Josh Taft is an American music video director. He has directed music videos for

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Voca ...

(" Would?"),

Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots, commonly abbreviated as STP, is an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1989. Originally consisting of lead vocalist Scott Weiland, guitarist Dean DeLeo, bassist Robert DeLeo, and drummer :Songs ...

(" Sex Type Thing", "

Plush Plush (from French ) is a textile having a cut nap or pile the same as fustian or velvet. Its softness of feel gave rise to the adjective "plush" to describe something soft or luxurious, which was extended to describe luxury accommodation, ...

", and " Lady Picture Show"),

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

(" The World Is Yours"),

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip< ...

("Award Tour", "Electric Relaxation" and "Oh My God"),

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in South Gate, California in 1988. One of the first Latin groups to gain mainstream recognition in hip hop, they have sold over 20 million albums worldwide, and have obtained multi ...

Insane in the Brain "Insane in the Brain" is a song by American hip-hop group Cypress Hill, released in June 1993, by Ruffhouse and Columbia Records, as the first single from the group's second album, '' Black Sunday'' (1993). The song was written by group members ...

"),

Mother Love Bone Mother Love Bone was an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, in 1988. The band was active from 1988 to 1990. Frontman Andrew Wood (singer), Andrew Wood's charisma and songwriting helped to catapu ...

(" Stardog Champion"),

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

(" Alive", "

Even Flow "Even Flow" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music written by guitarist Stone Gossard, it was released in 1992 as the second single from the band's debut album, '' Ten'' (1991 ...

", and "

Oceans The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic/Southern, and ...

"), Mad Season (" River of Deceit"), and Fuel's 1998 hit "

Shimmer Shimmer Women Athletes (often referred to and stylized as SHIMMER) was an American, Chicago-based independent women's professional wrestling promotion which held its first event on November 6, 2005. Established by Dave Prazak and run by both him ...

". After graduating from NYU Film School in 1989, Taft returned to his hometown of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington where he began shooting grassroots videos for his musician friends, including members of Mother Love Bone (the predecessor to Pearl Jam) and

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially ...

. After forming his own company, Cowboy Films, Taft followed with videos for other alternative acts such as Stone Temple Pilots and Alice in Chains. He received several

MTV Video Music Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

s and

Billboard Awards The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by ''Billboard'', a publication covering the music business and a music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annually since 1990, with the exception of ...

for his work. Taft then made the move to commercial directing with spots for clients such as

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

Reebok Reebok International Limited ( ) is an American footwear and clothing brand that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company which had bee ...

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

Energizer Energizer Holdings, Inc. is an American manufacturer and one of the world's largest manufacturers of batteries, headquartered in Clayton, Missouri. It produces batteries under the Energizer, Ray-O-Vac, Varta, and Eveready brand names and fo ...

, Sprite and

Nissan Xterra The Nissan Xterra is a truck-based Compact sport utility vehicle, compact SUV manufactured and marketed by Nissan from 1999 to 2015 across two generations; the first (1999–2004) sharing a platform and many of its major exterior parts from th ...

. In 2003, he won a Lion Award at the

Cannes Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around t ...

for his Nike "Stickman Basketball" advertisement and later received a second award for his

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

"Round The Fire" advertisements. He was a "Gold"

Clio Award The Clio Awards, also simply known as The Clios, is an annual award program that recognizes innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design, and communication, as judged by an international panel of advertising professionals. The awar ...

winner in 2004 for his Nike "Frisbee," "Hoops," and "Football" spots. Taft directed the documentary film ''ALIVE & WELL'' (2013),http://aliveandwellthefilm.com/ ALIVE & WELL Official homepage which profiled seven individuals affected by

Huntington's disease Huntington's disease (HD), also known as Huntington's chorea, is an incurable neurodegenerative disease that is mostly Genetic disorder#Autosomal dominant, inherited. It typically presents as a triad of progressive psychiatric, cognitive, and ...

. ''ALIVE & WELL'' premiered at the

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is a film festival held annually in Seattle, Washington, United States, since 1976. It usually takes place in late May and/or early June. It is one of the largest festivals in the world, and feature ...

in May 2013.

References

External links

* American advertising directors American music video directors American television directors Artists from Seattle Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{tv-director-stub