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Josiah
Folk / Country / Classical

"Death by cello."

Somerville, Massachusetts
United States

Profile Views:  13869




Last Login:  10/11/2008
View My: Pics | Videos

   Contacting Josiah

 MySpace URL: 
  http://www.myspace.com/josiahaltschuler  

   Josiah: General Info
Member Since4/9/2007
Band Websitethebusking.com
Band MembersJosiah - cello, guitar, vocals
InfluencesDoc Watson, Primus, John Fahey, Julian Bream, Leo Kottke, Chet Atkins, Dock Boggs, Hasil Adkins, Jim Heath (RHH)
Sounds LikeDoc Watson, John Fahey, Leo Kottke
Record Labelunsigned
Type of LabelNone







   Upcoming Shows ( view all )
Oct 25 2008 9:00P
Midway Cafe - w/ Moss Mountain Project Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts

Josiah's Latest Blog Entry  [Subscribe to this Blog]

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   About Josiah
"If you’re looking for polished presentation, skin-deep emotion, and well-mannered performances, turn around! Josiah Altschuler’s solo cello and voice pieces are anxious Americana vignettes so sharp they cut through bone and tissue to get to the heart of the music. As a bioinformatics programmer at Harvard by day, you might think his experimental-gothic take on these popular songs would sound scientific or overly academic. Instead, these “Murder Ballads and Love Songs” (smart and precise as they are) peel away the layers of a devastated world to reveal things both disturbing and beautiful beneath the scarred earth. Altschuler’s unorthodox cello technique, more like strumming and fingerpicking a guitar, propels the tunes with percussive pops, pounding, clicks, and finger slaps. His haunting voice, whisper thin and rhaspy, resonates in the darkness, ghostly and distant. Snd yet it feels heavy as a sermon from a fire-and-brimstone preacher just down from the mountaintop. This is a fantastic album of diverse cover songs that find new life and meaning when recontextualized by Josiah’s unique blend of indie-Appalachian influences, Country folk, and Delta blues."
- CD Baby, Editor's Pick Review (9/12/08)

Buy Now

Josiah Altschuler is a bioinformatics programmer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard School of Public Health, in Boston, MA. He also plays cello and guitar, accompanying his brother, violinist Emil Altschuler, and the doom folk band, Moss Mountain Project. He occasionally performs solo, playing his cello in an unorthodox guitar-like style. "Murder Ballads and Love Songs for Cello and Voice" is his first solo CD.

Other sites:












   Josiah's Friend Space (Top 8)
Josiah has 1287 friends.
 Emil Altschuler 


 moss mountain project 


 Nacho King 


 Norman 


 Sarah 


 HASIL ADKINS 


 Noam 


 John Fahey 





Josiah's Friends Comments
Displaying 50 of 167 comments  ( View All | Add Comment )
Water for Ivan





Sep 29 2008 8:01 PM

Wouldn't mind dying by your cello.
Kill us any time! jane
Hervé André





Sep 21 2008 10:34 PM

thanks for your words and the add !
very interesting music here ! I like the sound and the voice ! and experiment aspect !
h
lux interna





Sep 21 2008 5:55 PM

Dear Josiah,
Thank you kindly for your friendship. Really amazing music you have here. We'll certainly be picking up a copy of your CD.
sing with the birds~
kathryn
:lux interna:
IVDiffusion





Aug 12 2008 4:03 AM

hey Mr. Cello Mercenary how's life on the road, cheers from your friends, the music sounds fresh.....
G Nice





Aug 7 2008 4:57 PM

Check out the Will Ferrell clip from Step Brothers on my page. The Altshuler Bros should do a version of that classic.
HARMONUS





Jul 21 2008 12:44 AM

his name was harold
Ana García-Agúndez





Jun 24 2008 5:07 PM

Hello Josiah!
Your music is fantastic!
I am very happy to be your friend!
I'll be back...;)
Ana
Nacho King





Jun 22 2008 7:44 PM

We come in peace...what do you make of this:

http://www. marsanomalyresearch. com/evidence-reports/2008/134/rover-statue-or-person. htm
Gregulous





Jun 21 2008 12:22 AM

I'm gonna have to make a trip up north. I love what you do. It's cool to hear inavative takes on traditional sounds that don't lose the soul of the songs.
Nice job
Michael





Jun 17 2008 11:10 PM

Love your sound! Crow Jane is awesome... Hope to see you playing around Cambridge.

All the best,
Michael
Dana Price





Jun 12 2008 3:48 PM

yo! i had no idea you were a computational biologist (what is that?!). why aren't you on any of the tunes for the group w/ your bro and the guitarist? country blues is sick. is this msg random enough? hope you're well... let's jam sometime? (-:
YOYO PEOPLE





Jun 12 2008 4:58 AM

Dude, just listened to your stuff and you are amazing and I can't figure out why you were not doing a solo bit if not two for Oddville! You are amazing!

Really nice meeting you and hope to see you again!
K.C. McKanzie





May 21 2008 10:35 PM

very pleased to meet you...gonna be a cello in my next live...or a slug
Volfoniq





May 21 2008 9:30 PM

Celo makes me high ^^
great use of this great instrument !

thanks for visiting
James Houlahan





May 14 2008 10:29 PM

nice talking with you at Toad last night...thanks for the add!
Emily





May 6 2008 10:19 PM

I told a lot of my Cambridge friends about your show in Inman sq. this Friday.
Wish I could be there! Have fun!
HARMONUS





May 5 2008 9:14 PM

have a good set tonight my bald headed brother
REID PALEY’S MACARENA CLUB





May 4 2008 10:12 PM

Good morning, Josiah.


Greetings from Brooklyn.




Approximate Hellhound is here.


REID PALEY TRIO Approximate Hellhound


And here:



www. reidpaley. com

Lance





May 4 2008 2:44 PM

looking forward to friday.
PEG SIMONE





May 2 2008 12:51 AM

Hi Josiah,
Nice to meet you.
I love your music!
PEG SIMONE





May 2 2008 12:50 AM

Hi Josiah,
Nice to meet you.
I love your music!
Lance





May 1 2008 9:59 PM

sligo?
u r the man!
Emily





Apr 18 2008 6:46 PM

great job in portland at longfellow~! we went there to see the other guys...didn't end up liking them, but you were great!!! glad we got to see you. you should come play at guthrie's in lewiston, ME. good luck continuing with the solo stuff and with your album. keep me posted when it comes out.
James Dallas





Apr 17 2008 3:46 AM

Thanks, I appreciate the add & friendship....JD
HARMONUS





Apr 16 2008 9:07 PM

hope portland went well..big daddy j has been on lock down........
The Jim Larkin Situation





Apr 13 2008 8:48 PM

bummer about the bistro show. i'll have to catch up with you some other time soon.
moss mountain project





Apr 12 2008 1:26 PM

Perfect performance last night. Really enjoyed being able to go out and watch a virtuoso. Had a great time!!! I have no clue why you even play with us. Looking forward to NYC next weekend...
Tim
Poor Valley Salvation Society





Apr 12 2008 3:07 AM

Great show tonight, Josiah. Just what I needed.

We loved sharing the billing with you, and would do it again in a heartbeat.

-Sister Lunden
Heidi Winzinger





Apr 9 2008 12:45 AM

Hi Josh - wow, what a wonderful and interesting sound you have!! Nice to know you.
Heidi
Will Knox





Apr 7 2008 10:39 PM

Thanks for the add Josiah! Sounds like youve got some great things going on. We're playing at the Great Scott in Allston on Friday 8-45pm if you're around, cheers!

Will
The Beautiful Girls





Apr 7 2008 10:10 PM

Thank you for your time - and space – T.B.G. are stoked to be friends, the band do have a couple of gigs coming up in Aust - the easter blues festivals - and then we head to the US for another tour. This one will be a month long and it’ll carve pretty much across the top of the country east to west then down and back across the bottom.
Before that though we have the Blues Fest and the 14th at Canberra Uni with Rogerthat www. rogerthat. com. au or www. myspace. com/rogerthatofficial supporting.
The US tour is beginning in early May - the 2nd in New York - and the dates are now up on our site.
cellodreams





Apr 3 2008 3:42 PM

thanks for connecting with me! i love your music...great combination of sounds.

best wishes, kathy
Bob Dylan's Future Wife





Apr 3 2008 12:36 PM

Hell, yeah! Great sound. Thanks for the request. I'll be back in the MA/NH area soon so I'll come see you.
Harry Krishna





Apr 3 2008 12:29 AM

Great stuff man!!! love it. was just watchin Doc on ytube a minute ago.
folk on!!
The Wiyos





Apr 2 2008 5:16 PM

Thanks for checking out some beyond the clearchannel radio musical adventures! We hope to meet you in person sometime somewhere on the road to goodness. -The WIYOS
Oops-a-Daisies





Mar 30 2008 4:48 PM

Image and video hosting by TinyPic
WINDY CITY HANGOVER





Mar 27 2008 10:34 PM

JOSIAH,BAD-ASS STUFF!LOVE IT...THANKS FOR THE REQ AND ALL THE BEST.
Elizabeth Porter





Mar 27 2008 2:29 AM

Hey, it's been a while, hope all is well : )