communicated with me. I don’ t want to be steering the ship alone. I want to help being part of the crew to make sure the whole ship sails smoothly. And having all my spirituals senses alert and awake to see what is happening in the atmosphere in worship is what helps music directing so important. To be able to sense what the Holy Spirit is doing in the room and to help serve the musical moment to minister to people is the most crucial part of music directing in a church service. Nothing is ever the same. God is always doing something new and amazing, and you can’ t get lazy or stagnant in your walk with God as it overflows into your worship on stage. Also, Music Directing a band with different levels of people’ s musicality, helping them stay on the same page and sensing the direction and flow of the Holy Spirit alongside the worship leaders is important.
[ WM ] You are now in the long running Christian band Sidewalk Prophets. I know you are excited about that. How did it come about?
[ Jemm ] Man, this is so exciting, and it is a huge honor and privilege as I’ ve been listening to these guys since my senior year of high school! Daniel Macal, the previous guitar player has been a dear friend of mine ever since I went to the USA for the first time in 2019 as Dan and his father Mynor opened a place for me to stay during that first stint in Nashville after seeing a post on the Gear Talk Praise & Worship Facebook page. We started a friendship since then and I even got to see him play with Sidewalk Prophets in Kentucky in 2019. This year around February, Daniel Macal has stepped down after being part of the band for the last 10 years, and they began the hunt for a new guitar player. As I said earlier, I had no idea that they were looking for new guitar player until I got a text from Dan in late April telling me that they were looking for new guitar player and he told me that I should audition. I was stunned that Dan even texted me that I should audition as I know those are huge shoes to fill as Dan is a phenomenal guitar player and a dear friend to many! So, I brought up the message to my girlfriend Christy, and she said that I need to pray about it and submit the form because this could honestly be the start of something really special for me. So I took the chance and submitted the form, got a call from Ben McDonald the band manager a few days later, shared a bit of my story and what God has been doing in my life, did some audition videos and then I got a letter to join the band! It was a total God thing! I did my first rehearsals in early June, then did my first show on July 5, 2025.
[ WM ] You have an arsenal of guitars. What ones are you using on the tour?
[ Jemm ] I am having a lot of fun playing almost every guitar I own on the road! I even have some new guitars that were added while on the tour for me to own or to try out! On the first leg of the tour, I had eight guitars with me on the road, but I would play seven and rotate between them for different songs with different tunings, different tones to mimic the recordings and just to have a lot of fun!
My guitars currently are: Elliott Guitars Sugar Pine ET, Tolvanen Guitars Disciple T in White & Sunburst, Tolvanen Guitars Sisu in Zebrawood and Black Flamed maple loaded
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