Dad also had to think about selling our house of 22 years and made me wonder if I was going to be able to do music or even have a thought about going back to the U. S.
[ WM ] It was a long process but then a new musical direction happened … enter the role of Music Director. What exactly happened?
[ Jemm ] In 2021, right before our second lockdown( we didn’ t know a second one was coming), my Senior Pastor Jim Yap and our tech director Uncle Rodel Dela Cruz approached me about if there was a way they could have me on board to help upgrade my church’ s live stream audio quality as we needed to get serious in improving the quality of our live stream sound while we were in the season of lockdown and we didn’ t know when it was gonna end.
That was a big deal for me as I’ ve never thought of working at a church before, and especially at the church I grew up in. Church jobs don’ t really happen unless you’ re a pastor of some sort.
But I felt this nudge that it was something I felt called to do to help my church family during this time. And a way for me to continue serving and exercising my gifts, talents and also a way to bless people with the message of the gospel by improving the quality of our live stream and our church’ s overall sound system.
So I would make backing track guides every week, different volunteers and singers would sing over the tracks in time with the click and cues, they would send me their audio recordings, and they would send their videos to our media team, and I would mix the audio, and we would make services remotely that way for months. We then reopened on December 5, and by the time we opened, we got a brandnew sound system at the church after 16 years since that building has been opened, we started making higher quality online services and better sounding services in general! It was then i realized that i could also multitrack record services. Then I started sticking a Go Pro to my MD microphone and started experimenting by mixing my IEM audio with click and cues to show people how I would music direct the services each weekend up to my YouTube channel. It took off from there!
[ WM ] I love watching your MD videos where you are calling out upcoming verse or chorus parts to the rest of the worship team guiding them well through the worship set all the while just nailing your guitar parts in the band. Tell us your mindset when you are leading the team and what your view towards worship is on that home church platform?
[ Jemm ] It all starts by firstly knowing the songs we’ re playing and knowing the songs well. Also, having a great relationship with your worship leaders. My job as an MD in the church context is to serve wherever the worship leaders are being led and to help communicate that to the band.
I never like to MD if the worship leader doesn’ t throw me hand signals or has a game plan
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