[ WM ] Tell us about your church and about Rocky Worship ?
[ Luke Hall ] We ’ re just north of Denver and we ’ re in … a really suburb-ey area . Our church has a hand in our community and a love for our community and for our people more than any other church that I ’ ve ever been a part of . It ’ s very cool . I feel like Rocky Worship really started when we released “ Steady ”, “ In Your Eyes ” and “ Alive in Us ” in 2021 . Those weren ’ t the first songs that we wrote , but they were the first ones that were good enough to let other people listen to .
So , we ’ ve been around as a team for a few years , but it ’ s only recently that we ’ ve been picking up attention . It ’ s been a very gradual growth for us . Like , there may be six months where we ’ re not writing and then there ’ s seasons when we write ten new songs . I think now Rocky Worship is so much more a part of our church than it ’ s ever been . We do our original songs on Sundays very often and our church loves ‘ em .
The best part of all is when we sing these songs in our church , I can look out and see people that can relate to the songs . I know their stories . I know they hear their own experiences in the songs . So yeah , Rocky Worship is a humble platform because we ’ re not really trying to be something bigger than we are , but we ’ re ready if God wants to use these songs in a massive way .
[ WM ] Listening to the lyrics , there ’ s a sense of transparency . But it doesn ’ t seem too raw or depressing even though you ’ re writing about some themes of depression .
[ Luke ] Totally .
[ WM ] How Do you approach that ?
[ Luke ] I want to connect with everyone with every song . I could write a song about the deepest , darkest depths of my journey , but we ’ re writing songs for the church , so I want the whole church to be able to sing the song . Not everyone has gone through what I ’ ve gone through , but I feel like people can relate to more than only what they ’ ve experienced . It ’ s not like we ’ re hiding what ’ s going on , but that ’ s kind of the art of writing a song . You must write something that is equally relatable to someone who ’ s walking through a miscarriage or someone who just lost their job , or someone who is experiencing a kid who ’ s wandered away from faith . You know what I mean ?
[ WM ] You want to connect with a broader audience ?
[ Luke ] I think that ’ s one of the main factors of a corporate worship song . It ’ s gotta be for more than just you . But there ’ s also a balance . I could write a bunch of songs about my darkness , but that ’ s not always for the church . So that ’ s just where worship I think differentiates from a personal project . But I want this song to help everyone look at God more than anything . I need this to be … maybe less specific to me .
[ WM ] Does it feel like writing songs in that way waters down the artistic expression for you ?
[ Luke ] I don ’ t think it waters it down because … it ’ s art in and of itself to make it approachable . When it ’ s dark , it ’ s hard to feel God . And so , you have to remember who you are and who He is . And so yeah , sometimes it might feel like I ’ m watering it down because I ’ m not saying things bluntly or specifically sharing my story … But like I said , I feel like trying to reign it in and make it approachable is an art form .
[ WM ] You have a personal story of suffering through a season of depression . Did you have a specific moment when you realized you were depressed ?
[ Luke ] Yes . But it … I felt like it was just a steady drift to the point where I had more bad days than good days . And I was like , “ What ’ s up with that ?” because that ’ s not me . Typically , my personality was more like , Let ’ s go get it .” Very positive . I love life . I love to laugh . I love people and community and everything . And then I just started noticing things in me . And then all of a sudden , I didn ’ t remember the last good day that I had . And then I was like , oh , well maybe it ’ s just Covid , or maybe it ’ s just because people don ’ t raise their hands in church and I don ’ t feel validated , or maybe it ’ s because I ’ m overworking myself and you know , it ’ s like , these are all factors or whatever .
[ WM ] But you couldn ’ t get yourself out of that mindset ?
[ Luke ] My favorite things in the world did nothing for me . I love to just play guitar and learn and , you know , just play , but I didn ’ t want to touch it . I loved to go out to restaurants but didn ’ t do that anymore .
[ WM ] Can you describe your experience with depression in more detail ? What does it feel like ?
[ Luke ] I always used to ask that question of people because I ’ d never been depressed before . I would ask people doing ministry . I was talking to somebody one time and they said , “ It just feels like there ’ s a cloud over your life . You can ’ t really see ten feet in front of you . It ’ s just all consuming , you ’ re always just stuck . It ’ s always there and you can ’ t get out . And it ’ s not like it ’ s a storm . It ’ s not violent like that . I can still do what I need to do , but it ’ s like there ’ s a cap on how much happiness you can feel .
[ WM ] So what was the tipping point when you realized you needed to see a professional counselor ?
[ Luke ] I was starting to think more and more about big changes . I started thinking about quitting my job and moving back home to be closer to family . It was a sense of escape . I just wanted out . But at the same time , I knew that ’ s not what I really wanted at all .
[ WM ] Did that trigger something in you , to realize you were thinking about doing things you actually didn ’ t want to do ?