Musical Bio
I've been writing and performing original songs ever since I was a kid. You can watch videos of some of them on this website, and I'm available to come sing them for you! My path to now has been quite interesting, so read on to learn more.
Born in Washington DC, I started playing music at an early age. My parents piped Musical Theater albums into my bedroom at night, giving me an education into the amazing lyricism and musicality of a unique period in American culture.
At age 9, we moved to Malaysia, where I formed my first group, “Josh and the Jolly Jumpers,” consisting of myself, my brother Jonathan, and a local Malaysian friend.
After Malaysia we moved to England, where my siblings and I attended the famous alternative “free” school, Summerhill. I started writing original songs at this time, and the whole school of 60 pupils gathered once a week to watch “Top of the Pops,” the countdown of the top 20 hits of the week. What a musical education that was!
After returning to the States, I wrote a book about about my experience at Summerhill, and gave a number of lectures at colleges around the country.
Then I moved to San Francisco where I performed my original songs in a duo with Max on guitar and harmony, playing small live houses around the city. I delivered WESTERN ONION singing telegrams to make a living, which made for a number of entertaining stories!
After studying music in college in Vermont for a number of years, I moved back to SF, this time joining with Roger, a wind player who excelled on everything from piccolo to tuba and everything in between! This inspired me to take up the flute myself.
And then, in a fit of intuition and inspiration, I moved to Japan, working as a voice talent in all genres, recording songs and original commercials and performing my music in local clubs with a Japanese band.
(Samples on the Audio Tracks page!)
Graphic by Lamb & Lion Studio
I even studied the Shakuhachi flute!