This blog is a little bit different from most of my posts because I wanted to share how the professional musician lifestyle is different than the normal desk job and post an interview with Donny Brown (the drummer ofThe Verve Pipe. The Verve Pipe has the 90's radio hit single "The Freshmen."
Why did you choose this career?
I wasn't qualified to do anything else. It fell into my lap, and I became decent enough that people were willing to pay.
What personality traits are important for this career?
You have to be able to go with the flow, because things don't go as planned and you have to be prepared for the unexpected. Things like sickness, and weather conditions.
How many hours do you work in a typical week?
A good 50 to 60 hours. During a project, there is more work to be done and there is usually a resting period after a project is over.
Are certain times of the year busier than others?
Absolutely. Summer is touring season with outdoor gigs. Recording usually happens in the winter.
What do you like best about your job?
I like creating something and giving it's own life.
What don't you like about your job?
When I was in a band in the 80s, the money I made then is the same amount now. The pay for musicians has stayed the same.
What advice would you give to someone pursuing this career?
Um, I would just tell them to learn. Take it as it comes. Roll with the punches. More than anything - concentrate on being good - writing good music.
How does you job affect your time away from work?
What you are a full time musician, you job becomes you identity.
What changes do you see in this area within the next 10 years?
I would hope there would be, uh... that there might be better pay. Pay for original music has dwindled.
As we come upon Thanksgiving, I am so blessed to be brought up in a Jesus-loving home and that I know the truth by 14 years of age. How blessed I am. I am very thankful for all of the Christ-loving men who follow Him and are role models in my life. They help me stay unashamed of my faith and what I believe in the middle of this evil world. Most notably, Jesus Christ is role model #1. Always. My second is my dad - a man I can look up to and ask advice from. He teaches me how to live like Christ. Thirdly, Lecrae. He stays true to his beliefs and doesn't compromise with the world even while he is at the top of the Billboard charts. After them are all of the Reach Records artists, including Trip Lee - a rapper and pastor. He tweeted this:
Tragic scene in #Ferguson. I go to sleep sad, but hopeful. Because even though this world is messed up, I know how the story ends
— Trip Lee (@TripLee) November 25, 2014
Praise the Lord for this kind of leadership in America. I pray for all of those who need some hope and leadership in their lives. But I will say I am beyond blessed to have that.
Recently, Lecrae’s new album Anomaly trampled Maroon 5’s V and a couple other really big releases. He went to the top of the Billboard Top 200 chart the week after it’s release and it is a big win for the Kingdom – except some disagree.
With the new release of Anomaly, many fans find it a great outreach for the Kingdom and some turn to critics. Many people find that now, with Lecrae going mainstream, he is doing it for the money and really is using God to make money.
Is it true?
I would say no. I can see how some would see the opposite. If I didn’t understand why he is doing what he is doing, I would probably criticize too.
Let me tell you this – Lecrae is trying to be an outreach to places he wouldn’t have reached before. Lecrae is not changing what he believes! He is just rapping about different worldly topics from a strong, firm, Christian perspective. One of his first singles, in 2006, was titled Jesus Muzik. What a great way to get people excited about the gospel! Songs in his early career like Go Hard from the album Rebel. That was a song about not being ashamed of Christ and doing everything you can to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Now, Lecrae has songs like Nuthin’ that looks at modern rap music (and even other genres) and how we are now listening to music that talks about “nothing.” Lecrae means that the music industry is not putting out music that has topics that do not matter. It may be good music – but the meaning of it promotes drug use, sex, and money. Is this what we want our world to be focused on.
Lecrae is going mainstream – with the message and worldview of the Gospel. Praise God that he is able to reach more people with his music now and making a positive impact when all we hear around us is negative.
He isn't compromising his beliefs for the fame.
As an end note, here is a couple lines from his song Non-Fiction which deals with this issue of people criticizing his plan to reach out: I got a mission that I’m fighting for / I’m writing songs trying to give you substance / I’m writing songs fighting for your soul / We may run a different pace but let’s continue the race / You’re running yours, I’m running mine
I was recently asked, "Why can't you keep your beliefs to yourself?"
We could, but why would we want to? We just want to share the joy, grace, mercy, and forgiveness that we feel. We want you to feel the love and the joy and peace that we get from Jesus. We want you to get hope from Jesus. There's more than just records of creation and stories in the Bible - it's a manual to life and the world. It has all the answers. It also records the life of Jesus, who lived a perfect life with no sin to show how to live a life like His that was perfect. We look up to Him and try to be more like Him everyday. We also find forgiveness, and we don't have to carry guilt on our shoulders. Jesus shows us how to live a perfect life. We are never going to live a perfect life, and we will still sin while we are Christians, so if we sin, we have to pay for it. False. Jesus came and took everyone's (everyone who believes in Him) punishment of sin on the cross. It was a legal transaction of payment from you to Jesus Christ. Can there be a moral atheist? Yes. But why live in morality if there's no reason to live. There is not even a moral standard of atheist or non-believers' morality. Are you more than a body and flesh? Or do you just live and disappear like dust? Doesn't there have to be more? The Lord loves you. He will never let you down - He will turn your life around. He will give you a new meaning to life.
Please consider it.
Why would someone want to keep gold that they found to themselves when there is a surplus to pass around - enough for the human race? But this is serious, this is not gold! It's your eternity and it's much more important! We love you so much and never want you to regret anything.
In the end,
If I'm wrong about God, I've wasted my life. If you're wrong about God, you've wasted eternity.
I don't think things are as they seem.
I'm talking about what God's plan is, and what you think your plan is.
I had a recent experience of this. I really didn't want something to happen because there were negative things that were going to come out of it. I didn't God knew what he was doing. As a matter of fact, I didn't God was watching over this particular situation. God knew what he was doing.
I watched this happen - I watched God do something I did not want. Something that was only going to be negative on me. But nope, God had much more then I could possibly ever understand. I did not get it, I did not want it, I was just confused - puzzled at the work of The Lord.
Try this.
There is a curtain covering up something behind it. You don't really know what exactly is behind the curtain. You can't see behind the curtain - but you know it's something good. You go for it. You run after it and work hard - but then - something goes terribly wrong with your plan. You ask yourself, What in the world just happened? It happened so quickly and your plan crashes. It crashes, and burns. You don't know what your going to do now, but someone lifts the curtain, and you realize it was the painting of your imagination that painted a picture on the curtain - right smack dab in the middle and you were chasing that goal. You look up, and behind the curtain there is God's plan. It is so much better than yours and you have no idea what really just took place but you now knew God was in control and this plan is a whole lot better.
God answers to prayers & requests in three simple ways:
Yes, No, and "Wait, I have something better."
What are you aiming for in your life right now? Are you letting God control it? Or, are you doing the work, that is most likely going to get you something less than God's idea.
So, my friend and I started talking the other day. We started talking and he was talking about his life at home, and how rough his life is starting to get... The adults in his life, the problems he was having, and how - overall - it was a struggle for him to live at home. I don't want to go into much detail to keep privacy, but I do want to explain my point.
He was talking about his dad and things that he does and how he is surviving. He talked about how he probably wasn't going to be successful. He said that he kind of wanted a good career and education - but he explained that it wasn't possible.
This life is only what you make of it. It's yours. Set big goals and dreams and try to reach them. Start small. If you don't think you can do something, you probably can. Don't doubt yourself. Try to achieve those goals and dreams, no matter who you live with, what your past has been like, or even who you hang out with.
I have a good example of this.
My favorite rapper Lecrae has a great testimony about how he overcame the past and he made a change. He explains that his father left him and his mother of an addiction. He was left with only his uncles who were bad influences. He tells about a time with his uncle in his testimony:
"My uncle was pretty promiscuous - had multiple girlfriends. We were hanging out and my uncle told me "Sit right here in the car, young man - let me talk to this lady." We were on our was to his girlfriends house and he stopped to talk to another young lady. We got to his girlfriends house. His girlfriend asked me, my young impressionable mind, "Does he talk to other woman?" and I'm assuming I'm supposed to be telling the truth and so I'm like, "Of course - I thought you knew this." I woke up in the trunk of his car. He knocked me out and I woke up in the trunk of his car. I screamed and he said, "If you don't be quiet, I'm never gonna let out this trunk." These are the idols - these are the role models that I had to look up to. I had men telling me that I wasn't a man unless I drank more than I needed to, slept with more people, unless I was a fighter. All these standards of masculinity and manhood came about because I had no real standard. The standard was just created."
The manhood speak from Lecrae.
Lecrae is now a Christian rapper and is a great role model to even me. Once he found Jesus, He knew he had to make a change. He wrote a song called "Just Like You" on this same topic. He starts off the song like this:
"Dear, Uncle Chris,
Uncle Keith, Uncle Ricky,
Before the Lord get me I gotta say something quickly
I grew up empty since my daddy wasn't with me,
I wasn't picky I'd take any male figure – you.
You showed me stuff I
probably shouldn't have seen,
But you had barely made it out your teens,
And took me under your wings
I wanted hats, I wanted clothes just like you,
Lean to the side when I rolled just like you
Didn't care if people didn't like you,
You wanna bang, I wanna bang too."
He starts it off showing what his past was like. Next, he explains to his fans that they need to be role models:
"You never know who's
right behind you,
I got a little son now and he do whatever I do
But it's something deep inside you,
That tell you it's gotta be more than doing what other guys do,
They had nobody there to guide you
But I followed your footsteps and this shouldn't surprise you,
You realize?
Yeah, I just wanna be like you"
Lastly, he shows the change in his life when Jesus stepped into his life and what He did for us.
But then in steps
Jesus,
All men were created to lead but we needed somebody to lead us
More than a teacher,
But somebody to buy us back from the darkness,
You can say He redeemed us,
Taught us that real leaders follow God,
Finish the work 'cause we on our job
Taught us not to rob
But give life love a wife like He loved the Church,
Without seeing how many hearts we can break first.
