change the world with each strum of a chord.
(laughs) You can really trust your team to do
their parts. It’s really about finding what’s the
most effective. As I’m digging through parts to
a song, even if it’s not our song, I’ll find two
or three parts that I feel are going to translate
the best from playing live. And some of that is
experience, you just have to do it enough, play
enough live to know what’s going to work and
what isn’t. Sometimes you swing and miss,
there are plenty of times where we prepare
a song and get on stage to rehearse it and
Chris is like, “Man, that bridge, I feel like we
lost something.” So, I’ll have to go back to the
drawing board. But for the most part, I’m trying
to eliminate as many of those conversations
as possible by having discretion and trying my
best to pick the parts that are really going to
work live, which is hard to do.
[WM] Chris was really singing your praises in
the last issue, and one of the things that came
through was his appreciation for your sense
of arrangement. How much of your arranging
skills came from learning to play Christmas
songs?
really has their part in these Christmas concerts. It’s a little more like the orchestra feel except it’s [Daniel] I would say the arrangement thing
There are some songs that are really percussion a little more raucous probably (laughs). would really matter in Christmas music,
and drum focused, and certain songs that are
because you’ve got such beautiful songs. The
piano focused, some that are more acoustic. [WM] What are some of the specific things main thing is that people love these songs, they
So, it’s a good reminder every year. about your approach that have changed? love Christmas songs and there is so much of
As a guitar player it’s fun. Because you really feel [Daniel] So much has changed. When I first to the song and treat the song the right way. If
like… it’s not that the music isn’t guitar heavy, started playing and I had not really recorded or you change it too much it kind of feels wrong
but everybody is really carrying an equal load. toured much, I think my view of the whole thing in a way. If anything, I think it would teach you.
It’s a really good reminder to know your part, was just much more complicated than what I would almost call it “grown-up songs”. These
and know your place, and it’s really fun to hear was really necessary. I think I was trying to do are really well crafted and beautifully written
it all work together. We’ve really worked hard too much as a young guitar player. I don’t know songs, and to think that I’m going to come
over the years developing these arrangements if that’s because I had just learned these new along with a guitar part to add to that, I’ve got
so that the string line, and the piano line, and tricks, or I had got a new guitar pedal, and I to be really careful to make sure to treat it well
the percussion and everything has its place and wanted to try that stuff out (and there’s nothing and that it fits with the other musicians.
works well together. I get a huge kick out of it wrong with that). But I think if anything… I’ve every year, I really love hearing the team working just simplified. When I’m preparing, or learning You know, people are singing along to these
together. We have a couple extra singers out on a song for church which I still do, I try to pick songs at these concerts and it’s really a beautiful
the road and a percussionist that travels with the main guitar hook and learn the chord thing to hear everyone’s voices singing. I think
us on this run. For me it feels like the closest progression, and then it’s just to trust your band that’s one cool thing, with Chris while we were
thing to playing in an orchestra or something, mates and trust other people to do their jobs making these records, he really wanted to focus
you kind of go into that headspace a little bit. as well. As opposed to feeling like you have to on the voices. When we made these Christmas
a tradition in our faith. You have to pay respect
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December 2018
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