An exceptional songwriter to the church , Pat ’ s new project , Act Justly , Love Mercy , Walk Humbly , will be released by Capitol Christian Music Group / Bowyer and Bower , on February 26 . Pat ’ s open and candid interview with us is an encouragement to explore a wider world of worship .
[ WM ] Pat , you ’ ve blossomed and have been tremendously prolific over the past decade plus . I ’ ve always admired your gifting many years ago with Unhindered . You then moved on to the band Housefires , until 2018 . Tell us about your initial musical interests and involvement in church music and service ?
[ Pat Barrett ] Gosh , taking it back to the roots of things … to be frank a lot of my initial exposure to music was involuntary because I ’ m a preacher ' s kid ( laughs ). My Dad is a pastor and I grew up in a small non-denominational church , and most of the live music I heard growing up was in church . But the first concert
Housefires - Build My Life ( feat . Pat Barrett )
my Dad took me to however was The Allman Brothers . So , I grew up around congregational worship , which was really significant , but then I also grew up around Jimi Hendrix , Eric Clapton , The Yardbirds and The Doors . Every record my Dad would play . He was always very encouraging of music in general , but one of the things I really loved is that he stoked that curiosity and let me keep walking down those roads even when it made people kind of uncomfortable .
A poster I had on my wall growing up is Hendrix burning his guitar , and it made some churchgoers pretty uncomfortable . I feel like I ’ ve grown up around music my whole life , and I really started writing music at an early age , writing songs at least . When I think back , at the time it felt like wondering through things that interest you .
I remember watching this Eagles documentary and I forgot which member said it , but it was that when you look back in hindsight it seems so crafted , but at the time it never felt like that . It was more like I was just into music and at the church a lot , and in some regard faith is put in front of you and even forced upon you until you reach a point in your life where you decide for yourself if you ’ re going to choose that path or not .
I remember having that moment when I was about fourteen or fifteen , and I decided for myself , “ This is no longer my parents ’ religion . I ’ m making my choice ”. I was really just impacted by that because I read a paraphrase