it’s kind of her story. But it certainly speaks
to me, and I think to anybody who has gone
through challenging circumstances, or who is
waiting for God to do something in their life.
Co-writing helps to keep things fresh. It keeps
you mindful of questions like, “Has this been
said before? Is there a different way we can
say this?” Years ago, I used to think that if I
got the rhyme down then the lyric was done.
Now, with my writing partners, it’s about going
back and reading through the lyrics and making
sure that it is something worth saying, and that
it’s completely true and accurate. We want it
to be something that, if someone got ahold of
it and believed it and sang it, it would make a
difference in their life and would steer their soul
in the right direction.
On the style front, I’m a huge believer that style
is really the gift wrapping. What’s in the box
doesn’t change. It’s honest, authentic, heart-
felt worship to God. How the box is packaged
and what kind of gift-wrap it gets, that’s going
to change. I’m always trying to find the balance
of doing things that I honestly like, that work,
and that represent me, with finding things that
are relevant stylistically. I don’t want to be one
of those guys who got a mullet one day, and
it was the “in” thing. I don’t mind changing
stylistic things. That’s just a part of doing this.
It’s about solving the riddle and finding what will
work best, not just about what I like.
and take it a different direction. I feel like a lot time, in the moment. The part of you that’s able
of it is just blood, sweat, and tears, and being to hear it isn’t as present. I think you can train
[WM] I love your arrangement of “Salvation willing to put the hard work in. As long as you’re yourself to hear more of it, but that takes time.
Is Here”. What did you do to develop your willing to put the work in, you can explore those I like to record things and listen back so that I
arranging skills? things. Some of them work great, and some of can compare how I felt like it was happening
them don’t. versus what it actually sounded like. That’s a
[Lincoln] The first thing that comes to mind
lot of how I learned to sing. I would record my
is that I’ve been willing to put the hard work in [WM] At one of the CMS Bayside conferences, voice, by myself, in a safe setting where nobody
to get what’s in my head onto the recording. you mentioned that you built your vocal style else was listening. I would feel how it felt in my
It’s hard to hear things in your mind that aren’t by recording and listening to yourself over and throat, and the intensity level, and then I would
clear, or feel a bit nebulous. It’s difficult to over until you found things you loved. Tell us play it back. In the beginning, honestly, what
get those into a functional reality where you more about that. I perceived was happening versus what was
can judge it and say “yes” or “no”. It might
happening in reality was very different. I found
take hours of work, and then you decide that [Lincoln] It’s har d to determine how we sound that when I felt the most uncomfortable was
it doesn’t work. I’m never that clear on an in real time. That’s with guitar, drums, vocals, or when it sounded the best, and so I started
arrangement. I have to just walk the path and anything you play. When you’re playing it, a big having to learn how to make the uncomfortable
if it works, great, and if it doesn’t you start over part of yourself is involved in creating that in real comfortable, and learn what it feels like. That
May 2018
WorshipMusician.com
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