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by Matt Conner on December 2, 2008 
Hey guys, just wanted to pass along the latest interview over at Soul-Audio with the Proprietor himself, Andrew Peterson. We had a chance to get some honest reflections about the upcoming Christmas tour, the new album and a lot of other topics I haven’t heard Andrew speak on before. Here’s part of the interview:
SA: This seems to be a good year for you and your colleagues and even lately, it just seems you guys are digging deeper and going places you weren’t going five or so years ago. Do you feel that?
Andrew: Yeah, I think everybody senses that. I like to jog, but I don’t love to jog. I do it in phases and if I haven’t done it for a while, at first I hate it. I’ll go out and jog and feel like I’m not getting any better and I’ll hate it. Then one day, all of a sudden you’re able to run three or four miles and it didn’t kill you. I feel that way with my career. There are these little thresholds that you meet. I feel like there are moments when you’ve been working really hard and you don’t see much fruit with your labor and then something happens and you look around and your music has matured and your audience has changed – they’ve gotten better and there’s more people coming to your shows.
Continued here…
Matt Conner is a pastor and journalist who has interviewed nearly everyone who has ever played music. That isn't entirely true.
4 Comments
1630 days ago
“So it’s done what we’ve dreamed of it becoming back when we first conjured up the idea. We wanted it to be something that would prepare people’s hearts for the season.”
You certainly have succeeded! I was blessed by your performance in Sugar Land, Texas last year and although the tour does not bring you back to us this year, you will indeed prepare my heart for the season – this season and many to come. This weekend I will enjoy BTLOG via the DVD and transprot myself back to the evening that you and your traveling magicians created for us. This will be a significant step in my annual Advent preparations for years to come. Thank you for allowing us to share in this great vehicle – even when we can’t be there in person.
1629 days ago
My birthday present from a friend this year was a road trip to Elkhorn, NE on Tuesday for my first BTLOG concert. It was well worth the drive, and not getting home until after 12:30 when I had to work the next morning. We are already planning to go to Lincoln in December 2009. The only downside was that we had to decide which CD to buy. We wanted everything. We spent the 3 hour drive home listening to her BTLOG cd, and her new Bebo Norman cd, and my new Jill Phillips cd. We both have Resurrection Letters V.2, so branched out a bit. All were awesome.
I have to say that the live performance was so much better than the CD. Andrew talked in the interview above about the comraderie on stage, and that was a factor. But the comraderie between the people on the stage and the people in the audience was much more important to me. We were all involved in the act of worship together. Andrew established that interaction right at the beginning by having us sing on the chorus of “Hosannah” and “The Good Confession.” During the “in the round” section, the musicians who were not singing were basically audience members. They became like us: watching, tapping their feet, laughing at jokes. After the intermission we sang a hymn, listened to an awesome musical sermon, and responded in song. Besides the amazing music, it was an amazing experience.
So thanks to Andrew and the gang. You started out my advent season well, and began a new tradition for me. Oh, and I think I even saw Curt there. (Was that you in the tan sweater vest?)
1629 days ago
Becky wrote:
We were all involved in the act of worship together. Andrew established that interaction right at the beginning by having us sing on the chorus of “Hosannah” and “The Good Confession.”
How true! Wasn’t that something, Becky? Those two songs were ideal choices. In The Top Ten Moments of Resurrection Letters, Volume 2, fellow Rabbithead (thanks to Peter B. for that term, I love it) Aaron used the phrase communal confession in describing the beauty of this song, which is a cool way to describe it.
Another Rabbithead (and if I could remember who, I would say, but I can’t find it or remember) wrote that there is something about hearing “I believe he is the Christ, Son of the Living God,” over and over again that inspires awe. With congregational voices rising and echoing celestially, it made me feel like I was ready to launch. Before hearing this live, I had a good idea that it might have that affect. And it did.
This is the way worship songs were meant to be written. Upcoming BTLOG attendees, you are most definitely in for a treat. You will be part of the treat. With each repetition of that phrase, the intensity of emotion rachets up. And it’s not emotion for emotion’s sake; it’s that truth is boring deeper and deeper into your being. And it’s as profoundly moving as anything I’ve ever heard; I’m not exaggerating. One of these days, I’m going to let it go, and just bawl like a baby. It is such a powerful song.
Becky wrote:
Oh, and I think I even saw Curt there. (Was that you in the tan sweater vest?)
Guilty as charged, Becky. I would have said hello if I’d known which of the 1,000 you were! Where were you sitting? I hope you stop me next year and say hello. I was with my mom, son, and wife. A nice lady in front of me heard me talking about The Rabbit Room and we spoke for a few minutes. She was a regular Rabbit Room reader. And like a knucklehead, I forgot to ask her for her name. I thought it might have been you, since I was pretty sure that you are from Nebraska.
I’ve been digesting the blessing that is BTLOG and if I can lasso the right words, I’ll post a few additional comments. It seems like we all are going to need an outlet for discussing the ways in which God has blessed us through the BTLOG crew.
1628 days ago
Curt, no that wasn’t me you were talking to. I was sitting on the second aisle from the right, if you were facing the stage, about half way back. I saw you in the foyer at intermission, and again after the concert, but didn’t know if it was you for sure. Next time I will definitely stop and introduce myself.
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