Interview with Mike Crawford (Part 1)
November 28th, 2008 | 
The following is Part 1 (Part 2) of an interview with Mike Crawford about his album Mike Crawford and his Secret Siblings present Songs from Jacob’s Well, Volumes I & II: Even the Darkness Will Not Be Dark To You. You can read my review of the album here. Mike is the Worship/Arts Pastor at Jacob’s Well, an emerging church in Kansas City, MO. For more information about Jacob’s Well, visit their website or check out this article from the Christian Century.
For the record, all hyperlinks in this interview were provided by Mike, not myself.
JAKE BOUMA: First, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Let’s begin by getting to know you a bit. How did you get into music?
MIKE CRAWFORD: I got into music pretty early. It was probably a combination of a few things that culminated in my playing guitar. My parents were really into Texas Blues… they used to have friends over every Friday night to play dominos, drink wine and then dance till midnight to the “three Kings” — Freddie, Albert & B.B. In addition to my parents’ blues influence, I became obsessed with Elvis the year he died. I had just turned 10 that year. Somehow I got completely obsessed with his music and then all other late 50’s/early 60’s music. My parents took me to a Chuck Berry concert that fall and we sat in the front row — and that was “it” for me; somehow something clicked that night, I knew I had to play guitar. I saved up my allowance and bought an old Silvertone acoustic at a pawn shop and went to the library and got a Mel Bay book of chords. I proceeded to teach myself to play. After a year of persistence, my parents gave me a year or two of guitar lessons.
My sixth grade year, my Aunt Donna gave me The Beatles “White Album” and I was done for again. I fully entered the world of music — most of it through her and my uncle’s record collection — Jimi Hendrix, Van Morrison, The Beatles, Captain Beefheart & his Magic Band, Elvis Costello, Devo, Tom Petty, B-52s… they were hippies who were also into new wave! Oh yeah, the first “album” I bought was KISS’ Alive II… I joined the KISS army in 5th grade… it was all happening around that period for me… 10, 11, 12. I joined my first “band” in 7th grade — we were called Savage! I have played in some sort of band (mostly) ever since then. I played in a band called The Spin at Baylor University in the late 80’s and then ended up touring the country with that band for 3 years after college.
JAKE: So how did you get involved with Jacob’s Well?
MIKE: After that college/post-college phase, I really didn’t play too much music for about seven years. I entered a “desert” period during my late 20’s — doing a job I didn’t enjoy (computer programming) and not really playing much music. I had been living in Kansas City for a couple of years and was discipling a group of guys. Most of them were part of the core group that helped launch Jacob’s Well. They would always bug me about leading worship at Jacob’s, but I was pretty involved at another church, and honestly, had never led worship before. After singing at one of those guy’s wedding, I met Tim Keel. We struck up a fast friendship and a year later I found myself unemployed and seeking a new direction in life. Tim told me he and a few others had been praying for 6 months about asking me to lead worship at Jacob’s Well on a part-time basis. I had been praying for about 7 years for God to move me out of the corporate world and into a vocation involving “music and ministry”. I had no idea what that would be. I also talked to Tim about some ideas I had about starting a recording studio. I also told him about a new band I had formed called Builder. We talked at great length about the reality of the shifts into post-modernity, a new thinking of missional living, a new way of thinking of evangelism, a new way of thinking about lot’s of things! We decided pretty quickly to try to incorporate all of this (worship leading, studio, rock band playing in the local scene) into a full-time position at the church.
We ended up, with the grace of God’s help, fundraising a big chunk of my salary and all the funds necessary to begin work on building and equipping a recording studio. At that time, I was 34 years old, married, with two kids and a third on the way. It really didn’t make much sense to many people as a realistic career move. I mean, most worship leaders are in their twenties and don’t need much to survive. This was going to have to be something very different. I think the church was about 75 people strong when I started. It was definitely a stretch and a risk, both on my part and on the church’s part. I’m so thankful that it’s ended up working out. I can’t think of a better job!
JAKE: “Songs from Jacob’s Well” is unlike any other worship music on the market today. How would you describe the sound of the album? What kind of sound were you aiming to create?
MIKE: I knew I wanted to create something that sounded different than the “Nashville-machine” music that dominates most worship records. Even the best worship records tend to have a sound that is same-ish. I’m not saying those records sound “bad”, in fact most of them have great sounds — huge drums, giant guitars, amazing vocal sounds. They just sort of strike me as being on the dull side.
The music that moves me is more creative, earthy, noisy, old or even more grandiose than what I’d experienced when listening to worship music. I wanted to make a record that I enjoyed listening to.
My reference points for the album were The Beatles’ White Album and Sigor Ros’ takk record. Those records are quite different, but both have elements that really draw me in as a listener. They are also both quite layered and a bit experimental. I also really love jazz and classical music, and I knew I wanted some elements of those types of music melded in, too. In addition, I listen to lots of field recordings or found-sound kinds of recordings. Some of the work of a guitarist named Steve Tibbets has these elements, also a collective called Set Fire To Flames use these kinds of recording techniques. Brian Eno is also a big influence, especially his ambient recordings – Discreet Music, Thursday Afternoon, those kinds of things. Talk Talk’s The Spirit of Eden is another huge touchstone for me, although the JW cd doesn’t sound anything like that record. Another thing that has influenced me over the past few years is the music of Iceland, especially Sigur Ros and múm.
Click here to continue to Part 2 of the interview »
The Monday brief
Highlight of the week: I played a show for the first time in about six months last Friday night, and it was a blast. Lots of good friends were there at Mars Cafe, and it was a great atmosphere. I debuted a new song called “On Hold” and even played a cover of Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Love”, complete with a stock drum machine loop. Thanks to everyone who came out!
Book(s) I’m reading: Still reading Downtown Owl.
Music I’m digging: I downloaded The Silver City (link opens in iTunes) by Jeremy Messersmith and listened to it a few times, but I don’t like it as much as I’d hoped.
Something(s) that blew my mind: I went to an Otolaryngologist (a.k.a. ENT, a.k.a. Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor) today figure out what’s really been wrong with my throat (I went to a walk-in clinic last week and the 30 seconds the doctor spent with me didn’t exactly lead to a precise diagnosis). Anyway, I had a long metal tube with a camera in it put down my throat, and I got to see the video that was taken, which was mind-blowingly weird. I agree with the nurse who, before inserting the camera in my throat, said, “It’s not exactly the prettiest part of the human body.” The diagnosis: I have an ulcer on my right lingual tonsil. Here’s the picture to prove it.
Ministry update: Not a whole lot new to report this week. I’m planning on making a video this weekend with some high school students to promote next spring’s auction. The premise? The search for a calendar of kittens wearing fedoras.
Seminary/ordination update: I was not accepted to Luther Seminary. I’m currently having conversations with some people close to me, discussing different options.
Looking forward to: A relaxing, post-Thanksgiving weekend.
That’s it for the Monday brief. Feel free to leave a comment, and if you’re feeling extra frisky, check out the Monday brief archives.
- From the Journal of Religion and Popular Culture: Taking off the Gloves: Dawkins and the Root of All Evil?. “This article sees Dawkins’s overt rhetoric designed to achieve a cultural goal: to reinvigorate aspects of the Enlightenment Project he finds worthwhile—in particular, a secularism founded on reason highly suspicious of religious meta-narratives.” Reminiscent of an old post of mine, Richard Dawkins, Atheism, and Christianity (Part 2), in which I said, “Richard Dawkins represents the dying gasp of modernity.” 11/24/2008
On Hold
Here’s a video of a new song of mine, “On Hold”. Lyrics below the video.
I said “Get over all your fears
and I will get over myself”
She said “I just need some help”
She said “You’ve got to let me in, ’cause it’s
getting really hard to tell”
I said “You know me all to well”
Hold on
Hold on
Hold on just a little bit longer
And when the sun goes down we will decide
I promise everything will be alright
Review: Mike Crawford, “Songs from Jacob’s Well”
During my time at the Reclaiming Paul conference in Kansas City, I was fortunate to meet Jacob’s Well’s Worship/Arts Pastor, Mike Crawford. Mike and his friends recently released a collection of original worship songs called Mike Crawford and his Secret Siblings present Songs from Jacob’s Well, Volumes I & II: Even the Darkness Will Not Be Dark To You. In one of the posts from the conference, I said,
Just as a teaser, I think his album is one of the best worship albums in the past 5 years, if not the best.
After a solid month of listening to Songs from Jacob’s Well, I don’t find that statement to be hyperbolic.
The first thing you’ll notice after popping in the first disc (it’s a 2-disc set) is that Songs from Jacob’s Well is a worship album unlike anything you’ve ever heard. It’s an undeniable deviation from the the hyper-produced CCM worship that sells like hot-cakes these days, and this is its very strength. One of the first questions people usually ask when you tell them about a new band or album is “Who does it sound like?” and my reply in regards to Songs from Jacob’s Well usually goes something like, “Well, it’s like Copeland, The Decemberists, and David Crowder Band (of the A Collision variety) got together and made an indie worship album.” A beautiful worship album.
Every track in the collection is an experience in itself. Singing lead vocals, Mike is accompanied by a female who sings unexpected, charming harmonies. Although a track may begin unassumingly, with a standard pop-rock feel — like “I Know the Plans” on disc two — it ends up with a chorus of brass bellowing behind a buzzing guitars and a driving beat. Heck, in “Words to Build A Life On,” a female opera singer makes a cameo, and somehow it works. Songs from Jacob’s Well is a tapestry, crafted with layer upon layer of pure musical beauty.
Although the style of the music is idiosyncratic, the lyrical subject matter of the songs are straight out of the Bible, sometimes even word-for-word. For example, the song “Magnificat” is simply the text of Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), with some phrases repeated here and there, set to music. This is nothing new, I know, but it’s actually kind of rare in contemporary worship music these days, and — best of all — it doesn’t come off as cheesy. It’s honest and vulnerable.
The final song, “Words to Build A Life On”, is worth the price of the whole album. Again, I use no irony or hyperbole when I say it may be one of the single greatest worship songs ever written.1 I shed tears the first time I listened to the eight-minute track, and have many times since. The song is epic. Musically, lyrically, spiritually, and emotionally. If you don’t own the album, take time to read the lyrics to this song — it will speak to you directly, I promise. Also, it’s the only worship song I’ve ever heard that uses the word “freaking” (and uses it well, I might add).
Bottom line: Buy this album immediately. If you’re a worship leader, try to buy it sooner than immediately. I could go on and on about Song’s from Jacob’s Well, but it will do you better to just experience it yourself. Go ahead and listen to a few of the songs on Mike’s MySpace page.
P.S. I had the opportunity to interview Mike about his personal story, Songs from Jacob’s Well, and some other things, and the interview will appear on this blog in several parts during the next week. Keep your eyes out!
- Please keep in mind that this statement is entirely subjective. ↩
The Monday brief
Highlight of the week: I ran into Brandon Barker at Caribou Coffee on Friday afternoon and we ended up having a great conversation. One thing led to another and we ended up going on a date to see Quantum of Solace on Saturday evening. It was (almost) just like old times.
Book(s) I’m reading: Still reading Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman. I managed to squeeze in 10 or so pages at the doctor’s office today.
Music I’m digging: Surprisingly, I haven’t listened to a whole lot of music this past week. Any suggestions?
Something(s) that blew my mind: Feel like flying around virtually in a meticulously reconstructed ancient Rome? Go ahead.
Ministry update: This past Sunday I debuted a new song written exclusively for St. Mark for our current sermon series. We’ll be singing it as a congregation for the next several weeks and (hopefully) well into the future. The plan is to compose original worship songs in line with whatever sermon series is coming up. As soon as I get a decent recording, I’ll release the song on this blog for general consumption — not because I’m egotistical enough to believe many people will want to use it in their community, but because I’m naïve enough to think somebody might.
Seminary/ordination update: TBA.
Looking forward to: Seeing a bunch of good friends this weekend and playing a show at Mars Cafe on Friday night. You should come.
That’s it for the Monday brief. Feel free to leave a comment, and if you’re feeling extra frisky, check out the Monday brief archives.
- Is Sola Scriptura a Help or Heresy? I’ve been having this debate with Erik for weeks. 11/11/2008
The Monday brief
Highlight of the week: I had a lot of fun this weekend with my students at Church Youth Fest. We even busted out an old skit from my mime days to do at the talent show.
Book(s) I’m reading: I finished The White Tiger on Friday night. Turns out it’s #32 on Amazon’s Best Books of 2008 list, which is a merited accolade in my opinion. The novel is a dark comedy told from the perspective of a servant in modern-day India which manages to both tell a great story and give a glimpse into Indian society. Anyway, I’m about 30 pages into Chuck Klosterman’s first novel, Downtown Owl (#80 on Amazon’s list).
Music I’m digging: Jon Foreman’s Limbs and Branches (link opens in iTunes). The song “Instead of A Show” literally stopped me in the middle of what I was doing at work one day last week. Amos 5:18-25 never sounded so good.
Something(s) that blew my mind: Obama.
Ministry update: The beginning of BLITZ was good and Church Youth Fest was a blast. The few pictures that were taken last weekend are here. Arista starts this week. For our devotionals, I’ll be using a combination of Phyllis Tickle’s The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime and Luther’s Day by Day We Magnify You.
Seminary/ordination update: Luther Seminary’s admissions committee meets tomorrow.
Looking forward to: Finding out whether or not I’ve been accepted to Luther Seminary.
That’s it for the Monday brief. Feel free to leave a comment, and if you’re feeling extra frisky, check out the Monday brief archives.
- News flash: Obama is a smart man. He tried his best to veil it, but Obama is an intellectual (”What America has succeeded in doing, against all the odds, and why we cried when it happened, is to elect the most intelligent, canny and imaginative candidate to the presidential office in modern times.”); Obama and the War on Brains (”The second most remarkable thing about his election is that American voters have just picked a president who is an open, out-of-the-closet, practicing intellectual.”); A public theologian (”Americans have elected the most theologically astute president since Jimmy Carter.”). Oh, and Obama’s going to reverse a bunch (200+) of Bush’s executive actions. Smart president = good thing. 11/10/2008
The 2008 evangelical vote: A retrospective
Back in June, I wrote a post entitled Are evangelicals abandoning their political agenda? in which I argued that there was a shift happening in the American religio-political scene. I said:
Either way, the evangelical agenda of old doesn’t carry the same weight as it used to. The reign of the Religious Right is coming to an end, and young evangelicals are thinking for themselves. And when that happens, politics begin to look a little more messy than the easy-solution, tried-and-true dichotomies would have you believe.
I’m not, by any means, claiming that I discovered this trend. In fact, I wrote follow-up post called Obama and evangelicals: Summer of love which pointed to articles popping all over the media that all said essentially the same thing.
Now that the election is over, I figured I’d take a look at how the evangelical vote turned out. Thankfully, most of the analytical work has already been done. Sure, I could have compared CNN’s 2004 and 2008 exit polls, or used the New York Times’ fancy exit poll slider, but there’s no need.
Obama and Religious Voters is a great overview of how things turned out. The verdict? Obama made some headway, but not as much as was expected:
Even though Obama was not successful nationally in breaking the Republican hold on white evangelicals, he did make modest gains on Kerry’s percentages in North Carolina, Ohio, and Colorado. Although many evangelicals say they are embracing an agenda beyond the culture wars, Obama’s position on abortion rights is still a deal breaker for many white evangelicals who were considering voting for him, said David Gushee, a professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University.
I guess we shouldn’t really be surprised. The numbers:
According to exit-polling data analyzed by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Obama improved his performance among every religious group over John Kerry’s performance in 2004, although his gains among white evangelicals (a 3 percent to 5 percent increase, depending on how you measure it) and white Catholics (a 4 percent gain) were far more modest, and McCain maintained a majority of both those groups and white mainline Protestants. (McCain won white evangelicals 74 percent to 24 percent; white mainline Protestants 65 percent to 34 percent, and white Catholics 52 percent to 47 percent.)
But among nonwhite Christians, a growing part of the electorate, Obama’s increases were “dramatic,” said Pew senior fellow John Green. He also noted that the important story of Obama’s win among religious voters was “what happened to minority Christians,” including black Protestants (Obama got 95 percent of the black vote, up from 88 percent for Kerry), Latinos, most of whom are Christian (66 percent, up from 53 percent for Kerry), and Asians (61 percent, up from 56 percent for Kerry).
If this interests you at all, I recommend reading the whole article. What are your thoughts? Has anyone come across other post-election articles analyzing the evangelical vote?
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