Josh Christianson - Songwriting, Keys, Vocals
Josh was a musician since very young. He grew up in a farm near Strasburg, North Dakota (the boyhood home of Lawrence Welk). He was entered into singing contests by his musical parents as early as 4 years old. He started playing professionally as a drummer in a polka band in 8th grade. Junior High, High School, College and Grad school all flew by in a cacophony of musical experiences highlighted by awards, ribbons, scholarships and tours finally landing in Fargo playing with a band called Head Rush, Headrush grew and changed into Inertia. Inertia grew and morphed into Wallace Hartley and the Titanics. The Titanics are what brought Josh to Minneapolis.
There was a short stint into teaching, "I always thought I would be the cool teacher, but quickly realized I was just going to be back in Junior High or High School for the rest of my life!" and so that came and went. A summer painting job quickly grew into a full-time Handyman/Construction company, rental property empire (the Ranch) and a home to live in. Music wasn't far away, as he played Bass in a few Country, Rock and Blues bands, Keyboards in Funk, Hillbilly and Jazz groups, Drums in Reggae, Pop and Country groups and sang in Big-bands. All of this in conjuction with being a musician in the Minnesota Army National Guard band and playing with many of their popular groups.
10 years later, after playing with many, many more groups Josh found out he was being deployed to Iraq with the Army. This was a pretty significant blow.
Having a young daughter, 2 houses to take care of, a construction company, bands to quit playing for and life to pack up and the very real possibility of not coming back was a life-changing event.
He came to realize the difference in being a "painter" and a "painter" for a living. Up until this point he was a "house-painter" musically speaking and would be much more satisfying to be a "artist-painter" and create music. This was reinforced by attending some Mad-Ripple songwriter showcases in South Minneapolis.
"Many of these songs were written in Iraq and deal with the issues surrounding the deployment." After returning, retiring from the National Guard, breaking a leg and knee ( and 6 months of surgery and rehab), Josh is venturing out to play these songs in public and bare his soul, tell some stories, and meet some new people.
"I am very nervous to play and perform, but feel as though I have to" - Joshua M. Christianson
There was a short stint into teaching, "I always thought I would be the cool teacher, but quickly realized I was just going to be back in Junior High or High School for the rest of my life!" and so that came and went. A summer painting job quickly grew into a full-time Handyman/Construction company, rental property empire (the Ranch) and a home to live in. Music wasn't far away, as he played Bass in a few Country, Rock and Blues bands, Keyboards in Funk, Hillbilly and Jazz groups, Drums in Reggae, Pop and Country groups and sang in Big-bands. All of this in conjuction with being a musician in the Minnesota Army National Guard band and playing with many of their popular groups.
10 years later, after playing with many, many more groups Josh found out he was being deployed to Iraq with the Army. This was a pretty significant blow.
Having a young daughter, 2 houses to take care of, a construction company, bands to quit playing for and life to pack up and the very real possibility of not coming back was a life-changing event.
He came to realize the difference in being a "painter" and a "painter" for a living. Up until this point he was a "house-painter" musically speaking and would be much more satisfying to be a "artist-painter" and create music. This was reinforced by attending some Mad-Ripple songwriter showcases in South Minneapolis.
"Many of these songs were written in Iraq and deal with the issues surrounding the deployment." After returning, retiring from the National Guard, breaking a leg and knee ( and 6 months of surgery and rehab), Josh is venturing out to play these songs in public and bare his soul, tell some stories, and meet some new people.
"I am very nervous to play and perform, but feel as though I have to" - Joshua M. Christianson
Deevo Dee - Guitar
Guitarist Deevo brings a wide array of musical background to any gig he's on, with performance experience ranging from R&B, jazz, reggae, funk, rock, gospel, and blues. Born and raised in Chicago, he has come along way from the boy who used to walk to his music lessons a mile and half away while carrying his guitar in a Hefty bag. He is now based in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Currently he is performing with his band The BluPrint and with Josh in Milton's Playhouse. Also he has performed with Grammy award winning The Sounds of Blackness, Grammy Award winning group The Commodores, The Steeles, Sara Renner, TKO, AGAPE, Dan Kusz, Big Walter Smith, R-Factor, Fred Steele, JD Steele, Mallia Franklin, PKG, Wain McFarland(IPSO FACTO), Smokey Joes Cafe Musical, Always & Forever Musical, Birmingham Musical, Bella Diva, Diane Martinson, Rebekka Fisher, The Fonky Baldheads, GeVonne Ford, Gwen Matthews, Les Exodus, Innocent, Jodie Sellers, Best Kept Secret, The Kenni Holmen Quintet, Yolanda Bruce, NorthCoast, Ryan & The Rule, Woodland Hills Church, Calvary Lutheran, New Hope Evangelical, Speak the Word Church, Barbara Leshore, Best Kept Secret, as well as Producers Ben Obi, Kirk Johnson, Matt"Dr" Fink, and Ricky Peterson. His career highlights include performances with Prince, Tramaine Hawkins, Tab Benoit, Alex Acuna, Abraham Laboriel and Cap..n Jack McDuff. Among his awards and honors are the 2012 NAACP IMAGE AWARDS with The Sounds of Blackness, 2006 LA Music Awards for Best Smooth Jazz Group and Best Smooth Jazz Single (with The Dan Kusz Band), Black Music Awards Best R&B Group in 1996 (with The KAJ Orchestra); nominations by the Minnesota Music Awards for The KAJ Orchestra also in 1996; Les Exodus (Best Reggae Band Category in 2000); as well as for Big Walter Smith for Best Blues Band in 1992 and 1996.
Kacie Hughes - Percussion, Vocals
Kacie started playing music professionally when she joined the North Dakota Army National Guard Band in 2000. Most of her civilian music career was spent in cover bands in the Fargo, ND area. She moved to the Twin Cities area in 2011, to pursue her full-time career as a clinical scientist in the pharmaceutical field. Wanting to continue a musical pathway she joined Milton's Playhouse in 2012 and has been enjoying the challenge of playing in an all-original band.