From the time Josiah was in grade school, he has had an unwavering passion for music. Since both of his parents were bluegrass musicians, he spent most of his formative years attending the bluegrass festivals they would frequent every year. Josiah gained a unique, ear-based approach to learning music in the Bluegrass and American Folk traditions and was inspired early on by the great mandolin players from those traditions including David Grisman, Sam Bush and Chris Thile. In 2000, at the age of 16, Josiah took first place in the National Mandolin Competition in Winfield, KS. In his early teens, he established a progressive, “Newgrass” band with his brothers Jared Payne and Carson Park called the Hot Strings. Throughout the period of almost a decade in which the Hot Strings was active, the group received many acclamations, including receiving first place spots in both the Telluride and Rockygrass music festival band contests. In 2004 they recorded the album “Uncharted” in Nashville, TN, with their childhood hero, Newgrass Revival guitarist Pat Flynn as producer. Josiah spent the next few years touring the country as the front man and lead singer for the Hot Strings. In 2009 Josiah relocated from his home state of Colorado to Portland, OR. Living in Portland, he has shared the stage and the studio with many bands and friends including Jared Mees and the Grown Children, Sam Cooper, Wayward Vessel, and Left Coast Country, singing and playing everything from the bass and mandolin to the guitar and fiddle. Currently he is spending most of his time in preparation for his latest studio project, a solo album called "Musica Humana," featuring a song-writing/arranging style which incorporates multiple parts, most of which are written out in musical notation, that weave together specific riffs and melodies, vocals, rhythmic layering, and groove-based breakdowns. He also currently plays live with his band, The Wild Wood.