WORSHIP GUITAR TALK
WITH JAMES DUKE AND
JEFFREY B. SCOTT
interview by Doug Doppler
James Duke
In addition to bustling careers as professional out the trash.” There is real life that happens, as they don’t feel like they really belong anywhere.
guitarists, James Duke and Jeffrey B. Scott well as the stage/touring life. Anybody who has I never had thoughts like, “I need to wait to
serve at Church of the City in Franklin, TN. done that knows that being on the road is not get married,” or, “I’m going to have to wait to
James and Jeffrey are humble men of faith all exciting and fun. It’s a lot of being away from have kids,” or, “I have to have this much money
whose walk is every bit as inspirational as their all of the things you love. For an hour or two, before I have kids or get married,” or whatever.
playing. Whether your play on a worship team, you get to do this one thing that’s really fun, but My family is such a big part of what I do. I love
are thinking about a career in music, or both, the rest of the time it can be pretty boring to it so much, and I need family in my life to be the
this article is filled with pearls of experience- watch, or to sit around and do. kind of musician and the worshiper that I am.
born wisdom.
I’m really grateful that I have that in my life. I can
[James Duke] As I’ve tried to steer my career, come home to a place where it’s not all about
[WM] How do you balance being a worship my main focus has always been my family. I’ve me anymore. When you’re on the road, it can be
musician planted at your home church, being a talked to a lot of musicians who want to do hard sometimes, but it can also be really, really
touring musician, and being a parent? what Jeffrey and I do, and they automatically easy. There are some gigs where you don’t
think that they have to put the rest of their have to do anything until you walk on stage,
[Jeffrey B. Scott] I’ll say that you just give life on hold. They have this thing in their mind and it can be really easy to be only thinking
up sleeping! There was a season of my life where they think that they can’t do anything about yourself and about what’s convenient.
where I would be doing a Sunday gig on the else except to go for their music dream. To me, When you get home, like Jeffrey was saying,
West Coast, and then flying back home on the having a family sets you up for success just as and you start changing diapers and stuff, it’s
red-eye so that I could be home in time to pick much as anything else, maybe even more. easy to not be full of yourself in that position.
up my kids and take them to school Monday
Being able to keep your perspective right like
morning. I’m sure that’s happened to James It’s so nice to have something that grounds
more than once as well. you. Being on the road as much as I’ve been
that is a really good way to stay grounded.
the past few years, it would be so easy to not [WM] When you guys play together Sunday at
My wife and I made a conscious decision to have roots anywhere and to just float through Church of the City like you did this past Sunday,
say, “Yes, you can go out and play guitar and, to life if I didn’t have a family. I’ve seen it happen what are some of the unspoken things that are
those people, have the rock star image, but you so many times with musician friends. They key to what happens musically?
also come home and change diapers and take don’t have any roots, they’re not happy, and
28
May 2018
WorshipMusician.com