1. Can you take genuine feedback easily and are you willing to hear
ways you could improve without becoming defensive (i.e. are you
committed to continual improvement)?
I’ve been a pastor for many years. It’s like having hundreds of
bosses, as any member can feel free to give you feedback at any time.
You learn to handle such feed back without getting defensive. If it is
feedback that is not constructive or consistent with what I believe with my role
as a pastor should be, or my vision for the church, I hear them out, thank them
for their feedback, then honestly tell them that is not where I am at. This can be
said in different ways depending on context. This has become a habitual way
to handle feedback, and I am sure would extend to any feedback on my music.
I would certainly welcome, though, any feedback that might improve my music
as-long-as it didn’t compromise my integrity as a Christian artist.
2. Are you willing to push beyond your limitations even when it’s hard
and very uncomfortable?
Absolutely, growth in life is not only a challenge it can be one of the great
pleasures in life as you begin to realize potential
3. Do you talk about how awesome it is when other bands reach a level
of success you haven’t yet reached (does it inspire you and stoke you up
to do better)?
Again absolutely. I am always listening to a variety of music from well
known artists, but also enjoy listening to independent artists on sites
like Reverbnation. I am particularly uplifted when an independent artist with
a unique sound receives recognition.
4. Do you (or your band) regularly write songs that people (beyond your
friends and family) are hungry to buy (in whatever format you have them
in)?
Some of my songs have been shared, via Facebook, and downloaded a lot.
Since as a pastor I have been more interested in using my songs as an extension of my
ministry I have most often offered them for free. Still given the number of downloads
and shares of some the songs, there must be some greater appreciation of the pastoral
intent of these songs.
5. Do you practice at least 3 times a week (for periods of 3 hours or
longer)? And yes, gigs can count as practice. So if you’re out gigging
multiple times a week and are constantly improving by doing so, great!
Just make sure you are also spending the time outside the gigs to
improve your performances where needed.
The word practice for me connotates work and discipline whereas when I pick up the guitar,
which is almost every day, I experience this as a pleasurable
outlet and way to relax. If I, however, were part of a larger group, or performing more outside
the church I could see where practice would be necessary.
6. Do you regularly rehearse your established sets as if you were doing
a live show in order to perfect your entire performance (and get it
embodied at the cellular level so you have the freedom to effectively
improvise)?
Since I perform my songs mainly in a worship context I have not had
to practice sets. Still I do stories, based on humorous or dramatic life experiences,
that accompany most of these song, and it would not be hard to work this story/song
format into a set of sorts.
7. Are you fully committed to blowing your audience away every time you
perform regardless of where you are and how many people are there (i.e.
do you perform full out 10 times out of 10)?
As a pastor ministering, in a broad Christians spiritual way, to others is
the passion that fuels my performances. The size of the crowd makes no
difference.
8. Do you regularly make wise, well thought-out decisions in life (do
you seek advice from people who are more experienced than you)?
While in humility and prayerfulness I try make good decisions part of
wisdom can be seeking out advice, at times, from those with rich and
mature life experience.
9. Do you have a strong, viable, grassroots fan base that promotes you
and serves as your Street Team and your die-hard advocates?
I have not been using tech. to develop much of a fan base, but the high number of people on
Reverbnation who listen to my songs suggests that
there might be a much bigger base to tap into.
10. Are you accumulating a fan info data base that’s in a useable
format (including email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, whatever
you can accumulate from mailing lists, fan clubs, social networks,
etc.)?
As stated above this is a option I have not taken full advantage of yet.
11. Do you create opportunities to interact with and associate with
your fans in ways that also allow you to celebrate who they are and what
they’re passionate about while still leaving them wanting more?
Mostly I do this by rotating the songs, and stories, I perform in worship
Settings, while interspersing new songs regularly. This seems to leave
congregations looking forward to hearing me again. One refrain I hear
quite often is we wish you would play more often in church. The quick follow
up I often hear is that either the song, story, or both spoke to that person in
special way so. This makes me feel appropriately like a vehicle for ministry and is
both flattering and humbling.
12. Do you have a website, Facebook site, MySpace site, and a Twitter
following that you regularly update and utilize to build fan loyalty and
interaction (a key ingredient of successful communities)?
I do but is from a book I had published some years back. The title
Of the book is also the name of the website: “Spiritual Journeys in
Prayer and Song”.
13. Is destiny calling you so strongly that you are convinced an
essential part of your nature has to do with bringing your music to as
many people as you can reach?
I feel a very strong calling to write andperform my songs, and tell my stories.
As this pertains to a sense of destiny I must say again that it has less to do
with commercial success than to speak in a new/old way to people who feel
adrift in the current culture.
14. Is your musical career at the top of your priority list (right
after your ethics and your key relationships)?
At this point in my life it is a top priority as I feel I can better
minister to more people this way than in more traditional forms
of ministry.
15. Are your ethics aligned with and key relationships enthusiastically
and unrelentingly supportive of your dream and goals about a career in
music?
Friends and family have long recognized and been supportive of this area of my
ministry. My ethics, Christian values, are an integral part of what informs my music.
If this were not the case I doubt that I feel motivated or be able to write the songs I do,
16. Do you regularly get into the studio (how ever large or small) and
record your music, work out arrangements, master the art of studio
performance (vs. live performance) so that your recorded music captures
the verve, vitality, and vibe of your live performances?
I know someone, now a friend, with a studio that I get together with semi
regularly. Mainly after I have written a new song. He is a wonderful support,
and without his help my songs would sound half as good as they do.
17. Is your passion for music and success greater than your ego (i.e.
can you drop your sense of self-importance or your story and become
results driven vs. ego driven)?
As a Christian I can’t deny but must admit my humanness and surrender these to God’s Grace.
This of course would include ego driven times. It is only by not denying but surrendering such
human foibles, that I have found the Holy Spirit is able to work in and through me.
18. Are you comfortable not being home and being on the road in far
less than elegant circumstances?
I love to travel. Having family and friends in Europe and across the US has made this
easier to do. In the context of your question, though, I have mostly performed my songs
within the congregations I have served, and so have not had to travel because of my music.
19. Do you have a job(s) and/or the lifestyle that enables you to take
time off and hit the road?
In the near future I plan, for a period of time, to just teach part time which will leave
with a much more flexible schedule.
20. Are you an incredibly dedicated, tenacious, hard working person (or
group) who never gives up?
I tend to be a driven person when it comes to those things I feel passionate about.
I have been passionate about my music for a long time.