Today we’d like to introduce you to Joey Tuholski.
Joey, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hey, I’m Joey. A music producer and DJ currently in Denver. Here’s my story!
Early Roots & Percussion (Middle School – College)
Like most musicians, I got into music when I was a kid. I joined percussion in sixth grade. It was a big deal that I got in because everybody wanted to be in percussion at that age, and they only allowed a dozen or so people per grade. Having piano lessons when I was younger helped a lot there.
I took to percussion quickly and was naturally good at it. All my life, my teachers pushed me toward competing. It was my main passion and how I spent almost all my free time in middle and high school. I traveled for percussion, played in marching band, and competed in all-state and all that.
Around that time, I taught myself how to play the drum set, which led to a jazz scholarship my freshman year in college. It was kinda a surprise, actually. After Jazz Band practice, the teacher asked me to see him in his room, and I thought I was in trouble. Then he was like, “hey, we have this scholarship that we can give out to a student, and I thought you were the best fit for it.”
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College & Discovering Production
Once college started, I was ready to branch out from marching band for the first time, figure out my identity in the world, make friends, meet girls, all that haha. I was always a shy kid and had to come into my own during college. But there was always this subtle void without music as the center of my life. I needed an outlet. Since there was no major for the music business at UGA, I studied business and earned a certificate in music business instead.
I got deeper into music production, and it felt like a whole new world opened up when I realized I could create anything I wanted using all these different sounds in a DAW. It was the most fun I’ve ever had creatively.
I also joined a band as a drummer and met one of my best friends, who was the music producer for the band. We played some incredible shows in our college town of Athens, Georgia, and I caught the bug for live performance again.
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Denver & Returning as a DJ
Since moving to Denver, everything has come full circle. I’ve played about 14 shows in the last year alone, mostly in Denver, including the biggest show so far at the end of February at the Ogden Theatre. I was lucky enough to open directly for Franc Moody at a sold-out show. The goal was just to get back out there and say “yes” to every opportunity. I went years without playing some shows while in Chicago!
I’ve played the best shows of my career recently, and I’ve been doing this for 10 years now. I’m also about to go on tour for the first time with Flamingosis, who has been a long-time artist, collaborator, and friend ever since I started this path.
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So what is “my sound” now?
My sound has evolved right along with me as a human over the last 10 years. I started out making electro-funk and funky electronic music, which eventually shifted into sample-based funky beats. Was taking a lot of inspiration from classic funk artists like Earth Wind and Fire, The Bee Gees, The Brothers Johnson. That morphed into sampling some jazz-funk fusion artists like Lonnie Liston Smith.
During my 4 years in Chicago, everything shifted again when I got deeply into house music, disco, and DJ culture. Seeing incredible DJs perform in Chicago lit a new spark in me. Ever since, I’ve been honing my sound as a funky house music producer, creating and curating disco-adjacent house.
I just write and DJ whatever feels most exciting and natural to me at the time, which is why I think the alias Pure Colors is a fit.
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Why Make Music?
An incredible DJ set with the right crowd at the right venue can be life-changing, whether you’re a fan or the curator.
At the end of the day, I’m just a guy with a relentless dream I haven’t been able to shake since college. That’s it. I’m pretty deep into it now and just want to become a master of the craft. I also want to help anybody who feels like they’re on a similar journey, and I’ll use my experience to do that.
I’ve been helped and mentored by many people along the way, so I’d like to give back and do the same.
Sounds cheesy, but I believe most people have a dream or calling, and if you ignore it, the regret can eventually be overwhelming.
Life’s circumstances, the world, and even other people have constantly tried to push me in the opposite direction. I’ve even almost sabotaged my own dream at times, because it does require a lot of sacrifice.
That’s why I think it’s more important than ever not to lose sight of your passion. Keep going! The beauty and joy are in the pursuit.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The 2020 Pivot to UX Design
When COVID hit in 2020, the entire music industry halted. Musicians around the world were at a loss when all shows stopped. I had just gained real momentum after 4 years. I was slated to play Electric Forest Music Festival, but it got canceled, and my booking agent quit his job altogether because of the pandemic.
At that point, I was an older 20-something with a fiancé, and we had just moved to Chicago. I had real bills to pay.
So, I pivoted into another creative career I could see myself doing: UX/UI design. I had no experience at all, actually.
I enrolled in a 9-month UX/UI bootcamp, graduated, and got my first job within a couple of months. I worked 9-to-5 corporate jobs for different companies for a few years until I was let go about a year ago, right before moving to Denver. I took it as a good sign, though!
I will say there’s nothing wrong with working a full-time job while you are trying to build a music career. I would actually encourage it for most people because it takes the pressure off of making money from your craft.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a music producer and DJ. For the last year, I’ve been DJing around Denver and nationally. I’m not perfect, and I definitely slip up, but I’m trying to stick to the Jerry Seinfeld method. I write music every weekday.
Genres are annoying, and putting yourself in a box is limiting, but people need to understand you as an artist immediately these days.
I’ve been honing in on disco house as a genre (French house, funky house, clubby house, etc), but I’m still just going to write whatever the muses throw at me that day.
You can’t just live in your studio. Getting out into the world, meeting people who love music, meeting other DJs, making friends, building together, contributing and uplifting your local community…That feels better than creating in a silo.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Luck plays a part for everybody. Depending on how you look at it, I’ve had incredible luck and terrible luck. The one thing that works? Never quit! And you influence your own luck by how many shots you take!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fvr.fan/purecolors
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/purecolors/
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/purecolors
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6pa33j3GieYhexuZGFA0ql?si=neGpPXrAS3iNeR6U2lB_sw
Image Credits
Credits to:
mr.drip
Ascent Event
Jessica Dnea Photography
