Hello Readers,
Welcome back. Have you listened to any good music lately?
Today at SWT, we’re thrilled to clue you in on a truly amazing recently realized project from Portland-based Chicano rocker, Joshua Josué (Ho-sway). Josué’s been playing music for a while now, but his full-length debut, Beneath the Sand, was released in 2025. I suggest you check that out.
In the present days of a music industry configured so that we listeners are more pressured to listen to, stream, and consume singles repeatedly rather than embrace full albums, we at SWT, and I’m sure you are too if you’re a fan of SWT, are so damn happy to hear of an album that is excellent from start to finish. Today, we’re going to cover one such album. Thank you for all y’all who support artists and musicians, and hopefully consume a full album after hearing a song or two off of it on the radio or your site of choice before an album’s official release.
Back in late January 2026 came the slept-on release, Broadcast to the Surf Ballroom, that I can’t say enough good things about. Unfortunately, it hasn’t received enough attention, so we’re doing a preview today to raise awareness of the artist and the album. The concept is so fascinating from a historical perspective and from a musician-loving-other-musicians’ perspective, and the execution is fantastic. The album is a thoughtful, personal, meticulous homage to those musicians associated with the popularized phrase “The Day the Music Died” in Don McLean’s unforgettable song “American Pie”. A plane crash on February 2nd, 1959, near Clear Lake, Iowa, took the lives of the talented stars and would be stars Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and “The Big Bopper” (JP Richardson).
According to the press release for Broadcast to the Surf Ballroom, Josué drew from “Buddy Holly’s Greenwich Village apartment demos and Ritchie Valens’ last recordings with Bob Keane.” The press release continues with excellent verbiage that will make you want to listen to the album, “Recorded nearly live with minimal overdubs at Roseleaf Studio, the album carries the urgency and raw energy of early rock ’n’ roll. Tracks like “Let’s Rock n Roll,” “What to Do,” and “Now That You’re Gone” expand skeletal demos into fully realized songs, guided by emotional clues rather than historical guesswork. Josué also includes a reverent performance of “La Bamba,” grounding the record in the Chicano rock lineage Valens helped create. Josué’s connection to Holly and Valens is lifelong and personal — they were the artists who inspired him to pick up a guitar and begin writing songs. His acclaimed debut Beneath the Sand introduced a bilingual, border-crossing songwriter rooted in Americana and Chicano soul; Broadcast to the Surf Ballroom extends that voice into historical imagination, cultural gratitude, and rock ’n’ roll stewardship.” To hear Josué’s interpretations and arrangements of Holly’s, Valens’, and others’ unfinished songs from decades ago. How fucking cool is that? I’m so excited by this album, and I think you will be too. Take a listen to a few songs yourself and tell me what you think. The volume level is on the far right.
“Let’s Rock n Roll”:
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“Now That You’re Gone”:
“Oh, Selena”:
In his own words, “Broadcast to the Surf Ballroom is, in every sense, a message sent back to the final stage where Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, and The Big Bopper last performed on February 2, 1959. That night, alongside their iconic hits, they also carried with them fragments of songs—demos and unfinished ideas—that they never had the chance to complete. With this album, I’ve returned to Buddy Holly’s intimate apartment tapes and Ritchie Valens’ final demo recordings, imagining what these songs might have become had their lives not been cut short. This project is not a venture into 1950s nostalgia, but a heartfelt homage to the songwriters who shaped my musical journey. Each track is completed with the sensitivity and clarity of modern recording techniques, while staying true to the spirit and forward momentum that Buddy and Ritchie might have brought to these songs had they lived.” While we at SWT know that music from decades ago will not intrigue all of the masses, it should attract music fans of all generations to listen to it. Which is unifying and awesome. The power of music to bring people together and the power of good music to keep them connected for long periods of time. Thanks for delving into this with us.
The album cover for Broadcast to the Surf Ballroom.
The tracklist to the album Broadcast to the Surf Ballroom:
- Let’s Rock n Roll
- What To Do
- Now That You’re Gone
- Wishing
- Oh, Selena
- Well…Alright
- Learning the Game
- Paddi Wack Song
- That Makes It Tough
- La Bamba
Want to learn more? Take a peek behind the scenes and read Joshua Josué in his own words, as he talks about each of the songs:
“Let’s Rock n Roll” – This was the last song on the B Side of Ritchie Valens Live at Pacoima Jr High, which Bob Keene said was “a perfect cross section of the great Ritchie Valens singing the songs he would have made famous had he lived.” I’ve always loved this song, and I’ve always dreamed of what it would sound like if Ritchie had had the opportunity to finish it and record. I added a new verse, adjusted the arrangement, and what came out of the studio recording was a streaming Rock n Roll song that highlights the transitional force that Ritchie was creating as his music was about to enter the 1960’s.
“What to Do” began as a simple home demo Buddy Holly recorded on a tape machine in his apartment just one month before his passing. After his death, Buddy’s estranged manager took possession of those tapes—unfinished sketches filled with possibility—and brought them into a studio, where Buddy’s vocals were extracted, and new instrumental overdubs were added by hired musicians. Though the intention may have been to preserve his voice, the process has always sat a bit uneasily with me.
As I approached this song, I wanted to honor the integrity of the idea Buddy left behind while also imagining what he might have created had he lived to finish it himself. The version released well into the 1960s leaned heavily into a nostalgic sound of that era. Instead, I tried to follow Buddy’s own spirit—always pushing forward, always innovating—to shape this track into the kind of forward-thinking rock ’n’ roll song it could have become, something far more expansive than a simple nod to 1950s nostalgia.
“Now That You’re Gone” first appeared as a solo acoustic piece on the album Ritchie. What listeners heard then was a work in progress—a demo captured during one of the many sessions where Bob Keene would record Ritchie’s developing ideas, often before they were fully shaped. Now That You’re Gone had not yet taken form with defined verses, a chorus, or a bridge, but even in its raw state it revealed the growing maturity of Ritchie’s songwriting—an evolution tragically cut short.
Within that single demo, I’ve always felt there were the seeds of at least three remarkable songs. Over the past several months, I have rewritten, rearranged, and expanded those ideas into the version included on this album. This track aims to honor the depth already present in Ritchie’s original sketch while imagining the potential it hinted at—rich, emotional territory that could easily be covered by Chris Isaak or Robert Plant.
“Wishing” is a tune Buddy originally wrote for The Everly Brothers, and wasn’t released until years after his death. It is one of the most beautiful songs ever written.
“Oh, Selena” is a heartfelt nod to both Ritchie Valens and Selena—two Mexican American icons who, like me, weren’t native Spanish speakers yet chose to sing in Spanish with pride. Growing up, I was often teased for my “Pocho Spanish,” and for years, I felt embarrassed about the way I spoke the language. I shied away from singing in Spanish at all. But Ritchie and Selena paved the way for so many Chicano artists, showing us that our voices—imperfect, bilingual, and authentic—belong in the music just as much as anyone else’s. This song is my tribute to them.
“Well…Alright” is a tune Buddy recorded and released in 1958. I’ve played this song for have always enjoyed the psychedelic guitar sound that Ben Rice provided to this tune during the live shows and felt that it deserved a place on this album.
“Learning the Game” is another song Buddy recorded on a simple tape machine in his Greenwich Village apartment. He wrote it with the help of his 17-year-old friend and band bassist, Waylon Jennings. In working with this track, I aimed to preserve the raw honesty of Buddy’s original performance and the ache of unrequited love at the heart of the song.
The first time I heard Ritchie’s version of the “Paddi Wack Song” in a scene in the movie La Bamba when we see Ritchie sitting on a swing singing it to his younger sister for her birthday. It really shows the genius of Valens and his ability to craft a rock n roll song.
“That Makes it Tough” was another tune that Buddy had recorded a cassette demo for. The song had a near-complete arrangement so it was very natural for Ben Rice and myself to make a few adjustments to have the completed version on this album.
“La Bamba”, the song that is nearest and dearest to my heart. I sing this song to show respect to Ritchie Valens and all of the Chicano rock n roll artists that have come before me.
Like what you’ve heard? Listen and find out more here, including tour information:
- Website: joshuajosuemusic.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/joshua_josue_music
- Facebook: facebook.com/JosueRockNRoll
- Apple Music: Joshua Josué on Apple Music
- Spotify: Joshua Josué on Spotify
- YouTube: youtube.com/@joshuajosue1936
Happy listening!
Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site: scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions!
Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com
