Josh Wilson

What a December!

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

NOEL 2011

For about 8 years, I’ve been doing live looping, which is using a pedal to record a guitar part, then playing that part back while adding new layers of music on top of it. It’s essentially bringing the studio to the stage. (Here’s a video of one of my very first loop arrangements: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EQob_DGAh0&ob=av2n ) In 2009, I decided to add a few more instruments to my looping setup and do a Christmas tour. I set up 8 instruments in a circle and stood in the middle of them to record Christmas carols for audiences in a handful of cities. I had such a great time that I did it again the next year, adding to the stage 8 more instruments and fellow singer/songwriter Wes Pickering.

We hit the road again last month for the third year of the NOEL Christmas tour, adding about 8 instruments (that’s around 24 total for those counting) and playing a total of 19 concerts. We had an incredible time traveling the country, playing music, and meeting everyone who came to the shows. What a privilege it was to sing about God’s grace in sending Jesus to live among us and bring hope to a hopeless world.

I can’t say thanks enough to everyone who came to a concert during this tour. I so appreciate you taking time out of your busy holiday schedule to listen to us sing and play. It was a privilege to hear your stories and get to know you after shows. I’m always encouraged to learn how God is working in His church no matter where I go.

Thanks also (times 1.563 million) to the incredible team we had on the road this year.

-- Becca – my beautiful, out-of-my-league wife. Becca not only helped setup and tear down our merchandise every day, but she made 1,400 ornaments to help raise money for a wonderful organization/orphanage called “Father’s House” (check them out and give them lots of money at www.fathershouseghana.org).

-- Wes Pickering – We started working on this tour in October. Wes put in countless hours practicing and arranging these songs, and I couldn’t have played this tour without him. He’s a fantastic artist, and you should buy 76 of his albums right now. Go here: www.wespickering.com

-- James Tealy – James was our road manager, meaning he is responsible and organized so we can be creative and forgetful. Without James, we would have been late to every show, and likely would have been in the wrong city about once a week. James is also a great singer/songwriter, and you should buy 76 of his albums as well to go with your Wes Pickering collection. www.jamestealy.com

-- Hannah Pickering – Hannah helped with all kinds of things, including everything visual during the night (video, lyric presentation), loading in and out, running the merchandise table, and making ornaments for Father’s House. Hannah and Wes met two years ago on this Christmas tour and were married a year after that. Thanks, Hannah, for coming along this year!

Many of you have asked about the technical details of the NOEL live looping setup, so I wanted to share them with those who are interested. (Commence nerd speak!)

Instruments:

Taylor 314kce acoustic guitar

Taylor 714ce acoustic guitar

NMI acoustic guitar

Tom Anderson Stratocaster electric guitar

Breedlove classical guitar

Gold Tone 6 string banjo

Luna electric ukulele

Fender Jazz Bass

Jerry Jones Shorty 12 string mandolin

Kentucky acoustic mandolin

Trinity Collins mandola

Gold Tone Irish bouzouki

Sofia Mari accordion

MalletKat mallet instrument (celeste, glockenspiel, marimba)

Elloree baritone guitar (http://elloreeguitars.com/)

Kick drum

Crash cymbal

Yamaha CP33 stage piano

Novation SL MKII midi controller

Logic Mainstage (Rhodes, pizzicato strings, pads, B3 organ)

Autoharp

Meinl Cajon

Assorted percussion (shaker, tambourine, sleigh bells)

Roland SPD-S Sampler

TC Helicon Voice Live Touch vocal effects processor

iPod touch with “tempo” app for click track

Looping/Audio gear:

SooperLooper (It’s free! Get it here: http://www.essej.net/sooperlooper/ )

JackPilot audio router (Also free: http://www.jackosx.com/about.html )

Midi Patchbay (Guess what. It’s free: http://notahat.com/midi_patchbay )

Presonus StudioLive 24.4.2 mixer (Unbelievably cool)

iPad 2 (front of house mixer, synced with StudioLive via SL Remote app)

MacBook Pro (Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.4 GHz, OSX 10.6.8)

3 KORG nanopad midi triggers

Roland FC300 midi pedal

--- Here's a photo Wes took at our concert in Buford, GA:

I hope everyone's new year is off to a great start, and I hope to see you soon at a concert. Happy 2012!

-Josh

Tuesday Countdown 4 - Shine On Us (live)

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0600

Happy Tuesday, Everyone! Only ONE MORE WEEK until my new album releases. I can't wait for you all to hear these new songs. No, really. I can't wait. That's why I just recorded a video of me singing one and posted it on Youtube. Its called "Shine On Us" and you can watch by clicking HERE.

If you'd like to pre-order the album, click HERE.

Hope you enjoy the new song!

-Josh

Tuesday Countdown 3 - video for "It Is Well"

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0600

Josh is on the road this morning, so we're posting this on his behalf a day late. Consider it the Wednesday Edition of the Tuesday Blog.

When Josh shoot the music video for "I Refuse", we took an extra hour at the end of the day to shoot a second video. It's the instrumental version of "It Is Well" that appears on the new record, See You, which comes out February 8th. We didn't try and create a storyline or scenes - we chose to simply play the song and allow it to be a worshipful moment. Hope you enjoy it and recommend the link to your friends to help us share it.

You can watch the video at the Gospel Music Channel's site by clicking here.

Tuesday Countdown 2 - I Refuse Music Video

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0600

Happy Tuesday! Only 3 more weeks until my new album, "See You" releases! For today's Tuesday Countdown, I want to share the brand new music video for "I Refuse."

To watch the video, head on over to Yahoo! Music by clicking HERE.

Also, if you'd like to pre-order the album on iTunes, click HERE.

Enjoy the video!

-Josh

Tuesday Countdown 1 - I Refuse Chord Chart

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0600

Exactly 4 weeks from today, I'll be releasing my third album with Sparrow Records. It's called "See You", and I can't wait to share these 12 songs with all of you. To celebrate the release, I'll be doing a Tuesday countdown each week until February 8th, which is release day.

For today's Tuesday countdown, I'm giving away a chord chart for the first radio single, "I Refuse." If you haven't heard the song, you can find it HERE. The song is a recognition that as Christians, we are the hands and feet of Jesus, and because of that, we must refuse to do nothing about the need we see in the world.

Click HERE to download the chord chart. If you end up singing the song in church or somewhere else and you have a video, please send me a message here on the website. I'd love to see it!

See you next Tuesday! -Josh

Porter's Call Auction

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0500

I'm excited to tell you that Saturday, I'll be auctioning off a bundle of items, and all the proceeds from the auction will be donated to my good friends at Porter's Call. Porter's Call is an incredible ministry who provides counsel and support at no charge to recording artists and their families. I have visited Porter's Call numerous times in the past years, and I've been so encouraged every time I've done so. You can CLICK HERE to read what other artists have to say about Porter's Call.

On Saturday, I'll post a link where you can bid on this bundle:

-Autographed jacket that I wore for my first album, "Trying To Fit the Ocean In A Cup."

-All 5 of my autographed CDs, including 2 independent albums that are out of print

-Autographed guitar strap

-Autographed guitar pick

-$50 iTunes gift card

Click HERE to see a photo of everything but the iTunes giftcard.

Be sure and visit www.joshwilsonmusic.com on Saturday if you're interested in bidding on this bundle. I'm a big fan of Porter's Call, so I'm hoping you'll bid well on Saturday, because every penny will go to their ministry.

Thanks so much!

-Josh

Lyrics for "I Refuse"

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Someone asked me today where they could find the lyrics to the new single, "I Refuse." I didn't know of a place online to find them, so I figured I would just type them out here. My hope for this song is that we'll all find ways to live out our faith, no matter where we are or what we're given. Like my friend James says, "I can't do everything, but I refuse to do nothing."

I Refuse

Sometimes I, I just want to close my eyes

And act like everyone's alright

When I know they're not

This world needs God, but it's easier to stand and watch

I could pray a prayer and just move on

Like nothing's wrong

But I Refuse

I don't want to live like I don't care

I don't want to say another empty prayer

Oh, I refuse to sit around and wait for someone else

To do what God has called me to do myself

I could choose not to move

But I refuse

I can hear the least of these, crying out so desperately

And I know we are the hands and feet of You, oh God

So if You say move, it's time for me to follow through

And do what I was made to do

And show them who You are

I don't want to live like I don't care

I don't want to say another empty prayer

Oh, I refuse to sit around and wait for someone else

To do what God has called me to do myself

I could choose not to move

But I refuse

I refuse to stand and watch the weary and lost cry out for help

I refuse to turn my back and try and act like all is well

I refuse to stay unchanged, to wait another day to die to myself

I refuse to make one more excuse

I don't want to live like I don't care

I don't want to say another empty prayer

Oh, I refuse to sit around and wait for someone else

To do what God has called me to do myself

I could choose not to move

But I refuse