My Music Instructors

jars of clay

impartation:
poetic lyric writing
soulful singing
use of natural, God-given voice with impressive results

first soundbyte:
Flood -- this song not only introduced and got me hook on Christian rock music, it also helped me appreciate guitar-driven music as a whole

favorite album/s:
Much Afraid
Good Monsters

favorite song/s:
Tea and Sympathy
Work
Scarlet
Disappear

michael w. smith

impartation:
creativity with piano/keyboard playing skills
writing insightful lyrics
use of tenor/bariton voice

first soundbite:
Place in this World -- I was surprised to learn that this song was written by a Christian; it introduced me to Christian pop music

favorite album/s:
Live the Life
Go West Young Man

favorite song/s:
Love Me Good
Somewhere Somehow
Live the Life
In My Arms Again
Somebody Love Me

chris tomlin

impartation:
singing high praises to God
use of high tenor voice
free worship inspired by the Psalms

first soundbyte:
Your Grace is Enough -- I heard this being sung in our congregation during praise and worship and fell in love with the simplicity and directness of this song; one of the first few songs I considered "non-traditional" p&w songs

favorite album/s:
Arriving
See the Morning

favorite song/s:
How Great is Our God
How Can I Keep From Singing
Let God Arise
Your Grace is Enough

jason upton

impartation:
intimate worship of God
violent declarations in the spiritual
spirit of sonship
intimacy with God

first soundbyte:
I Will Wait -- heard this a few years back in church and it just captured the state of my heart at that time; currently soaking on Jason's albums to deepen my intimacy with the Father

favorite album/s:
Between Earth and Sky
Faith

switchfoot

impartation:
appreciation for ear-grabbing guitar riffs
artful screaming/shouting in songs
thought-provoking lyric writing

first soundbyte:
New Way To Be Human -- didn't quite get into the band just yet with this one, but I found it catchy enough; Happy is a Yuppie Word made me a convert

favorite album/s:
Nothing is Sound

favorite song/s:
Happy is a Yuppie Word
Stars
Only Hope
Dare You to Move

brian and jenn johnson

impartation:
high praise and deep worship
use of low/bariton voice [thanks, brian]
use of high-to-falsetto voice [thanks, jenn]

first soundbyte:
O Taste and See -- again sung during praise and worship in church; very catchy tune, very powerful lyrics; this is my training song for high pitch (I can sing Jenn's part, except in the chorus where I switch to Brian's pitch)

favorite album/s:
We Believe

favorite song/s:
O Taste and See
We Believe
Greatly To Be Praised
Where You Go I'll Go

mute math

impartation:
creative, ambient music
creative, cryptic lyric writing
creative vocal workings
deep worship

first soundbyte:
Typical – my first taste of Mute Math was anything but typical. They’re music was quite fresh to my ears and Paul Meany’s vocals also gave me a lot of cool ideas on how to use my own

favorite album/s:
Reset EP [still soaking on this for now]

favorite song/s:
Typical
Chaos
Control
Peculiar People

delirious?

impartation:
singing with a British accent
groovy worship music
desperation and hunger for the Lord

first soundbyte:
Deeper – this is probably one of the first intimacy and spiritual hunger songs I’ve heard. Martin Smith’s British accent stands out in this song and it makes this song a standout to me.

favorite album/s:
Glo

favorite song/s:
Deeper
God You Are My God
Rain Down

misty edwards

impartation:
uber-intimacy and desperation for the Lord
total abandon to God and total focus on God in worship
importance of the fasted lifestyle

first soundbyte:
Baptize My Heart – sung in church with very convicting results. My pastor doesn’t like the line “I don’t want to be offended when it’s coming down”. “Offended with what?” he says, but after listening to Misty talk about spiritual violence and how Jesus was offensive to the religious, the song made more sense to me.

favorite album/s:
Relentless

favorite song/s:
My Soul Longs for You
You Won’t Relent
All Consuming Fire

disappointed by candy

impartation:
creativity with instruments and vocals
80s style singing
cryptic and catchy lyric writing

first soundbyte:
Failed Medication – Gabe Ruschiaval’s vocals are amazing on this song and his and Jeremy Lutito’s instrumentations are equally amazing. I got to listen to its initial version and loved it; I also got to listen to its final version and loved it as well.

favorite album/s:
The Restless Star EP

favorite song/s:
Failed Medication
Feeling I’ve Got
End of the World