Mission Statement - Music

The Shitty Wizards Were Formed In The Spring Of 2004 By Long Time Friends Josh Hotchkin And Jason Wickman. Jason Had Set Up A Rudimentary Recording Studio In His Farm Home Outside Of Williamsburg Iowa And Had Been Working On His Solo Project 'Ten For Tea'. Josh Visited The Wickman Family For A Weekend Under The Premise Of Preparing Jason And Wendys Wedding Ceremony As Josh Was To Perform The Ceremony. They Decided To Record A Song And Much Alcohol And Marijuana Later Their First Track 'Kite Envy' Was Laid Down. The Song Was Inspired By Events Which Had Transpired Earlier When Four People Had To Share Three Kites. The First Track Layed Down Was A Keyboard Track That Josh Had Been Playing With And Had Been Arranged By He And Jason With Jason Backing Him On The Drums. The Two Then Filled In More Instruments On Other Tracks. This Became The Pattern By Which They Would Continue To Record. One Live Rhythm Keyboard Or Guitar Track Accompanied By Drums And Then Built Upon. This Was Not Only Necessary Due To A Limited Amount Of Band Members But A Limited Amount Of Equipment Played A Major Role. After This Recording Session The Two Sat Down And Decided To Continue Working Together In The Same Style. The Name Shitty Wizards Was Taken From A Line On A Seattle Public Access Television Show Called The Jerkbeast. The Line Was "Thats Not Jesus Thats Just A Shitty Wizard." Soon Both Memebers Were Busy Writing New Material. On Several Weekends Josh Would Stay At The Farm And The Two Would Record 1 Or 2 Songs At A Time. In A Short Time Quite A Few Tracks Were Put Together All Very Unique From One Another. From The Indie Bluff Of Kite Envy To The Rockin' Empty Grave And Almost Metal Schlock Of Gawdz Of Rawk And Back To A Cool Quiet Instrumental Ballad "Shitty Ditty". They Also Experimented In Lounge Classic Rock Comedy Rock And The Zappa-Esque Musings Of "Mission Statement." But As Summer Came To A Close The Project Seemed To Die Off. Most Likely This Was Due Entirely To The Lack Of A Drummer As Their Skills Behind The Set Were Both Lacking. It Also Made The Prospect Of Performance Almost Impossible. Josh Moved Into The Farm Shortly After While Jason Began Work On His Next Ten For Tea Album. Since Then There Have Been No New Shitty Wizards Recordings. Although The Two Have Worked Together On Smaller Projects And On One Anothers Solo Works They Have Not Gone Any Further Than Briefly Discussing The Shitty Wizards. Both Are Currently Working On Projects. Jason On What He Claims Will Be His Last Ten For Tea Album Yeah Right! And Josh Continues To Write New Songs Looking For A Band To Help Bring Them To Life. Recently The Two Recorded 'Zomby Gurl Reprise ' Together A Reprise To The SW Track 'Zomby Gurl'. Although There Are No Definite Plans For New Works Under The Name The Shitty Wizards The Possibility Is Never Distant Or Ruled Out. read less