Wearing sunglasses that cover most of his face and coaxing thundering chords from his signature red guitar, Josh Kelley is oblivious to three intruders.
When he glances over from his guitar and realizes he's no longer alone, he stands up: "Hey, I'm Josh," says the singer-songwriter, extending a hand.
"Check this out," he continues, mid-handshake, pointing to what looks like a Marlboro cigarette pack. "It's a speaker amp. You can plug right into it, sit here, and not be too loud while still feeling the guitar. It's awesome for practicing."
Holed up in the Paradise Rock Club's backstage room on an early fall evening, Kelley is taking a break from the tour he is co-headlining with the Pat McGee Band. (The tour is scheduled to wrap up tomorrow in Nashville.)
Obliging a visitor's questions, he narrates his musical history: The credit for his passion for music goes to his older brother, who once left a guitar at their house while away at college. "If it wasn't for my brother, I don't think I would have ever picked up a guitar," Kelley says. "When he realized I was better at guitar than he was, he just gave it to me."
As a child he would listen to Stevie Wonder in his mom's car and Madonna in his sister's. He was offered a record deal at 15, but his father would not sign the consent forms Ñ which Kelley now thinks was a wise choice since "you've got to wait to see the world before you can have anything to really write about."
There is a constant flow of interruptions during the conversation, for which Kelley continuously apologizes. Someone comes in to fill the cooler with ice. Kelley's iPhone rings. After a knock on the door, someone peeps his head in and asks, "Can I play guitar on 'Scrumptious' with you tonight?"
Kelley agrees and laughs, explaining that 'Scrumptious' started off as a joke song in the back of his tour bus, but when he played it once at a live show, it was recorded on YouTube and became a fan favorite.
"Now it's become a beating heart," he says. "I don't know if I want to be known as the guy who sings a song called 'Scrumptious'!"
The interview is temporarily on hold as Kelley goes onstage for a sound check. After playing his song "Only You" a few times the band members are in tune and ready for the night's show.
Leading the way back to the tour bus, Kelley yells ahead "Girl on bus, girl on bus," explaining that the bus is inhabited by 12 "dudes."
On the bus, chaos rules: laptops are thrown on couches, newspapers are all over tables; half-full water bottles strewn everywhere. But at least their beds were made.
Among the jumble, some of Kelley's half-finished paintings are placed on the couches. Picking up an abstract portrait of a woman, Kelley says can't decide if he likes it or not. He usually sells one of his paintings at each of his shows.
"I love to paint. I do it all the time," Kelley says. "Other than that, I chill at home with my lady. But no matter what, I'm always writing songs; I'm never not writing songs," Kelley says.
Recently engaged to actress Katherine Heigl, from the TV series "Grey's Anatomy," Kelley says it is difficult being away from her while he is touring.
"You make time for the things you want in life, so I've been told. We make it work," he says, explaining he has visited her a number of times while she's been filming. "It's so much fun watching her. I sometimes forget that it's her; she's that good."
Settling back on the bus's couch, fidgeting with the sunglasses he has now taken off, Kelley pictures his life 10 years from now Ñ happily married, with kids and a skyrocketing career.
"I want to play large stadiums, packing 5,000 people on average a night," he says. "I'll get there someday."
