The Story

It was during a time of great political turmoil and social unrest; in which significant inequalities between the corporate elite and middle class became increasingly evident. It was during this time the Age of Resistance first emerged. At first The Resistance targeted only the private sector – more specifically, our systems of credit and finance. By erasing all debts held by some of the largest credit firms, The Resistance was able to “free debt slaves from the shackles of their masters,” or so it was said. This however, would only be the beginning.  

Following the erasure of all private debts, The Resistance felt more could be done. They saw the student loan program as a way of penalizing the poor for their want to become educated. Rather the original intention or not, it was The Resistance attack on student debt that ignited the fuse for Revolution. 

With over a trillion dollars in government debt now lost, the Administration quickly jumped into action in an attempt to maintain order. On one side of the issue were those with access to wealth and power prior to the erasure of student debt. They wanted to see the beneficiaries (i.e. families) of those whose debt was expunged pay the price. The trouble was – even those who had their debts expunged were not ultimately responsible and there was no real way to determine who had a debt at all prior to the erasure (unless they volunteered the information, of course). For this reason, the elite assumed anyone who was poor or middle classed with an education must be punished and looked to the government to administer it. 

On the other side, those who were now free of debt did not feel the issues of inequality were adequately addressed. They had only a taste of freedom and equality wanted more. Furthermore, they saw those in power wanting to punish them as further evidence that their intentions were only to maintain the system of inequality that existed up to that point at their expense. This could not stand! 

As a result, the wealthy elite used divisiveness and spin to convince the uneducated poor, middle, and working class citizens of the United States to go after the Revolutionaries. People were imprisoned or shot based solely on their perceived education level or unwillingness to support the current Administration’s goals and rarely (if at all) did they receive a fair trial. After years of false imprisonment, justifiable homicides, and unequal protection under the law, The Revolutionaries could no longer stand for this and began to fight back. They not only worked within the system that remained in place, but worked outside of the system as well, knowing this was the only way they could ever hope to gain a voice in government again. It was their uncompromising determination and resolve that first lead them to learn of the man (if you can call him a man) behind it all. He was the one really pulling all of the strings. Code name: Gip Raw. 

Over the next year and a half the fight became very bloody, as the Revolutionaries were no longer taking the high road to avoid confrontation and violence. Instead, they chose to take the system head on. Since 'Revolutionaries came from all walks of life, they  easily infiltrated the various branches of government and organizations that were in support of the Regime (no longer referred to as the Administration). Through incredible resolve and knack for garnering intel, The Revolutionaries were eventually able to determine the location of and develop a plan for capturing the ever elusive Gip Raw. Unfortunately, he proved to be much more clever than they anticipated. 

During a botched night raid at an undisclosed facility, Gip Raw captured and televised the execution of the leader of The Revolutionaries (known today simply as, “The Martyr”) in a most extreme way. Afterwards, Gip Raw (feeling ever more confident) went public with his identity, introducing himself as the one and only War Pig and chastising those who tried to dethrone him. He went on to explain how important he was to the rest of society and professed that he welcomed conflict. To him it was entertainment and he (sarcastically) encouraged anyone who wished to challenge him to step up.  

Rather he intended to actually encourage the conflict that followed or he thought his overt proclamation of superiority and entitlement would quell the revolution…it is at this point in our history that we find ourselves today…

Will you join in to lend a hand....you decide.

Background

The Joshua Project is an industrial, performance art, musical experience, with hard hitting electronic beats along the lines of Ministry, Pigface, Skinny Puppy, or CombiChrist and an in-your-face vocal style, all supported by an intense on-stage theatrical production. 

TJP's freshman effort (428) was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Mike BBQ at Big Door Studios in Houston, Texas with a limited release and distribution deal. Subsequently, Joshua left the music scene for several years to pursue graduate school and a career in higher education, only to return to the stage in 2015 with a more aggressive electronic sound and live performance. This was followed by the 2018 release of the EP "WWIII:REFUSE" and the 2019 LP release, "WWIII:REFUSE/RESIST." Both the EP and LP of WWIII were recorded and mixed by Mike BBQ (also the coproducer) and mastered by Grammy Award winning sound engineer Peter Doell. 

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