OfflineI'm bringing over (with permission) some of the posts and funny stories William shared from the old boards - some of these were too good to leave behind. This first one is from when William was opening for Josh Groban during his "Closer" tour.
Sept. 4, 2004
To my beautiful Josephans,
I Love you!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope everyone will forgive me for taking so long to write. This is the first time I have ever been in Canada. Wow!! I cant believe how beautiful it is... I feel like I am in one big postcard. (Very strange)
Well I must say that the shows in Canada have been going great! I just love meeting all of you after the shows. I'm not just saying that... I just love people! By the way, thank you so much for the gifts and food that you give to me and the band. You are great!!!
As you know we are driving a fifteen passenger van, also known as "The Mini Bus". While staying in Vancouver I decided to take the van out myself... I was meeting someone for dinner. Our Bus was safely parked in a parking garage below the hotel where we were staying. Because of where we were parked I had to drive down another level before I could turn around. Not a problem for one who is highly skilled in the art of driving a bus. While driving down to the next level I started to notice that the concrete ceilings were getting lower. My natural instinct and intuition told me to slow down. When the antena started bending down towards the ground I realized that I could be in some trouble. And then it happened... SSSSSSSSSSSCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPEEEEEE!!!! It was the worst noise I have ever heard. (Definitely not musical). I quickly stopped, realizing that Warner Brothers would not be happy if our mini bus was turned into a convertable. I didn't know exactly what to do at this point. You see, I was only halfway past this enormous concrete beam that was destroying our bus. Do I keep going through, or do I back up and experience the noise all over again? Maybe If I turned the radio up really loud it wouldn't do as much damage. Well the drivers that were waiting behind me helped me make the decision to go forward. What a horrible noise!!!! Without going into any more details, I finally ended up having dinner that night. I'm sure
we will post some pictures for you. I'm also sure that Warner Brothers will be providing a driver for our next tour.
Thank you for all of the kind messages you have written on the board! I do read them. I know there are still some things that need to be fixed on my site but thank you for being patient.
Love you all,
William
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aw, i remember these stories! and i forgot i'd asked that question!! hehe.
hi ginny! :)
Posted 16 May 2006 01:07 AM
Hi everyone,
I am so excited to see so many new people in here!! I have been burried with so many things... My latest adventure was taking my two boys camping on a "Father and Sons Outing" put on by my church... This was quite the undertaking given the fact that I have a two and three year old. Man do they have energy!! We had a blast! After gathering firewood for hours we built a massive fire. They of course wanted the fire even bigger but I distracted them with the idea of roasting marshmallows... (those can get pretty messy). Well I thought I was totally prepared for this adventure... I brought all sorts of things for my boys. I just forgot to bring warm clothes for myself. I think it got down to the low 40's and I only had my short sleeve shirts. Well, after enjoying my three hours of sleep and freezing all night we got up and played some games. The egg toss was another clean activity... Later that day we drove to Sedona to play around in the creek. A little cold but fun. Then we went fishing... I wanted to make sure we caught something so we ended up going to a fish hatchery. I know...it's cheating...it was tough to wait the 5 seconds for the fish to latch onto the hook. That was my adventure this weekend.
Last week I had one of the most exciting performances I have had yet. I played for a Women's Conference at the BYU Mariot Center. There were 7,000 women who attended this concert. I was one of many performers that evening. I was told I was going to be the "surprise guest" and it absolutely killed me that I couldn't post about the event on my website. Sorry... Being that this event was all women you could only imagine how hyper and energized these ladies were. WOW!!! I felt like I was at a rock concert! Maybe I should become a rocker!!! I just found out that I will be able to get video clips of the event and I will post it as soon as possible.
A week before this event I was busy preparing for a huge charity event. Normally when I perform at these events I just show up and perform. I don't have to worry about anything. Everything is always taken care of... Well not at this event. I was asked by my friend Mike if I could put together a show. Mike is the president of David Foster's Charity so Mike is a little spoiled when it comes to the entertainment for their events. I was feeling a little pressure but was excited to take on the challenge. I went out and found sound, lighting, and everything else needed for a show. I also had the amazing opportunity to work with an extremely talented young lady named Jemia Simone Nash. She is 9 years old! Not only is she a great singer, Jamia just completed filming on her first movie with Robin Williams called August Rush. Jamia is going to be in a movie about the life of Fantasia from American Idol, and is also going to do a third movie soon called Jamia at Atlantis. This girl will be a star soon!!! We (my band and I) had so much fun performing with her. She sang "Who's loving you (Jackson Five) and then we did RESPECT!! What a fun song to play!! The evening was a success!
I have been busy preparing for the next album. I don't have a firm date yet of when recording will start but I think it will happen after Josh Groban is done recording his cd which will probably be sometime this summer. I have been coming up with new material and I am so excited to get back in the studio. My music style has definitely developed over the past two years. I even wrote a couple of jazz songs. I don't know how that will fit on my next album. We'll see. I recently met with David Foster and talked about the concept of the next album. I am not really permitted to give details but there are some exciting things in the works. We are talking about a couple of different recording artists that I could colaborate with. I want to tell you but I can't!!!! I am going to start co writing with some well established composers.
I can't wait!! We have also talked about filming some type of show which would probably find it's way on PBS. We are busy figuring all of these things out right now. Nothing is set in stone... these are all things still in the works...
As far as performances coming up... We are busy booking performances for this fall. We are thinking of possibly doing a college tour. I will let you know when things are finalized.
So many exciting things are brewing right now. I can't stand it!!
I'll be on the boards again in the next few days.
William Joseph
Before the tour started I was having dinner with Clay and a few other people. The topic came up of how Clay loved to play pranks. He proceded to tell me all of the funny and cruel things he has done to fellow performers. He is definitely a prankster and loves it. He told me that because I was the opening act I was a "prime target".
Throughout the tour I was always keeping my eyes open just in case. After Christmas everyone was much more relaxed on the tour and people started joking around much more. When I arrived at the venue for the final show of the tour I suddenly remembered what Clay had told me during dinner a few months ago. I walked through the halls wondering, "Is tonight the night"? I observed everyone as I walked around and I just knew something was going to happen. I started to get nervous because I really had no way of knowing what would happen. I didn't know if it would happen before the show, during the show, or after the show, or maybe it wouldn't happen at all. (Wishfull Thinking).
Two hours before the show a meeting was called. We were told that because this was a Christmas show, Clay did not want any pranks going on. It was said that if there were pranks they needed to be done behind the curtain so the audience would not see them. Gerome then asked, "Does anyone have any questions"? I spoke up and asked, "Does that include me"? He said, "William, you are fair game". While everyone laughed I think my heart skipped a beat. I don't like pranks... Especially in front of an audience.
Well by the time I came out to perform I was ready for anything. As I walked out on stage the smoke machine was going so it made it hard to see. I remember looking around for anything to happen. Right before I sat down I noticed that the holes in the cushion of my piano bench were overflowing with water. Great!! I tipped the bench over to dump out the water and it was then on the stage. I asked for a towel but of course I wasn't given one. A nice lady in the front row handed me a tissue from her purse. I used it (not for my nose) but one single tissue didn't do much for a half a gallon of water. I finally sat down on the cold damp bench wondering what would happen next. Then came a handfull of more exciting events. While I was playing Kashmir, Clay started talking into a mic so that I was the only one that could hear him in my ears. He said, "Hi William, This is Clay... I just wanted to tell you how much we enjoyed having you on the tour... I want to see how well you can keep time... Good Luck". Well... Two seconds later a song was blasted into my earpiece which made it hard to follow along with the orchestra and drums that I was playing along with. I managed to hang in and stay with the beat and then... They turned it up even louder. I couldn't hear a thing. I just kept playing hoping I could keep the beat but I knew I was out of sync. Well after about 60 seconds of playing and not hearing anything but this blasting music they finally turned it off and I could hear my track again. I was about 5 seconds ahead of the track and can only imagine how bad it sounded to the audience. What was worse is that the audience didn't know what was happening while I was playing out of time. AAAHHHHHHH!!!!!
Another thing that happened... While I was playing, one of the crew members came out on stage and put a lamp on the piano. Random. Then they turned off the lights and at one point I was playing without any light.
People kept talking in my ears and I couldn't concentrate on what I was saying to the audience. Finally I gave up and took the earpiece out and played Great Balls of Fire. I felt like my show was shot so what the heck!! Then I played a song laying on the bench with my hands crossed. What the heck!!!
During my last piece two crew members came out on stage and pulled the curtain apart and put it back together with me behind the curtain. I was then playing backstage in the dark. Clay was standing there laughing but I just couldn't let him "win". While trying to play Austurias backstage in the dark, I used one hand to throw the curtain open so I could finish my last piece. I barely pulled it off.
When I walked off the stage I was absolutely drained! I felt beat up. I was laughing at all of the absurd things I had just gone through. Everyone was coming up to me congratulating me for surviving. (As if I had a choice). I finally saw Clay and said, "You JERK"!!! We both laughed and he gave me a hug. He sure got me!!
Posted 07 February 2006 03:48 PM Hide Post
Hi Everyone!!!!
Yes I did say I would sleep for 4 weeks when I got home. Sorry but I took an extra week. It is so great to see everyone here! I totally miss being on the road. Yes it is nice to be home and to sleep in my own bed but... I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!!
Well I haven't actually been "Sleeping" for the last five weeks...
I have been doing little projects around the house like working on the landscaping in thefront yard, adding electical outlets to the garage, cleaning the garage, setting up a new computer so I can talk to you... You know... Stuff like that.
Right when I finished the tour with Clay I quickly switched my focus to a concert I would put on in Salt Lake City. This was a concert where I would be headlining. Unfortunately this took place at a small theatre and was not really open to the public. This was a private concert for the local media. I wish I could have invited everybody! I have to say that this was one of the performing highlights in my career. I was definitely nervous because I had never been a headliner and that difinitely brings a new pressure. I arrived to the venue for soundcheck to find a 10'4" Fazioli. A grand piano 10 Feet Long!!!! WHAT A PIANO!!!!
There is a funny story about this piano... A few years ago before I was a Warner Brothers Artist, I decided to produce a piano solo CD titled Within. Shortly before I recorded the self produced cd, I was visiting friends in Salt Lake. I was driving down the road and saw a piano store and decided to stop and check out their pianos. Once in the store I started playing on the best piano I could find. Well... The owner came up to me and asked if I had seen "The Fazioli". I had not... He took me over to this piano and I fell in love. This piano was one of the nicest pianos I had every played. I loved this piano so much that I asked him if I could rent it and put it into a recording studio to record my solo cd. After much bribery... he agreed.
Out of all of the pianos that could have been waiting for me to play at my first full legnth concert was "The Fazioli". I was so excited! It took up half of the stage!
Aside from having a great piano I also had an amazing band. Yes... I got the band back together for this one. We had a few changes from when we toured with Josh Groban. We had Mikey on Keyboards, Trevor on Bass, and Steve on Drums. We had a new addition to the band who added SO MUCH! Aaron Ashton is an accomplished violinist who I met recently. He is not only a stellar performer but is also a great composer and arranger. He has such a great style. He also had this really cool electric violin which added a whole new element to the show. Aaron played on most of the songs and was featured on Stella's Theme, Homeward Bound, Eternal, and Piano Fantasy. In fact... Aaron and I performed Piano Fantasy as a duet without the band. It was Hot!!! I didn't expect such a great reaction... About thirty seconds into playing Piano Fantasy when the main theme started, the crowd started cheering. I got so excited that I messed up. Don't worry, I kept going... I was just pumped! I don't think this is the last time Aaron will be with the band. We had a blast!
(As soon as I get the OK I will post some of the footage from the concert so all of you can catch a glance at the fun).
As far as upcoming events... There are things in the works and when they are finalized I will let you know about them. I will be recording another album this year but haven't locked in a time. I will keep you posted on that as well.
I love you guys!!! Thank you so much for staying with me especially while I was sleeping for the last 5 weeks. I will be on the site often with my new computer.
Thank you for your loving support!!
William Joseph
Jen,
If I had to pick my favorite composer it would be Rachmanninoff. I really connect to his music! My all time favorite piece by Rach is his Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. When I was in High School I entered a National Piano Concerto Competition and played the first movement of that piece. We didn't have an orchestra to perform with but a lot of the concertos are written for two pianos. I was on one piano and my teacher Stella on another. What a thrill!!! Another piece that I play by Rach is Moment Musical in E minor.
I definitely love the composers from the Romantic period. I have played a lot of Chopin in my day. I played a few Chopin Etudes including No. 9 in F minor. I did my own arrangement of that piece and it ended up on my album as Eternal. I also played Etude No. 24 also known as Ocean Etude. I still would love to learn the No. 23 also called Winter Wind. I also played Fantasie Impromptu along with a Nocturne in C minor. I loved playing Chopins preludes including his prelude in E and also in C minor.
Now I cant leave out Bach! One of the pieces I played of his was a piano concerto in F minor. I also played a lot of his two and three part inventions. Three different melodies being played at the same time. AAHHHHHHH!!!!!!
I of course played Beethoven Sonatas including the three movements from Moonlight Sonata. I also played the Pathetique and Beethoven's Appassionata.
The challenge with learning these classical pieces is that it takes countless hours to learn them and then once you have them you have to play them all the time or you will loose them. Playing Classical music is definitely a lifestyle.
These are just some of the classical pieces I love and have played. I haven't listened to Bartok recently but I remember it did have a lot of dissonace. I am growing to love dissonance more and more as I get older. (I'm not angry).
I love so many different styles of music I could go on forever!!!!
WJ
Posted 20 November 2005 12:40 AM Hide Post
November 1st
I'm finally back on tour. Yeah!!!! I will be touring across the country for the next two months performing, not only as part of Clay Aiken's band, but as his featured opening act as well. This means that I am traveling in a luxury tour bus instead of driving in a 15 seat passenger van. This should be much safer, especially since I won't be behind the wheel.
(Preparation)
A lot has gone into this tour. More than ever before. Not only have I been preparing for my own show, but I had to learn 20 new songs for Clay's show. Thankfully this is a Christmas tour so I am familiar with some of the material. The biggest challenge has been learning how to play in a jazz style. Although I totally appreciate jazz, I am not familiar with the chords. I took a course in jazz last month, I felt like I was cramming for finals in a class I never attended. Now I have a new found respect for jazz musicians.
November 4th
Portland, Oregon
Last night I played my first show of the tour at the Rose Garden Arena. What a blast! I can only hope that the other cities are as warm and welcoming as they are hear. After the show I had a "meet and greet" where I met and talked with a young boy who kept returning with different things for me to sign. Finally he ran out of items and had me sign his forearms. You gotta see this kid (check out the photos). Thanks little man. I hope to see him again.
Today I got to explore this beautiful city. A city with gorgeous trees, wonderful architecture and friendly people. A place where unlike Phoenix I can actually where my new coat and carry an umbrella. Boy did I feel "cool." Off to play a game pool..........
Chicago (Nov 22,2005)
Embarrassing Moment
Every performer has at least one embarrassing moment on stage.... in my life there are many... one came in Chicago. I was so excited to be in Chicago. I had been anticipating my visit and performance for months. While on stage I wanted to express my excitement. I opened my mouth and out came the words, "I love it here in New York." WHAT!!!!! I caught myself immediately and froze for a moment. "Ummm Uhhh Ummmm, I mean Chicago," I then told the audience "I'll be leaving now". Luckily they found humor in it. Phew. I love you New York!!!
New York (Dec 1-5,2005)
New York was, of course, amazing! Ice Skating at the Rockefeller, the Broadway Musical-Wicked, shopping, you know the drill. What a wild city! Can't wait to return. I wonder how long I could last there before going broke. I miss the honking.
I had the pleasure of performing on Good Morning America and the CBS morning show, with Clay. However it was difficult because the night before...
Returning from the last show, I got out of my cab at the hotel. The bell man took my bags and then closed the trunk. I asked him to wait but he wouldn't listen. After paying the driver I quickly ran inside to retrieve my bags, only to find that the bell man had only 2 of my 3 bags. Of course the car was long gone and still holding my 1 bag. Unfortunately that bag was holding all of my music, including scripts and notes for the show. What a nightmare.!! My heart rate went to a 202. After a sleepless night and a lot of hours at Kinkos, the problem was solved.
20 September 2004 04:42 PM
I just had to post here, I have the funniest story. You all are going to crack up!
I don't know if you all have read the interview on the front of my website by "Caught Live Too." If you have you were probably wondering about a couple of things. Here's the rest of the story:
So, I served my mission in Australia, and while I was there I had incredible musical oppurtunities as you can imagine. These two years when I stopped playing the piano seem to be curious to a lot of people, especially those doing interviews, such as my friend Mr. Brown from Caught Live Too.
Mr. Brown called me to ask me some questions while I was in the middle of the tour. I was traveling through the midwest somewhere, and my cell phone had really bad reception, so the entire interview was difficult. He asked me this very question, "Why did you stop playing music in your late teens?" To which I replied something like, "I served a mission for my church in Australia. I was able to create a lot of music while I was in Australia. I recorded a CD which was used to raise money for the victims in Kosovo, and the name of the CD was SEEDS OF HOPE."
Well, because of the bad reception, he misunderstood me, and published in the interview that I recorded a CD on my mission titled: (Drumroll please...) FEED THE POPE!!!
Ha-Ha-Ha! (A belly laugh)
Is that not the most hilarious thing you have ever heard? Feed the Pope? I was not aware that the Pope needed feeding? You can read the interview by clicking on the Caught Live Too link on the front page of this website. I don't think I could have planned a funnier miscommunication. This is definitely a story I will be telling at firesides and youth conferences for the rest of my life.
So, I didn't publish a CD called "Feed the Pope," its "Seeds of Hope," just in case you were wondering.
Thought you would enjoy that story!
Keep in touch,
William
Posted 16 August 2004 06:33 PM
Hey everybody,
(By the way, that's pronounced Joseph-Fans)Just my little addition to the naming game that's going on. I've read a lot of good suggestions. I just still can't believe that I have groupees. This is all new to me. I'm happy to have you. But as far as what you want to call yourselves, that's up to you. I'll just think of you as friends. So would that be Josephriends? Ha!
Thank you all for the congratulations and the huge support you have shown for both my on stage performance and the CD. I'm blushing! In both instances I have to say I've had a lot of help, after all, how can anything with Foster's fingerprints on it be bad, right? And as far as my stage performance, do I have the best band or what?
With regards to my band, you know, I've just got to say, I have got the best band members out there. And I don't just mean musically, that goes without saying. But I'm couped up with these guys pretty much 24/7, and I've gotta tell you all they are the cleanest, most positive, God-loving group of guys you've ever met. The are a pleasure to be on tour with!
Now, speaking of the tour! Two concerts down! Whew! I don't think I've ever been as nervous in my life as I was for debut performance in Dallas.(Except for maybe when I had to play for Foster for the first time. Talk about pressure.) Thank goodness I don't get sweaty palms or shaky hands when I'm nervous, huh? I just get these weird shoulder convulsions when I'm anxious, like my upper extremeties fire themselves off at random. Its quite embarrassing, especially when you accidentally grab the stranger nearby with an involuntary arm flailing. So Dallas, I wasn't dancing because I was moved by the music up on stage, just covering up an uncoordinated twitch. (Jokes, a funny visual though.)
But seriously, I couldn't have hand picked a better place or a better crowd for my opening night. I love you Dallas! You started my tour, and even more so my career off on a great "Note!" Ha! Would that be a G? (Okay, dry, very dry.) I will always look back and remember it all started in Dallas.
And then the next night Houston was rockin too! Can the audience get any better? You Grobanites are fantastic! I mean Foster warned me that I was starting off at the top as far as audiences go, and to not let my expectations get too high, but man, he wasn't kidding. Thank you for being so respectful, the second I started playing you were attentive. And most of all, thank you for the energy you gave me to feed off of.
So After tonites performance(Kansas City, MO) we head west. Are you ready West Coasters? The band and I are excited about making our way west because we are all West Coasters ourselves.
Well, I will keep you all posted regularly. I'm sorry I don't have time to answer every single message. However, the questions in the other forum I will be answering as soon as I can. (Thank you for your patience.) I love to hear what you think. Let me know what you decide to call yourselves. And for now I'll call myself.......... William Joesphlyin' Fingers. Ha!