I was a late bloomer. I learned bass and guitar in college and immediately joined a band. We traveled for nearly 4 years and recorded 3 albums under the name The Pedestrians. (None of it is available unless you find an old CD somewhere.) I have been a Youth Minister for the past 20 years where I lead worship. I've been hoarding a slew of songs to record until now. I've begun working on my first full-length album as a solo singer-songwriter and will randomly release singles here on Drooble and on Bandcamp.
Music is an outlet for me to express love, encouragement, and my faith. It gives me the opportunity to relate to others that are struggling with doubt and belief as well as produce words of worship and praise to our creator.
My ultimate musical dream is to change the world. My second dream is to change a life. Finally, I dream that it might change my own life.
I would love to change how much of the world views Christians and Christianity. I would love to point them directly to Christ rather than to myself or other fallen people. We are not perfect, but many of us are trying...
I still remember hearing the backward bass drum sound from Paul Revere by The Beastie Boys blaring from my brother's room. I snuck down the hall with a little tape recorder and got myself a copy. It was my first bootleg experience, but I've been dreaming of making music ever since.
I've been diverse over the years. I began as primarily a Rap fan. I listened to groups from the Fat Boys, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, to more hardcore rap like Dr. Dre and NWA. As a follower of Jesus, I struggled to find anything that would be appealing in the Christian music genre in the early 1990s. Then I was introduced to an album called Free Flying Soul by a band called The Choir. I listened to that album almost exclusively my entire senior year of High School. From that moment on I embraced a more alternative rock style for preference. Other artists that have greatly influenced me since have been Waterdeep, Josh Garrels, Switchfoot, Twenty-One Pilots, Andrew Peterson, Andrew Osenga, Andy Mineo, The Brilliance, Counting Crows, Mat Kearney, and many many others.
My Creator and Lord, Jesus Christ.
That the Creator of the Universe came down as Jesus to love, serve, and eventually pay for our downfall by taking our mistakes upon Himself and dying. He then arose from the grave. He defeated death and sin for us all. It's ok to struggle. It's ok to question. It's ok to doubt. We are in this together and should look to Jesus alone for answers.
I feel nervous yet freeing when performing. I'm a little self-conscious of my vocal skill, but my biggest concern is that someone's life is changed through something I've done.
This is the best time in history to be a musician and artist. There are more venues now than ever before for a musician to get their music heard. The only improvement would be a way for the listener to find artists that they would enjoy more easily. It's difficult to "label" the kind of artists I would like to hear. When searched, the spectrum is too broad to find what I'm wanting.
So far, Drooble is pretty awesome. I've posted a couple of songs and already have interaction. I might have to come back later to give this a more in-depth answer.
Motivating myself to write and record is the most frustrating part for me. A close second would be finding the time since this is a hobby and not my job.
We do not have much of a local scene here in my little town.
They should be personal and genuinely care for the people they perform for. A performer that acts selflessly is rare to find.
Josh Garrels, Waterdeep, Don Chaffer, The Choir, Andrew Peterson. I probably have more, but these are the ones that come to mind.