BY IRVIN RIVERA

*This interview was first published in THE COLLECTOR’S PRINT ISSUE featuring JOSHUA BASSEETT

Awareness of the smokes and mirrors that life presents is a skill. It’s a life tool that evolves and shapes you as you gather experiences along the way. Joshua Bassett has been aware of this.

“Don't fall into the illusion that people do know what they're doing, nobody knows what they're doing, it's just some people are better at hiding it.”

Your life is your stage and it’s up to you to perform well in it.

Oceanside, California native Joshua Bassett who plays Ricky Bowen, the male lead in the highly successful Disney+ series “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” possess an innate air of ease within him. Much like his songs “Common Sense,” “Anyone Else,” and “Lie Lie Lie,” they are all very different yet they provide a sense of familiarity. The melody, the lyrics, and the music give you a sense of comfort, like that warm chocolate in front of the fireplace on a cold, winter night. Joshua is chill. I mean, it’s mostly something developed through time and may vary depending on life’s circumstances, but that chill, calm, letting go demeanor is what sets a series of wonderful revelations in the young star’s life- writing his first song, booking his HSMTMTS role, his current success. 

In this issue, read on as the rising star spoke about his music, his inspirations, valuable life lessons, and creating magic by letting go.

Where do you get your inspirations from whenever you create music?

So a lot of times, I will just pick up my guitar and whatever is the first thing that comes to mind, I just kind of start singing and following, and see where it leads. And I think that I like to just write about whatever experience I'm having in that moment and that's where the best music tends to come from - when you're just being honest about what you're experiencing while you're experiencing it, and then other people resonate with that because of its universal truth, I think.

How's your creative process like?

My creative process is very chaotic. Sometimes I'll be driving and an idea will hit me and I'll take a voice memo of it. Then I will pull over and write down the lyrics. I wrote “Common Sense” while I was driving on a freeway. I basically just started recording and the lyrics just all came out and then when I got to my destination, I had my guitar in the back [of the car] so I pulled it out and just finished the song and wrote it all there. And I was like, Wow! Okay, that was great! But then sometimes, like with “Anyone Else” I wrote the chorus and then a year later, I was in this session and I remembered it. I brought it back up and then we just finished up the song there. So it varies every time.

What's the best time to create music?

It tends to be whenever ideas come to me. I mean, it really happens at all times. I do write a lot at night, like really late at night. But it really happens at all hours in the day. You never really know when an idea is going to hit. And a lot of times, I'll go through the day and as something happens or my friend will say something or I'll think something about - oh, that's a good idea, that a good lyric and I will write it down and then like that night or maybe the next day I'll be like wanting to write and I'll look at my notes and be like oh, that's right. Let me see what comes out of that. So, it happens all over the place.

You were introduced to musical theatre at a young age. How did that influence you growing up?

Yes, musical theatre was kind of a safe space for me to just do whatever I wanted and really practice the skill of confidence and being able to be on stage in front of a lot of people and not think about what they're thinking or worry about what they're saying. And it provided a place to try a bunch of different things. I mean the cool thing was I will do three or four shows a year so I had a bunch of different characters. I would always be an ensemble member and would just come up with my own storyline or narrative and throw things in every show for my family members so that they would notice. It was just a fun time to just mess around and be a kid and perform and ultimately led to everything that's happening now. So, I'm for sure grateful for that.

“Often times, the best things in life happen just after the curve- just then they get the hardest then they end up being the most wonderful.”

Do you still remember the first song you wrote?

Yes, the first song I wrote was actually a song that I wrote when I asked a girl to formal. Two guys had asked her prior and she said no, and I was like, okay, you got to go big or go home here. So, I got my ukulele and I just came up with a quick little ditty and was like, let's see what comes out of this. So I went to her house with a bouquet of roses. With my friends, we knocked on the door, I sang the song and she said yes. And I remember I was driving home from that and it just hit me - I'll never forget it. I was like that was easy, that was nothing and I wrote a song that's not even that important so what if I actually try and actually try to write songs. So from then on I just started writing and just went with it and then here we are.

You write songs for yourself or do you get inspired by fans as well?

Yes, a lot of writing is really just about what I'm experiencing and I think that all of my favorite artists do that so beautifully. And I think when you are honest, everyone feels the emotions and if you’re able to get that and capture that, that essence of whatever that is, and put that into your song, it resonates with people- almost all the time, no matter what. So that's like a really cool thing. And sometimes I'll write about people that I know and their experiences, I'll write things in the third person. So, inspiration really can come from wherever. It's just as long as you're being honest, it'll work itself out.

Which artists inspire you?

I absolutely love Ed Sheeran, Adele, Kasey Musgraves, Harry Styles, Sara Bareilles,  Billy Joel, all those classic songwriters really shaped me from a pretty young age and I look up to them so much and there's so many more. I mean there’s Paul McCartney and so many more. But yes, the songwriters tend to be where I gravitate towards.

How did HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: THE MUSICAL: THE SERIES influence your life?

So when I booked High School The Musical: The Musical: The Series, it was like you're moving to Salt Lake City, Utah and that’s your life now. I was like, okay. So we immediately started recording and rehearsing and then before I knew it, I was there. There will be days where I felt great. And I was a kid, so this is good. And there were days where I was terrified and I had no idea what I was doing and I would just be freaking out and you know, I didn't know, you just had to go with it, give it the best shot as you could. And then we finished up, we did a bunch of press, we got to travel to New York and meet a bunch of cool people. And the experience has been an absolute dream, especially working with the cast; each individual cast member really is such a beautiful soul and so important and it's kind of a lightning in a bottle thing that we got with this cast and with this show, at this time. So yes, it’s been a dream, for sure.

What are the challenges that you faced and how did you rise up to them?

Yes, I mean the challenge really is the “Faking it till you make it” thing, you know, nobody knows what they're doing, everyone is really good at pretending like they do. We're actors, so I think a lot of times the hard thing is kind of putting on a show and it doesn't matter if you just went through a break-up or you had some family issues, you got to be on camera, you got to smile and give it your best. And sometimes, you just got to pick yourself up and pretend to be okay when you're not always okay. And that can be difficult for sure. I mean, that can really mess with you and it can be very exhausting but it's ultimately such an honor and a privilege to be able to do it, so the good definitely outweigh the bad but it’s not easy, for sure.

“You know, nobody knows what they're doing, everyone is really good at pretending like they do.”

What else keeps you busy?

I love to write. I love movies and music and friends and all the regular things. I have been working on a lot of stuff with my physical health and with my mental health. I've been reading a lot. So you know, just staying busy and doing what I can.

What’s a valuable lesson in life that you always carry with you?

That's a great question. That's important too, I got to get it right. There are so many things. I guess a thing I keep re-learning is to really just trust in the process of things.

You know, about two weeks before I booked High School Musical, I was on the phone with my dad and absolutely on the verge of quitting. I was so frustrated. There were so many things happening and I was miserable. I was like, I can't do this anymore. There were so many different things that I'm not going to go into, but I was just fed up and was like, I can't do this. Then my dad was like, okay well you've gotten this far, you know, you still have your apartment through the end of the month, so maybe just see how you feel at the end of the month and then decide. So I was like okay, I will stick to it for now. But at the same time, I kind of relinquished that control and I just allowed whatever was going to happen, happen, and in a way just let go. And literally a week and a half later, I got the phone call that I booked High School Musical and my entire life changed. Mind you, my bank account was at negative two dollars at one point and was just like, it's okay - it will be okay. I stuck through it and you know, things kind of worked out. So I guess it's just remaining calm and trusting throughout the process as the ups and downs come, and knowing that this too shall pass. You know, just keep going forward. Its cliché or cheesy as it sounds, but often times, the best things in life happen just after the curve- just then they get the hardest then they end up being the most wonderful. And I've seen that in my own life. And I'm still learning that every day.

Isn't it amazing that when you let go is usually when the magic happens?

Absolutely, yes. I think a lot of people try and force things or they get frustrated when things don't work out exactly how they want, when they want it, including me, all the time. Like every day, it’s like when you just let go and allow what is to be, and you do your best no matter what and you keep a positive attitude, eventually, things will go your way. And if they don't, they probably shouldn't have anyway, so it's just like letting go and just trusting and being at peace with whatever happens, no matter what. Ultimately, it is what it is, no matter what. So your attitude towards it is only going to make it worse or better for your experience so you may as well have a good attitude about it and let go.

Any advice to any aspiring creative?

All the greats are the greats because they are unapologetically without a doubt themselves and that's what people love. Those people are successful because they're them. You'll be successful if you are you, and for what you bring- it's like figuring out what can I bring to the table, what makes me special, not what's special about them that I can emulate.

Yes, you can have inspirations and look at other people for references and get inspired by them but I truly believe it's like, as cliché as this might sound, what do you have to offer? How can you make that as good as possible and how can you put your best foot forward as yourself and bring the light that you are, that is nobody else to the table?

Then people will love you for you, not for who you were trying to be or someone else. So, I really do believe that all the legends truly are unapologetically themselves and that's what makes them legends.

“People will love you for you, not for who you were trying to be or someone else”

If you were a book, what book would you be and why?

That’s a great question. If I were a book, I would be called; I don't know, man, because I don't know at all. I don't know anything. Again, don't fall into the illusion that people do know what they're doing, nobody knows what they're doing, it's just some people are better at hiding it. And eventually, you know -- I don't know what I'm saying, bro. I don't know what I'm saying. Literally that's exactly what I'm talking about. That's what the book will be, I guess. We're all just faking it till we make it.