Philanthropist, Father, Husband, Bad Ass Rocker
By Lisa Morgan
There are few men in this desert who stand out and leave a “real” impression on you like Josh Heinz. With his long hair, warm smile and casual attire, Heinz is somewhat quieter and more understated than you’d expect from an award winning songwriter who fronts an award nominated rock band. When you first meet him, his kindness, charm and attentive listening skills instantly endear him to you. When he’s suited up for work on El Paseo, his polite manner, work ethic, intellect and conscientiousness are undeniable. With a killer sense of humor, it doesn’t matter what environment he is in, Josh Heinz is a man who is comfortable in his own skin. But just underneath that somewhat placid surface, there’s a tenacious kind of light. Just talk to him about music or his family, and you’ll see it. Put a guitar in his hands, and the man will virtually catch on fire, and light you up with him! That light and that fire have been hard earned and fought for in the face of challenges that would make lesser men shut down. And for that, Heinz is loved and well respected in both the business and music communities here in the Coachella Valley.
Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Heinz moved to the desert on his 26th birthday in 2001. He is married to his wife, best friend and bandmate, Linda. A blended family, the Heinz’s have a full house most of the time, with the most recent addition being Jack, who will soon be turning 2. Jack has two big sisters, Gillian and Katie, and two big brothers, Christopher and Harrison, both who are severely autistic.
“I don’t really have a career per say,” Heinz will tell you. “I have a good job, working for Hohmann Fine Art Gallery, as the operations manager. I would love for music to be my career, but we all know how tough that is. Music is my passion. I don’t think I could function very well if I wasn’t able to express myself musically.”
Heinz currently runs the open mic night at Schmidy’s Tavern on Tuesday evenings, in Palm Desert, and fronts his band, Blasting Echo, an all original, popular, local rock band. His music chops were honed early. “I started singing in choirs at a very young age, at the church I attended in Memphis. In high school, the youth minister there wanted to start a praise band, and I became their lead singer. It was at that time that I started learning to play guitar just by asking my friends to show me stuff. From there I pretty much taught myself. I never took lessons – I wish I had. I’d be better. In my latter high school years, I began to have a different outlook and belief system. At that point I began to write songs to deal with things I was going through and experiencing. It was then that I learned the power of being able to express myself through music.”
For the past 7 years, Heinz has spearheaded the Annual Concert for Autism, an event that, last year, raised $8,000 through two days of local music. “I’m very proud of that. And certainly I’m not the only reason why that event continues to happen. There are so many people that help and encourage me every year to get it done. Certainly Linda and our band mates, Mando Flores and Laramie Eve, are the biggest help,” said Heinz.
Heinz is not big on self promotion. You have to go to the ones closest to him to get the real scoop, and there is none closer than his wife Linda. “Josh is truly one of the sweetest and most giving people I know. He is a loving father and stepfather. No matter how hard things get, he finds a way to be positive. He does everything – work, music, the benefit – everything with his whole heart and soul. He amazes me every day.”
Asking Heinz what he feels are his greatest achievements, he will humbly tell you, “The benefit, I guess. And having people ask me to play certain songs. It means the world to me when you actually get people that know your songs, singing along.”
With a large family that includes a toddler, the Heinz team has a lot on their plate. But add autism to the mix, and the challenges are mind blowing. “I wish people could understand how demanding, hard, frustrating and stressful, dealing with autism truly is. I wish I could have a video camera running 24/7 showing what it’s like, living with it for a day. Autism can really tear up lives and families. We love doing the Autism benefit, but it is a chore. And for us, EVERY day is a chore. Then add flyers, designing t-shirts, booking bands, finding sponsors into the mix, and it’s a lot. When you’re in the situation of having autism in your home, stress relief is required. Thank God I have music, but doing the benefit cuts into that time.” Every year, Heinz questions whether or not to put on the annual concert. “Every year, the next day after the benefit, there’s that moment when you think, ‘Wow, we really did this. We actually pulled it off!’ It’s an incredible feeling of accomplishment.”
There’s only one thing that parallels that celebratory, post benefit, moment for Heinz: “There was this guy Billy. He was severely handicapped from an injury during wrestling. I had this song called “Closure”. He would sit on the stool at the bar, and just weep. That to me is a personal achievement. We all got into music because it touched us. And we wanted to affect other people through music. The mark I want to leave behind when I die is that somebody 100 years from now, might listen to a song I recorded, and they would know that I lived.”
