We’ve already introduced Joshua Freddy to you, and today Vertical Church Band just released their new album, Church Songs (available on iTunes). We took the opportunity to think up 10 questions for Joshua and we are so grateful that he took the time to answer them all!
But first, a little intro video…
10 Questions with Joshua Freddy
WD: How did you become the drummer for VCB?
JF: I moved to Elgin, IL from Dubai, UAE in 2008 to go to Judson University and it was back then when I was looking to serve in a local church as a drummer. I got plugged into one of the campuses of Harvest Bible Chapel and started to volunteer playing drums for their main services and other ministries. When I graduated in 2012, they offered me to go on tour as a drummer and the rest just fell in place by God’s grace.
WD: Is drumming for VCB your full time job? Or are you all just serving in the local church?
JF: Yes and no. haha. I am a full time employee at Harvest bible chapel in IL. My job is split between drumming for VCB and the weekend services and then Media service. Media service is a job where I run sound for their Rolling Meadows campus’ non-weekend ministries.
WD: What was your source of inspiration for your drumming on this new album?
JF: Usually when its time for writing drum parts for an album, I go through a season of listening to bands and artists that inspire me to create parts of my own. I keep my music genre from blues to metal…haha Here is a list of bands/artists and drummers:
- Mute math
- U2
- Hillsong
- Ben rector
- Matt Redman
- M83
- Zedd
- Eric Clapton
- Steve Gadd (Drummer)
- Paul Mabury (Drummer)
- Steve Jordan (Drummer)
- Benny Greb (Drummer)
WD: From a drummer’s perspective, what was the coolest part about creating this new album?
JF: As drummers, we have the freedom to paint how a song can sound. With that, there is a lot of room for creativity in writing drum parts that are suitable for worship. To me the coolest part about this album was having those tiny drum ideas in my mind come to life. When I listened to the demos, I first had mini drum ideas. And then I took those to the drum kit, worked on it, polished it and presented it to the band. It was cool to see how tiny ideas grow out to be fruitful when work is put into it alongside good criticism.
WD: Can you give us a quick rundown of the drum gear you used for this album? (Kit, cymbals, sticks, and all their sizes
- 1972 Slingerland drum kit ( 3 ply maple wood )
- 24” Kick
- 13” high tom
- 18” Floor tom
- 5” Hand hammered chrome over brass Gretsch Snare
- Two 16” Zildjian A Custom crashes as hats
- 22”55 Istanbul traditional dark crash (left hand crash)
- 24” Zildjian K Lite ride
- 19” AA Meinl traditional Byzance series crash (right hand crash)
WD: After listening to the new album, what do you hope people/listeners come away with?
JF: The album captures what happens in our church every weekend, raw worship to the creator of the universe. The reason and idea behind this album is to help you worship our savior Jesus Christ authentically and bring glory to His name and for you to get a better glimpse of God
WD: In your spare time, what could we find you doing?
- I’m a huge car fanatic. I spend a lot of my free time watching Top Gear, reading articles about latest cars and also try to keep my own car clean and running good haha.
- Collecting and listening to old records
- DRINKING COFFEE
WD: Best place to eat in Chicago?
JF: Pequod’s for the best pizza ever.
WD: If you could give only one piece of advice to worshipdrummers, what would you say?
JF: Playing drums for worship is not a show or a performance but a privilege to lead other people in worshiping our God. With that said, when you play drums for a Church service, besides all the musical preparation that goes into it, spend also an ample amount of time preparing your heart and mind in worship for worship. Take time during the week, where you can have your personal time of worship. As my worship pastor, Andi Rozier says, “ You can’t lead people to a place in worship where you haven’t been”.
WD: Who/what has been of most encouragement to you as a worshipdrummer?
JF: God. He is my ultimate source of encouragement to worship drumming. The fact that he can use a person like me for His kingdom just blows my mind away. I am humbled by that opportunity and in awe of what He has done in my life. That drives me to use the gift He has given me for Him in any way possible. One of them being through drums.
Got a question for Joshua? Leave it in the comments and we’ll try our best to get his answers!
Joshua, Our Worship bands play The Greatness Of Our God, Do you use any triggering for the hand clap effects on this song. I have a roland TM_2 module and I am starting to introduce some of these effects to our team. Thanks Eddie Howie Bible Center Church Chas. wv.
hey Eddie-
josh actually didn’t play drums on that album, that was Paul Mabury. VCB does use a lot of loops and tracks- the clap was a part of one of those. You can purchase the loop through several sources including loopcommunity.com (no affiliation). Cheers!
I had the privilege to worship with you in the UAE I saw his talent and love for worship then.
God has blessed you greatly. You are humble and love to lead others into worship with a genuine heart for worship.
Thank you