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ABOUT

JOSH FREEHILL //
 

Guitar, Bass, Drums, Vocals, Songwriter
 

Joshua Freehill at the age of 22 has performed at some of the largest venues in the Chicagoland area and around the country. His musical talent has led him to win several awards such as: Polonus Artist/Band of Year, winning competitions to travel and perform in Poland, as well as winning competitions in Poland, champs of Bitter Jester's Battle of the Bands (a 25 band professionally sponsored competition), being chosen as a 2017 - 2018 School of Rock AllStar. During Josh's 2017 AllStar summer tour he performed with elite musicians from across the country who were part of the School Of Rock''s Mid West AllStar Band. The Summer Tour kicked off in New York and ended in Chicago performing at Lollapolooza. 2018 AllStar tour started in Nashville and ended at Lollapolooza. SEHS awarded him the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award in recognition of his outstanding achievement in the field of jazz and for demonstrating superior musicianship and character. Josh has also received several College scholarships and various other accolades.

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Born in 1999, in Illinois, Josh Freehill began piano lessons at age 10. By the time Josh was 12 his focus turned towards playing electric guitar. He started learning guitar chords from his father and quickly began playing songs. Three months later Josh was enrolled at A & A Music Academy for beginner guitar lessons. After Josh's first guitar lesson his instructor informed his parents that beginner guitar class was too easy for him, and that he has a natural talent and should be moved to an advanced class or private instruction. It was from that point that Josh's music journey began …

It was the summer of 2014 when Josh was invited to audition for the band 'Profusion'. This band was created by Joanna Szepelawy principal of ABC Music Academy, in Bartlett, IL. Band members Caroline Baran, Daniel Brozek, Kinga Smutek and Pascal Pahl welcomed Josh to join their group. The band was formed to market the music school and to help promote the teenage musicians. The band was directed by studied musicians.

 

At the time Profusion started performing together their ages ranged from 13-17 years old. Performing at venues all over the Chicago area, this young teenage band made a break out by being featured in Governor Rauners campaign video during the '2014 Taste of Polonia' at Copernicus Center in Chicago.

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Cover 'Rock You Like A Hurricane' Bruce Rauner Campaign Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeaMLCR8CAs

 

From then on Profusion starting performing at venues such as; House of Blues, Park West, Copernicus Center, Navy Pier, Montrose Beach, The Wire, Krokadile Lounge, also Texas & Wisconsin Summerfest, to name a few. The teenage band covered a variety of music styles from contemporary, pop and classic rock, as well as, performing their own originals.


HOUSE OF BLUES:  Their own cover rendition of'Roxanne'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQipH4FdnWw


NAVY PIER - Original 'How It Goes'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrcFn2zvbNo

AWARD CEREMONY

Profusion's fan base started to grow quickly, they were even popular in the Polish Community being featured on radio and in several news publications.

 

Profusion received the "Polonus Artist Of The Year 2014"   from Wietrzne Radio, Chicago 92.7 & 99.9 FM.

 

The night was hosted by Wietrzne Radio at the Chateau Ritz in NIles, IL. Over 900 people filled the banquet hall for a night of dining, dancing and entertainment! This was a big accomplishment for such a young band to achieve!

MUSICIANS INSTITUTE

In 2015 Profusion was selected to attend 'The Musicians Institute' college in Hollywood, California. Each band member attended MI's Summer Shot program and took private and performance classes.

 

Musicians Institute hosts a highly skilled faculty with extensive experience in the world of contemporary music. Each department boasts a number of widely respected instructors who are able to impart to students practical information earned in professional careers. In addition to its full-time faculty base, MI also regularly provides students with unprecedented access to visiting special guest artists.  Visit: https://www.mi.edu/

CONCERT/ POLAND

Due to their popularity Profusion was chosen to take part in the 3rd Annual Festival in Pultusk to perform in a music competition.They arrived in Poland on June 26th right after their trip to Los Angeles, California.

 

The first day of the three-day festival included a concert of Pilichowski Band and a program of “The Show Never Ends." The next morning started off with preliminary rounds for a competition. Each band played 2 songs, Profusion was one of the bands chosen to go on to the next round.

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In the end Profusion won 4 prizes as a band, and Caroline Baran won another special award from Pawel Sztompke in recognition of her singing. After the awards ceremony everyone enjoyed a concert of TSA, a well-known Polish rock band. Sunday June 28th, featured a concert of another famous rock band, Czerwone Gitary, which Profusion opened for.

 

During the trip, Profusion was interviewed by Polish radio and TV where the band talked about their recent travels and achievements.

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BITTER JESTER BATTLE OF THE BANDS

Upon their return from Poland Profusion then competed in the Bitter Jester Battle of the Bands in Highland Park, performing against 25 bands comprised of 30-40 communities. They Grand Prize was $25.000 in cash and prizes which included studio recording time, photo shoot and more! Profusion did not win their first battle against Highland Parks reigning champs but, were chosen by the judges as a Wild Card, which meant they were invited to compete in the finale on July 4, 2015. Profusion won the 10th annual competition of Bitter Jester Battle of the Bands. Josh's picture was featured in the newspaper of him Jumping off the Amp

on stage! WGN Channel 9 -

https://www.facebook.com/BitterJesterBattle/videos/1186240634722130/

CHARITY CONCERTS

What was absolutely amazing about these teenagers was not only their talents but their big hearts and generosity to give back to the community. Profusion devoted their time to perform at several different charity events to help raise funds for children in need.

 

In 2014 - 15 Profusion performed for charity concerts such us: “You Can Be My Angel” – St. Nicholas Day, to help raise money for a cancer. Sokol Riders Charity “To Help Children Who Are Affected in Domestic Violence. ToTu Café “Charity Event For Bartek Kwasniewski” a little boy who needed a special surgery to help him walk again. (total donation: $10,100 including guitar with autographs of PROFUSION members and Piotr Zander went for $1,000). Whispers of Angels charity event, in honor of Monika Skrzpkowski who was killed by a drunk driver at 15 yrs, proceeds from concert given as scholarships to students.

By the end of 2015 Profusions drummer was leaving for college, it became difficult to continue their performance schedule so the band decided to go on their separate ways.


In 2016 Josh began lessons at School of Rock Geneva. This school became a franchise across the country after the movie debut In 2003 starring Jack Black. This new music school offered private lessons, performance class, and had their own House Band that preformed at local venues. SOR Geneva was a new school to the area so Josh came in as one of the older and more experienced students. Josh started private guitar lessons and performance class. SOR also put Josh in a leadership program where he became a mentor to the younger students. Josh took interest in all the kids and loved to spend time with them, this was apparent when they would all perform together on stage, very fun to watch!

In 2017 Josh was chosen to audition for SOR'S most prestigious honor: The School of Rock 'All Stars Competition.' Here he would compete with elite musicians from across the country! Every year SOR chooses their top musicians from each school to be entered into the SOR ALL STAR'S competition.

 

There are 3 rounds that each student must win to become part of the ALL STAR band. The last round being a live audition in front of a panel of judges. Seven bands would be formed to go on tour to perform at some of the most amazing venues across the US such as; Red Rocks, Lollapalooza, Hangout Music Fest, NAMM, Gathering of the Vibes, and countless others.

All Stars also get to share the stage with experienced, larger-than-life performers like Alice Cooper, Eddie Vedder, and Slash from Guns and Roses, to name a few!

On May1st, 2017 Josh was told by the owner of SOR Geneva, Jason Fein that he was Geneva's first student to win AllStars!
Check out this video of Josh finding out that he just made All Stars. Josh has no idea about what was going to happen, he thinks he's answering random questions for the leadership program for a video for SOR.

 

AllStar winners make up the top 1% of SOR students and get to tour the country! As the world's largest music education company, School of Rock fosters the next generation of great artists and redefining music education. Each year School of Rock teaches over 25,000 students across 9 countries and 200 locations. Through a unique performance-based approach, students are guided from the lesson room to the stage where they play real shows at authentic venues with their peers. Visit http://locations.schoolofrock.com/geneva


Josh's band will be traveling through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and ending with two show back home here in Chicago! The last show is Lollapalooza!!! CHECK OUT the calendar for show dates!

RECORDING ORIGINALS

On June 28th, 2017 Josh went into the recording studio @ The Jam Lab.

Josh wrote an instrumental rock song called 'Limitless'. Josh's vision was to compose the song for four instruments and then perform the music parts including guitar one and two, the bass guitar and drums. From there each track would be layered together to create what is now called his opus, or the entitled single release, LIMITLESS.

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Josh worked with owner and Chief Recording Editor Colin Peterik, also an accomplished musician and son of Grammy Award winner, Jim Peterik who was the founding member of both 'The Ides of March' and 'Survivor' and wrote huge hits like 'Vehicle', 'Eye of the Tiger', and 'Hold On Loosely'!  Visit - https://www.thejamlab.net/

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Colin and Josh completed this ambitious 5:04 min. piece in 6 hours and in a later 3 hr. sessions filmed the performance video.

Check out 'LIMITLESS'

SOUTH ELGIN HS JAZZ BAND

Josh also has been preforming with the South Elgin High School's Jazz band for 3 years. In his Junior year he joined the Jazz combo and the Drumline. In his Senior year Josh was part of the Jazz band, Symphonic band and Drumline.

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SUMMERFEST Milwaukee, WI

July 6th - 9th, 2017 SOR Geneva House Band performed with 35 other School of Rock HB from across the country in a 4 day music fest.

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The musicians first met up Thursday @ Schubas/ Lincoln Hall in Chicago. Each group performed a set making this an all day rockin' affair!

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SOR then traveled to Milwaukee for Fridays performance @ The Rave. All the bands performed on 2 different stages making it an exciting day! During this time Geneva's House Band met musician Tariqh Akoni who performed with Chaka Khan, LeAnn Rimes, Backstreet Boys and more! He was their personal mentor for the day. Tariqh gave Geneva HB music business advice and answered questions.

SUMMERFEST SOR SHRED COMPETITION

Josh was nominated to represent SOR Geneva for the annual Shred contest! Josh made it to semifinals with School of Rocks Top guitar shredders, winning a duel against last years champ! Click on the video!

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SATURDAY Jult 8th, all 35 School of Rock House bands performed @ SUMMERFEST! The bands alternated stages for each set. SOR Geneva HB performed on the ULINE stage and the BIG BMO HARRIS STAGE!

SUNDAY July 9th, all 35 SOR schools had two sets to perform @ Summerfest. SOR Geneva performed on the HARLEY DAVIDSON and the BRIGS & STRATTON STAGE. At the end of the day all of the students had the opportunity to meet several famous musicians who toured with big bands such as: Bon Jovi, Beyoncé Stevie Wonder and more! Each of these musicians were in a finale performance with SOR groups on stage putting on a fantastic show! Music is Life! #memoriestolastalifetime

CHARITY CONCERTS

Joshua is a very gracious young man and continues to give back to his community performing to help raise funds for charities such as; Relay for Life, Patty's Pals Cancer Foundation, Walk MS, visited the SE Nursing Home to perform an acoustic set for the elderly and spent time working for 2 weeks at the SE Food Bank for the homeless and low income families.

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2017 SOR ALLSTARS TOUR

July 29, 2017 the SOR AllStar tour began! Josh arrived at O'Hare airport heading to New York City to meet up with his band members for the first time! The AllStar band Team #7 met at the School of Rock in Farmingdale, NY to rehearse for 3 days with their band director Jen Malone.  The first concert was 8/1 @ the Knitting factory in Brooklyn NY!

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2017 AllStar Team #7 was made up of elite teen-age musicians from around the country 18 years of age and under. Each of these musicians competed in the AllStars competition against several hundred students. AllStar winners make up the top 1% of SOR students. Each year School of Rock teaches over 25,000 students across 9 countries and 200 locations.

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Team #7 started rehearsals the same day they arrived. Everyone knew the set list before arriving and came to practice well rehearsed. The rest of the day was spent practicing and getting to know one another.

NEW YORK CITY

During their stay in New York the AllStar band visited Strawberry Fields's Park. While they were there a musician was performing Beatles tunes. The band then took a ferry ride to see the Statue of Liberty and then got a tour the D'Addario string factory. Everyone was having a great time while also becoming good friends!

KNITTING FACTORY, BROOKLYN, NY

KNITTING FACTORY, BROOKLYN, NY

August 1, 2017  The AllStar band had their first concert together performing at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn NY. The band was honored to have Eddie Ojeda guitarist from Twisted Sister perform with the band! Everyone had a blast on stage! Josh performed "Breakin' The Law" by Judas Priest standing next to Eddie! it was a Phenomenal concert! Josh talked with Eddie about his guitar gear set up and what guitar body styles that he liked. Very Cool! Josh also spoke with Eddie's guitar tec and how he hooked up with Eddie Van Halen and developed a de-tuner and designed the most current Floyd Rose whammy system. They even exchanged business cards! What an unforgettable night!

 PHILADELPHIA, PA

The next morning the band got on the tour bus for an hour drive to Philadelphia. The band met up with the founder of the first School of Rock who took them on an amazing tour of Philly! The band was taken to see the One Liberty Observation Deck that was 883 ft high located on the 57th floor. Josh and his band friends raced to the top to check out the view! Afterwards they went  to see other historical monuments and buildings. For lunch everyone had to have Philly's famous cheese steak sandwiches! What a great day!

WORLD CAFE LIVE, PHILDELPHIA, PA

August 2, 2017 the AllStar band performed at the World Live Cafe! This was a very impressive venue with a large stage. The band was really excited to perform here! The place was packed and the audience was pumped! AllStar team #7 performed with 6 other SOR House Bands. It was a fantastic concert that didn't end till 12:30 am! When the show was over the sound engineer commented that it was one of best SOR shows that ever played there!

World Cafe Live is proud to be the home of amazing concerts, great food, and the best parties in town. Coming to you live from the heart of University City, World Cafe live Philadelphia has featured an average of 550 ticketed shows, 200 free shows, and over 250 special events a year since opening in 2004. From hosting one of Adele’s first US performances to showcasing artists such as Alabama Shakes, Graham Nash, and Edward Sharpe, WCL is known for bringing established artists to an intimate setting that is both artist and audience friendly.

THE GROG SHOP

CLEVELAND, OHIO

August 3, 2017 the tour bus headed to Cleveland, Ohio which was a 7 hour drive from Pennsylvania! Everyone was able to catch up on sleep so they were ready for the next concert. The Grog Shop Shop was an intimate venue the musicians were able to walk out into the audience while performing which made this concert a lot of fun! The Cleveland SOR House Band even performed a set. The audience was cheerng very loud and everyone had a great time!

The AllStar band traveled 5 hours to Indianapolis to perform at the Hoosier Dome. When Josh got off the tour bus his family was there to greet him. He was very happy to see everyone and couldn't wait to perform. The Hoosier Dome was a small and quaint venue giving an up close and personal feel for the audience. The AllStar band gave a killer performance and had the crowed screaming! Check out Josh, Abby, Lukas, Emmett, Lucas and Tristan killing it on stage performing "Breakin' The Law" by Judas Priest!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4-S6J_qBlI

   Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana

CHECK THIS OUT! LED ZEPPLIN "When The Levee Breaks" Josh Freehill rockin' out playing slide guitar, Emmett Bass, Lukas guitar, Camilo keys, Yosu vocal, Daniel Harmoics and Jake on Drums! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umNN5-siYZw

Schubas Tavern, Chicago, Illinois

The AllStar band headed back to Chicago to perform at Schubas Tavern. Josh was greeted by several family members and friends from School of Rock Geneva who all came out to support him! AllStars Team #7 was joined by Chicago's & Oak Park's SOR House Band. It was a Fantastic show, these talented teenagers put on on an unforgettable concert!

Midwest Concert Video also came out to join us they filmed "Heartless" by Heart CHECK OUT Josh, Liv, Dakota, Abby, Emmett, Lukas, Jordan and Lucas  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aulZmMz6MW8

 

CHECK OUT this funky soul rendition of "YES YOU CAN CAN" - Pointer Sister's.

Josh's bluesy solo is AWESOME!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkDClwydKuY

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

After the concert the band checked out a local Chicago music store, then headed to lake Michigan to see the amazing view of the city lights Another great night in a beautiful city!

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LOLLAPALOOZA, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

SOR ALLSTARS ended their tour @ Chicago's biggest music fest Lollapalooza! This was very exciting and such an accomplishment for all of them. When the band arrived they got to hang out in the Artist tent. While they were waiting they got to meet MGK Machine Gun Kelly, who talked with them about music, which was very cool! At 3pm the AllStars band performed their last concert together which was bitter sweet. All of the band members became very good friends on this tour. Many of the musicians lived in other states and countries so it would be the last time they would see each other. Many of them were a bit emotional because of this but still managed to perform a GREAT set! 
 

As these talented teenagers started to perform they drew a crowd right away! People started walking towards the stage cheering them on! By the time the concert ended the crowd was screaming for more! The AllStars band received an encore! Everyone started chanting one more song, one more song, louder and louder! This was Awesome! The MC said this has never happened before and had no choice but to let them perform another song! It was a very proud moment for the AllStrs band, dierctor Jen Malone and all the parents. Congrats to the School of Rock AllStars Team #7!

After our concert the band got backstage passes to see Lil Yachty which was one big CRAZY Party! The band had a fantastic tour and met some of the most amazing teen musicians that they can now call friends. Big Shout Out to SCHOOL OF ROCK who gave them all an experience of a lifetime!

Mc Donalds Thanksgiving Parade

South Elgin, Larkin, and Streamwood High School bands marched together in the Mc Donald's Thanksgiving parade down town Chicago Nov. 20, 2017. This was the largest high school group to ever particpate. The parade was telecasted live on WGN-TV! 

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DISNEY 2018 - EPCOT PARADE

South Elgin High School band made their way to Walt Disney and marched through Epcot. The students also participated in a performance session with Disney music directors and coordinators. Very cool experience! 

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SCHOOL OF ROCK 2018 -  ALLSTAR

2018 Josh was chosen to audition once again for SOR'S All Stars Competition. Every year SOR chooses their top musicians from around the country to compete.There are over 800 elite teenage musicians who audition for this tour and only 1% make it. There are 3 rounds that each student must win to become part of the ALL STAR band. The last round being a live audition in front of a panel of judges.

 

Seven bands are formed to go on tour to perform at some of the most amazing venues across the US such as; Red Rocks, Lollapalooza, Hangout Music Fest, NAMM, Gathering of the Vibes, and countless others.

All Stars also get to share the stage with experienced, larger-than-life performers like Alice Cooper, Eddie Vedder, and Slash from Guns and Roses, to name a few! 

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Josh was School of Rock Geneva's 2018 winner to go on tour. His journey will begin July 26, 2018 where he will fly into Nashville to practice with his team and perform in Nashville at the Local. Then the Allstars team will continue their tour on a bus and head to Indianapolis, 

St. Louis, Cincinnati and Chicago.   

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2018 LOUIS ARMSTRONG JAZZ AWARD

2018 graduating year Josh received the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the field of jazz and for demonstrating superior musicianship and character. Josh had been part of SEHS Jazz Band for 4 years. A plaque will hang in South Elgin High School with his name. This award was given to Josh by the music director of SEHS Mr. Dobbeck

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SEHS 2018 JAZZ CONCERT

SEHS Jazz Band performs an outstanding concert, this was the 2018 seniors last spring show. Several seniors are featured performing fantastic solo's. It was a bitter sweet night for band director Mr. Dobbeck.

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SENIOR RECOGNITION DAY/

Awards & Scholarship

2018 Seniors received recognition for their academic excellence for grade point average 3.5 and above. During this ceremony Josh was awarded a scholarship from the Arts in Bartlett committee for his musical talents and commitment. This scholarship will be applied to Columbia College Chicago where Josh will start fall 2018. Josh also received 2018 Jazz Award for his outstanding contribution to the music department.

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2018 GRADUATION DAY

Josh graduates from South Elgin High School with honors and an acceptance to Columbia College Chicago Honors program. The ceremony was taken place at the Sears Centre Hoffman Estates Il.

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COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO

Josh was accepted to Columbia College Chicago and invited to be part of their honors program. He received the Columbia Scholar Award, and a Talent Scholarship. His goals are to pursue a BA in music, business/marketing.

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