Joseph Strider

Artist Information

Biography

Acoustic guitarist Joseph Strider has covered a lot of musical ground in his career thus far. From boy soprano in school choirs, to playing with a cover band, Strider has spent the years developing his own unique style, a style that fits in no established genre and can best be described as modern Indigenous alternative.

As a child Strider received professional vocal training. As a teen and young adult he gained valuable experience over a six year period of touring in his home state of Texas. In the years since he has refined his unorthodox playing style, determined to fully utilize the potential of the acoustic guitar. He has pursued his career with a determination and eloquence that not many can match. That dedication to his music was acknowledged at the 2010 Native American Music Awards where he received a nomination for Debut Album of the Year.

Strider’s performances are like a road trip through every terrain there is, the music taking you down roads familiar, roads forgotten and those that are brand new. From complex instrumentals to simpler tunes with poetic yet accessible lyrics, to songs that are a combination of both, Strider’s vast repertoire has something for everyone. Inspired by decades of great guitarists and combining elements reminiscent of Hedges, Cockburn and Segovia, Strider’s live performances leave you jaw-dropping awestruck. His seamless transitions, numerous changes in tempo, and intricate picking style almost convince you that you’re hearing half a dozen guitarists playing and not just a single supremely talented man and his Taylor.

Listening to Strider’s music, one can’t help but bless the day that he set the electric guitar down and picked up that old acoustic.

Joseph is currently at work on an instrumental album, "String Theory", scheduled for a 2011 release.

Instrumentation

Joseph Strider is an acoustic guitar player
vocalist
songwriter
composer
lyricist

Discography

"Meanings Within Meanings, Within Meanings" released 2009

"Little Bird" released 2010

Available at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/JosephStrider

"String Theory" in pre-production

"Daughters of Eve" in composition stage

"The Journey" concept album in composition stage

Streaming at:
http://www.josephstrider.com/
http://www.radiolicious.fm/artist/Joseph%20Strider/38861

Official Website

http://www.josephstrider.com

Links

• Facebook
• CDBaby
• Youtube
• MySpace
• LastFM
• ReverbNation

Audio

• Rush In
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• Just Like That
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• Jibe
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• L7
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• Unarmed
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• Drive
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• Seize the Day
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• Euphoria Syndrome
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Lyrics

• Just Like That
• Jibe
• Unarmed
• Drive
• Seize the Day
• Big Love
• Rush In

Video

"Just Like That"/"Rush In"

Photo Gallery

Press

• The stage is where Joseph Strider's meant to be [+ Show ]
  

  Joseph Strider is happy when the phone rings and interrupts his work. "I'm working on a set list fo...Joseph Strider is happy when the phone rings and interrupts his work.
  "I'm working on a set list for Friday, and I hate doing it," he says, with a good-natured growl.
  "I just want to play everything," he says. "If I could get on the stage and play for four hours, I'd be a happy camper. So when I'm given two hours ... well, it's difficult choosing."
  Strider is planning for a First Friday performance from 7 to 9 p.m. at Building Character, 342 N. Queen St.
  Perhaps the bigger deal is next Friday, however, when winners of this year's Native American Music Awards — aka "The Nammys" — are announced. Strider is up for "debut artist of the year."
  But Strider says neither Friday event has him worried.
  "I used to be jittery and knee-knocking" before a show, he says. "But I believe in things happening for a reason. When I'm on stage, I am supposed to be there. The Creator and Spirit has put me there.
  "I feel the same emotionally whether I'm fixing my bed or making some coffee or performing in front of 1,000 people. That's where I'm supposed to be in life," he explains. "There's order to the universe. I'm here for a reason. So are you."
  As for the Nammys, "I'm honored to be considered. It was an honor to be chosen by my peers. But I don't think I'm going to win."
  Strider was signed to Spirit Wind Records almost immediately after his NAMA nomination was announced. He released two albums, most recently "Little Bird" in 2010.
  Strider, 48, grew up in Texas, entirely unaware of his Native American heritage.
  His musical journey began with an AM radio and the Beatles. "I was always singing along," he says.
  He got involved in choirs, singing soprano and mostly in Latin. As he grew older, he drifted into hard rock.
  He tried his hand at electric guitar, but "I wasn't very good. Fortunately, I could sing."
  He toured with several bands, then got tired of it all.
  "I went through a number of years of reflection, and I didn't want to play rock music any more," he says.
  "Then I got an acoustic guitar. I started listening to Spanish guitar, to jazz and acoustic music."
  He learned of his native heritage — Strider is part Lipan Apache — and, after leaving Texas, began exploring his roots.
  "I started to work myself more into a spiritual walk," Strider says.
  "I'm trying to write beauty. So I try to see things that are beautiful," he says. "We need to think in one consciousness, so we can help one another. If I can touch one person, that's good.
  "I keep thinking about these things."
  That doesn't mean he's wrapped up in Native American symbolism, however.
  "I don't dress up in regalia. I don't dress in deerskin or wear feathers in my hair. Occasionally, I play a drum song," Strider says.
  "I don't really write 'native' music. I'm a native who was born running through cities. I'm not a rez kid. I do have a song about my first vision quest, though. And I wrote a song about the Trail of Tears."
  He describes his music as "modern indigenous alternative."
  "Walk in beauty. That's what I'm trying to do."
  Strider moved to the Lancaster area in February.
  "The bottom line is, there's a woman," he says, making a quick plug for girlfriend Liz Mallin, who plays violin for the Kilmaine Saints, a local Celtic punk band. "It's been a really good thing."
  tknapp@lnpnews.com
  Joseph Strider
  Fridayfrom 7-9
  Free. Building Character
  342 N. Queen St., Warehouse B
  394-7201
  www.buildingcharacter.biz
  

• HMTV Canada Interviews Joseph Strider [+ Show ]
  

  “I had a sweet opportunity to interview Joseph Strider to talk about his music, intelligent lyrics a...“I had a sweet opportunity to interview Joseph Strider to talk about his music, intelligent lyrics and we get in depth talking about humanity and the world. Joseph’s powerful lyrics and music are incredible timeless masterpieces that have a powerful message and strong imagery.”
  l

• Out of The Cold Benefit Concert [+ Show ]
  

  So maybe it’s not on the same scale as Native American news making national television with MSNBC co...So maybe it’s not on the same scale as Native American news making national television with MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann.
  But we’re touched to read about this Saturday’s planned fundraiser at the Community Mennonite Church in Lancaster, Pa.
  According to the Out of the Cold page on Facebook, the church will host a benefit concert to help people on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in South Dakota, devastated by blizzards that left thousands without power and water.

• Musicians come together for Cheyenne River Sioux disaster relief benefit concert [+ Show ]
  

  Devastating and deadly winter storms have left the Cheyenne River Sioux reservation in South Dakot...
  Devastating and deadly winter storms have left the Cheyenne River Sioux reservation in South Dakota in dire need of assistance. Over the last two weekends of January, 2010, powerful ice storms blew through this region of the northern plains and left in it's wake over 2,500 downed power and utility poles and approximately 95% of this impoverished Native American reservation without electricity and heat.
  
  Many Native and non-native musicians have come together to lend their support through benefit concerts and proceeds from the sale of their music.
  
  On February 27th, 2010 such a concert will held in Lancaster, PA. and is being promoted as the 'Out Of The Cold Benefit Concert.' Organized by Native American musician Joseph Strider (Lipan Apache), the concert is scheduled to feature performances by Strider, Nadine, Terry Strongheart and other concerned artists.
  
  Strider, according to information on his website, is affiliated with many upcoming charity and benefit type of events including, The Haitian Relief Benefit Concert in Exton, PA. (April 2010) and the Benefit ForApache Education Programs tentatively scheduled for June 2010 in Corpus Christi, TX.

• Cd Reviews [+ Show ]
  

  Joseph Strider is a very talented song writer and gifted with a soft voice that will touches the bot...Joseph Strider is a very talented song writer and gifted with a soft voice that will touches the bottom of your heart, his unique acoustic guitar playing is one of the best I have heard in a long time!
  
  
  Joseph Strider's CD is pure musical ecstasy. Each song unfolds in a spiral of amazingly intricate guitar melodies and intelligent, heartfelt lyrics; stories of reaching outward to return to the Center. With its most sophisticated and complex acoustic guitar style combined with soothing vocals, Meanings with Meanings within Meanings is one fiercely meaningful CD from deep within. Definitely looking forward to more from this artist.
  
  
  "Meanings within Meanings, within Meanings" is a true journey of life and wonder. All of the meanings and aspects of what Life is, these are all the aspects Joseph brings to the table with this CD. You will be able to share the journey within the music, meanings, lyrics, and soul of this album. I was drawn to this music from the beginning of hearing it live to purchasing the cd. Joseph is amazing at bringing forth the emotion, talent and depth of these songs. When you listen to this cd, you will be transported within the soul of the music as well as within the artist's inspiration and journey, these songs will leave everlasting footprints within your spirit. I highly recommend it, you will not be disappointed.
  

• NAMMY Nominee
  

  Debut Artist of the Year

• Interview
  

  Interview April 2010

• Interview
  

  Interview with DJ Tanis

Setlist

Joseph Strider is a prolific composer and incorporates new material into every performance. Set length depends on the event. Strider performs from 45 minutes to three hours or more. Audience favorites include:


"Rush In"
"Drive"
"Brand New Beautiful Day"
"Jibe"
"Just Like That"
"Indigenous Indignation"
"Come What May"
"Obsidian Order"
"Full Moon Rising"
"Smoke 'Em if You Got 'Em"
"Worlds Within Worlds"
"Seize the Day"
"Ophelia"
"She Said"
"Epiphyte"

Basic Requirements

Calendar