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Whatever Happened to…Josh Byrd
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
On January 18, 1978, Joshua Thomas Byrd was born to Barb Coberley Byrd and John Byrd. Growing up, he was a regular kid who played with his friends and liked to have fun. But he always loved music; it has always held a special place in his life.
He told me, “Ever since I can remember, I have been completely drawn to music. All kinds… listening and playing and singing at the top of my lungs. Even now, it’s my full time job. I’ve been all over the world playing music, and recording people, and I’m still just as big a fan as I was when I was three.”
In full disclosure, Josh was born to two gifted musicians. His mother sings like an angel and his dad still plays a mean guitar. It’s in his genes!
He started school in New London and was a Tiger until the beginning of 6th grade. His mom taught school in Danville so they moved six miles down the road. He graduated in 1996 from DHS, with the Byrds now back in New London.
Josh went to Western Illinois University from 1996 to 2000. In that last year of college, he decided to join the Air Force. He was stationed in Omaha, Nebraska for four years. That’s where he was when 9/11 happened. He says of that experience, “I’ll never forget seeing Air Force One bring the president to Omaha that day.”
He was then stationed in Hawaii where his daughter Charlee was born. He and his family were there for a while. He left the Air Force for a couple of years when he got the opportunity to serve as a worship and youth pastor in Seattle and then Virginia.
Josh re-joined the Air Force and went to Georgia where all the deployments started happening…seven in all. He relates, “We would spend six months at a time traveling to places like Afghanistan, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Egypt, Djibouti, Kyrgyzstan, UAE, Turkey, and lots of other places I’m not sure I can name.”
It was also at this point that Josh started studying with Brent Mason, one of the world’s most recorded guitar players. He taught Josh how to play guitar in a studio session…Josh fell in love with that!
He then moved to Texas for the remainder of his Air Force career. Enter the love of his life. Texas was where he met his future wife, Kirsten.
He says, “My wife Kirsten is the coolest person on earth! And I have a 20-year old daughter, Charlee, who is also pursuing music in college, a 15-year old step-daughter, Taylor who wants to be a kindergarten teacher, and a 12-year old step-son, Tyler, who goes back and forth on whether he wants to be a spy or design video games!”
With Josh finished with his time in the Air Force, the Byrd family spent Kirsten’s last four years in Washington DC.
While in Washington, he did more with music production and got better. This was when he attended Berklee College of Music. He got to learn from some amazing people! It was at this juncture that he scaled up quite a bit, but was still in a home studio.
Then the real adventure began… the Byrd family moved to Nashville. When in the Air Force, he had the opportunity to perform with many famous names. He did two Christmas tours through the AOR with Kid Rock and then with Daughtry. Through the Air Force, he got to perform with Kelly Clarkson for a couple duets. Others he played with included Kid Rock, Daughtry, Brad Paisley, Diamond Rio, Little Big Town, Wynona Judd, Josh Turner, Clay Walker, Amy Grant, Take 6, Jamie O’Neal, Jake Shimabukuro, America, Vince Gill, Jessie James-Decker, and Angie Johnston to name a few.
After “retiring” to Nashville, Byrdsongs Studio eventually evolved.
“I started a small production business while I was in Texas that I named Byrdsongs Studios. I mostly did guitar parts for people’s recordings, plus some vocal work and some minor projects. Then in Washington DC, I did a little more and got better. My VA benefits came in handy at Berklee as I studied music production and continued to gain knowledge and hone my craft. But I was still in a home studio.”
Then COVID hit. His church went to online services, and they didn’t really sound all that great. So Josh offered to record the music and mix and master it so that everything sounded even and good for the Sunday live streams. By the third week of COVID he was doing that for three churches in the area.
He relates, “I was frantically working 70 to 80 hours a week, getting up at 4 a.m. to tune vocals and mix the bands. I really found my style and sound in that time, and it completely changed my business. I found out I could get really good performances from people, and produce bands really well. But the studio was in my basement, and it couldn’t fit a whole band.”
He continued, “I started thinking about how I needed a space for drums, and then a space for the full band, and I wanted the artists to be able to stay there when they recorded. I wanted to eventually build something so that when family visited, they had a place to stay with my family. I designed it for two years, and then bought property outside of Nashville, and built for two years. Now we’re up and running and in full swing. It’s going great!”
He currently has started touring with a band that is based in Nashville, and the singer in that band is actually from Fort Madison. Josh’s dad played guitar for him when Josh was in junior high and high school. They did some dates around Iowa, and it’s been great to get to see his family when they roll through New London.
Josh Byrd has had quite a life adventure. He left two small SE Iowa towns, both he called home, and has had a life full of world travel, danger, excitement, famous people, and so many interesting experiences…but it has always had a soundtrack. Today it continues as Josh makes the music of his life. Forty-seven years in, it’s pretty impressive!
