Joshua Bartholomew (born July 30, 1984), known mononymously as Bartholomew, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. He writes and records music with his wife
Lisa Harriton
Lisa Rae Harriton is an American singer-songwriter, keyboardist and sound designer. She writes and records music with her husband Joshua Bartholomew under the moniker JoLi. Harriton is a co-writer of the Grammy and Oscar nominated song " Everyt ...
under the moniker JoLi. Bartholomew is a co-writer and producer of the
Grammy and
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
nominated song "
Everything Is Awesome
"Everything Is Awesome" (stylized as "Everything Is AWESOME!!!") is a song by Canadian indie pop duo Tegan and Sara, featuring American comedy trio the Lonely Island. As the theme song to the 2014 Warner Bros. Pictures film ''The Lego Movie'', ...
" from ''
The Lego Movie
''The Lego Movie'' is a 2014 computer-animated adventure comedy film written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller from a story by Lord, Miller, and Dan and Kevin Hageman. Based on the Lego line of construction toys, its story focu ...
''.
Early life
Bartholomew was born in
Pembroke, Ontario, and raised on military bases throughout Canada including
CFB Petawawa
Garrison Petawawa is located in Petawawa, Ontario. It is operated as an army base by the Canadian Army.
Garrison facts
The Garrison is located in the Ottawa Valley in Renfrew County, northwest of Ottawa along the western bank of the Ottaw ...
,
CFB Valcartier
Canadian Forces Base Valcartier (CFB Valcartier), now re-designated 2 Canadian Division Support Base Valcartier (2 CDSB Valcartier), is a Canadian Forces base located in the municipality of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, north northwest of Quebe ...
and
CFB Borden
Canadian Forces Base Borden (also CFB Borden, French: Base des Forces canadiennes Borden or BFC Borden), formerly RCAF Station Borden, is a large Canadian Forces base located in Ontario. The historic birthplace of the Royal Canadian Air Force, C ...
. Bartholomew began singing at the age of three and cites his parents' extensive record collection as an early influence.
While attending
Banting Memorial High School
Banting Memorial High School is a public secondary institution serving grades 9–12, located in Alliston, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Simcoe County District School Board and has a student population of 1370. The principal is Nancy Arnold ...
he was given permission to take co-op classes in his home studio where he began recording demos of his songs for school credit,
playing all instruments himself. This role remains on most of Bartholomew's studio recordings.
Music career
Bartholomew's self-titled debut EP was released in 2005. Two songs "What Happened To Our Love" and "IT" gained nationwide radio play on
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of C ...
.
CBC Radio One producer Kai Black, CBC host
Brent Bambury
Brent Bambury (born 1960)"CBC announces host for 'All in a Day': Brent Bambury to replace Ken Rockburn". ''Ottawa Citizen'', January 16, 2002. is a Canadian radio and television personality. He has hosted a number of radio and television programs ...
, singer-songwriter
Ron Sexsmith
Ronald Eldon Sexsmith (born January 8, 1964) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario. He was the songwriter of the year at the 2005 Juno Awards. He began releasing recordings of his own material in 1985 at age 21, and has s ...
and
Relient K's
Matt Thiessen
Matthew Arnold Thiessen (born August 12, 1980) is a Canadian-American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer known for being co-founder, lead singer, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for the Christian rock band Relient K. Wit ...
were among early supporters. In 2006, Bartholomew won
the songwriting contest held by
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
's No. 1 Pop/AC radio station MIX 99.9 FM (
CKFM-FM) and toured
with
Randy Bachman
Randolph Charles Bachman (; born September 27, 1943) is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the bands The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive. Bachman recorded as a solo artist and was part of a num ...
and
Burton Cummings. Several labels responded favourably to his debut, but Bartholomew opted to forego a major label deal.
Bartholomew travelled extensively throughout 2006 to 2008 spending extended periods of time in New York City, Los Angeles and Nashville. Most of 2009 and 2010 was spent living in his
Airstream
Airstream is an American brand of travel trailer ("caravan" in British English) easily recognized by the distinctive shape of its rounded and polished aluminum coachwork. This body shape dates back to the 1930s and is based on the Bowlus Road C ...
trailer in Nashville, writing songs with pop and country artists including Grammy nominated country band Emerson Drive.
In 2008 Bartholomew self-released his first full length record, And So It Begins, a double album with 20 songs to critical acclaim,
followed by Heart Headed, a 4 song EP released as a digital download in 2009.
In January 2011, in a video
posted on his official website, Bartholomew stated his new record "is a little heavier than what you're used to hearing" and that he had begun working on his new album with several collaborators including:
Dave Kushner
David Kushner (born November 16, 1966) is an American musician perhaps best known as the rhythm guitarist for the hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver. Kushner has also been a member of Wasted Youth, Electric Love Hogs, Loaded, Danzig, Jan ...
(
Velvet Revolver
Velvet Revolver was an American hard rock supergroup consisting of Guns N' Roses members Slash (lead guitar), Duff McKagan (bass, backing vocals) and Matt Sorum (drums, backing vocals), alongside Dave Kushner (rhythm guitar) formerly of pun ...
), Chris Thorn (
Blind Melon
Blind Melon is an American rock band formed in 1990 in Los Angeles by five musicians: three from Mississippi, one from Pennsylvania and one from Indiana. The band currently consists of guitarists Rogers Stevens and Christopher Thorn, drummer ...
),
Warren Huart
Warren Huart is an English record producer, musician, composer and recording engineer based in Los Angeles, California who is most associated as a music producer and/or engineer in the recording industry as a multi-platinum producer for The Fra ...
(
Aerosmith) and
Billy Mohler
Billy Mohler is a Grammy-nominated producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He was raised in South Orange County and is Bill Medley's (of the Righteous Bros.) godson. He attended and graduated from Berklee College of Music where he stud ...
(
Smashing Pumpkins
Smash may refer to:
People
* Smash (wrestler) (born 1959), professional wrestler
* Moondog Rex, another professional wrestler who briefly wrestled as the original Smash, before being replaced by the above.
* DJ Smash, DJ and music producer
Ar ...
). He also announced he was shortening his name from Joshua Bartholomew to Bartholomew. On January 25, 2011, the Joshua Bartholomew Facebook fan page changed to Bartholomew.
Musical style and influence
Bartholomew is a self-professed
Beatles and
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
fanatic and has cited ''
Magical Mystery Tour
''Magical Mystery Tour'' is a record by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double EP in the United Kingdom and an LP in the United States. It includes the soundtrack to the 1967 television film of the same name. The EP ...
'' and ''
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
'' as his favorite albums. In 2006, Bartholomew opened for two of his musical heroes Ron Sexsmith
and Bachman-Cummings.
Bartholomew states that
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
played a major part in his childhood and considers them to be "the greatest band of all time." Bartholomew has also named producer,
Dave Sardy
David Stuart Sardy (born 1967), more commonly known as D. Sardy, is an American composer, musician, songwriter, and multiple Grammy winning record producer. He came to prominence as the leader of 1990s noise rock band Barkmarket before turning ...
as his most important modern production influence.
Film and television
In 2013, Bartholomew was cast as musician "Moocher" in Cinnamon Girl: California Dreamin', an original drama series set in the 1960s Laurel Canyon music scene, but the Lifetime network passed on the pilot.
Discography
Awards and nominations
"
Everything Is Awesome
"Everything Is Awesome" (stylized as "Everything Is AWESOME!!!") is a song by Canadian indie pop duo Tegan and Sara, featuring American comedy trio the Lonely Island. As the theme song to the 2014 Warner Bros. Pictures film ''The Lego Movie'', ...
" awards and nominations
*Nominated for
Best Original Song
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
at the
87th Academy Awards
The 87th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2014 and took place on February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30  ...
*Nominated for a
Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media
*Nominated for a
Critics' Choice Movie Award
The Critics' Choice Movie Awards (formerly known as the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award) is an awards show presented annually by the American-Canadian Critics Choice Association (CCA) to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Writt ...
for
Best Song
*Nominated for a 2014 Georgia Film Critics Association for Best Original Song
*Nominated for a
Satellite Award
The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...
for Best Original Song
*Nominated for an Awards Circuit Community Award Best Original Song
* 2014 Denver Film Critics Society for Best Original Song
*2014 Hollywood Music in Media Award for Song – Animated Film
*2014
Houston Film Critics Society
The Houston Film Critics Society is a non-profit film critic unincorporated voluntary organization in Houston, Texas, in the United States. The group presents an annual set of film awards for "extraordinary accomplishment in film" in a ceremony h ...
for Best Original Song
*2014 Iowa Film Critics for Best Original Song
*2014 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards for Best Original Song
*2015 Talk Film Society Awards for Best Original Song
*''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' Artisans Award
References
External links
* (Bartholomew)
Official Twitter*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartholomew, Joshua
1984 births
Living people
21st-century Canadian multi-instrumentalists
Canadian record producers
Canadian rock singers
Canadian singer-songwriters
21st-century Canadian composers
21st-century Canadian guitarists
21st-century Canadian drummers
21st-century Canadian pianists
Canadian rock guitarists
Canadian pop guitarists
Canadian male guitarists
21st-century Canadian bass guitarists
Canadian rock bass guitarists
Canadian rock drummers
Canadian pop drummers
Canadian pop singers
Canadian percussionists
Canadian male pianists
Male bass guitarists
21st-century Canadian male singers
Musicians from Ontario
People from Pembroke, Ontario
Canadian male singer-songwriters