Draft:Josh Rude

Joshua Paul Rude (born October 25, 1980) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, content creator, and mail carrier. He is also an ordained Church of Christ minister, pastoring two churches from 2014-2022.

Rude studied music theory, piano and violin via private lessons in the 1980s, and began playing guitar in the mid-1990s after receiving an electric 1980s Fender Stratocaster as a present from brother and Fort Wayne, Indiana guitarist James Rude. Josh cites his other musical influences from the era to include Beck, Guided By Voices, Phish, They Might Be Giants, and Frank Zappa. At 17, Rude entered his hometown 4th Street Studio and recorded the eponymous The Masters Of Ceremony album with two high school classmates, James Clark and Jace Hoppes.

This group disbanded after one self-distributed album; Rude continued performing (briefly as 'J*R') in Northern Indiana coffeehouses and offering homemade recordings on CD-R into the mid-2000s. After continued experimenting with home recording (many of these recordings not to be released until Rude's Bandcamp era), Rude completed one 2007 album with garage rock project Stray Master. This album and future solo releases would see independent distribution via Rude's P-Roo Records. Over the next few years, Rude would contribute to film soundtracks and tribute projects.

In the 2010s, Rude began moderating social media pages for UK avant-garde musician and artist Steve Scott. This led to online assistance work for Randy Layton and independent label Alternative Records. Returning to solo music and composition, Rude would release his debut LP, the experimental A Rock So Big I Cain't in 2023 (with cameos from Steve Scott, Randy Layton and others). A Zappa-influenced collage of indie rock and sonic experimentation, the album drew praise from online indie publications and veteran musicians such as Steve Hindalong.

A new Bandcamp page was launched as well as a back catalog reissue campaign. Rude continued assisting Randy Layton through his passing in June 2024, and would release a collaborative remix with Randy to benefit the Layton family. As well as a YouTube content creator Rude would work as a full-time mail carrier and return to live music performances.