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10 Questions with ... Josh Wilson
November 16, 2009
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
DISCOGRAPHY:
- Life Is Not a Snapshot
- Trying to Fit the Ocean in a Cup
1. What are some highlights in life from the past year?
Well, I'd say the greatest highlight is my marriage to the most beautiful gal I know. Her name is Becca and we were married August 8. The second greatest highlight was the release of my second album, "Life Is Not A Snapshot." I spent a lot of time and effort writing and recording the album and I'm very excited for people to finally hear it. Last but not least, I've almost saved the princess on "Super Mario Galaxy" on our Nintendo Wii.
2. Tell us what we can hear on the new album "Life Is Not a Snapshot": sounds, words, message.
Sounds: I hope the sounds on the album are fresh. The songs are guitar and/or piano-driven and they range from slow and moody ("Do You Want To Know," "Before the Morning") to fast and energetic ("Sing," "Listen").
Words: I hope that my lyrics are original, yet easily understandable and relatable. My prayer is that my songs resonate with listeners and cause them to think and feel. What do I want people to think about? Why they believe what they believe. What do I want them to feel? Challenged and encouraged.
Message: The message is in the title itself. Our lives are made up of snapshot moments. Some of them are joyous. Some of them are incredibly painful. But as someone who puts my hope and trust in Jesus, I know that those moments are not the end of the story. All of those snapshots are working together to create the Bigger Picture, a picture in which we have infinite hope.
3) Do you have a favorite song on the new album?
My favorite song is "Before the Morning" (the new single). It's a favorite because it's extremely personal. It's a song about my good friends, Tim and Paula. They have a son named Jayken who has been through quite a lot. Before he was born, the doctors said he had a 2 percent chance of living longer than four days because of heart problems. Jayken is 7-years-old now and is a testament to God's healing power. I love sharing their story through the song because we all need to be reminded that God is working all things out for our good and his glory.
4) And what's the story behind your song "Sing"?
I wrote "Sing" as a Christmas song last year. Simply put, it's the gospel. It says that without Christ, we were and are hopeless. But because he came as a child, lived a perfect life, gave up that life and was raised again, we have infinite hope. I played the song at multiple Christmas concerts last year and people seemed to really connect to it. I was really enjoying playing it and I didn't want to limit it to one month out of the year, so I decided to put it on my current album. I'm glad I did, because God has used it to create some pretty incredible worship moments at concerts.
5. Which do you enjoy more: the process (writing, recording) or the performance?
My least favorite of the three is writing but it's probably the most important. I always quote Billy Joel when asked this question, because he hit the nail on the head. He said, "I don't enjoy writing. I enjoy having written." I feel the same way. Recording and performance are the payoff for having written a song. It's difficult to (seemingly) pull something out of thin air and sometimes it takes weeks or even months to get it right. Once the song is there, if it's a good song, the recording and performance usually take care of themselves.
6. What does the remainder of 2009 hold for you? You were on the road with Matthew West, correct?
The Matthew West tour was fantastic and I feel privileged to have been a part. This December I'll be playing Christmas concerts, some with Mark Schultz and some on my own. They will all be solo shows in which I'll do a lot of live looping. Right now I'm working on adding a few elements to my live show. You can find tour dates at myspace.com/joshwilson.
7. As you were in the studio working on this new album, did you have any "stop, roll that back" moments when you thought, "Now we have something - and this is good!"?
There were a few vocal moments on "Listen" and "Do You Want To Know" that I felt were pretty special. One of my goals for the album was to push myself vocally and that definitely happened. I sung some notes that I haven't sung before in the upper part of my range. I also achieved some things tonally that I didn't think I could do.
8. Do have any interesting or funny stories from your visits to radio stations?
There have been a couple of times that I've been asked to do stupid human tricks on air. Unfortunately, I have quite a few of them. I won't go into details here. You'll have to listen on air sometime or catch me at a live show and ask me to demonstrate.
9) If you could have any job outside the music business, what would you like to try your hand at?
I'd love to do something outdoors. I grew up doing a lot of things outside, so working at a national park or a ski resort would be a lot of fun for me. If it were possible to get paid for watching Discovery Channel, I'd be a rich man.
10. Do you have time to listen to much music? What other artists are you listening to right now?
My two favorite times to listen to music are when I'm driving and when I'm working out. Lately I've been listening to Brooke Fraser, Jon Foreman and Peter Bradley Adams. All are amazing songwriters and I've been learning so much from listening to their work.
Bonus Questions
1) Who would be your dream artist to record with (any genre)?
Definitely Jon Foreman. I've been a fan of Switchfoot for a long time and Jon is my favorite writer. It would be pretty amazing to record with him.
2) Favorite city to visit:
As of right now, San Francisco. I've only been twice, so there's so much I haven't done there yet.
3) Favorite or best meal on the road:
In N Out Burger, hands down. Double Double, Animal Style. If you haven't had it, try it. It'll change your life.
4) Any musical guilty pleasures?
Plenty of them, but I'm not sure I'm ready to talk about it. [Smile]
5) What song do you wish you had written?
"Happy Birthday." Everyone knows that one.
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