Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Monday, October 28, 2013
Brian Wilson & Jeff Beck Concert
This past Friday 10/25 I went to the Brian Wilson Jeff Beck concert. One of the
best concerts I have been to. Brian Wilson started with an 70 minute
set. He played some new songs and some classic Beach Boy songs my
favorite were from Pet Sounds. The set ended on such a high the
whole place was jumping. About 15 minutes later Jeff Beck started with a
Billy Cobham song Stratus. You are on this feel good high and Jeff Beck
came and blasted you with power rock and roll. He did a cover of Little
Wing by Jimi Hendrix that was awesome. He finished his set with A Day
In The Life a Beatles tune, Just beautiful. Beck is still one of the
greatest guitar players alive. Wilson's band came back out to vocally
back Beck on some songs and this set ended with Jeff's version of
Rolling and Tumbling a Muddy Waters song. The encore was some Beach Boy
songs with Beck playing guitar, and the finale was this beautiful
rendition of Danny Boy. Jeff Beck playing the vocal line on guitar and
the Brian Wilson and his band on vocals, it was moving. The concert was 2
hrs and 40 min. the energy was very high for the whole time. What a
concert, this was a once in a lifetime concert. We had a fantastic time.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Mozart and Vince Gill
Let me begin this post with a list of the last twelve songs I
listened to (at the time of writing), somewhat randomly, and working
backward:
I mention this evening before and morning after musical contrast in order to make the point that it is not really a contrast. There is no tension between these different sorts of music for different occasions, any more than there is tension between cereal for a breakfast and a steak dinner for an anniversary.
Many of our problems in working out the ramifications of a true cultural education are problems in cataloging or grouping. Because we want to choose up sides before thinking through all the issues carefully, we tend to latch on to issues that are not really issues at all. For one example of this, in his (generally good) Music & Ministry, Calvin Johansson argues against pop music on the grounds that it is "mass produced."
But of course, virtually everything is mass produced now. The planet has billions of people on it now, and if somebody in London wants a CD of Vivaldi, then he will get one that was pressed in Los Angeles, and shipped in a crate from Baltimore. And that's the old fashioned way of mass producing Vivaldi -- it is quicker these days to just bounce it off a satellite.
Comparing Mozart to Vince Gill is like comparing your lawn mower to your dishwasher and asking which one is better. Better at what?
There should be no ordinary conflict between genres of music. There might occasionally be a conflict of opinions when it comes to an evaluation of "what kind of occasion this is," and one of the indicators of those differing opinions was the music chosen. For example, I once had a pastor acquaintance who had done a funeral, and the music selected for it was Kenny Rogers' "You Picked a Fine Time to Leave Me, Lucille."
There are three basic kinds of musical condemnation that I think are appropriate. I am writing here about the music itself, not music as contaminated by the lyrics.
1. Judging a piece of music as substandard within the rules of its genre -- bluegrass badly done, according to the standards of bluegrass, blues badly done, according to the standards of the blues, classical badly done, according to the standards of classical, jazz badly done, according to the standards of jazz, and so on.
2. Taking a piece of music on its face value and rejecting it, when that music declares openly its rebellion against God (e.g. John Cage's random music, Schoenberg's atonality, and Johnny Rotten's entire oeuvre). I leave room here for some very limited and lawful uses for atonal music -- as when you need some really creepy music in a movie, right before the axe murderer gets into the house.
3. Judging a piece of music for being wildly out of place -- say, Mozart's Requiem at a third grade birthday party, Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag for the offertory, or Lipbone Redding's Dogs of Santiago for the bridal march. But with all such negative judgments, the problem is not the music itself, but rather the placement.
Outside these basic areas, if we reject a form of music out of hand because it is not the form of music we prefer, then we are trying to kick against the variegated world that the triune God created. And if we are doing this in a spirit of musical snobbery, we are demonstrating that, however adept we are in the form we prefer, when it comes to music at large, we don't really know what its for.
Douglas Wilson
(Sittin On) The Dock of the Bay by Sara Bareilles
Build a Levee by Natalie Merchant
29 Ways by Marc Cohn
Lake Charles by Lucinda Williams
Slow Dancing in a Burning Room by John Mayer
Slow Turning by John Hiatt
Cajun Moon by J.J. Cale
Moment of Forgiveness by Indigo Girls
Walkin' Daddy by Greg Brown
Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot
Give Me One Reason by Eric Clapton and Tracy Chapman
Boulder to Birmingham by Emmylou Harris
Having made that point, if there was one, last night Nancy and I went to hear the NSA choir perform Mozart's Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, which was of course glorious. It is kind of hard to fathom how all of that came out of one guy's head.Build a Levee by Natalie Merchant
29 Ways by Marc Cohn
Lake Charles by Lucinda Williams
Slow Dancing in a Burning Room by John Mayer
Slow Turning by John Hiatt
Cajun Moon by J.J. Cale
Moment of Forgiveness by Indigo Girls
Walkin' Daddy by Greg Brown
Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot
Give Me One Reason by Eric Clapton and Tracy Chapman
Boulder to Birmingham by Emmylou Harris
I mention this evening before and morning after musical contrast in order to make the point that it is not really a contrast. There is no tension between these different sorts of music for different occasions, any more than there is tension between cereal for a breakfast and a steak dinner for an anniversary.
Many of our problems in working out the ramifications of a true cultural education are problems in cataloging or grouping. Because we want to choose up sides before thinking through all the issues carefully, we tend to latch on to issues that are not really issues at all. For one example of this, in his (generally good) Music & Ministry, Calvin Johansson argues against pop music on the grounds that it is "mass produced."
But of course, virtually everything is mass produced now. The planet has billions of people on it now, and if somebody in London wants a CD of Vivaldi, then he will get one that was pressed in Los Angeles, and shipped in a crate from Baltimore. And that's the old fashioned way of mass producing Vivaldi -- it is quicker these days to just bounce it off a satellite.
Comparing Mozart to Vince Gill is like comparing your lawn mower to your dishwasher and asking which one is better. Better at what?
There should be no ordinary conflict between genres of music. There might occasionally be a conflict of opinions when it comes to an evaluation of "what kind of occasion this is," and one of the indicators of those differing opinions was the music chosen. For example, I once had a pastor acquaintance who had done a funeral, and the music selected for it was Kenny Rogers' "You Picked a Fine Time to Leave Me, Lucille."
There are three basic kinds of musical condemnation that I think are appropriate. I am writing here about the music itself, not music as contaminated by the lyrics.
1. Judging a piece of music as substandard within the rules of its genre -- bluegrass badly done, according to the standards of bluegrass, blues badly done, according to the standards of the blues, classical badly done, according to the standards of classical, jazz badly done, according to the standards of jazz, and so on.
2. Taking a piece of music on its face value and rejecting it, when that music declares openly its rebellion against God (e.g. John Cage's random music, Schoenberg's atonality, and Johnny Rotten's entire oeuvre). I leave room here for some very limited and lawful uses for atonal music -- as when you need some really creepy music in a movie, right before the axe murderer gets into the house.
3. Judging a piece of music for being wildly out of place -- say, Mozart's Requiem at a third grade birthday party, Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag for the offertory, or Lipbone Redding's Dogs of Santiago for the bridal march. But with all such negative judgments, the problem is not the music itself, but rather the placement.
Outside these basic areas, if we reject a form of music out of hand because it is not the form of music we prefer, then we are trying to kick against the variegated world that the triune God created. And if we are doing this in a spirit of musical snobbery, we are demonstrating that, however adept we are in the form we prefer, when it comes to music at large, we don't really know what its for.
Douglas Wilson
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Jesus and the Gospel Rap Movement - Part 3
RES: How, if at all, does your background affect the way you minister through your music today?
Tedashii: My background plays a monumental role in how I minister through music. I grew up in hip-hop. I was raised to be family-oriented, and I loved to be vocal about what I believe. That is all from how my mom raised me to how my spiritual father trained me. I love those in the hip-hop culture—so much so, I want to devote my life to reaching as many as I can. I love my family, and now that means those who do the will of my Father. And I am vocal about the God I love, the salvation He provides through Jesus, and life as a devoted Christ follower. It’s huge!
Shai Linne: I’ve always been a lover of language. One of the things that makes rap an ideal medium to communicate biblical truth is it allows for fitting many words into a short amount of musical space. It’s both a challenge and a joy for me to seek to exalt the Lord through poetic devices like multisyllabic rhyme schemes, wordplay, and storytelling. My background in the independent, or “underground” hip-hop scene has definitely helped to shape my particular lyrical aesthetic. As far as my approach to ministry, that is very much influenced by the great truths of reformed theology. Thi’sl: The way I grew up gives me a certain authenticity when speaking to hood dudes because they hear certain stuff I say and know that I had to have gone through it to know about that part of it. There is some stuff you can’t talk about with conviction unless you been through it. I pour my heart out in songs; my emotion is usually on ten because I know the connection music has had on me all my life. When I’m doing music and talking about certain things, I’m praying that if a person going through it hears it that God would rock his or her life with it. It’s almost like going back and making songs that would have spoken to me when I was in those situations, if that makes sense. It gives me insight into certain places and things that happen that you only know about if you live in that environment. V. Rose: I think growing up in church has a lot to do with me being humble and knowing the Word. But I sort of grew up going to two different types of churches—my mom’s house and my dad’s house. My dad’s was a more traditional church, they focused a lot on worshiping God. The other church sort of focused a lot on praising God. So I think it was cool that I got two different churches, and it just taught me to be really grounded, and to worship from my heart—to worship God, and not for it to be fake, but for it to be real. And I think that plays one of the biggest parts in my ministry today, and the way I minister today—definitely, my church background has a lot to do with that. FLAME: I think my background has everything to do with it. Growing up in the inner-city, my father was in and out of the house, my mom was in and out of the hospital, and it just kind of made me an emotionally unstable child, some would say. I grew up living with multiple people in my family: grandparents, great-grandparents, aunties, uncles. I’ve always seen the world differently, I’ve always been very conscious of myself—my thoughts, behavior patterns. And I’ve always really just kind of had a heart for issues—and deep-seated issues, and why we respond the way we respond, and “why am I the way I am?”, and “why do I feel the way I feel?”, and “why do I think the way I think?” When I think about those things as a part of my background, it affects the way I write, it affects the way I think. It makes me want to walk slowly with people, and be patient with them as they are trying to understand themselves, and understand life, and understand God. And I want to present the gospel and explain our Lord Jesus Christ in such a way where people see his relevance, and the relevance of his Word, and how patient he was, and how kind he was. I think about Jesus and the woman at the well—how he just patiently drew her, and was kind, and nevertheless he still confronted her about her sin, but he lovingly called her to repentance. I want to be the type of person that can think that way and speak that way so that people can see hope in Christ, but can still see truth that there’s judgment for sin, there’s judgment for responding sinfully to events in your life that brought trouble. I want to help people think through the difficulties in their lives, and how to properly respond to that, and some of the things God may have been up to with allowing some of those things to happen—although I can never completely answer those questions, but I at least want to provide a tactful and a gentle and kind, truthful response to our human experience.
Tedashii: My background plays a monumental role in how I minister through music. I grew up in hip-hop. I was raised to be family-oriented, and I loved to be vocal about what I believe. That is all from how my mom raised me to how my spiritual father trained me. I love those in the hip-hop culture—so much so, I want to devote my life to reaching as many as I can. I love my family, and now that means those who do the will of my Father. And I am vocal about the God I love, the salvation He provides through Jesus, and life as a devoted Christ follower. It’s huge!
Shai Linne: I’ve always been a lover of language. One of the things that makes rap an ideal medium to communicate biblical truth is it allows for fitting many words into a short amount of musical space. It’s both a challenge and a joy for me to seek to exalt the Lord through poetic devices like multisyllabic rhyme schemes, wordplay, and storytelling. My background in the independent, or “underground” hip-hop scene has definitely helped to shape my particular lyrical aesthetic. As far as my approach to ministry, that is very much influenced by the great truths of reformed theology. Thi’sl: The way I grew up gives me a certain authenticity when speaking to hood dudes because they hear certain stuff I say and know that I had to have gone through it to know about that part of it. There is some stuff you can’t talk about with conviction unless you been through it. I pour my heart out in songs; my emotion is usually on ten because I know the connection music has had on me all my life. When I’m doing music and talking about certain things, I’m praying that if a person going through it hears it that God would rock his or her life with it. It’s almost like going back and making songs that would have spoken to me when I was in those situations, if that makes sense. It gives me insight into certain places and things that happen that you only know about if you live in that environment. V. Rose: I think growing up in church has a lot to do with me being humble and knowing the Word. But I sort of grew up going to two different types of churches—my mom’s house and my dad’s house. My dad’s was a more traditional church, they focused a lot on worshiping God. The other church sort of focused a lot on praising God. So I think it was cool that I got two different churches, and it just taught me to be really grounded, and to worship from my heart—to worship God, and not for it to be fake, but for it to be real. And I think that plays one of the biggest parts in my ministry today, and the way I minister today—definitely, my church background has a lot to do with that. FLAME: I think my background has everything to do with it. Growing up in the inner-city, my father was in and out of the house, my mom was in and out of the hospital, and it just kind of made me an emotionally unstable child, some would say. I grew up living with multiple people in my family: grandparents, great-grandparents, aunties, uncles. I’ve always seen the world differently, I’ve always been very conscious of myself—my thoughts, behavior patterns. And I’ve always really just kind of had a heart for issues—and deep-seated issues, and why we respond the way we respond, and “why am I the way I am?”, and “why do I feel the way I feel?”, and “why do I think the way I think?” When I think about those things as a part of my background, it affects the way I write, it affects the way I think. It makes me want to walk slowly with people, and be patient with them as they are trying to understand themselves, and understand life, and understand God. And I want to present the gospel and explain our Lord Jesus Christ in such a way where people see his relevance, and the relevance of his Word, and how patient he was, and how kind he was. I think about Jesus and the woman at the well—how he just patiently drew her, and was kind, and nevertheless he still confronted her about her sin, but he lovingly called her to repentance. I want to be the type of person that can think that way and speak that way so that people can see hope in Christ, but can still see truth that there’s judgment for sin, there’s judgment for responding sinfully to events in your life that brought trouble. I want to help people think through the difficulties in their lives, and how to properly respond to that, and some of the things God may have been up to with allowing some of those things to happen—although I can never completely answer those questions, but I at least want to provide a tactful and a gentle and kind, truthful response to our human experience.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Jesus and the Gospel Rap Movement - part 2
RES: How would you describe your calling, your ministry?
Tedashii: My life is bent on living out being a Christ follower. What I do musically, vocationally, or even in ministry was birthed, and became a huge burden, from simply following Christ. God gave me many passions and desires yet only one door kept opening, and that was art. Whether it was public speaking or rapping, God allowed the arts to be a consistent outlet of ministry. So besides serving at my local fellowship and discipleship, music has become a major platform for how I serve and follow Christ.
Shai Linne: I use music as a means to highlight the character of God and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, primarily for the building up and encouragement of the church. I’m passionate about the gospel, the supremacy of Christ in all things, sound theology that leads to the joyful, vibrant worship of God. I also enjoy teaching the Word, writing and expressing the beauty of God through the arts.
Thi’sl: I’m a teacher and a missionary. No matter what context, what part of the city, whether it’s county or hood, I love people. My heart beats heavy after the inner city, though—because that’s where I came from and I know the hurt that goes on there, and my heart beats for them to know Christ. The main tool God has given me to do it is hip-hop. Hip-hop is the soundtrack to urban life and quickly growing to be the soundtrack of American life. It speaks to people and pumps them like few other musical genres ever have. That’s why we are attempting to rewrite the urban soundtrack, while infusing Christ-centered lyrics into the culture, hoping to see people changed.
V. Rose: I’m definitely called to minister to girls my own age—and not just girls, guys too, but people my own age—my peers. I do pop, Christian pop—so it’s fun, it’s engaging music with a Christian message. And it’s about stuff that I’ve lived through growing up as a teenager—peer pressure, and dealing with parents, and all kinds of stuff like that. So my ministry is just to reach out to people my own age. I’m doing pop music, not necessarily how you hear Christian pop music today, but pop music that is just as cool and just as modern as today’s secular pop music. Pop music is really huge right now, and is bigger than even hip-hop, so that’s what my music is doing. When you hear it, you’ll kind of understand that it’s not like anything that’s in Christian music right now. It’s Christian pop, but it’s going to redefine Christian pop.
FLAME: Really, I just want to be a voice of reason; I want to speak heart language. I love saying things that touch the deeper layers of our hearts—I like to peel back the layers from just the surface things to thinking deeper about our attitudes, our motivations, our desires and affections. And I like to say the things that would cause people to contemplate deeper about their relationship with God, or their lack of a relationship with God. With my degree in biblical counseling, my hope is to speak the type of theology and heart language that would really serve to cause people to see themselves, see their sin, see their need for the Lord, see hope in Christ, and deal with some of the complexities of our human experience—why we do what we do, the way we tick, how can we overcome habits and habitual practices, and come to trust in God in a deeper way. That’s what I like to think my music does.
Justin Taylor
Tedashii: My life is bent on living out being a Christ follower. What I do musically, vocationally, or even in ministry was birthed, and became a huge burden, from simply following Christ. God gave me many passions and desires yet only one door kept opening, and that was art. Whether it was public speaking or rapping, God allowed the arts to be a consistent outlet of ministry. So besides serving at my local fellowship and discipleship, music has become a major platform for how I serve and follow Christ.
Shai Linne: I use music as a means to highlight the character of God and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, primarily for the building up and encouragement of the church. I’m passionate about the gospel, the supremacy of Christ in all things, sound theology that leads to the joyful, vibrant worship of God. I also enjoy teaching the Word, writing and expressing the beauty of God through the arts.
Thi’sl: I’m a teacher and a missionary. No matter what context, what part of the city, whether it’s county or hood, I love people. My heart beats heavy after the inner city, though—because that’s where I came from and I know the hurt that goes on there, and my heart beats for them to know Christ. The main tool God has given me to do it is hip-hop. Hip-hop is the soundtrack to urban life and quickly growing to be the soundtrack of American life. It speaks to people and pumps them like few other musical genres ever have. That’s why we are attempting to rewrite the urban soundtrack, while infusing Christ-centered lyrics into the culture, hoping to see people changed.
V. Rose: I’m definitely called to minister to girls my own age—and not just girls, guys too, but people my own age—my peers. I do pop, Christian pop—so it’s fun, it’s engaging music with a Christian message. And it’s about stuff that I’ve lived through growing up as a teenager—peer pressure, and dealing with parents, and all kinds of stuff like that. So my ministry is just to reach out to people my own age. I’m doing pop music, not necessarily how you hear Christian pop music today, but pop music that is just as cool and just as modern as today’s secular pop music. Pop music is really huge right now, and is bigger than even hip-hop, so that’s what my music is doing. When you hear it, you’ll kind of understand that it’s not like anything that’s in Christian music right now. It’s Christian pop, but it’s going to redefine Christian pop.
FLAME: Really, I just want to be a voice of reason; I want to speak heart language. I love saying things that touch the deeper layers of our hearts—I like to peel back the layers from just the surface things to thinking deeper about our attitudes, our motivations, our desires and affections. And I like to say the things that would cause people to contemplate deeper about their relationship with God, or their lack of a relationship with God. With my degree in biblical counseling, my hope is to speak the type of theology and heart language that would really serve to cause people to see themselves, see their sin, see their need for the Lord, see hope in Christ, and deal with some of the complexities of our human experience—why we do what we do, the way we tick, how can we overcome habits and habitual practices, and come to trust in God in a deeper way. That’s what I like to think my music does.
Justin Taylor
Monday, August 8, 2011
Jesus and the Gospel Rap Movement - Part 1
Guest Post by Robert Sagers
Last year around this time, I was grateful to post an interview with Marcus Gray—FLAME—on this site. Today, thanks in part to Marcus’ (kind) assistance, I’m happy to post an interview with some others associated with the gospel rap movement, as well. I’m thankful for these artists—Tedashii, Shai Linne, Thi’sl, V. Rose, and FLAME—and for the way they are employing their God-given gifts, and their life experiences, to serve Christ.
__________
Robert Sagers: Perhaps you could tell us a little about yourself—where you’re from, your family, how you came to know Christ?
Tedashii:
Of course. I was born and raised in southeast Texas with my mom and
sister, and a stepfather for a time. Life was simple and we didn’t have
much, but somehow it worked. My mother was a very family-oriented woman,
so we were always together and visiting relatives nearby. Besides
school, a part-time job, and sports, family life was it. I was the
typical “good kid” from Texas with a truck—no horse—but I did play
football. I lived and breathed the sport of football. I dreamed since
the age of four to play in college and then the NFL. I idolized the
sport, players, and even the coaches. I graduated high school and headed
off to college, receiving a partial academic scholarship. I walked on
to the track and football team to try and cover the rest. Everything was
going my way. I was a “good kid” and good things were happening for me.
That same semester my freshman year another student came up and shared the gospel with me. I was offended. How dare he tell me I’m not the “good kid” everyone said I was. How dare he tell me I was born in sin, or that I needed a Savior, or even that I may go to hell. Needless to say, I was offended by the gospel. I walked away upset, but I was bothered more by him saying I wasn’t good enough. That truth pierced my soul.
A couple of weeks later I was injured working out and it ended my football career and removed the idol in my life I had had for so many years. With a clear focus, I met the same student again, and he shared the gospel another time. This time, I heard him. Two days later I surrendered my life, by faith, to God through Jesus Christ. That same man was my first discipleship leader, was the best man at my wedding, and is a great friend to this day. And speaking of wedding, I am now married, almost five years in, and we have a beautiful son who will be two years old this fall. God has been gracious to me in so many ways and that grace drives me daily.
Shai Linne:
I was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I have a
background in the arts. I attended The University of the Arts in
Philadelphia, where I studied theater. I’ve been heavily involved in
hip-hop culture since my youth. I didn’t grow up in a Christian home.
When I was in high school, my mother came back to the faith that she had
grown up believing, but had strayed away from. She began to tell me
about the Lord and invite me to church. I was hostile towards
Christianity and it became a source of conflict for us. After a while,
she stopped arguing with me and prayed for me. For eleven years, she
prayed and saw no fruit in my life.
Long story short, I was abruptly converted as an adult. While I was intoxicated at a party, out of nowhere I began to consider things my mother had told me years before. When I told her what was going on, she encouraged me to read the Gospel of John. As I read, I was struck by the authority with which Jesus spoke. His claims to deity were both surprising and compelling to me. By God’s grace, I believed the gospel while reading, and crossed over from death to life in 1999. I’m married to an amazing woman named Blair and we live in Washington, D.C., where we’re members at Capitol Hill Baptist Church.
Thi’sl:
They call me Thi’sl (thizil). I was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, and
moved to St. Louis when I was two years old. I grew on the westside of
St. Louis in a single parent home—and the parent that was in the home,
my mom, struggled with drugs most of my life. I lived in a neighborhood
that was highly effected by poverty, drugs, and gangs. When I was twelve
years old I started selling drugs and running with the blood gang that
was from my neighborhood. My teenage years were the same: friends
getting killed, life disappointments, locked up for petty stuff, facing
death on the regular. In 1999 my best friend in the world—my cousin,
Tank—was murdered by one of my friends. The Lord used this to rock me
and draw me to himself. After this happened a church came to my
neighborhood to evangelize and I met FLAME, who the Lord used to help me
grow in my faith.
V. Rose:
I am from Sacramento, California. I have kind of a big family—six
brothers, I’m the only girl. I have a real supportive family—mom, dad,
step-mom. I grew up in church my whole life, singing in the choir. My
mom was real supportive of my music, always teaching me to not be afraid
to sing, just teaching me to be brave—she’d call me out and have me
come sing in front of the church, on the spot, just trying to make me
brave. She taught me to sing for Christ. When I was 16, I was in the
service, and I just remember God changed my heart; the Holy Spirit
touched me, and I remember it was just different in my heart. I no
longer felt separated from God, but I felt like I knew God. My
heart just changed—I really wanted to minister to people. And I knew
that’s when I got saved. It wasn’t like somebody necessarily told me,
because I had lived in church, but God did it, God saved me. It was
something that I wanted, so I knew that God pursued me.
FLAME:
I’m from St. Louis, Missouri. I grew up in a family that was professing
Christ. And I was always impressed with Jesus; I liked the idea of
going to heaven, forgiveness of sin—those things were attractive to me,
but I wasn’t walking with the Lord. I read my Bible, I told people about
Jesus, and one probably would have thought I was saved at a younger
age. But my teen years proved that I wasn’t a Christian, and the way the
Lord saved me was through a series of events getting my attention. I
was in a tragic accident—got hit three times by an 18-wheeler gas truck;
I had to do physical therapy for about almost a year, half a year.
Shortly after that, my grandmother passed away. And I was invited to
church at that point. One of my close friends, his father had just
gotten life in prison, so my friends and I would just hang out over at
his house and just waste our lives, doing crazy stuff. And eventually I
was invited to church, and I went, heard the gospel the first time
there, wept like a baby, and the Lord drew me and I committed myself to
him. The Lord took most of my vices away immediately, instantaneously.
(He left a few for me to grow in sanctification, obviously—of course.)
And that’s what the Lord used to save me.
Justin Taylor
Last year around this time, I was grateful to post an interview with Marcus Gray—FLAME—on this site. Today, thanks in part to Marcus’ (kind) assistance, I’m happy to post an interview with some others associated with the gospel rap movement, as well. I’m thankful for these artists—Tedashii, Shai Linne, Thi’sl, V. Rose, and FLAME—and for the way they are employing their God-given gifts, and their life experiences, to serve Christ.
__________
Robert Sagers: Perhaps you could tell us a little about yourself—where you’re from, your family, how you came to know Christ?
Tedashii:
Of course. I was born and raised in southeast Texas with my mom and
sister, and a stepfather for a time. Life was simple and we didn’t have
much, but somehow it worked. My mother was a very family-oriented woman,
so we were always together and visiting relatives nearby. Besides
school, a part-time job, and sports, family life was it. I was the
typical “good kid” from Texas with a truck—no horse—but I did play
football. I lived and breathed the sport of football. I dreamed since
the age of four to play in college and then the NFL. I idolized the
sport, players, and even the coaches. I graduated high school and headed
off to college, receiving a partial academic scholarship. I walked on
to the track and football team to try and cover the rest. Everything was
going my way. I was a “good kid” and good things were happening for me.That same semester my freshman year another student came up and shared the gospel with me. I was offended. How dare he tell me I’m not the “good kid” everyone said I was. How dare he tell me I was born in sin, or that I needed a Savior, or even that I may go to hell. Needless to say, I was offended by the gospel. I walked away upset, but I was bothered more by him saying I wasn’t good enough. That truth pierced my soul.
A couple of weeks later I was injured working out and it ended my football career and removed the idol in my life I had had for so many years. With a clear focus, I met the same student again, and he shared the gospel another time. This time, I heard him. Two days later I surrendered my life, by faith, to God through Jesus Christ. That same man was my first discipleship leader, was the best man at my wedding, and is a great friend to this day. And speaking of wedding, I am now married, almost five years in, and we have a beautiful son who will be two years old this fall. God has been gracious to me in so many ways and that grace drives me daily.
Shai Linne:
I was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I have a
background in the arts. I attended The University of the Arts in
Philadelphia, where I studied theater. I’ve been heavily involved in
hip-hop culture since my youth. I didn’t grow up in a Christian home.
When I was in high school, my mother came back to the faith that she had
grown up believing, but had strayed away from. She began to tell me
about the Lord and invite me to church. I was hostile towards
Christianity and it became a source of conflict for us. After a while,
she stopped arguing with me and prayed for me. For eleven years, she
prayed and saw no fruit in my life.Long story short, I was abruptly converted as an adult. While I was intoxicated at a party, out of nowhere I began to consider things my mother had told me years before. When I told her what was going on, she encouraged me to read the Gospel of John. As I read, I was struck by the authority with which Jesus spoke. His claims to deity were both surprising and compelling to me. By God’s grace, I believed the gospel while reading, and crossed over from death to life in 1999. I’m married to an amazing woman named Blair and we live in Washington, D.C., where we’re members at Capitol Hill Baptist Church.
Thi’sl:
They call me Thi’sl (thizil). I was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, and
moved to St. Louis when I was two years old. I grew on the westside of
St. Louis in a single parent home—and the parent that was in the home,
my mom, struggled with drugs most of my life. I lived in a neighborhood
that was highly effected by poverty, drugs, and gangs. When I was twelve
years old I started selling drugs and running with the blood gang that
was from my neighborhood. My teenage years were the same: friends
getting killed, life disappointments, locked up for petty stuff, facing
death on the regular. In 1999 my best friend in the world—my cousin,
Tank—was murdered by one of my friends. The Lord used this to rock me
and draw me to himself. After this happened a church came to my
neighborhood to evangelize and I met FLAME, who the Lord used to help me
grow in my faith.
V. Rose:
I am from Sacramento, California. I have kind of a big family—six
brothers, I’m the only girl. I have a real supportive family—mom, dad,
step-mom. I grew up in church my whole life, singing in the choir. My
mom was real supportive of my music, always teaching me to not be afraid
to sing, just teaching me to be brave—she’d call me out and have me
come sing in front of the church, on the spot, just trying to make me
brave. She taught me to sing for Christ. When I was 16, I was in the
service, and I just remember God changed my heart; the Holy Spirit
touched me, and I remember it was just different in my heart. I no
longer felt separated from God, but I felt like I knew God. My
heart just changed—I really wanted to minister to people. And I knew
that’s when I got saved. It wasn’t like somebody necessarily told me,
because I had lived in church, but God did it, God saved me. It was
something that I wanted, so I knew that God pursued me.
Justin Taylor
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Isaac Watts’ Absurdity of Infidelity
Isaac Watts, the greatest of all Western
hymn-writers, wrote many great hymns that did not make it into many of
our hymnals. One such hymn is his “Absurdity of Infidelity.” Watts sets
the idea of intellectual unbelief, moral rebellion, and fearfulness
against the greatness of God’s promises to those who trust in Christ. It
is a magnificent example of theological depth and devotional piety.
Absurdity of infidelity. 1 Cor. 1:26-31.
Shall atheists dare insult the cross
Of our Redeemer, God?
Shall infidels reproach his laws,
Or trample on his blood?
Of our Redeemer, God?
Shall infidels reproach his laws,
Or trample on his blood?
What if he choose mysterious ways
To cleanse us from our faults?
May not the works of sovereign grace
Transcend our feeble thoughts?
To cleanse us from our faults?
May not the works of sovereign grace
Transcend our feeble thoughts?
What if His gospel bids us fight
With flesh, and self, and sin,
The prize is most divinely bright
That we are called to win.
With flesh, and self, and sin,
The prize is most divinely bright
That we are called to win.
What if the foolish and the poor
His glorious grace partake,
This but confirms his truth the more,
For so the prophets spake.
His glorious grace partake,
This but confirms his truth the more,
For so the prophets spake.
Do some that own his sacred name
Indulge their souls in sin?
Jesus should never bear the blame,
His laws are pure and clean.
Indulge their souls in sin?
Jesus should never bear the blame,
His laws are pure and clean.
Then let our faith grow firm and strong,
Our lips profess his word;
Nor blush nor fear to walk among
The men that love the Lord.
Our lips profess his word;
Nor blush nor fear to walk among
The men that love the Lord.
Friday, April 22, 2011
The Rapper in Rehab Rising star Lecrae says he was addicted to self; now Jesus is his "drug of choice."
Theology and rap are hardly kissing cousins. One is the purview of academics laboring in seminaries, the other was born in the South Bronx in the 70s. Turns out they were made for one another. Rising rap star Lecrae seamlessly blends gospel-saturated lyrics with the hooks of southern style hip-hop, and the result is something you have to hear to believe.
Lecrae
Through Reach Records, the label he founded, he is leading a movement of artists spreading the message of the gospel through hip-hop which is quickly gathering a groundswell following.
His recent albums, Rehab and Rehab: The Overdose ,debuted at No. 5 and No. 4 respectively on the Billboard Rap albums chart.Rehab was also nominated for a Grammy in the Best Gospel Rock/Rap album category (Switchfoot's Hello Hurricane won). His music has piqued the interest of people from John Piper to Jay-Z.
We caught up with Lecrae shortly after the Grammys.
You just got back from the Grammys. What was that like?
It was really great. I think God strategically placed us there. I think I met everyone except Justin Bieber. I met a lot of people in the hip-hop community—Lil Wayne and Drake and those guys. I didn't have the longest of conversations with the guys at the top of the totem pole, but some of the producers and managers and lawyers. I really did get to build some strategic relationships. So I'm excited to see the fruit of those.
Let's talk about Rehab and Overdose. Why the theme of addiction?
I had just moved to a new city (Atlanta). My church (Blueprint Church) wasn't really established yet; I was helping with that. I was in a leadership seat and didn't have a lot of people who were pouring into me—just a dry season. I needed rehabilitation. And so I just wanted to cry out in music, and I think it was perfect for anybody who was saying, man, help, I need more. I need something. I need rehabilitation. You're addicted to self, and everything other than Jesus becomes the drug of choice.
Many of your songs take traditional hip-hop themes—drugs, sex, money, fame—and turn them on their heads. Tell me about that process.
It's ultimately the principle. There's something inherently wrong with created beings being the center of our desire. Let's deconstruct that perspective and then reconstruct it with the right one. People appreciate that because they're like, Man, I know. I understand what he's articulating. I just wasn't able to put words around it. I know there's emptiness, but I don't know what else there is. When you point out that they're pursuing something that is vain and empty, people relate to that.
As you become more well-known, how do you stay true to the gospel and at the same time relevant to the hip-hop conversation?
That's always the tension. The biggest thing is seeing what you do as an opportunity to tell a story, so it just depends on what story I'm going to tell. Am I going to tell the story of Christianity, or am I going to tell a story that people just want to hear that's palatable?
Also, making sure the people around you are advocates of God's heart, mission, and humility. Where a lot of people will have entourages of people who tell them how awesome they are, I have people who are constantly reminding me of why I'm there. And we're praying. I mean, we bathe every day in prayer.
I don't think there's a clear cut answer to a lot of the questions; it's always testing everything by the Spirit and according to the Scriptures. I look at someone like Abraham who helped out the King of Sodom and was offered a gift, and Abraham turned it down because he said I don't want anyone to be able to say that they made me rich (Gen.14:21-23). I don't want anyone to be able to take credit for what God has done.
Christianity Today Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Smoke on the Water as you've never heard it before
Until recently, Germany's defense minister has been one Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, a handsome 39-year-old aristocrat with a fondness for rock. However, scandal drove him out of office.
That, or he just buckled under the weight of his actual full name, which is: Karl Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg. I kid you not.
What music did Guttenberg request for his military send-off? That would be "Smoke on the Water." The band had two days to prepare, and did a pretty impressive job. Check it out.
That, or he just buckled under the weight of his actual full name, which is: Karl Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg. I kid you not.
What music did Guttenberg request for his military send-off? That would be "Smoke on the Water." The band had two days to prepare, and did a pretty impressive job. Check it out.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Lecrae - For the rapper, a new life, a new message
Lecrae Moore moved around a lot as a child. He was constantly the new kid in school. It’s often a struggle to fit in when you always have to make new friends but Lecrae had a gift. He could rap.
Street battles were no problem. Breaking into some freestyle for his classmates was a piece of cake. But walking a straight line was difficult.
Moore had a tough childhood. He grew up without a father. His male role models were rap artists like Tupac.
“My world view at that point in time was what I saw on television,” he said recently on a visit to CNN Center. “I just [rapped] about what I esteemed to be, what I wanted to be like. Most of that was gangsterism, false sense of masculinity, money, women.”
But Moore’s world view changed when he went to college at North Texas. He met some Christians who helped pull the underlying faith out of him. It seemed to have always been there but he grew up straddling the line between God and the enemy, he said.
Before he went to college Moore said he was the drug dealer with a good-luck charm, a Bible his devout grandmother gave him. He knew he could turn to it if he got in trouble.
Trouble came one night when he was about to be arrested for drug possession. He sat in the back of the squad car, handcuffed, distraught and lost, preparing to go to jail, when the officer asked him about the Bible in Lecrae’s car.
The officer wondered, what is that doing on your backseat?
“I told him I know I need to live it,” Moore said. According to Moore, the officer said if Moore would agree to do that, he would let him go.
The turnaround wasn’t a complete 180, and it took more people to convince Moore to dig into the Christian life, including those Christians on his college campus. Afterward, some of them would hang around and would rap about Jesus. The street battler in him came out, and a Christian hip-hop artist was born.
I asked him: Is he a rapper who preaches or a preacher who raps?
An easy smile came across his face and his introspective eyes pondered for a second.
“I think every rapper is a preacher, it’s what’s the sermon that they are giving,” he said. “Every rapper is preaching something. They are either preaching that you can find satisfaction in a million dollars or 50 women, or that you are not a real man unless you are a killer."
“I just look at myself as another individual who has a different message and a world view that I think is the most beneficial, the most helpful, and I’ll be honest, it’s the right one. Maybe not mine specifically but I think a Biblical world view is the right world view.”
Moore’s latest CD is “Rehab,” which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Christian albums chart and the Gospel albums list, sold more than 26,000 copies its first week. It also hit No. 5 on the rap albums chart.
It is a product of Reach Records, which he co-owns in Atlanta, Georgia. The label has four other Christian rappers, some of whom Lecrae thinks will be even more influential than he has been.
Moore also founded ReachLife Ministries, which seeks to "bridge the gap between biblical truth and the urban context," he said.
Rehab is a statement, a message to all that while there is much wrong in this world, there is a way to reshape your life, he said. We all need a sense of purpose, but we're all a bit messed up.
“We are fractured; this is a fractured world, but there is rehabilitation available through Jesus,” he said. “He came to save. He came to restore.”
Moore is currently back out on the road on the "Unashamed" tour.
belief blog
Street battles were no problem. Breaking into some freestyle for his classmates was a piece of cake. But walking a straight line was difficult.
Moore had a tough childhood. He grew up without a father. His male role models were rap artists like Tupac.
“My world view at that point in time was what I saw on television,” he said recently on a visit to CNN Center. “I just [rapped] about what I esteemed to be, what I wanted to be like. Most of that was gangsterism, false sense of masculinity, money, women.”
But Moore’s world view changed when he went to college at North Texas. He met some Christians who helped pull the underlying faith out of him. It seemed to have always been there but he grew up straddling the line between God and the enemy, he said.
Christian hip-hop star Lecrae talks about how his life turned after he was almost arrested for drug possession
Trouble came one night when he was about to be arrested for drug possession. He sat in the back of the squad car, handcuffed, distraught and lost, preparing to go to jail, when the officer asked him about the Bible in Lecrae’s car.
The officer wondered, what is that doing on your backseat?
“I told him I know I need to live it,” Moore said. According to Moore, the officer said if Moore would agree to do that, he would let him go.
The turnaround wasn’t a complete 180, and it took more people to convince Moore to dig into the Christian life, including those Christians on his college campus. Afterward, some of them would hang around and would rap about Jesus. The street battler in him came out, and a Christian hip-hop artist was born.
I asked him: Is he a rapper who preaches or a preacher who raps?
An easy smile came across his face and his introspective eyes pondered for a second.
“I think every rapper is a preacher, it’s what’s the sermon that they are giving,” he said. “Every rapper is preaching something. They are either preaching that you can find satisfaction in a million dollars or 50 women, or that you are not a real man unless you are a killer."
“I just look at myself as another individual who has a different message and a world view that I think is the most beneficial, the most helpful, and I’ll be honest, it’s the right one. Maybe not mine specifically but I think a Biblical world view is the right world view.”
Moore’s latest CD is “Rehab,” which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Christian albums chart and the Gospel albums list, sold more than 26,000 copies its first week. It also hit No. 5 on the rap albums chart.
It is a product of Reach Records, which he co-owns in Atlanta, Georgia. The label has four other Christian rappers, some of whom Lecrae thinks will be even more influential than he has been.
Moore also founded ReachLife Ministries, which seeks to "bridge the gap between biblical truth and the urban context," he said.
Rehab is a statement, a message to all that while there is much wrong in this world, there is a way to reshape your life, he said. We all need a sense of purpose, but we're all a bit messed up.
“We are fractured; this is a fractured world, but there is rehabilitation available through Jesus,” he said. “He came to save. He came to restore.”
Moore is currently back out on the road on the "Unashamed" tour.
belief blog
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Johnny Cash, DeGarmo & Key to Join Gospel Hall
Johnny Cash and DeGarmo & Key will be inducted into the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame in January, the GMA Foundation announced today. "The impact this group of individuals has made on gospel music is immeasurable," said Ed Harper, chairman of the GMA Foundation.
Cash, who died in 2003, was quite vocal about his faith in the final decades of his life, and recorded a number of gospel albums including Man in White, My Mother's Hymn Book, and Cash: Ultimate Gospel.
The D&K induction will be bittersweet, since Key passed away in June.
Other January inductees will include Golden Gate Quartet and Bill "Hoss" Allen, it was announced. For the full press release, click here.
CT Entertainment
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Keith Richards: Mick Jagger was "unbearable"
LONDON (Reuters) – Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards says in his new autobiography that Mick Jagger became unbearable over the years and reveals he also calls the imperious lead singer "Your Majesty" and "Brenda."
The memoir is peppered with references to other celebrities -- from Johnny Depp to John Lennon -- but it is the prickly dynamic between Richards and Jagger that dominates the 527-page book, which is to be serialized in The Times newspaper.
Richards, 66, who met Jagger at the age of four, says he has not stepped foot in Jagger's dressing room in 20 years.
"It was the beginning of the Eighties when Mick started to become unbearable," Richards writes in the memoir, "Life," which brought him an advance of 4.8 million pounds ($7.7 million) after a massive bidding war among publishers.
Richards and Jagger were two of the Stones' founding members in 1962 and wrote its hit songs, leading the group to sales of more than 200 million albums worldwide.
"Sometimes I think: 'I miss my friend,'" Richards writes. "I wonder: 'where did he go?'"
Richards himself is famous for his insatiable appetite for drugs, although he gave up heroin in 1978 after a fifth drug bust and stopped using cocaine after a 2006 fall in Fiji forced him to undergo brain surgery.
He said he does not regret his exploits.
"I loved a good high. And if you stay up, you get the songs that everyone else misses because they're asleep," Richards said.
During his addict days in the 1960s and 1970s, he spent a decade on the "People Most Likely to Die List."
"Well, I'm not putting death on the agenda," he told the Times. "I don't want to see my old friend Lucifer just yet."
Read the rest here
Richards is an old man but hasn't gained any wisdom. He won't see Lucifer when he dies and he is deceived to think the Devil is his friend, but he will end up in the same place unless he repents and receives Christ.
The memoir is peppered with references to other celebrities -- from Johnny Depp to John Lennon -- but it is the prickly dynamic between Richards and Jagger that dominates the 527-page book, which is to be serialized in The Times newspaper.
Richards, 66, who met Jagger at the age of four, says he has not stepped foot in Jagger's dressing room in 20 years.
"It was the beginning of the Eighties when Mick started to become unbearable," Richards writes in the memoir, "Life," which brought him an advance of 4.8 million pounds ($7.7 million) after a massive bidding war among publishers.
Richards and Jagger were two of the Stones' founding members in 1962 and wrote its hit songs, leading the group to sales of more than 200 million albums worldwide.
"Sometimes I think: 'I miss my friend,'" Richards writes. "I wonder: 'where did he go?'"
Richards himself is famous for his insatiable appetite for drugs, although he gave up heroin in 1978 after a fifth drug bust and stopped using cocaine after a 2006 fall in Fiji forced him to undergo brain surgery.
He said he does not regret his exploits.
"I loved a good high. And if you stay up, you get the songs that everyone else misses because they're asleep," Richards said.
During his addict days in the 1960s and 1970s, he spent a decade on the "People Most Likely to Die List."
"Well, I'm not putting death on the agenda," he told the Times. "I don't want to see my old friend Lucifer just yet."
Read the rest here
Richards is an old man but hasn't gained any wisdom. He won't see Lucifer when he dies and he is deceived to think the Devil is his friend, but he will end up in the same place unless he repents and receives Christ.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Stevie Ray Vaughan lives on with Legacy
As band mates and best friends, Tommy Shannon and Stevie Ray Vaughan went on the road, roomed together and kicked drugs together, all while reinventing Texas blues as two-thirds of the group Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble.
Nearly 20 years after Vaughan's death in a helicopter crash on Aug. 27, 1990, he is being celebrated with today's release of the band's remastered and expanded second album, Couldn't Stand the Weather: Legacy Edition (Epic/Legacy).
Shannon, the band's bassist, recalled the genius of the legendary blues guitarist.
"The music took us, as much as us taking the music forward," he said from his Austin home. "It came natural."
Double Trouble, which included drummer Chris Layton, was an incredibly tight trio.
"We were really passionate about the music," Shannon said. "We were kind of like family."
The band played an aggressive, rocked-out vision of the blues. Shannon, now 63, called it a "no excuses" style of making music.
The two-CD Legacy Edition includes a photo booklet, liner notes and an unreleased live concert from August 1984, recorded at the Spectrum in Montreal.
In life, Vaughan was a quiet, humble man. In death, the blues prodigy (Vaughan created buzz as a teenager with Paul Ray & the Cobras) became one of the most imitated of rock gods.
He'd be honored by all the attention, Shannon said. But he'd also have a message for young guitarists: "He'd probably tell the guitar players to develop their own style."
Shannon first played with Vaughan, then 15, in the bands Blackbird and Krackerjack.
Years later, while on the road, they listened to old blues and George Jones. "Stevie and I loved George Jones," he recalled. "Sometimes, after a show, we'd get on the bus and put on George Jones and just listen. We were open to other kinds of music."
Shannon recounted Vaughan's obsession with Jimi Hendrix. Couldn't Stand the Weather includes studio and live versions of Hendrix's Voodoo Child (Slight Return) and Little Wing.
"Hendrix is still the best rock-blues guitar player that ever lived," Shannon says. "It's almost like he came from outer space. Stevie was really drawn to his music, and he learned a lot from Hendrix. Hendrix was light-years ahead of everybody."
Vaughan nailed him.
"People that can't play Hendrix shouldn't try it. It's almost like a sacred thing. If you're going to do a Hendrix song and do it bad, you shouldn't be playing it."
The band struggled on the bar scene for a long time. "A lot of labels wouldn't sign us because they didn't think blues would sell. It was (producer) John Hammond (who believed)."
Originally issued in May 1984, Couldn't Stand the Weather was the group's first album to be certified gold and the first to go platinum.
Despite their success, Shannon and Vaughan eventually "hit rock bottom real hard." Both were addicted to cocaine and booze for years.
"We both got clean and sober on the same day: Oct. 13, 1986," he says. "It was just a choice, did we want to live or die? If we'd gone on another six months, we would have died."
Shannon speaks with pride about helping to create the sound that is the rockin' Texas blues.
"We just approached blues like we did rock 'n' roll, and it became power blues. We came out with Texas Flood just blarin,' aggressive, just tearin' people's heads off. Had Stevie lived, I can't imagine how much better we would have gotten," said Shannon, who considers In Step (1989), the band's best album.
"We were clean and sober then."
Stevie Ray Vaughan would have turned 56 this October.
Their last conversation (after that final gig with Eric Clapton and Robert Cray at Alpine Valley in East Roy, Wis.) was a trifle.
Vaughan was in the dressing room sewing a commemorative patch onto a jacket.
"I said, 'I'll see you back at the room.' He said, 'OK, I'll call you.' And that was it." MUSIC WRITER
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Interview: Blues singer Jonny Lang queues up for Que Fest by Andy Odom
ROWLETT — Every decade has its wunderkind pop stars. For some reason, consumers cannot resist giving money over to children who sing and dance in public, and the entertainment industry can’t resist from taking that money. They’re usually short-lived fads, burning out long before they fade away (Billy Gilman), but occasionally they actually have talent (Little Stevie Wonder).
In the 1990s, two things happened that helped this phenomenon: Stevie Ray Vaughn died, leaving a vacancy for a young blues guitar-slinger; and Kurt Cobain died, making it OK for the record industry exploit people again. Out of this came Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Jonny Lang, two incredibly young blues personalities that arrived at the same time, like two awkwardly similar Hollywood blockbusters that are released during the same summer. Both youngsters were known for their electrifying guitar work, but Lang was especially noted for his voice that was not just beyond his years, but beyond his century – deep throated, forceful, knowing, and only 16 at the time.
Many artists reach a point in their careers where they want to try something new; to break free from a label that’s been placed on them and explore their artistry on a larger scale. Given Lang's early start, one couldn’t blame him for wanting to branch out.
“It’s a journey,” Lang told me recently. “I’m still trying to find my style.” This is understandable for someone who says his influences are as varied as James Taylor and, appropriately enough, Stevie Wonder. Lang's journey has seen his style slightly shift over five albums, from soulful blues to a gritty gospel sound. His most recent studio album, Turn Around, won the Grammy for Best Gospel Album in 2006, an honor that Lang did not expect. “It was a surprise to me because I wasn’t going for that,” Lang confessed. “I just considered it to be my next album, and it just happened to be where I was in my life at that moment.”
Lang’s current tour is in support of his recent Live at the Ryman album, a concert he calls “intimidating” – mainly for having to hold court in “Music City U.S.A.” in front of any number of possible luminaries in attendance. The tour should be less stressful, as it puts the audience in charge of creating Lang’s set-list every night. “My booking agent ... came up with the idea to have people write into the website and request what they want to hear,” Lang said. “It’s been really cool. It’s something different for the fans to be able to do.” And does it keep things from getting stale? “Yeah, definitely. We try to mix it up on our own sometimes too, but this helps,” he said.
In the meantime, Lang continues his musical journey as he works on a new album, which is still in its early stages. “I’m still trying to figure out which way this one’s going to go, you know?” he said.
The pitfalls of an open-ended musical quest aren’t lost on Lang. He knows the old adage about being a “Jack of all trades but master of none” is a double-edged sword – and exploration invites distractions. But enrichment comes through, and the journey itself can be more important than ever arriving.
So how will Lang know when he has arrived? “Maybe I never will.”
Pegasusnews
In the 1990s, two things happened that helped this phenomenon: Stevie Ray Vaughn died, leaving a vacancy for a young blues guitar-slinger; and Kurt Cobain died, making it OK for the record industry exploit people again. Out of this came Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Jonny Lang, two incredibly young blues personalities that arrived at the same time, like two awkwardly similar Hollywood blockbusters that are released during the same summer. Both youngsters were known for their electrifying guitar work, but Lang was especially noted for his voice that was not just beyond his years, but beyond his century – deep throated, forceful, knowing, and only 16 at the time.
Many artists reach a point in their careers where they want to try something new; to break free from a label that’s been placed on them and explore their artistry on a larger scale. Given Lang's early start, one couldn’t blame him for wanting to branch out.
jonnylang.com
Jonny Lang and his band
Lang’s current tour is in support of his recent Live at the Ryman album, a concert he calls “intimidating” – mainly for having to hold court in “Music City U.S.A.” in front of any number of possible luminaries in attendance. The tour should be less stressful, as it puts the audience in charge of creating Lang’s set-list every night. “My booking agent ... came up with the idea to have people write into the website and request what they want to hear,” Lang said. “It’s been really cool. It’s something different for the fans to be able to do.” And does it keep things from getting stale? “Yeah, definitely. We try to mix it up on our own sometimes too, but this helps,” he said.
In the meantime, Lang continues his musical journey as he works on a new album, which is still in its early stages. “I’m still trying to figure out which way this one’s going to go, you know?” he said.
The pitfalls of an open-ended musical quest aren’t lost on Lang. He knows the old adage about being a “Jack of all trades but master of none” is a double-edged sword – and exploration invites distractions. But enrichment comes through, and the journey itself can be more important than ever arriving.
So how will Lang know when he has arrived? “Maybe I never will.”
Pegasusnews
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Jonny Lang: the Kid' at the Crossroads
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - Even guitar heroes can be humble, shy and quiet.
Jonny Lang had never met Eric Clapton. And he wasn't about to introduce himself now, even though the guitar god invited the young blues-rock star to perform at his Crossroads Guitar Festival here.
"He walked right by me a few minutes ago backstage," said Lang last month, sitting in Buddy Guy's dressing room shortly before sharing the stage with Guy and the Rolling Stones' Ron Wood at the third benefit for Clapton's Crossroads rehab center in the Caribbean. (Lang appeared at the first fest in 2004 in Dallas at Clapton's invitation.)
Lang didn't want to impose on Clapton. "There are just so many people around," the Minnesota-bred guitarist said. "There are probably like a hundred musicians on this thing, and he's got to make his rounds. You can't force these things."
At 29, he is the same old Jonny Lang, that same boyish-looking dude with the ripped jeans, spiky hair and well-worn T-shirt. Offstage, he remains gracious, soft-spoken and polite. But, 15 years into his career, Lang is at a crossroads: He split with his longtime Nashville manager last fall, he doesn't have a record label for the new album he's recording, and his wife is seven months pregnant with their third child.
"I've written a ton of songs, trying to find a direction," said Lang, who snared a Grammy for best rock gospel album for 2006's "Turn Around," his most recent studio effort. "It's kind of one of those moments in my life when everything changes. It's a little hard to stay motivated when you hit a little bit of a lull. But I think it's good, man."
One thing Lang is sure about is how he's changed onstage.
"I've become a better listener, listening to the other musicians and trying to incorporate myself into the band as a whole rather than being just the front guy," said the singer/guitarist, who returned to Minnesota last weekend to perform at the Lakefront Jazz and Blues Festival.
One listen to Lang's new concert CD, "Live at the Ryman" - recorded in 2008 and released this past spring on a one-album deal with Concord - makes it clear that his tendency to over-sing has dissipated.
"The adrenaline takes over and it's hard to reel that in sometimes," he said. "But I've definitely become better with the restraint."
How has fatherhood - his twins will turn 3 in November - affected his life?
"In so many crazy ways," he said. "But all of them are ultimately good. It's amazing to experience that type of love."
With another baby on the way, he sounds more like Kid Jonny than Papa Jon: "It's going to get crazier."
Lang has managed to squeeze in some side projects, including the Experience Hendrix Tour earlier this year with Joe Satriani, Ernie Isley and others. For Carlos Santana's upcoming album of cover songs, Lang recorded vocals for Howlin' Wolf's "Ain't Superstitious," but Santana wasn't in the studio with him.
Lang's guitar can be heard on two tracks, "Crossroads" and "How Blue Can You Get," on Cyndi Lauper's new album "Memphis Blues."
"I was pleasantly surprised by her knowledge of and her ability to execute soul music like that," he said. "I didn't know that about her. She's incredible. Really nice lady. It was fun to work with her."
At Crossroads, Lang was on the bill with many of the greatest of the living guitar greats. Although he was the youngest picker onstage, he wasn't intimidated.
"I don't know if 'intimidating' is the word, but this is definitely a reality check," he said with a nervous giggle. "If there was a level of competition in my mind, I would be intimidated but I don't really think that way. It's pretty much just about having fun and trying to help the audience have a good time."
Guy, 73, the legend who influenced Clapton and the Rolling Stones, lets Lang start the Muddy Waters chestnut "Forty Days and Forty Nights" on guitar and vocals. After a chorus and verse, Ron Wood takes a crack at it. And then it's Guy's turn.
"C'mon, Buddy," Lang urges as Guy's loud, piercing guitar and expressive countenance fill the stadium. Soon Wood and Lang join in, and Lang is flashing a grin instead of his usual guitar-solo grimace. When it's over, shy, humble Jonny's smile is as wide as the stage.
"It's good to be between two young guys who play guitar," Guy declares. "I don't know how you feel, but I feel like I'm in heaven."
A few hours later, Guy comes back down to Earth to lead the Crossroads finale of "Sweet Home Chicago." All of the festival's electric guitarists are expected to join in.
Lang marches to the center of the stage, behind a seated B.B. King, and plugs his Fender Telecaster into an amplifier. Then he looks up: He's face to face with the elusive one.
Lang extends his hand. Finally, he gets to meet Eric Clapton - in front of 27,000 people and 20 other guitar stars.
Victoria Advocate
Jonny Lang had never met Eric Clapton. And he wasn't about to introduce himself now, even though the guitar god invited the young blues-rock star to perform at his Crossroads Guitar Festival here.
"He walked right by me a few minutes ago backstage," said Lang last month, sitting in Buddy Guy's dressing room shortly before sharing the stage with Guy and the Rolling Stones' Ron Wood at the third benefit for Clapton's Crossroads rehab center in the Caribbean. (Lang appeared at the first fest in 2004 in Dallas at Clapton's invitation.)
Lang didn't want to impose on Clapton. "There are just so many people around," the Minnesota-bred guitarist said. "There are probably like a hundred musicians on this thing, and he's got to make his rounds. You can't force these things."
At 29, he is the same old Jonny Lang, that same boyish-looking dude with the ripped jeans, spiky hair and well-worn T-shirt. Offstage, he remains gracious, soft-spoken and polite. But, 15 years into his career, Lang is at a crossroads: He split with his longtime Nashville manager last fall, he doesn't have a record label for the new album he's recording, and his wife is seven months pregnant with their third child.
"I've written a ton of songs, trying to find a direction," said Lang, who snared a Grammy for best rock gospel album for 2006's "Turn Around," his most recent studio effort. "It's kind of one of those moments in my life when everything changes. It's a little hard to stay motivated when you hit a little bit of a lull. But I think it's good, man."
One thing Lang is sure about is how he's changed onstage.
"I've become a better listener, listening to the other musicians and trying to incorporate myself into the band as a whole rather than being just the front guy," said the singer/guitarist, who returned to Minnesota last weekend to perform at the Lakefront Jazz and Blues Festival.
One listen to Lang's new concert CD, "Live at the Ryman" - recorded in 2008 and released this past spring on a one-album deal with Concord - makes it clear that his tendency to over-sing has dissipated.
"The adrenaline takes over and it's hard to reel that in sometimes," he said. "But I've definitely become better with the restraint."
How has fatherhood - his twins will turn 3 in November - affected his life?
"In so many crazy ways," he said. "But all of them are ultimately good. It's amazing to experience that type of love."
With another baby on the way, he sounds more like Kid Jonny than Papa Jon: "It's going to get crazier."
Lang has managed to squeeze in some side projects, including the Experience Hendrix Tour earlier this year with Joe Satriani, Ernie Isley and others. For Carlos Santana's upcoming album of cover songs, Lang recorded vocals for Howlin' Wolf's "Ain't Superstitious," but Santana wasn't in the studio with him.
Lang's guitar can be heard on two tracks, "Crossroads" and "How Blue Can You Get," on Cyndi Lauper's new album "Memphis Blues."
"I was pleasantly surprised by her knowledge of and her ability to execute soul music like that," he said. "I didn't know that about her. She's incredible. Really nice lady. It was fun to work with her."
At Crossroads, Lang was on the bill with many of the greatest of the living guitar greats. Although he was the youngest picker onstage, he wasn't intimidated.
"I don't know if 'intimidating' is the word, but this is definitely a reality check," he said with a nervous giggle. "If there was a level of competition in my mind, I would be intimidated but I don't really think that way. It's pretty much just about having fun and trying to help the audience have a good time."
Guy, 73, the legend who influenced Clapton and the Rolling Stones, lets Lang start the Muddy Waters chestnut "Forty Days and Forty Nights" on guitar and vocals. After a chorus and verse, Ron Wood takes a crack at it. And then it's Guy's turn.
"C'mon, Buddy," Lang urges as Guy's loud, piercing guitar and expressive countenance fill the stadium. Soon Wood and Lang join in, and Lang is flashing a grin instead of his usual guitar-solo grimace. When it's over, shy, humble Jonny's smile is as wide as the stage.
"It's good to be between two young guys who play guitar," Guy declares. "I don't know how you feel, but I feel like I'm in heaven."
A few hours later, Guy comes back down to Earth to lead the Crossroads finale of "Sweet Home Chicago." All of the festival's electric guitarists are expected to join in.
Lang marches to the center of the stage, behind a seated B.B. King, and plugs his Fender Telecaster into an amplifier. Then he looks up: He's face to face with the elusive one.
Lang extends his hand. Finally, he gets to meet Eric Clapton - in front of 27,000 people and 20 other guitar stars.
Victoria Advocate
Monday, July 5, 2010
An Interview with Jonny Lang
And on some level you must believe you were gifted with your musical abilities. Not everyone can just pick up a guitar and play like you do.
Sure, we’ve all got our niche that God has put us in. And hopefully we can be good stewards of what He’s given us.
Will spiritual themes continue to be a part of your music going forward?
My relationship with God is the most important thing in my life. So just because of that it’ll be inherently part of me and a part of whatever I do. At this stage it’s more about trying to be honest about the things that I struggle with in my life and more of the difficulties that I’ve been facing the last few years. That’s kind of where I’m at now so it might not come off as happy-happy-joy-joy time on the next one.
Is it challenging for you as a touring musician to keep your values and faith in check?
Absolutely. Absolutely. It’s a constant challenge and sometimes a battle, but God has become even more real to me through even all that. I had a period of time where I didn’t really think about some of the pressures of the peripheral things that go on on the road. As life goes on [though] you get things melded into different pressures, getting married and having kids, more responsibilities. You find out where you’re weak and where you’re strong. I’ve definitely had my battles, but it’s all been good and it always seems to work out… I found that I just really have to stay focused. Because it’s a pretty narrow path especially when you’re away from home and away from your support system. You really have to stay focused and remember why you’re doing what you’re doing. Once you get momentum, though, it’s okay.
Is it difficult to maintain your faith?
Fundamentally, who I believe in — believing in Jesus Christ and that He is my God — that I don’t have any problem with or waver on. Then there’s the side of your actions, trying to just be a blessing to people and trying to make everything in your personal life line up with who you are to people as well and not live a double life. I don’t think anybody’s perfect. I certainly am not or would never even try to think that I could be, but I really want to do my best and try to have some level of credibility.
Sure, we’ve all got our niche that God has put us in. And hopefully we can be good stewards of what He’s given us.
Will spiritual themes continue to be a part of your music going forward?
My relationship with God is the most important thing in my life. So just because of that it’ll be inherently part of me and a part of whatever I do. At this stage it’s more about trying to be honest about the things that I struggle with in my life and more of the difficulties that I’ve been facing the last few years. That’s kind of where I’m at now so it might not come off as happy-happy-joy-joy time on the next one.
Is it challenging for you as a touring musician to keep your values and faith in check?
Absolutely. Absolutely. It’s a constant challenge and sometimes a battle, but God has become even more real to me through even all that. I had a period of time where I didn’t really think about some of the pressures of the peripheral things that go on on the road. As life goes on [though] you get things melded into different pressures, getting married and having kids, more responsibilities. You find out where you’re weak and where you’re strong. I’ve definitely had my battles, but it’s all been good and it always seems to work out… I found that I just really have to stay focused. Because it’s a pretty narrow path especially when you’re away from home and away from your support system. You really have to stay focused and remember why you’re doing what you’re doing. Once you get momentum, though, it’s okay.
Is it difficult to maintain your faith?
Fundamentally, who I believe in — believing in Jesus Christ and that He is my God — that I don’t have any problem with or waver on. Then there’s the side of your actions, trying to just be a blessing to people and trying to make everything in your personal life line up with who you are to people as well and not live a double life. I don’t think anybody’s perfect. I certainly am not or would never even try to think that I could be, but I really want to do my best and try to have some level of credibility.
Friday, February 26, 2010
The Juliets New CD
This is my oldest son Jeremy's band and this is their first Cd. You can get it for free follow the download
Jeremy Freer The Juliets are giving away our first l.p. for free until March 13th the day after our l.p.release/video premiere celebration. We hope you enjoy it.http://thejuliets.bandcamp.com/
Jeremy Freer The Juliets are giving away our first l.p. for free until March 13th the day after our l.p.release/video premiere celebration. We hope you enjoy it.http://thejuliets.bandcamp.com/
thejuliets.bandcamp.com
1. Sweetheart 2. The Letter 3. This Just In 4. Sunday Song 5. Evolved Into 6. Rimbaud and Verlaine 7. Like A Parade 8. Streets of Gold 9. Landlord 10. Who Needs Astrology? 11. The Sequel 12. Drive You Home Released 26 February 2010.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Johnny Cash, 'American VI: Ain't No Grave'
The title track "Ain't No Grave" expresses Cash's firm belief that no earth bound casket can keep him from a heavenly ascent. I love this song. 1 Corinthians 15:55 is one of the last songs Cash wrote, "O death,where is thy sting / O grave where is your victory / O life you are a shining path / and hope springs eternal just over the rise / When I see my Redeemer beckoning me."
If you like Johnny Cash you'll want to get this CD.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Doug Groothuis Reviews Robert Gelinas Finding the Groove: Composing a Jazz-Shaped Faith
Jazz displays many creative, ennobling, and beautiful elements. Gelinas emphasizes its roots in the blues, syncopation, improvisation, ensemble cooperation, and creative tension—all modes of being that should be applied to the Christian life.
The blues are rooted in the pain of living in a fallen world, but refuse to wallow there. The old slave songs and spirituals lamented a life lived in chains, but transcended the bondage through song itself, and hoped for those chains to unbound one day. The blues roots of jazz give it a gritty sense of hope for a fallen world crying out for redemption. We, too, should see life for what it is, lament the losses, but press on with vision for better things through the power of God today and tomorrow and in the End.
Syncopation is what makes jazz swing. The jazz rhythm emphasizes the off beat, and, as Duke Ellington put it in a song title, “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.” To transpose this to the Christian life, syncopating means emphasizing the off-beat, finding novelty, and having “en eye and ear for that which goes unnoticed and unheard in life,” as Gelinas puts it. Jesus syncopated when he saw what others missed and reached out to the socially invisible or ostracized. A jazz-shaped faith does the same thing: it learns how to swing.
Improvisation is also constitutive of jazz. “Improvisation is what allows jazz to exist in a continual state of renewal,” Gelinas notes. A player improvises within the theme of a piece of music, but brings something new and distinctively his or her own to the old. Louis Armstrong went so far as to say, “Jazz is music that’s never played the same way once.” Every jazz solo is an adventure of self-expression that must, nevertheless, harmonize with the self-expression of the other musicians. This collaborative aspect of jazz is what Gelinas calls “life in concert.” Each musician contributes something unique himself or herself, but never in isolation from the larger group. The metaphor from jazz is rich for Christian existence. We must find out own voice (or calling), but never merely for our own sake, but for the sake of the group (the Body of Christ) and before the audience (the listening world of unbelievers).
Robert Gelinas, Finding the Groove: Composing a Jazz-Shaped Faith. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009. 218 pages. $14.99.
Read the whole review at Jazz Notes
The blues are rooted in the pain of living in a fallen world, but refuse to wallow there. The old slave songs and spirituals lamented a life lived in chains, but transcended the bondage through song itself, and hoped for those chains to unbound one day. The blues roots of jazz give it a gritty sense of hope for a fallen world crying out for redemption. We, too, should see life for what it is, lament the losses, but press on with vision for better things through the power of God today and tomorrow and in the End.
Syncopation is what makes jazz swing. The jazz rhythm emphasizes the off beat, and, as Duke Ellington put it in a song title, “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.” To transpose this to the Christian life, syncopating means emphasizing the off-beat, finding novelty, and having “en eye and ear for that which goes unnoticed and unheard in life,” as Gelinas puts it. Jesus syncopated when he saw what others missed and reached out to the socially invisible or ostracized. A jazz-shaped faith does the same thing: it learns how to swing.
Improvisation is also constitutive of jazz. “Improvisation is what allows jazz to exist in a continual state of renewal,” Gelinas notes. A player improvises within the theme of a piece of music, but brings something new and distinctively his or her own to the old. Louis Armstrong went so far as to say, “Jazz is music that’s never played the same way once.” Every jazz solo is an adventure of self-expression that must, nevertheless, harmonize with the self-expression of the other musicians. This collaborative aspect of jazz is what Gelinas calls “life in concert.” Each musician contributes something unique himself or herself, but never in isolation from the larger group. The metaphor from jazz is rich for Christian existence. We must find out own voice (or calling), but never merely for our own sake, but for the sake of the group (the Body of Christ) and before the audience (the listening world of unbelievers).
Robert Gelinas, Finding the Groove: Composing a Jazz-Shaped Faith. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009. 218 pages. $14.99.
Read the whole review at Jazz Notes
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Local indie band, The Juliets, rock The Blind Pig
This past Thursday one of Ann Arbor’s best known venues, The Blind Pig, hosted four local bands.
Headlining the show were The Juliets composed of Jeremy Freer, Kip Donlon, Scott Masson and EMU students Kaylan Mitchell and Sarah Myers.
This classic indie pop band performed for one hour, and from the crowds response, it went off without a hitch.
“The band played well together and they were very solid,” said Jared Walker, a senior music performance major.
“I do not think however that everyone has to play all the time. There can be silent parts. Over all I think the show was good it could have gone just a little further.”
The Juilets performed with a variety of music instruments, ranging from traditional guitars and drums all the way to Orchestral instruments such as the violin and cello. It was a nice clash between the classical and rock sounds that did not sound unpleasant to the ears.
“It was interesting to hear this particular combination of instruments pull together to create The Juliets,” stated EMU alumni Cassie Harris.
“I highly enjoyed hearing something that traditionally does not go together. The Juliets were extremely entertaining and that got people off their seats and start dancing.”
By Nicole Bell | THE EASTERN ECHO
Headlining the show were The Juliets composed of Jeremy Freer, Kip Donlon, Scott Masson and EMU students Kaylan Mitchell and Sarah Myers.
This classic indie pop band performed for one hour, and from the crowds response, it went off without a hitch.
“The band played well together and they were very solid,” said Jared Walker, a senior music performance major.
“I do not think however that everyone has to play all the time. There can be silent parts. Over all I think the show was good it could have gone just a little further.”
The Juilets performed with a variety of music instruments, ranging from traditional guitars and drums all the way to Orchestral instruments such as the violin and cello. It was a nice clash between the classical and rock sounds that did not sound unpleasant to the ears.
“It was interesting to hear this particular combination of instruments pull together to create The Juliets,” stated EMU alumni Cassie Harris.
“I highly enjoyed hearing something that traditionally does not go together. The Juliets were extremely entertaining and that got people off their seats and start dancing.”
By Nicole Bell | THE EASTERN ECHO
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