God gave me an encouraging word after church this Sunday just gone. I was speaking to one of the ‘original’ guys that was sitting behind me. What I mean by that is, he’s one of the men in our church who is over 60 and has been attending Emmanuel since he was in his teens or early 20s.
Anyhow, we were just chatting, and he asked me if I was still doing music. I felt really pleased to be able to say I was, and explained I was working on an album that might be finished by the end of this year. I also voiced my concerns that people might not ‘like it’ as much as my previous effort because the style is different, and the lyrics are more gritty.
He said that I shouldn’t worry about what other people are going to think, but to ‘stay true to the vision’ God had given me. We went on to chat about how artists generally are received with more acclaim when they don’t pander to the supposed whims of the audience.
At the end of the day, the audience doesn’t really know what they want until they hear what they don’t want, so it’s worth a go just to stick to the original plan.
So, a warning to all you prospective listeners… some ‘active listening‘ might be required!