August 2012: Joshua in Heaven's Metal magazine

HEAVENS METAL MAGAZINE ARTICLE:

HEAVY METAL FANS TEND TO BE AMONG THE MOST LOYAL ANYWAY, BUT THERE ARE A HANDFUL OF BANDS THAT MIGHT BE DESCRIBED AS "CULT CLASSICS" BECAUSE THEY ARE SO GOOD THAT JUST TO HEAR THEM IS TO BECOME THEIR FAN. I'LL REFRAIN FROM SPOUTING OFF A LIST OF NAMES, BECAUSE EACH OF US PROBABLY HAS A DIFFERENT LIST IN MIND. I'M TALKING THE KIND OF BAND THAT YOU'VE SCOURED THE EARTH TO PICK UP ALL THEIR ALBUMS, NO MATTER HOW RARE, AND WHEN THEY PUT OUT A NEW ALBUM, A DECADE AFTER THE LAST, YOU POUNCE ON IT, SO EAGER FOR THAT FIRST LISTEN.

Joshua is just such a band. If you've heard the name, no doubt you are a fan – read on. If the name is unfamiliar, don't worry – I won't chastise you as if you've been living under a rock – hey, it's been 11 years since the last Joshua album and some of their albums are super rare. For the longest time 1988's Intense Defense was the holy grail of collectables. So if you've yet to hear Joshua, let me introduce you to the man and the band. For all intents and purposes, Joshua the band (or any other name they've gone by) is Joshua Perahia, guitar master extraordinaire. The '90s almost killed off the guitar solo, but thankfully it's been revived – a stroke of luck for us, because Joshua's guitar skills make him a peer with fellow shredder Yngwie Malmsteen. Since 1980, Joshua has plied his trade in the rock world with his namesake band, despite countless member changes. A salvation encounter with Christ early in his career made him refocus his band to serve God instead of fame. The band's half robotic (and heavily armed) eagle mascot had not been seen since Joshua's last album Something to Say came out in 2001, so it was a surprise and a pleasure to hear some new material from the band. And what a killer comeback album Resurrection has turned out to be! Joshua the classic metal band has indeed been resurrected.

Chris Gatto: Joshua, I have to congratulate you on your new album Resurrection, which turned out to be such a monster classic metal release. You always surround yourself with world class musicians, and This time around your singer is Mark Boals, of Yngwie Malmsteen fame and Scott Warren, keyboardist for the late Dio. Both men add considerable talent to the album. How did working with them come about?

Joshua Perahia: Chris, thank you so much for blessing us with such great questions that do get into the heart of this story. Please understand that in these last 10 years, I have grown so much as a father, and that growth has overflowed into my songwriting. This new love that poured out of me, and the devotion to protecting my son has become paramount as another of life's most important lessons. The birth of my son Davey was destined to have a massive impact on this album and its fueled direction. Never before has any Joshua album been so affected by the advent of another person. The song themes in Resurrection have all gathered around the future of our country, including the international community. That is why I decided to search for musicians who were all internationally reknown, as I have been. My first choice of lead vocalist was Jeff Fenholt, who was supposed to have sung the entire album, but a confrontation between him and the producer made it impossible to continue down that road. I simply blessed Jeff and turned right into lead singer Mark Boals, who worked with Yngwie Malmsteen, Ted Nugent and Uli Jon Roth of The Scorpions. Mark was my first decision, because he was supposed to go with me to Germany to complete the vocals for Intense Defense, before I met Rob Rock. That is another story, but the Almighty sent the right man for this very complex album called Resurrection. I wanted someone who could replace Ronnie James Dio in Rainbow. That was my only criteria. I already knew Mark had sung for his church and has a relationship with Christ. After some of my past albums, I realized that I am the spokesperson for The Joshua Perahia Band and that is where our doctrine comes from. The buck stops with me. If there are any lyrics that are not evangelical, I am the man to come against. As for keyboards, this has always been a most important instrument in my band. I wanted the best and, yes, I wanted someone who had been in Dio, Heaven & Hell, and Black Sabbath, so I could get my hands on the very tools and sounds that were on those albums that were once used for a message of darkness. What a better place to use Satan's own weapons against him! I mean, I sat with Scott Warren, and used sounds from Heaven & Hell, to put them on our songs, so something used to glorify Satan could now be used to glorify Jesus Christ. Though I disliked the lyrics Dio used, I loved the melodies. I used to hear the songs on the radio, and have my own lyrics for those same songs. I pursued these musicians because, The Lord Jesus Christ has the last word every time! I was honored that Christ would choose me to be part of that vehicle to combine the world with the true God! I knew it would take Mark Boals and Scott Warren to make this authentic and allow that powerful message to come through the music with their talents and aggressive recording abilities. I bless my fellow Christian music artists in their musical commissions, but without that professional edge that players like Mark and Scott have, they seem to fall short many times. I ask you all to listen and tell me what you hear in this album. The abundance of power, character, enthusiasm, dedication – that are all defined by their focus of recording tasks and has been brought out on this album – I have never experienced in my life. The drummer, Dino Maddalone, was in contact with me everyday regarding any drum pattern, line and punch. We talked our way through this album, like a divine voice from above following the Lord as the Conductor of the entire album. Maybe Dino is the only person who knows what I am describing here, but our communication between the guitars and the drumming were divine and is something I could never describe if I tried. My long time dream was to have a band that was filled with pure inspiration, and put together by Christ in every aspect! Please do not think me indulging myself in anyway, but how could this album not be produced with Divine Intervention as we followed the Lord through this gauntlet of playing while under the command of Christ to just be warriors on a page of music that feel and serve Christ in one harmonious punch and knockout. This is the reason it took 10 years to put together. We had false starts many times, when I just "pulled the plug" on the recording because it was not time yet. Finally, in choosing the bassist, comes Pastor Bryan Fleming. Bryan has been the closest friend to me since 1989 and played on two Joshua albums. His Tony Franklin style of fretless bass is unbeatable and has so much soul of flavors pouring out of him. He, too, loves the same bands that have influenced me and knew just what I wanted in playing. His abilities to fly on bass were just what every song needed. This was officially a super star / all-star band that I have been waiting for. Bryan pastors a church, "For His Name's Sake," here in our community of "The Beach Cities" – Redondo Beach, California. This made for a smashing lineup, that I would be so blessed to tour with. There are female background vocalists with Diana Hereld and Maggie Evans in "Sing Hallelujah." This song has been used by the band since 1986 when a concert in the South of France became out of control as the day grew long. We performed "Sing Hallelujah," which at first was not well Received, but soon became loved when the crowd was touched by its powerful melodies and an instant hush came over everyone. Then people began participating in waving their arms and giving us the thumbs up, with huge smiles on their faces. There were around 20 bands opening for us that day, so tempers were rising by the time Joshua got on stage! It ended in glory and praise that I will always remember. You could feel the happiness coming off every person there. My point is, that you surround yourself with the best people, or do not attempt anything like a tour. If you even have one bad member, stop everything and fix it. Pray over your band every day.

CG: You stated that Resurrection took 10 years to make. Can you walk us through that process, and also Resurrection is certainly a stylistic change from your last album, Something to Say, back in 2001. Would you attribute that to a different headspace for you, the musicians you are working with, or changing politics, for example? What was the drive to make this such a strong return to metal?

JP: It is a combination of everything you listed here. My politics and faith in Christ are the only constant, since that subject has always been on the forefront of conscience as well as my faith in Christ. These last 4 years, have taken politics to a place where humanity has no concept of what living in Roman times has brought forward into every realm of society and human secularism today. While I have been editing the lyrics of every song I wrote, due in fact to the primal and common secular activity of this new Democratic party exuding from the United States, I feel that we as a nation have completely let go of any virtue we hung onto, and have let the animalistic nature of self preservation loose on our society to the last degree. Stylistically, Resurrection is my first true coming together of my personal life in fatherhood, manhood, compassion, survival instinct, and honesty that has exuded through my writing, rather than writing for record companies and their polarizing demand of a commercial record. I would never have guessed that having my son would delineate so much authority into this new freedom that has encompassed me and my place in the music scene today. Having children should be an experience to Christian fathers of what it is truly like when removing life's sunglasses and revealing what test Christ is granting men to stand alone with and face the truth to another human being who is learning so much from you. This new direction came from such a primal place in my thoughts that going heavier was natural, and just had to be! I could not think like I have in the past! These thought process dynamics were growing in my heart, soul and through emboldened actions that only the Holy Spirit were initiating throughout my being. This I give my oath to, Chris. This has never happened within my other albums. I so thank the Spirit of Christ for evoking every Joshua album I have been so blessed from. Here I am ... in Resurrection ... finding a new direction that has never faced me eye to eye. Intense Defense has always been my favorite album, with a call to arms, but Resurrection would then be my battle cry! The accumulation of work in Joshua from 1980 till this day, have me sitting in the configuration of this album, Resurrection. It took 168 band members through the years, with emotions that ran like dangerous waters, tempers of outrage along the way and a preoccupation with survival to join hands together and assemble this project I have taken so very seriously, Chris. You are the second of many articles promised to me. There is so much to say! You already know about my feelings with the vast movement our country has dropped and sunk to. Where are the great Christian leaders today, and why have they hidden like cowards, when action must be taken right now? Why has our precious Israel been muted by this White House administration? You ask about the format of the music, and I concur that there should be a definite format for sound with regards to this special theme and message the album is provoking. Metal is the only version of music to begin the battle between this international version of music I call "Hard Metal Rock," and our country's unequally yoked wagon of disgrace. There is a "movie theme" going on here and, to me, this hard edge of power was the only way to answer the intentions of this album. My last album, Something To Say, was dictated by producer Keith Olsen and his only answer for a 2001 album, was to use ballads and light songs. It was a mistake for me to agree to. It will never happen again. We had so many harder songs, but Olsen was just stuck on the lighter songs. The financier of that album sided with Olsen, so it is best to hire people with your decisions to be the center of their heart, or you are just following orders and not inventing a new project that can change the world. We should always have the greatest motives in mind, when giving so much of yourself to any project! I was so driven in this album, and I do attribute that drive to doing something mighty on the earth ... for my son.

CG: Can you tell us about some of the songs, like the incredible "Blood on the Nile" and what your lyrics are referring to?

JP: This is my favorite question. The lyrics are so important to me. This song, "Blood On The Nile," is so much the crowning star of the album as a whole. I so love biblical stories and have always been amazed at the special covenant Christ has with the Jewish nation. He promises in the last days that they will be returned to their land and never be destroyed. How can anyone not accept Christ, when Israel is surrounded by deadly nations at incredible odds, yet Israel always succeeds against any people who may come against them? This happens countless times throughout its history. The battle stories are numerous, and miraculous. I had to write about the massive forces Israel has to fight against daily, when millions of enemy nations plot against them and always fail! As in the war against Egypt and Syria, Israel fought with valor, but also with miraculous outcome when attacked by superior manpower. God has His covenant with them and continues to keep His promise. "Blood on the Nile" goes through the lunacy that emanates from these evil empires that try to engage Israel, but are always defeated without mercy by the little nation of Israel. This never fails to impress me, and all logic. We have many videos on YouTube under "Joshua Perahia" – done by my 14 year old son David Perahia, with his knowledge of the songs – which follow the lyrics by his quick drawn-up videos of the songs he has rendered. Each song tells a story and not some party tune. I have always enjoyed writing about the wonderful acts of righteousness and stories of how we overcome life's challenges. Another relative song to this one is "World At War." David did a wonderful rendition of the life of Christ here on earth and the well-developed story of our majestic God, Who was led like a lamb to the slaughter, but chose to take our place as the last sacrificial lamb! The verses used come from Revelation, and describe the Son as He was betrayed, beaten indescribably, and finally hung on the cross while people entertained themselves at the cost of His blood. Intermixed in the video is Scripture of our modern day weapons of war, that were described by John on the island of Patmos. He was transformed into the future just to write about these weapons of mass destruction, but had to use such crude language to describe our nuclear weapons through language that was too primitive to Explain these weapons we call helicopters, tanks, missiles and small arms. As a student of Pastor Hal Lindsay, I am enthralled by the teaching of Christ's days on earth, that were clearly written about in the Bible. The plague of the locusts were about the deadly helicopter gunships that are used today as "nation rises against nation" as the song clearly sings about. In my song "The Voice of Reason," the listener is revealed a clear picture of a man who has turned his back on Christ to live for the world that means so much to him. He may go through times of faith and a close relationship with the Lord, but so many eventually fall back into old habits of life filled with desire and sin. The man who we strive to become asks Christ to allow him to fly by His side and live in eternity together with the Almighty and shed himself from the antics of the world while in the flesh. He concedes that through Christ's blood, he is saved and knows there is nothing in this world that can save him from his own lazy desires. "Divine Intervention" is my personal favorite, because of the trials that seem to embarrass us and relentlessly continue to deplete our strength. It begins with the trials from the top of the song in the video as a mountain climber being thrown down the mountain during his climb to the top. He loses his footing and begins a terrible fall, taking others with him. That is what can happen to anyone who is so sure of himself and, when he makes a wrong decision, it can end in failure for him and anyone else who is joined to this person! That is how a man can ruin his whole family or a leader can ruin a nation! Many times, when we fall down from pride to even being full of oneself, we hurt the ones we love or live with. Imagine how much more profound this lesson is learned when that man is the leader of a nation and brings millions of people to failure! I believe that is what is happening to the United States today. We have a terribly weak leader, with no experience whatsoever, and he has visions of grandeur, which cause the loss of people's entire life savings, their jobs, their place in society and their self worth. The hearts that are broken, can dissolve an entire country in a few years! I believe that is happening to the United States of America right now. As the song says: "I need Your divine intervention, I need You to intervene right now, to open up the door and let me in right now..." I wrote a song for my Christian brothers, who think they have found all the answers to life, and need not the Word of God to lead them and inspire them ("Live Out a Lie"). Many times, baby Christians believe they have found the Lord and say all the proper words to receive their commission from Christ. They find themselves pontificating on other Christians, but are not in the Word or not in complete submission to Christ. They are full of themselves and may even think they are pastors and full of Biblical knowledge. They live in lust, sin and actual mental disorder of Christ's commandments. They even find Christian "rank" for themselves, like Deacon, Prophet or Pastor, yet they are light years away from the true knowledge of God. That is what "Live Out a Lie" is about. "When all is forgiven, and you say that you mean every word, many sink to the bottom, so double-minded, then turn for the worse ... As you sift through the ashes ... in your heart a reminder that burns ... And you live out a Lie, on & on & on, every moment, then you live out a lie, day after day, and you live out a lie ... Stand by your 'promise,' remember your Word, over & over the damage is done..." These words all come from the Bible, as Christ is the Author of this album. The lyrics refer to redeeming yourself, with resolution and changing your life from within!

CG: Have you, or could you play shows with this lineup or is it a studio-only release? Will you pursue a major label to put Resurrection out or rely on the Collector's Edition you have available now?

JP: I would consider using a few of the musicians I recorded with, as long as the band can afford a tour where no one has to struggle while on tour. I am open for that conversation with any professional touring agency. We all spoke about it, but it would have to be a professional tour, and not some rotten motel lodge tour you hear so much about. The album is the best, and has already won multiple awards for best guitarist, best songs, and best drummer from the Los Angeles Music Awards. We have another awards show that have nominated us for best album. This is not a garage band for hire, but a professional rock group that would deserve the best tour out there, where I can use members of the album I have spoken to concerning touring. We are just beginning to speak to labels internationally for tours and taking this group out. The Collector's Edition was purely for fun and introducing the band a little early, so the songs can build up a momentum. Music like this lasts for many years, because of its lofty and profoundly massive hooks and resolute fans it draws. The right tour will eventually come to the top. I want it to be right. Most of the band members are very assured of what each has to offer, so it is a matter of time. You can't find a better vocalist than Mark Boals, and Scott Warren is such a successful Rock keyboardist, who the whole world knows and respects. Bryan Fleming has already offered to be free if shows were booked at certain times where he could join us. We have background vocalists ready to go out, like good friend Mark Delpapa, since there are so many vocals in this album. Eventually, we hope to get a major label to put out Resurrection. That is when things will begin to pop. The Collector's Edition was just for fun. You can get one at joshuaperahia.com and then hit the music store to order it. There are only 888 of them, so they will be worth a great deal of money, like all my collectibles have become. Intense Defense has been selling up to $900 on eBay, so now that I own the rights for that album, we will remaster it and add a bass guitar to the entire album. Double Trouble was made into a Collectable (only 4000 made), and sold for $150-$250 each.

CG: The musical landscape has changed much since you began Joshua the band back in 1980. What's your motivation to keep putting out top notch music?

JP: I will always put my heart and soul into every album I write. I understand your question, because of the greatest bands putting out albums 20 years after they came onto the music scene, but was disgusted by their remnant line up. They have degraded into "wanna-be" musicians, but came out in disgrace. I am at a loss as to why anyone would have a positive intention to fail. Maybe they should make reality TV shows out of these characters, and probably find a deep seated illness as to why they keep trying to fail. One band comes to my mind in the Christian world, but I do not know of anyone else who has shamed themselves in this way! The Word of God is not to be mocked, so I would be very careful if I were "told to play top 40 metal songs" in that band.

CG: You've worked with so many big names in metal over the years, what have some of these guys' reactions been to the strong Christian message on your albums?

JP: Actually only a few of them ever had anything negative to say about the Word of God, being written about on major record labels. Of course a few displayed the famous saying called "The Kiss of Death." One of them is now going full-on for the Lord, so I am proud he found the Almighty in Joshua, though he never admits to it. He now uses it to play in front of churches, but that would make around 6 of those singers. Many other instrumental musicians have found Christ through Joshua, but never mention how they found Christ in public. That is fine, and praise God, as that is all I prayed for. I loved being used to help other guys bless their friends and family with the Gospel through Joshua. Of all the men who really hated the lyrics being about the Lord, is one I have lost contact with. I pray he finds the Almighty, as it usually comes in a phone call to me, or by email. It takes a great deal of humble obedience to apologize for ruining tours, or disturbing the band back years ago. I am just happy, we have forgiven one another, and moved on.

CG: Is the current scene of Christian metal still a good vehicle for spreading the Gospel, or have we lost some vibrancy over the years?

JP: The vibrancy has been lost, because there are less and less professional acts reaching out for a successful audience and following. Everyone wants to be a star on YouTube, and will do anything to get themselves on that media outlet. It can be used for good, but the crud that is out there is also vainly pathetic. Christian music rides hand in hand with secular music, because people get into a special ebb and flow through culturalism. When music makes gigantic comebacks, you will notice across the board that all music will climb or relax depending on the hype that show business receives. If it were not true ... why are there "Dove" awards? So many great Christian acts are not even given a chance because the Christian music scene is also about who you know! Let us come "apart" from the world! This would be a great place to start. My band is greatly blessed in countries that do not speak English! They love my melodies, and continue to bless us by the thousands. I would not own my home if it were not for foreign record companies! God Bless them! They have blessed and taken me under their wing with pride and love! I thank Christ and bless them all. The other members in Joshua were always listened to, and were all called on for advice when preparing for shows. When the other members just became weak, or just negative, I tended to not listen to them, because it was just their defeatist attitude that was getting in the way. That was always a path leading to self destruction that I had no desire to share. The Lord wants us to work hard, get up early in the morning and go for it. Having no faith was just a sign to me, that another member could not "man up" for the tasks of fighting it out. There was just too much American negativity for me to join with whiney people, who gave up easily! That was definitely my biggest pet peeve with other members. These were guys whose parents did not teach them what it is to work hard as my Greek parents, who were immigrants to this awesome country taught me.To whom much is given, much is expected. I was born to lead, and wanted to fight my way through any adversity! My following is massively foreign countries, and partially the USA! The United States is a shattered mess of rap, country and pop that is just laughed at in other countries. I pray that other countries do not become "Soup de Jour" like music is "The Soup of the day," over here. That is what designs a nation to have no culture! That is the U. S. I still believe that Christ will use anything that is done for His greater good and His name, though. Yes, I still believe that Christ can use the more feeble music today, to spread His word. He is an awesome God, and will use a mustard seed of faith to spread His magnificent word throughout the world.

CG: Many of our readers are quite familiar with Joshua's work and are quite fanatic about it, but for the sake of a new generation that has yet to discover you, can we briefly discuss each album, who you worked with and a bit about each lineup?

JP: The Hand is Quicker than the Eye (1982/1983). The first album ... The Hand is Quicker Than The Eye ... Wow! ... that was a world at war for me. The members were Stephan Fontaine (Lead Vocals), who replaced original singer Mark Delpapa (who is now my dear, sweet brother in Christ); Donnie Gougeon (Keys); Tony Zaccaglini (drums); Mahlon Hawk (bass); and myself. This came out in 1982, but was not released till 1983 on Enigma Records. In 1982 it was an EP on my label Olympic Records, with 6 songs, and a band with a lot of attitude. We were played on radio 'round the clock, and in all the foreign press, MTV, HBO, Sky News and anything with music hit charts. Though the lead singer, Stephan Fontaine has become a best friend now in Christ, he would have been someone I would have put in a head lock, had I not been afraid of going to jail! I just became saved through pastor Hal Lindsay and was scraping my way to the top here in L.A. with its awful scene full of Glam, Punk, and Hair Spray bands that were all into beating women on stage, putting them on racks, torturing them, and the use of foul language, among other foul things. My family – from mom, dad and girl friend were all coming to these shows and – having a fanatical Greek Orthodox and conservative home life – were exposed to these antics that embarrassed me to my mother, as well as father ... but fodder for my younger brother, who was manager and (always) looking to knock out anyone who would walk within feet of me). I made sure that the bands from W.A.S.P., to MEDUSA, etc., were all told to drop their shows or all hell would break out. We had the best singer in Hollywood, being Stephan Fontaine. He was over the top, and hard to keep in line with this band. I was loyal to the band members, but did ask the band members to also remain loyal to one another. I was searching for Christ with my Greek Orthodox faith at this time, and began going to Bible studies with my girlfriend of 3 years. She began getting tired of my Greek church and decided to join a Bible study. They kept praying for me. It was one Wednesday in the summer, when I went to a Bible study, and the speaker asked everyone (50 people) where they were with Christ. I was the last to speak for some strange reason and told them how I felt (that) "American youth found God one moment, then try drugs the next, and keep looking till they swing the pendulum in every direction!" I accused 4 of them for being junkies and how I had had enough of junkies in my music life with the bands I had met (though no one in Joshua got high). I asked this group, if all Americans were nothing but lazy party animals. Work ethic was a big deal in my home of very challenging parents who went on tirades of how Americans were all over the road when it comes to Christ, then money, then new cars, then whatever just turned them on for the moment! After I repeated a similar banter that lasted 15 minutes to this Bible study, a few of the Bible study attendees said I basically nailed them for the way they live, and asked for permission to leave. Everyone was just looking at me then. I felt guilty and said I would leave and I apologized. The teacher asked me to sit down and said, "Don't worry about them." He then said I was probably the most "man of understanding" – when it came to God's will – in that room. He just asked me to pray to Christ, that Jesus was number one in my life and not the band. He asked me to keep saying it, while others all had their hands on me, and praying with their hands on my back. Next thing I knew ... I was on the ground, never remembering what had happened. His voice went into an Echo, over, and over, and I woke up on the ground. I will not get into anymore things that continued ... but it was massive. I knew then, my life would never be the same and that Joshua was going to be a Christian Rock band. So everything with that line-up was fine ... till I told 18 roadies and 6 band members what the songs would be about – from that album on. I even rewrote the lyrics to four of the songs on The Hand Is Quicker Than The Eye. One by one ... the road crew, in tears, quit the band. It was very emotional, and they told me how they never worked harder for their fathers. Next was the keyboardist, who refused to accept Christ, and then the singer (who has now accepted Christ and calls me weekly), then the bassist and other rhythm guitarist, leaving me with only one new guitarist I kept, who already knew the Lord. I was back to square one.

Surrender (1985): Christ put back together an entire new band and crew in 3 weeks – that were all right with accepting Christ, and I asked them all to renew their vows with Christ. It was strange, but right. We were playing shows, and things were great. That was the line-up for Surrender, who included Joey Galletta, Loren Robinson, Ken Tamplin, Greg Velasco and Pat Bradley. The entire crew was saved, and this turned out to be a major blessing. These first two albums were the groundwork making the base for The Joshua Band. Please understand one major point, though, the press has made a big deal about the band names. It is nothing! The name of this band is Joshua. It has always been Joshua and, to me, it will always be Joshua – and nothing else. This is my statement of fact and oath! Personally, because of jealousy, a free ride, and confusion, the band was simply Joshua. It was JOSHUA from 1980 to 1989.

Intense Defense (1988): It was in 1986 that the line-up would change again, because co-producer Eddie Kramer (of The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, KISS, Santana, Led Zep, etc.) told me there would have to be band member changes if Joshua was going to keep its record deal with RCA records that would be worth well over one million dollars. The executive producer was Dieter Dierks of The Scorpions fame. Dieter did not like our drummer Joey Galletta, our keyboardist Pat Bradley, and the bassist Loren Robinson. Dieter planned on replacing the entire band around me. There is more to this than I have ever let the public know, but my loyalty to the entire band was a secret I kept for the sake of all their hearts. Dieter Dierks planned on replacing the entire band with all studio musicians except for a singer that he wanted. He wanted a singer that worked with me in the early 80's to sing the album, but I refused to hurt the singer I became close to as a friend. This was just too much for the band to keep up with. This was simply a satanic attack to ruin this album that was slated to go multi platinum.

Jaguar line-up: When we came back from Germany after eight long months of recording on RCA/BMG, everything fell apart. It was then that a lawyer told us to make a new start, and change the name to Jaguar! That was the worst idea – which lasted for a matter of days. There already was a Jaguar, but a meddling lead singer wanted the band to be called Jaguar. Those members included lead vocalist Robert Basauri, bassist Joey Rochrich, drummer Eric Stoskopf, and Peder Rudling on rhythm guitar. That cost us a large sum of money to repair!

M-PIRE lineup – Chapter One (1995): We then moved to the name of M PIRE. That was the worst move we ever made, thanks to the idea of another lead singer, and me letting go of the reins in leadership. We tried to sell my Chapter One album, with nearly zero results! That same record company released Double Trouble (a collector's CD that included my first two albums) that sold out all 4,000 units in 2 weeks under the name of Joshua! It was my idea to call the band Joshua again, as it was the financier of Long Island Records. He never wanted to call the band M PIRE, and was arguing forever, in German, with the president of Long Island Records. He said, "No one would know any new band called M PIRE!" No one did, and there were no sales. The president died of cancer, and previously gave me all the rights to the album. I had witnessed to him about the Lord. In my possession, I changed the name of the band back to Joshua, and the sales came back in successful numbers.

Something to Say (2001): It came time for my 5th album, Something to Say, produced by music legend, Keith Olsen. He wanted an all-ballad album, because the music industry became so light and shattered. It was his call to lighten up the sound of the band, to the push-back of all the band members. It was the same members as the last line up, being: bassist Joey Rochrich; drummer Eric Stoskopf; myself; extra bass from the Chicago band's bassist, Jason Scheff, who also did background vocals; lead vocalist from Santana Alex Ligertwood; lead vocalist Jerry Gabriel; and Santana keyboardist Richard Baker. Everything was moving too fast to make critical decisions. It was hard times, and all I wanted to do was have the greatest Gospel album ever recorded. I knew that Rob Rock and I would be an incredible duo together. There were just too many chefs in the kitchen for that recipe to turn out great.

CG: Anything else to add?

JP: I have never lost my faith through the tests Christ has given to me. It was all done for a purpose. On the other hand, I am just honored that God entrusted me with so much responsibility, and so many people, to allow my ministry to build this much power, and fire! I have worked with the best people, and I have had tests that many men would fold under. This new album, is the greatest thing I have ever done, and I am proud to call it my favorite record ever recorded. The musicians are all the greatest, and will knock you out when you hear it.

CG: Best of luck with the new album. Thank you for delivering the "real deal" to us metalheads with this one. I would love to see it played live sometime, God willing. For our readers, you can purchase the Collector's Edition of Resurrection or some of Joshua's past catalog at joshuaperahia.com.