Meet Joseph Wandass IV

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Joseph Wandass IV. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Joseph below.

Joseph, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
Being a full-time artist, songwriter, and producer takes a lot of creative energy and requires a great deal of mental toughness. It’s very easy to burn out as a musician. However, continually writing as much as possible, creating a new piece or composition everyday, and performing actively are the best ways in which I keep my skills sharpened. It is important to be in the practice of music everyday while not overdoing one single dimension of my career. I am blessed to be multi-dimensional in the current music industry which allows me to work in many domains while not losing my passion for each one individually. Creativity comes from continual practice.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am a full-time artist, songwriter, music producer, and educator with 10 years of experience in the Nashville music industry. After moving to Nashville in 2014, I found myself embedded in music performing and writing everyday. In 2015 I had my first big break when I opened for Josh Turner, Lee Greenwood, and Gordon Mote at the Franklin Theatre. In addition I began leading worship as a guitar player and background vocalist performing with Michael W Smith, Leeland, and Jack Mooring at New River Fellowship. Christian music led me off of Broadway in 2016 and to Belmont University, where I studied a Bachelors of Music and Masters of Music in Commercial Music Performance.

During my time at Belmont I expanded my musical ability, worked closely with world-renown mentors, and held multiple internships in various areas of the music industry. In 2017 I interned under world renown vocal coach Brett Manning at Singing Success. From 2018- 2019 I interned as a track writer at Nashville Cool Music Publishing under writer and publisher Nancy Deckant. During this time I also developed relationships with various independent publishing companies on music row.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, performance opportunities dried up, so I was blessed to be able to continue to develop my music while working as a TA and Graduate Assistant at Belmont University under jazz great Sandra Dudley. This is where I feel I truly “came into my own” as an artist. During this time I also produced the talent portion of the winning Miss Tennessee 2021. The next year I completed a TikTok song series entitled 365 songs in 365 days in which I wrote a song a day in 2022 while graduating with my Masters of Music in December of 2022.

In 2023, I had my first song in a full length movie with my single “Yuletidin’ with You” featured in Christmas at the Amish Bakery on UPtv. I currently work as an independently contracted artist, songwriter, and music producer for many different companies in the Nashville area while supplementing my income with teaching.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The most impactful qualities in my personal music career have been perseverance, discipline, and cooperation. Perseverance in the face of rejection and the trials life throws at you is one of the most important skills to learn. In this industry, you will hear “no” at least ten times more than you will hear “yes,” and navigating the emotions that brings to continue onward is extremely vital to having longevity in music. Discipline to continue doing what you love, even on the days when you don’t want to, is important as some days you won’t be 100%. But learning to do what you need to do regardless of whether you are full or empty is the biggest way to get far in music. Finally cooperation is the most important of virtues in music. The industry is not a solo sport, its a team sport, filled with diverse and varied teams of like minded people. If you are able to work with others in a sustainable way then it makes music a much more fun and rewarding career.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
There is no book more powerful or impactful than the Bible, the greatest book ever written in human history. Understanding human nature and why we do what we do makes the music creation mean much more. And seeing where humanity has come from to where it is today allows us to understand how incredibly blessed we are to live in the world today. It is always important to remind ourselves in this industry that it’s not our accomplishments that lead us to greatness but God himself who guides us. My favorite verses to meditate on are Exodus 14:14,Matthew 18:12, and Psalm 91.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Main photo credit goes to Nita with Nita in Nashville Photography Insta: @nitainnashville

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