a lot of introspection and taking a critical look at how life looks and saying … what kind of ground work do I want to lay for future generations,” Chamberlain said. “I don’t know what the future holds but I know that I want to make it better than it is.”
As far as Chamberlain’s own future, he has big plans for the coming year and hopes to do more music festivals and perhaps even a tour. Additionally he plans on releasing a full album with Cast Iron Cowboys in 2025.
“I’m kind of asking myself, you know, how far can I take this?” Chamberlain said.
Chamberlain will be releasing a single ever single week (besides Thanksgiving) leading up to his album release in December. He will also be having a single release party for cuts like knife at South Hill Cider in Ithaca on November 2nd from 6-8pm.
The post Rev Ezra Releases First Single Off Upcoming Album appeared first on NYS Music.
