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were so welcoming and excited about getting together to just hang out and share music and stories and life together . And pretty soon all the dividing lines get erased and it ’ s just . . . ‘ we .’
That ’ s why I say in my bio that the only real dividing line is between death and life . We are all so much closer together than we think we are . When we realize that , then it becomes much easier to have conversations that transcend the every day issues we ’ re presented with . Grace works the same for everyone . Redemption and forgiveness and love all work the same , regardless of culture , race , color , or income .
[ WM ] At times on American Prodigal you have a Tsunami of sound coming at your listener , and sometimes a stripped down to bare bones touch … very well done . Tell us about your choice of arrangements .
[ DC ] Thank you for your kind words . Well , I love big and small next together . I think both are better off with the other nearby .
[ WM ] You know I am a fan of vintage instruments . Tell us about your old Gibson acoustic .
[ DC ] Ha ! I have two that I use most . One is a 1948 Gibson SJ , and one is a 1946 J-45 . They are called , Ray , and , Not Ray . I picked up both of them at a guitar shop in New York City called Matt Uminov ’ s . If I ’ m in NYC , I ’ m making a stop there , and then eating pizza across the street at Johnny ’ s . Ray was hanging behind the counter and it said “ Ray ” on it . I asked who Ray was , and they said they had no idea . I ’ ve been looking for Ray ever since . The day I took Ray off their hands I also picked up a Gibson 1918 arch top that has a nice Jack Johnson type vibe to it . That shop has been magic to me .
[ WM ] What other vintage instruments and amps are you using ?
[ DC ] For recording , mostly small trashy amps . Little Silvertones and a couple of weird things I picked up along the way that I honestly don ’ t know who made them or what ’ s in them . I have an old Silverstone electric that I use a lot and an EKO 500 that fit some of my tunes .
[ WM ] Are you learning to play any new instruments right now ?
“ My Victory ” Lyric Video
AMERICAN PRODIGAL ( 2016 )
NEON STEEPLE ( 2014 )
I ’ m looking for a harp . I think it would be a trip
to write a tune on a legit harp . They ain ’ t cheap , so I ’ m biding my time . It ’ ll pop up eventually . I ’ ve been prowling for one since the Neon Steeple album .
[ WM ] How much of your music do you write with the intention of it being sung by the church for use in a worship service ? photo by Eric Brown
[ DC ] I don ’ t know that I ever actually “ learn ” a new instrument , but I sure will poke at anything around me . We picked up a few of those 3-string cigar box , electric cigars . You would not believe what those things sound like through my Marshall head / Mesa cab with a Ratt on it . Huge ! Metal heads would flip . Makes drop C feel barney thin . Bill from Mastodon played on the Overcome track that I wrote with Oz Fox of Stryper fame , and when you have those raucous rockers on a track you got to do something . So the electric cigar is now in the arsenal .
[ DC ] All of it . I realize some of them might be looking for the right church or service , but the point of them is to both create an experience from front to back , and also be useful in group settings . Most of them are really simple if you just have a guitar or piano . The production often makes them seem a bit daunting .
[ WM ] Your mandolin player ’ s brother is now writing our mandolin column in Worship Musician . Tell us about your touring band .
[ DC ] The dudes playing with me are stupid good . Hank Bently is one of the auxiliary players . He does a ton of songwriting and production .
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26 Jan � Feb 2017 WorshipMusician . com