A Chat With Yoni and Josiah From WHY?
[dropcap]O[/dropcap]n a cool late summer evening a few weeks ago in the Northern Galilee, as the sun dawned on the first International indie music festival in Israel, I met up with my childhood friends Yoni and Josiah Wolf (from the indie rap band WHY?) in a hotel room to have a long chat about faith,…
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[dropcap]O[/dropcap]n a cool late summer evening a few weeks ago in the Northern Galilee, as the sun dawned on the first International indie music festival in Israel, I met up with my childhood friends Yoni and Josiah Wolf (from the indie rap band WHY?) in a hotel room to have a long chat about faith, identity, and the pursuit of beauty and truth.
For the past few years, Yoni has been leveraging his ability to travel and make music to meet new and interesting people wherever he goes, learning about their lives and experiences. He puts it all into a podcast.
He’s a wanderer, he’s hungry to learn and grow by listening to others. And he’s good at what he does.
He truly values the people he interviews, making them feel comfortable and able to express themselves.
I personally watched how he got up at the crack of dawn to do a sound check, then played in the heat of the day on a dusty festival stage, and then went on to record two podcast episodes.
I mean, he could have ended the day by eating Twinkies by the pool back at the hotel. But he chose not to.
Having the opportunity to talk about our differences in worldview and values was a dear experience for me. It was a long time coming, and Yoni’s podcast created a great opportunity.
We talked about the realities of life in Israel, about having kids, about the relationship between faith and science (using the example of the first Thor movie), about health, and about all kinds of other stuff.
The setting of an intimate hotel-room conversation during Israel’s first international indie music festival sounds like a fascinating backdrop for discussing faith and creativity. It’s especially compelling that the interview connects Yoni and Josiah’s artistic journey with a childhood friendship.
The setting in Israel’s Northern Galilee makes this conversation especially compelling, especially with the first international indie festival as a backdrop. I’m curious how Yoni and Josiah’s shared childhood and evolving faith shape the way they approach music today.
The setting of Israel’s first international indie music festival in the Northern Galilee makes this conversation with Yoni and Josiah especially compelling. Their shared history as childhood friends adds a meaningful layer to the discussion of faith and music.