Friday, August 13, 2010

#3 Inside and Out

I've been involved with music for a number of years now both inside church and outside church. What I've found that sets many artists apart is who they are both on and off stage. Years ago, we booked Mat Kearney to play at our alternative service. Watch out, this is basically a segment of VH1 "Before they were stars!"  I drove Mat around in my 1990 Subaru Legacy that had a maddening squeak around the back window that I couldn't find or fix. So I just rolled with it, and apparently so did he :) Mat had the superstar quality even back then when he was independent of a label.  When he spoke to people in private and performed on stage, he was smooth. You could tell he had star quality. People like Mat make me understand how incredibly goofy I am. Some people live life like butter, others are a sloppy pb and j.  I appreciate both the smooth and the sloppy versions of life, although sometimes I want a little more butter. That said, what I appreciated about Mat was his genuine personality. He was the same on stage as he was off, treating people with courtesy and respect. Something was obviously different about him.  All this to say, the best musicians in my opinion are the ones who walk humbly, graciously, and compassionately.  It's really not about us is it? There's a bigger picture we need to see, something greater is being built around us.  I hope that I'm fitting into that picture well.

Here's Mat fitting into this picture:

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