Under the Bed is the 2008 debut album by Josh and the Empty Pockets

Josh and the Empty Pockets

Josh and the Empty Pockets is a pop rock band hailing from Chicago. The group is composed of 4 members: Josh Solomon, Nate Bellon, Dan Rosenthal, and Erika Brett Holleb whom they met in a 2007 theater production....

. In an interview with Phil Ponce

Phil Ponce

Phil Ponce is a Chicago television journalist who hosts Chicago Tonight, a nightly television magazine of news and culture on WTTW 11.Ponce grew up in East Chicago, Indiana, and graduated from Bishop Noll Institute in Hammond. He then attended Indiana University and received a B.A. in English in...

 on Chicago Tonight

Chicago Tonight

Chicago Tonight is an evening television news program broadcast weeknights on WTTW in Chicago. Chicago Tonight reports primarily on local news and presents features showcasing local artists and events. The show started in 1984 and for 15 years popular Chicago broadcast journalist John Callaway...

, Josh explains that the debut album is about growing up and that the title Under the Bed comes from the lyrics “where have the monsters under my bed gone” on one of the album's songs. The album was critically well-received and its tracks were featured on several television programs on Nickelodeon TV channel. In support of the album, the band released a single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

, "Fall Right Now", which reached #11 on the FMQB

FMQB

Friday Morning Quarterback is a trade magazine which covers the Radio and Music industries in the United States. Its coverage includes programming, management, promotion, marketing, and airplay for music formatted radio. The magazine was founded in 1968 by Kal Rudman and is read by over 10,000...

 Adult Contemporary Chart.

Critical response

In an April, 2009, Daily Vault review of Under the Bed, Duke Egbert wrote "Under The Bed is tight, melodic, layered, harmony-drenched rock/pop, and one of the better new CDs I've heard this year. ... Besides the aforementioned 'Fall Right Now' and 'Freedom To Me,' I particularly liked the wordplay of 'Missteps,' 'Side Effects,' and 'Monsters,' all of which are both great pop songs and lyrical tours-de-force. Josh and the Empty Pockets have a bright future. They play intelligent, well-crafted pop/rock with substance that still manages to not get bogged down in its own importance."

All ten of the tracks from Under the Bed were placed on the Nickelodeon TV channel's programs iCarly

ICarly

iCarly is an American sitcom that focuses on a girl named Carly Shay who creates her own web show called iCarly with her best friends Sam and Freddie. The series was created by Dan Schneider, who also serves as executive producer. It stars Miranda Cosgrove as Carly, Jennette McCurdy as Sam, Nathan...

, Zoey 101

Zoey 101

Zoey 101 is an American television series that ran from January 9, 2005 to May 2, 2008 starring Jamie Lynn Spears as teenager Zoey Brooks, produced for Nickelodeon and syndicated worldwide. The show was initially filmed at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, then at stages in Valencia,...

and Drake & Josh

Drake & Josh

Drake & Josh is an American sitcom that premiered on the Nickelodeon television network on January 11, 2004, which follows the lives of two stepbrothers. It stars Drake Bell and Josh Peck as stepbrothers Drake Parker and Josh Nichols, respectively. Both actors had played roles in The Amanda Show,...

. In his review of the album, Michael Capozzoli, Jr., former writer for Billboard magazine

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

, describes Josh as "a young recording artist who writes and sings as if he is already an old master of the pop/rock genre. This singer/songwriter/recording artist and his band are THE BAND to watch in 2009." Echoing the sentiments of prior reviews, Amy Lotsberg, a music critic and producer of Collected Sounds, writes about Josh and the band that he "has a pleasing voice. It’s clear, and easy to understand; which is important because the lyrics are clever. The songs are melodic and interesting and they’re obviously talented musicians that work well together. All their songs are pretty radio friendly, but I’d say Let Go and Side Effects are standouts." In his October, 2009, Illinois Entertainer review, Terrence Flamm describes the album as "fun rock ‘n’ roll."

Fall Right Now

As part of that release, the band promoted

Radio promotion

Radio promotion is the division of a record company which is charged with placing songs on the radio. They maintain relationships with program directors at radio stations and attempt to persuade them to play singles to promote the sale of recordings, such as CDs, sold by the record company...

 the single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 "Fall Right Now" to medium and secondary markets and reached #11 on the FMQB Adult Contemporary Chart.

The band also recorded an acoustic version of "Fall Right Now" at the world famous recording studio Sweetwater

Sweetwater Sound

Sweetwater Sound, Inc. is one of the United States' largest dealers in musical equipment for musicians, recording studios, schools, houses of worship, concert sound companies and broadcasters...

 included with a second previously unrecorded song called "Leaving Jackson" on WAJI's

WAJI

WAJI is a radio station broadcasting a Hot Adult Contemporary format. Licensed to Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA, the station is currently owned by Sarkes Tarzian, Inc...

 annual charity CD, a fundraising project for the Riley Hospital for Children

James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children

Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health is a nationally ranked children's hospital located on the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis campus in Indianapolis, Indiana....

 in Indianapolis

Indianapolis

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Josh and the Empty Pockets.

1. "Meaningless Words" – 4:02
2. "Monsters" – 3:04
3. "Missteps" – 3:45
4. "Fall Right Now" (Album version) – 4:09
5. "Freedom to Me" – 2:35
6. "Beautiful to Me" – 4:34
7. "Side Effects" – 2:58
8. "I Don't Wanna Know" – 3:09
9. "Let Go" – 3:17
10. "You're the One" – 3:53
11. "Fall Right Now" (Radio edit) – 3:26

Personnel

• Rick Fritz – producer
  Record producer
  A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
  
  , engineer
  Audio engineering
  An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
  
  , mastering
  Audio mastering
  Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
  
  , mixing
  Audio mixing (recorded music)
  In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
  
  
• Chris G. – producer, engineer
• Rick Parma. Rickparma.com – saxophone
  Saxophone
  The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
  
  
• Josh Solomon – guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  
• Jake Westermann – engineer, mastering, mixing