I'm a husband and father of 2. I've been a musician for 19 years and, in addition to being a classically-trained violinist, I play bass guitar, guitar (both acoustic and electric), drums, piano/keyboard, and mandolin. I love music of (almost) every kind, and feel that God has given me an ear for good music.
I'm currently the music director at Compassion Christian Center, Mesa, AZ. I've led worship in churches for ten years, and have played in various ensembles for around sixteen years, everything from symphony orchestras to alt-metal bands.
As far as my personal music tastes go, it really is a mixed bag: I tend to hang around the alternative/alt-metal genre, and I especially love alternative/alt-metal with female lead vocals. That's definitely my favorite sound in music
Now, every once in a while I'll dabble into a some heavy metal, speed metal, and some scream-arrific, kick-your-face-in music, just because. I feel that it's good for cleansing the musical palette. Oddly enough, I feel that classical music is good for the same thing, so, every once in a while, the classical station goes on for a day or two. Classical music serves to remind me of my roots, and serves as a good reminder that there's more to music than the simple four- and five-chord progressions that tend to be commonplace in modern rock music.
I also like to turn on the hip-hop machine every once in a while. Christian hip-hop artists are some of the most fluent songwriters you will ever hear, and it is extremely impressive to me to hear them take something as (verbally) complicated as the Bible and create well-formed, well-flowing hip-hop with it.
I love traditional gospel as well. Some of the most powerful and inspirational songs in Christian music are tied into these melodies of what would traditionally be called "black churches," and there have been times in my life where the encouraging words that these songs have brought to my remembrance have helped me to overcome some major, major obstacles.
Now, I really mean it when I say that I love (almost) all kinds of music, so don't think for a second that I'm prejudiced against any one kind. There are definitely songs that rub me the wrong way, songs I won't listen to. There are even Christian songs that have been huge hits that I just couldn't quite get behind, either because of some of the lyrical content (I do take the doctrine of what I sing and listen to seriously), or because I just didn't like the way the music or the melody were written. I think the key of C tends to be a theme among several of these songs.
As far as my upbringing goes, I've been raised in the Church for as long as I can remember, and I've been a part of churches both conservative and charismatic, denominational and non-denominational, big and small. Ultimately, the most important thing to remember is that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that we all have a responsibility to make sure that we are the best representation for Him while we're here that we can be.
God bless, and I hope you enjoy Christian Music Discovery.
- Will
