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Kirk Franklin
With a new album, a new media company and a new film in the works, KIRK FRANKLIN is a bonafide multimedia juggernaut... |
Rush of Fools
The members of Rush of Fools were just humble guys serving God—until a hit single got the attention of the nation. |
Pillar: Game On!
Pillar’s Rob Beckley describes the challenges of being in music for the long haul—and why he won’t balk if you say he is in a “Christian band.” |
The Passion World Tour
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Christmas Wrap Up
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...…to break out some new Christmas tunes! |
Sara Groves
When it comes to Sara Groves and her music, hearing is believing. |
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MercyMe
MercyMe Bio
As the history of modern music unfolds, certain albums are obvious
landmarks. Those are the times when vision meets talent in a
divine appointment that produces a collection of songs that
help define an artist's career, such as Whiteheart's "Freedom,"
Amy Grant's "Lead Me On," dcTalk's "Jesus Freak," Michael W.
Smith's "Eye 2 Eye," and U2's "The Joshua Tree," among others.
MercyMe's new INO Records release, "Coming Up to Breathe," is
one of those albums.
"INO was really supportive about us making the kind of record
we've always wanted to make," says MercyMe frontman/lyricist
Bart Millard. "Our last three records are nothing to complain
about because they've always done really well for us, but I've
always said in every interview, they are a step in the right
direction and getting closer to who I've always wanted us to
be. When we were talking about making this record, I said 'I
don't want it to be just a step in the right direction, I want
it to be exactly who we are and the kind of music we play.'"
The result is a powerful collection of songs that in some places
rocks harder than MercyMe ever has during their dozen years
together. "We just wanted to make the album we love and it definitely
came across a little more rocking than any other music we've
ever done," says Millard, adding enthusiastically, "We love
it. We really focused on up tempo songs. It's definitely way
more energetic than anything we've ever done before. I don't
think we are trying to reinvent the wheel, it's just trying
to put a little more edge into what we are creating."
The journey toward self-discovery has been a winding, often
bumpy road, for Millard and his bandmates. Along the way, it
yielded some incredible music, including the poignant anthem
"I Can Only Imagine." The song transcended musical barriers
to become a multi-format smash, pushing sales of MercyMe's INO
debut, "Almost There," beyond double platinum and earning them
numerous accolades, including the Gospel Music Association's
Song of the Year. The band has appeared on The Tonight Show
with Jay Leno and Fox & Friends, applauded in Billboard, Entertainment
Weekly, USA Today, The New York Times and other prime media
outlets, as well as touring extensively and launching a successful
organization to aid young people entering the mission field
called The Go Foundation.
But along with the mountaintops come the valleys and the band
went through a painful time in which several people close to
them died in a matter of weeks. "Making the last record was
so intense," says Millard. "We had so much tragedy we had to
deal with. It was just a very draining experience, and in the
next year or two we were kind of reliving that through the live
show and explaining what happened. It was very exhausting."
That's why the title "Coming Up to Breathe" holds special significance
for Millard and the band. "We just want to take a break and
surface and take a gasp of air," he says. "We just wanted to
stop for a second and kind of let our hair down."
What emerged is a veritable kaleidoscope of sounds and emotions
from the exuberant celebration of the title track and the absolutely
infectious song of surrender "So Long Self" to the sweeping
epic "Hold Fast," which reminds us all of the strength to be
found in God's presence. "There is no huge consistent theme,"
Millard says of the songs on the new album. "It's really just
everything that was on our hearts at the time. There are some
songs that reflect where we've been like 'Hold Fast.' It's just
talking to people about when you feel like you are going to
give up, just hang on because help is on the way. That's definitely
based on what we've gone through and how we've made it."
Millard says there was definitely a lighter mood in the making
of this album. "We danced half way through making the record
because we hadn't had any major tragedy," he confesses. "So
it was really just a blast to go through something like this
and not have something real heavy lingering over our heads.
I think that every song definitely has a message within itself
and they can minister to people in different ways."
Millard's muscular, emotion-laded voice has never sounded better
than on "Coming Up to Breathe." There's a sense of passion and
freedom in his delivery that draws the listener into each song
as if he's singing just for them. That's the mark of a great
communicator, and Millard has honed his skills even more over
the past few years. "Coming Up to Breathe" is the third record
Millard has released in less than a year. In 2005, he made his
solo bow with the critically acclaimed "Hymned," on which he
reinvented some of Christian music's timeless hymns, making
them new for today's generation. He and his MercyMe cohorts
also recorded "The Christmas Sessions," sure to become a perennial
favorite of Christmas celebrations for years to come.
"It's been a real exhausting year," says Millard, who worked
with veteran producer Brown Bannister (Amy Grant, The Afters,
Steven Curtis Chapman) on all three projects. "We said 'Man,
you've made three albums with us in one year which proves that
we are insane.'"
"After such an amazing experience working with Brown on the
Christmas Sessions, we knew we wanted to work with him even
more," says Millard. "Brown pushed us to make the music we have
always dreamed of making." For the new album, Millard says the
songwriting is all MercyMe. "There's just such a pleasure knowing
that when we finished this whole record, it came from MercyMe,"
says Millard. "There wasn't any outside influence. We wrote
it. Whether it's good or bad, it's completely us. Brown would
keep telling us, 'You know what? You are going to make your
bed. You are going to lie in it, whatever that is. Whatever
comes out of you, this will be MercyMe's record.'" For "Coming
Up to Breathe," Bannister and the MercyMe guys traveled to upstate
New York to record at the famed Allaire Studios used by Tim
McGraw, Norah Jones and other luminaries. "We wanted to get
away," says Millard. "If we do an album in Nashville, it means
half a day spent either on the phone or in an office doing something
other than recording. If we do it at home in Dallas, it is hard
to be motivated to work because we would rather be at home with
our families. So we had this dream of going away for three or
four weeks, just turning our cell phones off to just eat, sleep
and make music. We knew that's what we needed to do."
Allaire fulfilled their artistic hopes. "We were not disappointed,"
Millard says. "We just fell in love with the place, escaping
everything and getting in that environment. At one point it
rained for 11 days straight. It never let up. It was great music-making
weather, watching it rain over the mountain. You had no desire
to go outside or take a break and you get a lot done. The day
it started raining, we literally locked ourselves in and didn't
look back. We worked, worked and worked."
Millard is pleased with the success of MercyMe's previous albums,
but admits there's a special satisfaction in this one. "We've
always joked about wanting to make our Whiteheart 'Freedom'
or our Amy Grant 'Lead Me On,' and time will tell if that is
ever the case," Millard says, "but we just gave it everything
we had. There was no holding back on this record."
The result is a record destined to stand as a milestone in an
illustrious career, but what matters most to MercyMe is the
impact the music will have on others. "Regardless of what you
are going through in life, regardless of what you are consumed
with, regardless of what fills up your everyday life," says
Millard, "there are times you have to stop and surface and take
a deep breath and remember what's important. That's what this
album is for us. It's addressing everything we've gone through
and realizing the one common denominator in all this Jesus.
That's what is worth taking a breath for." Courtesy mercyme.org
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