The Back Story – Part 3
6. “The First, The Last” has a good combination of hymns and original songs. Where do you find the inspiration to write your original songs?
It sounds trite and unoriginal, but honestly it mostly comes through my early morning times with Jesus in His Word. That’s primarily where I receive the most inspiration for tunes. Other times, it comes through hanging out with other writers who are passionate followers of Christ and who seem to always have a new song in their heart. My buddy, Andy Cherry, from Charlotte is one of those guys. He’s phenomenally gifted and the Lord is using him in a big way in that area.
7. I like the arrangements on “The First, The Last”. Do you arrange your songs, or do you get help from others? (If other people help you out, here’s your chance to give some shout outs).
Once again, I have to give a lot of credit to Andy. He’s an amazing arranger. He just hears that stuff in his head that other people can’t hear. And in all honestly, all the dudes on this record (Scott Spruill, Tim Morrison, and Stuart Clark) helped tremendously with great ideas for the arrangements. Most of the time I would come to a rehearsal with a pretty good idea of how I wanted it to sound, and many times they bought in right away. Other times, they would suggest another route and I would like that better. (A perfect example is the album title track “The First, The Last” – Originally I wrote it in 6/8 time with a bunch of convoluted lyrics and some dumb melodies that included a completely unnecessary Flat 7. The guys looked at me like, “Seriously?!” And about an hour later, we had the framework for the updated and much better edition of the “The First, the Last.”) TFTL was definitely a collaborative effort, for sure.
8. What are the last 5 albums that you have listened to?
Thad Cockrell – “To Be Loved”
Johann Johannsson – “Fordlandia”
Jonsi and Alex – “Riceboy Sleeps”
Paper Tongues – self-titled
Phil Joel – “Deliberate Kids” (Ha! I’m a dad!)
9. As a musician, what do you hope to accomplish in the next 5 years?
I’d love to continue writing, creating and recording with the hopes of taking more baby steps toward becoming a better artist, writer, musician, worship leader and toward making better records. I’ve said before that “getting signed” has never been my goal. And that’s the truth. I could care less about notoriety or recognition. But, I would be lying if I said that it never crosses my mind, especially in the sense that I would love to think that maybe God might see fit to one day give our music a wider audience with which to both reach people with the Gospel and to encourage and edify His people in local communities of believers.
10. You have a wife that plays the violin and three children, any chance there will be a Josh Via Family Band in the future?
That’s without question. I’ve already mentioned a little bit about Tasha. She is vitally connected to our music ministry. I can honestly say I probably wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing without her. Areyna, our oldest and only daughter (so far), just turned five. She is showing a lot of interest in singing, in piano, and in violin, although her primary insterest at this point involves dresses and make-up! Ezekiel, our 4-year-old son, has music flowing through his veins. He of course gravitates toward guitar, but shows an interest (and that’s an understatement) in any and every instrument he finds. He has the best vocal pitch of any 4-year-old I’ve ever met, and is constantly studying what happens on stage at our rehearsals. He then comes home and mimicks everything he just saw. His memory for music is impeccable—all the way from melodies, to lyrics, to … you name it. I guess I’m a little biased, but it’s true. Micaiah just turned 10 months and it’s still too early to tell, but I can almost guarantee music is in his blood. So … yes, the Josh Via Family Band is very much in the works!
