"This is really my third record, but nobody ever heard the other ones," says singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur. His first full-length CD, Big City Secrets, and the subsequent EP, Vacancy, earned him a healthy following in Europe, particularly in France, but Arthur's records were, in his words, "shelved" in his native America. All of that is changing for Arthur with his latest album, the often beautiful, very versatile Come to Where I'm From. Because of the attention he's finally attracting at "home," Arthur sees this as a debut of sorts. "There's a lot of firsts for this record anyway," he says. "It's the first record that's being sort of handled by a major label, or it's getting some support behind it, so it's kind of a different thing."

Arthur, who was born in Akron, Ohio, but now lives in New York City via London and Atlanta, showcases deft wordplay and a raw vulnerability that may remind some of Beck (as well as the underrated Hayden) in many of Come to Where I'm From's twelve tracks, particularly the engaging opening, "In the Sun," and the gorgeous finale, "Speed of Light."

For Arthur, the ability to be open with his audience through his music is an integral part of his creative process. "I think vulnerability is a really attractive thing in art. I love it personally, but to actually do it is very vulnerable," he says laughing as he struggles to find the right word. "So I'm attracted to it and I'm drawn into doing it, but it still feels risky to me."

Arthur is finding that his newfound musical profile, as well as his elaborate Web site (www.josepharthur.com), on which he publishes a daily tour journal, is creating notoriety for him in other mediums of art. He is a very accomplished painter, as evidenced by the packaging on his latest CD, which showcases a number of his works. And he says that recently people have inquired about buying his paintings. "I don't really want to sell them 'cause it just feels really weird," he says. "I've always looked at it as just a hobby, other than putting it on the packages and stuff; I never had aspirations to be an art star or hang in a gallery."

Although he calls himself an extrovert, Arthur comes across as very shy. And while he seems an unlikely example to take advantage of the Internet's exhibitionist tendencies, his reasons for unfolding this point in his career over the Web for all to see aren't entirely selfless. He's utilizing the Web site to keep a journal of what he expects to be one of the most interesting times in his career. "I'd like to document the whole thing so I can look back on it," he says.

With promotion, touring and all of the other demands on an aspiring artist, this can be a very stressful time in a musician's career. However, Arthur has the unique advantage of being on an artist-run label. He was signed to Real World Records by founder Peter Gabriel. And while Arthur says he has never really talked promotion with Gabriel, he has benefited greatly from being at a label run by an artist whose music he respects. Included in the benefits, not surprisingly, is a certain amount of artistic freedom. "When he signed me, he was just like, 'Don't worry about making a commercial record or don't worry about trying to sell records until your third record,'" Arthur says. "I'm sure most people who sign record deals don't get a conversation like that from the president of their label, especially now. But Peter understands that because he's been through it. He was dropped one time. He understands that some artists are immediate-sensation-type artists and other artists are the kind that creep in. And I think he knew that I was the kind who creeps in."

STEVE BALTIN
(June 16, 2000)