house after a concert , I had an encounter with the Lord . I was eleven and I knew that what these guys were doing , is what I wanted to do ! I had just started playing guitar but knew at that moment it was a calling from God , and so I started practicing really hard .
[ WM ] As I was preparing for this interview time , I came across the song , “ Someday ”, from about six years ago . You co-wrote that with the incomparable Andraé Crouch , who passed a year after this video was posted . What a song ! And who knew that you could play chromatic harmonica like Toots Thielemans or Stevie Wonder ? Please tell us about this song and the life that it has had ?
[ Tommy ] Andraé Crouch was one of the other biggest influences on me from the beginning . To me , he was modern worship leader number one , as in , the original ! Anyways , I ’ ve had the privilege of singing with Linda McCrary for many years and she set up a writing session for me with Andraé . It was incredible ! He turned on his cassette player , yes , cassette player , and I started recording with my phone and I just watched him come up with a new epic song idea , it seemed like every few minutes . At one point he sang the line “ someday it will all be over ”. Basically , when I played back our session on my phone , I knew that was the nugget I would go after . It came together somewhat easily ; however , I didn ’ t have a chance to play it for him until it had already been recorded . I was so nervous when I finally did . Fortunately , he only had one change , which was a great one . He ended the song with “ someday , it will all have just begun ”! Little did I know , a year later his “ someday ” would have just begun . What a treasured honor to have been a part of one of the last things he ever wrote on this earth ! Regarding the chromatic harmonica , my Dad played harmonica when I was a kid . So , as a way of honoring him and as a way to keep challenging myself to learn new things , which I believe is super important for all of us , I took it up about ten years ago . As a matter of fact , as of yesterday , I started working on “ Sleigh Ride ”. Wow , lots of key changes !
[ WM ] You ’ ve been fortunate to work and worship with some of L . A .’ s finest musicians and singers ! And in so doing , diversity has always been a part of your ethic . Diversity is a buzz word these days , typically with reference to