concertman

So when you go to see a Christian band do you expect all the members in the band to be Christians?  What if they are not?  What if some of the people in that band are just along for the paycheck?  Riding the wave so that they can pay the bills.  Telling the fans what they want to hear just so they can keep up appearances and sell more records and tickets.  That would never happen in Christian music… would it?!

It has and it will.  I can think of people right now who were doing just that.  They were just along for the paycheck.  They stated out right to me that they didn’t “buy in” to the whole Christian thing.  It was a way for them to make money and make music.

How about that album of praise and worship music you got?  Think those were all Christian musicians on that album?  Nope.

That album was created for one reason, to make money.  If the record label didn’t think the album would make money then they wouldn’t produce it.  I was told that personally by the president of a major Christian record label while I sat in his office.  It didn’t matter to him if the music was praising God or uplifting to people.  Was it going to sell at least 100,000 copies.  That was their concern.

Are all Christian bands and record labels like this?  No.  I know for a fact there are some that fight this image constantly but they are honestly in the minority.  Ya know what else?  It’s probably not the people you would think it is either.

So what do we do as Christians looking for entertainment?  We do what ever we would normally do.  Take it for what it’s worth.  You don’t have to go to a concert to praise God.  You don’t have to buy a worship CD to praise God.  You praise him by living your life the way he asked us to.

Rarely do a few days go by that I don’t get a question from people about why I left the music industry. I was well on my way to being somewhat famous I guess. A record deal with a top 3 record label, a publishing deal and constantly on tour. It was all coming together. I was working with Grammy winners, Dove winners, and some of the most influential people in the music industry. It was what a lot of people only dream of.

And then I walked away from it. Dropped it. Left without even telling some people about it.

Why? Sometimes I still wonder that myself.

A major reason why is that for what was known as the Christian Music Industry, there were many times that it was anything but. I was lied to, cheated, rumors spread, had to listen to rumors about friends, told to my face that I was not trusted.

It sucked. It still does.

Yeah if you search for my name on the internet you’ll find a few credits to my name. Ones that have even come after I left. I still have some very very close friends that are artists and techies in the industry. We talk a lot about what it’s like. It’s tough, it really is.

I’ll share a few stories sometime, and I might even have a few industry friends share a few too. Just know this, I left the music business under my own accord. I didn’t like who I was and what I was becoming when I was a part of that. I wanted to get out of it before it changed me for good.

Well I think the picture explains most of it.  The rest are just little details.  If you want to know more about the person who this ring is attached to then you can go check out her website marymuses.com

The rest of the holiday was just kind of a blur of colors….literally.  My kitchen, dinning room and living room are new colors.

Merry Christmas!!!!