Josh Friedman’s story practically writes itself. A music nerd who moved to Boston to study at Boston University, he’s done everything in the genre—from writing piano pop-punk as part of the Fates, arrange choral music, be in avant-garde rock ensembles and work in 20th-century classical compositions. But its his effortless alternative-pop songs as ThatOneEyedKid, drawn from deeply personal and emotional experiences, that have left the largest mark. Friedman began recording YouTube videos of his performances as a student under the handle ThatOneEyedKid in 2011. Since then, he’s shared more than 50 videos of performances and vlogs to over a million viewers of his channel. (His piano arrangement of Avicii’s “Levels,” has more than 700,000 views!)

It proved ThatOneEyedKid had potential, so Friedman turned the project into a live band with friend and collaborator Ben Levin on guitar. He released the EP Illuminate in 2013; his sophomore debut, Always, is due out on September 18. Check out the video premiere of the title track, “Always,” above, and be prepared to have the song bounce around your head all day!

Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri

Homebase: Boston

Why are you called ThatOneEyedKid? Do you really have just one eye?

I actually do have one eye, I had cancer when I was 14 and they had to remove my eye to make sure it didn't spread. ThatOneEyedKid just had a nice ring to it... I love that it just calls it out, too. "Hey, why's he wearing an eye patch?" "Oh, it's ThatOneEyedKid!" I love that. I think it's important to take whatever happens to you and make it meaningful or silly or just your own.

Why is your album called Always?

I wanted to call it that because the title track captured a lot of the themes in the rest of the songs. The EP is about embracing beauty in parts of our lives that maybe we've overlooked or suppressed. There's beauty in falling in love but also in ending a relationship. When we leave a toxic environment and can grow from it, that's beautiful too. At the end of the day if we survive our experiences that's beautiful and worth celebrating. That's what the EP is about.

I love "Always," the single. What inspired you to write it?

Glad you like it! I was inspired by having some important relationships in my life starting to fall apart. I like to scrutinize my experiences and doing it through songs is probably the healthiest way for me to do that.

Do you remember the first song you ever wrote? What was it about?

I wrote my first song when I was 11... a classical piano piece called "Death of the King." I was really into Lord of the Rings so it was like something that was trying to be on that soundtrack (laughs).

Who are your musical heroes?

I've been really into Bon Iver for the past couple of years, Justin Vernon is definitely a hero of mine. I love how personal his stories are and the sonic world he works in with Bon Iver and then he can go produce a record for The Staves and sing hooks for Kanye West. He's so versatile, really inspiring to me.

Talk about the first time you realized you wanted to sing and perform for others.

I think I've always wanted to perform for other people, when I first started playing piano I couldn't wait to play for my friends and family. Singing took a lot longer, I felt like I wasn't a very strong vocalist for a while but I worked really hard at it. A couple of years ago I started feeling like "Ok, I feel good enough about my voice to play songs in front of an audience and not have it terrify me." Then I recorded the first EP and haven't looked back (laughs).

How does living in Boston influence your songwriting style?

Boston is incredible. I think living in a city of driven, intelligent people has made me want to make my songs smart and interesting. It feels like everyone in this city works there ass off and I think that totally trickles down to the art here. Everything is smart and deliberate and the result of someone working their hardest. I love that vibe.

The positivity in your music is attributed to your winning a battle with cancer as a teenager. What's the story behind that?

Having and surviving cancer as a teenager definitely influences my music and ultimately my attitude. I think it just showed me that life is very precious and we should spend our time here celebrating what makes us unique. I think it also taught me to understand how some awful things can just happen to you and it's nothing you can control or change, you just have to embrace it and make it your own. I've just developed this attitude of "Everyone should celebrate themselves and not slide the negative shit under the rug." I think having cancer and having a visible reminder of that right on my face definitely contributes to that.

How did music play into your recovery?

Writing, listening to, and sharing music was huge in my recovery, it still is. I've been in remission for over a decade but I'll always be someone that had cancer and was shaped by it, music continues to be a way to explore my darkest moments with that but also champion the positive moments. The whole music-as-therapy thing was definitely in place then.

What's the craziest thing a fan has ever done for you?

Someone made me an eye patch. Actually like 5 or 6 of them. They are hands down the best eye patches I've ever worn, too... It's crazy. It's a guy from Japan that just found one of my YouTube videos randomly. He told me he makes them for lots of people with eye injuries or monocularity. He's so goddamn cool.

What's one thing you want people to know about you?

I guess that I got to collaborate with world-class musicians that happened to be friends of mine who gave me way more of their time and energy than I deserve. And that as a vocalist, producer, songwriter, and instrumentalist I really worked my butt off on these tunes, and I hope you like them!