The Sound of Josh Pajak

Josh Pajak is a prolific and versatile musician who works as a drummer, vocalist, pianist, composer, and lyricist. He performs, creates, and records music with various individual artists and ensembles, spanning a wide range of genres, including jazz, rock, classical, indie, funk, pop, country, and... any other kind of music imaginable. He has performed with and worked as a session drummer for numerous bands and artists in Michigan, New York City, Boston, and throughout the Midwest. While a student at the Berklee College of Music, he played with some of the greatest musicians from around the world.

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In May of 2022, Josh graduated magna cum laude from Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, earning a Bachelor of Music in Performance, with percussion as his primary instrument - an accomplishment made possible by the World Tour Scholarship that he was awarded upon his admission.

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Josh Pajak has studied with world-class drummers such as Yuron Israel, Casey Scheuerell, and Adam Cruz. Ultimately, he participated in Berklee’s highly selective audition-based Global Jazz Institute, led by modern jazz pianist Danilo Perez. He also played extensively with renowned saxophonist, Jacques Schwarz-Bart, both on and off campus. 

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In Boston, Josh currently drums, sings, plays piano and writes songs with the indie/psychedelic/prog rock band, Time Miser, that performs in various venues including the Jungle in Somerville, MA. He also plays piano with the Ryan Kaiserman band, and drums with trumpet player, Brian Cogger and the Pocket Money Orchestra. At the Boston School of Music Arts, Josh provides drum, piano and vocal lessons for students of various ages and experiences. He also teaches group lessons through the school's summer camp programs, and his own "Drum City" wherein students get to improvise and read through various introductory rhythms on hand percussion instruments and drum set. 

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With his Michigan-based indie duo, Weekend Hours, Josh Pajak co-writes songs and lyrics, while also acting as the band’s lead vocalist, drummer, and pianist. On A2pulp.org, Curtis Porter recently described their innovative music as follows: “Weekend Hours writes extremely catchy but complex pop songs that revel in clever arrangements and harmonic playfulness.” Thus far, this duo has released the album When You’re Here and several singles, including “Another Year of Pants” and “Say What We Want to Say.” They have performed in both online events and in-person Michigan venues, including the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor, and their music has been streamed by thousands of people in more than 75 countries.

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Josh Pajak has worked as a session drummer for numerous artists in Michigan, Boston and New York City, in various genres, including country, folk/alternative rock, jazz and more. He has also worked as a music instructor, giving private lessons for vocalists, drummers, and keyboardists at the School of Rock in Rochester, Michigan, where he also directed various summer music camps from the summer of 2019 through the summer of 2021. While employed at the School of Rock, Josh worked with students ranging in age from early elementary school to adult, giving lessons both in person and online, and he is equally comfortable in both settings.

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In addition, Josh has been a member of several Michigan-based bands, including Red Herring, Patty Hype, the Nick Holder Jazz Quartet, and Forrest Trump. He played shows in multiple states with Red Herring and has performed live in a variety of Michigan venues and events as a member of several other bands.

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Josh Pajak began his musical journey early; he has been playing and performing live music since he was 5 years old. In fact, from the age of 7 until 18, Josh performed on many stages with the Rochester, Michigan School of Rock. As a teenager, he toured the Midwest with the very select national School of Rock Allstars, culminating in a performance at Lollapalooza in Chicago in the summer of 2017. In high school, he played the drum set in the orchestra pit for three musicals, and he received Troy High School’s prestigious top jazz awards, the Quincy Jones Award (2016) and the Louis Armstrong Award (2018). Josh was selected as the state of Michigan’s only jazz ensemble drummer for the MSBOA 2017 state festival.

 

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