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When Vertical Church Band’s latest album, Frontiers, released back in July, I was blown away by how good the drums sounded so we decided to take some time to talk to their drummer and our friend, Joshua Freddy, to dig a little deeper into what it took them to achieve that beautiful sound!

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Humility goes a long way. Be teachable. I’m not playing for myself. I’m playing for God and to serve people and the song.

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Worship Drummers are like bus drivers. And Worship Leaders are like the owners of the bus. We have to submit to their authority and go where they tell us to.

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Show Notes

  • Check out La Banquise for great poutine in Montreal, Quebec
  • New Vertical Church Band live recording “Frontiers” released in July
  • Gear rundown:
    • 1972 Slingerland
    • 24×14 kick
    • 14×10 rack
    • 18×16 floor tom
    • 1970 Acrolite snare
    • Mix of Zildjian and Istanbul Cymbals
  • Night 1 of recording included a worship pit for gang vocals
  • Night 2 of recording is with sanctuary filled with people – especially helpful with video and audio.
  • Lots of preproduction and less postproduction
  • Joshua memorizes his parts and plays them always the same. He learned this from Paul Mabury in 2012.
  • Make sure you play the same parts. Once you land on something make sure you are playing the same thing of every take!
  • Tip: Video record yourself playing the new songs so that you can remember what you played and so you don’t forget a good idea.
  • When writing drum parts, be open to what other musicians are thinking about the song/part
  • You don’t want drum parts to be too boring/simple, but you don’t want it to be too complex or busy either.
  • Drum Sounds From the Album played from an SPD-SX
  • #ConfessionsOfAWorshipDrummer Josh listens to secular music 🙂 Pop, electronic, hip hop
  • Josh prefers iTunes Music versus Spotify
  • How to handle criticism: Be humble. There are always better musicians than you. Be open to what others hear in the song.
  • Most of us just think like drummers. Worship Leaders are thinking about the people
  • Worship Drummers are like bus drivers. And Worship Leaders are like the owners of the bus. We have to submit to their authority and go where they tell us to.
  • Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago has 7 campuses.
  • Idea: Why not have a night where drummers meet together to jam and share ideas. You can learn a lot from one another.
  • Joshua is originally from Chennai, India but was also raised in Dubai.
  • Moved to US in 2008.
  • Joshua’s favourite food: Curry
  • Josh uses his story about how he began playing for VCB as an opportunity to testify of the goodness and faithfulness of God. God-dreams do come true! ?
  • More Than I Deserve is Josh’s favourite song to play on the new album.
  • Humility goes a long way. Be teachable. I’m not playing for myself. I’m playing for God and to serve people and the song.
  • Follow Joshua on Facebook or Instagram.
  • worshipdrummer t-shirt

 

Pics and Vids

Josh Freddy - worshipdrummer tshirt

Josh surprised us by sporting his Worship Drummer shirt for the interview!

Josh Freddy - setup - Vertical Church Band

Here is Josh’s setup that he used for the Frontiers recording.

 

 

 

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