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 " Everyth ...

under the moniker JoLi. Bartholomew is a co-writer and producer of the

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

and

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

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. The theme song to the 2014 Warner Bros. Pictures film ''The Lego Movie'', it ...

" from ''

The Lego Movie ''The Lego Movie'' is a 2014 animated adventure comedy film written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Based on the Lego line of construction toys, the film stars the voices of Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will ...

''.

Early life

Bartholomew was born in

Pembroke, Ontario Pembroke ( ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario at the confluence of the Muskrat River (Ontario), Muskrat River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley, northwest of Ottawa. Though containing the administrative headquarters of Renfre ...

, and raised on military bases throughout Canada including

CFB Petawawa 4 Canadian Division Support Base Petawawa, commonly referred to as Garrison Petawawa, is located in Petawawa, Ontario. It is operated as an army base by the Canadian Army. Current use The Garrison is located in the Ottawa Valley in Renfrew ...

CFB Valcartier 2nd Canadian Division Support Base Valcartier (2 CDSB Valcartier), formerly known as and commonly referred to as Canadian Forces Base Valcartier (CFB Valcartier), is a Canadian Forces base located in the municipality of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valc ...

and

CFB Borden Canadian Forces Base Borden (also CFB Borden, French: Base des Forces canadiennes Borden or BFC Borden), formerly RCAF Station Camp Borden, is a large Canadian Forces base located in Ontario. The historic birthplace of the Royal Canadian Air Forc ...

. 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 1530. The current Principal is Rob ...

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 o ...

. 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 ...

and

Relient K Relient K () is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio by Matt Thiessen, Matt Hoopes, and Brian Pittman during their third year in high school and time at Malone University in Canton. The band is named after guitarist ...

Matt Thiessen Matthew Arnold Thiessen (born August 12, 1980) is a Canadian-born American musician known for being co-founder, lead singer, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for the rock band Relient K. With Relient K, he has released eight full-lengt ...

were among early supporters. In 2006, Bartholomew won the songwriting contest held by

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

's No. 1 Pop/AC radio station MIX 99.9 FM (

CKFM-FM CKFM-FM (99.9 FM ''99.9 Virgin Radio'') is a Canadian radio station in Toronto, Ontario. The station is owned by Bell Media. The station airs a contemporary hit radio format, and is the flagship of Canada's "Virgin Radio" stations. CKFM's ...

) 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. He was the writer and singer of several hit rock songs, ...

and

Burton Cummings Burton Lorne Cummings (born December 31, 1947) is a Canadian musician and songwriter. He is best known for leading the Guess Who during that band's most successful period from 1965 to 1975, and for a lengthy solo career. Cummings has been induc ...

. 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 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 Chief, an earlier model of the ...

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 Dave Kushner (born November 16, 1966) is an American musician 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, Jane's Addi ...

(

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 pu ...

), Chris Thorn (

Blind Melon Blind Melon is an American rock band formed in 1990 in Los Angeles, California. The band consists of guitarists Rogers Stevens and Christopher Thorn, drummer Glen Graham, vocalist Travis Warren and bassist Nathan Towne. They are best known ...

Warren Huart Warren Huart (born 28 January 1969) 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-platin ...

(

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

) 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 studi ...

(

Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. ...

). 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 The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

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 title. The E ...

'' and ''

'' 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 music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

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. The theme song to the 2014 Warner Bros. Pictures film ''The Lego Movie'', it ...
" awards and nominations

*Nominated for

Best Original Song The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best ...

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 The Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media (including its previous names) is the Grammy Awards awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media. Alan Menken has won five awards (out of nine nominati ...

*Nominated for a

Critics' Choice Movie Award The Critics' Choice Awards (formerly known as the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award) is an awards show presented annually by the American Critics Choice Association (CCA) to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Written ballots are ...

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 nonprofit organization, non-profit film criticism, film critic unincorporated voluntary organization in Houston, Texas, in the United States. The group presents an annual set of film awards for "extraordinary ...

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