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Chris & Leah got a chance to sit down and talk with singer/songwriter Andrew Peterson about his records, storytelling, and the songwriting process.  Check out what Andrew had to say about all of those things. Who Is Andrew Peterson A storyteller on stage, in the studio, and on paper, Andrew Peterson is a singer/songwriter of eight critically acclaimed album, including The Far Country and Behold the Lamb of God.  His first children’s novel, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness (The Wingfeather Saga Book 1), was released by Waterbrook Press.  He lives with his family in a little house called The Warren near Nashville, Tennessee. Key: C> Chris L> Leah A> Andrew Peterson C> So tell us what you’re doing now. A> I’m collecting and writing songs, getting ready to make another record. We start recording in a couple of months. I just had my first pre-production meeting with two guys I usually travel with, Ben Shive and Andy Gullahorn. We’re all going to produce it together. I’m really excited. It’s my first full length regular album in two years, so I’m excited to see what it’s going to look like. C>You’re still independent right? A> Yeah, I have been for the last couple of records. It’s been a good thing, it’s a weight off my shoulders. I mean, the label thing wasn’t bad, the people were always really nice. There are no hard feelings or anything, but there is just something exciting about having the freedom to go in and make a record whenever I want to. The only scary thing is funding it all. Living this lifestyle, you can pay the bills and deal with the month to month stuff, but when a record comes along, it’s this gigantic expense that will recoup itself eventually, but coming up with it at the beginning can be a little stressful. What I’ve noticed is that it’s kind of like a crucible almost. If you didn’t have to sweat over it and really struggle with it, and it was always easy, I don’t think the music would be quite what it is. I think it helps the whole thing. It helps me to have to question if I’m doing the right thing, and if I’m where God wants me. Because I’m a musician, I’m such a baby about everything. People who have the artist temperament are symbolists. We look for things to latch on to give us hope. So if something bad happens we’re like, “Oh this means that God doesn’t want me doing this!” We kind of over analyze all that stuff. That’s why I’m lucky to have the kind of wife that I have. She believes in me more than I do most of the time, and she reminds me what my gift is, and what I’m supposed to use that for. That’s a really long answer to say we’re going into the studio, but I’m scared and excited and all of that. C> The biggest thing about being independent seems to be the distribution. A> Yeah, and the other thing I’ve heard is that you feel alone. You just feel like nobody cares what you’re doing. I mean, the fans care, but when I was on a label there was this team of people who actually cared about my music enough to really work on it. It was just a little security blanket, and for and indie artist it’s just not going to happen if you don’t do it. So, it’s a burden, but it’s purifying too. C> You said that you’re writing for the new record. Any themes emerging that you want to talk about? A> Well I hesitate to talk about it, but when I write songs I don’t usually write them for a record. I just write as life goes on and at the end of the year, I look back and ask myself what is sort of the thing that ties all these together to help me decide which one go together. So this time around, I’m nervous to talk about the theme because I’m so not sure. C> Can you talk about the books you’re writing? A> Well, I finished a book and had it published (with WaterBrook Press). Actually Randall Goodgame and I just did this children’s record. We just had the best time making this record. He’s one of the best writers in music. Period. We both have a bunch of kids, and had talked about recording all the children’s songs we had already written, and so that was a fun record to make. So the book is called, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. It’s a fantasy adventure novel. It’s about three kids and their world falls apart. They live in a little sleepy town that is occupied by evil creatures called the Fangs of Drang. One day they find out their little sleepy town is not so sleepy and there’s a mystery in their town that’s about to change their lives forever, and maybe kill them. It’s a really intense heroin adventure story, and it’s kind of funny. I wrote it for my kids, and I think if you’re a Christian and read it, you’ll know that it’s a Christian book, but maybe not. Some things emerged as I was writing that I believe in deeply. I’ve always wanted to write a book. This is a dream of mine. So, it’s the first of maybe three. C> So it’s not necessarily geared towards children? A> I hope not, I want it to be for kids of all ages. We tried to make it like a classic tale, that a kid would be able to read, and like an adult could to. Like a Narnia thing or Harry Potter. I hate saying that because it sounds so band wagony, but that’s what it is. C> I mean that sounds like who you are. A> Yeah, I love that stuff. I’m a nerd. Someone asked me what the book was about and I said, “It’s a story in which we find out that Harry Potter’s father is Vader.” Anyway, it’s sort of the classic fantasy. C> Well, it sounds cool. I’ll have to read it. [Side Note:  I received a copy of this book a couple weeks ago and have fallen in love with it.  You can purchase a copy of the book here:  On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness: Adventure. Peril. Lost Jewels. And the Fearsome Toothy Cows of Skree. (The Wingfeather Saga) A> Please do! L> How does songwriting work for you? A> It’s a struggle for me. It’s hard for me to do. I have three kids and I need solitude and time to think and write. Journal type stuff. A lot of it comes out of me just brain storming on paper. I have to start with an idea for a song. I don’t have to, but the best songs come that way. Like I have a song called “Loose Change” that I wrote from the point of view of a penny, that’s kind of a silly song.  When I go and listen to singer/songwriters, the biggest problem I see is that I walk away and I can’t tell you the one thing that the song was about. You have to zero in on what this song is about. Like everyone tries to encompass the whole of the gospel in one song. There’s this mainstream band called Fountains of Wayne, and they have this song called “All Kinds of Time.” If I were teaching a writing seminar - this the best example of how a song should be about one thing. The song is about the moment when the quarter-back was snapped the ball and he’s about to pass it, and the whole song is about that one moment. About what goes through his mind and how he sees everything laid out before him. I just think it’s a perfect example of how to zero in. So for me, songwriting is about zeroing in on the one thing. Every idea has a thousand ways that it could be written. You just have to open it up and go with it. Sometimes it hits you out of the blue and sometimes I’ll stay up all night, and finally go to bed without having written a word, and it’s really frustrating, but I don’t know how to do it any differently. L> How do you choose which direction to go from all those possibilities? A> I think you just write, and go with it, and be brave enough to go where the rabbit hole takes you. You have to let the song be what it wants to be. Sometimes you’ll start with one idea, and it turns into something else. I wrote a song for my daughter called “My Baby Loves to Dance,” and I had been performing it for like two years or something, and then when I went to record it, I realized the chorus was just taking away from the song. So I took it out and squeezed all the verses together. I love the chorus, the chorus is why I wrote the song, but the song is way better without it. L> Do you write the melody first or the lyrics? A> It’s different every time, but every song has something you can hang your hat on. I mean, when people pull away from a concert you want them to say, “I loved that song that was about....” fill in the blank. C> That is totally awesome Andrew.  We love finding out the heart of the songwriting process!  It looks like we are out of time!  Thanks for sharing your heart with us! A> It was fun! To find out more info about Andrew and his writings, albums, etc., visit his webpage. http://thebridgelive.net/index/562/

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