From Nova Scotia to Texas to Massachusetts and California, indie pop artist Tim Drisdelle has picked up as many influences from his geographic surroundings over the years as he has his many musical inspirations. 

Take a listen to Drisdelle's catchy new single, "Never Alone" (buy on iTunes), and you'll find that this artist's stylings are forged from a number of different genres, which is rather fitting, given the multifaceted calling this emerging talent has. From growing the Church to introducing people to Jesus for the first time through his thoughtful pop songs, there's nothing formulaic about Drisdelle's life, music and ministry.

We thought it best to learn more about this artist from the man himself. 

Who are you, Tim? Tell us about you, the person--your background, your home/family life, etc.
 
Well, I'm just a regular guy I would say, and I really try to be the exact same person as an artist that I am in day-to-day life. I wouldn't use the term "regular" to mean that I'm not unique, however I would use it to mean that I am simply a person on a journey, like everyone else; no pedestal please! 

I grew up on the east coast of Canada, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and then attended College in Texas and Massachusetts--eventually winding up in California, where I am now. My family has always lived all over the place, with my parents living part time in Nova Scotia as well as Florida and one sister living all over the world, from places like Turkey and Prague to Toronto; my other sister living in rural New Brunswick. I would say my family was always slightly adventurous. I don't think we would necessarily call ourselves that, yet we were never held back from going to new places, and appreciating cross cultural experiences both in travel and living. That also shows up in how I relate as an artist.
 
When did you know you wanted to be a musician?
 
I remember really liking Michael Jackson and Tina Turner and a long list of pop artists as a young child. I used to listen and watch very closely when their catchy pop tunes came on the radio or television, and I would analyze the songs, the tempo, the phrasing and why it made me feel certain things. I constantly would recognize and hooks and musical devices of all the mainstream pop and R&B music I was hearing, and that was before I even had the language to describe what all that was; but I sure could identify it right away! I was always attracted to fantastic vocalists. I remember wondering if I could do that. It wasn't until high school, though, that I really realized music was something I actually wanted to commit to, apply myself to, and make a go at doing full time, forever. Before high school, it was more of a mere interest among many other things.
 
You mentioned some of your early influences. Your songs incorporate elements of pop, old school R&B and soul. Name some artists--inside and outside of Christian music--who are inspiring you these days.
 
In no particular order: Michael Jackson, Tina Turner (as mentioned), Justin Timberlake, Israel and New Breed, Whitney Houston, Kirk Franklin, Prince, TobyMac, Eurythmics, Darlene Zschech... I could literally go on and on with seemingly unrelated artists of seemingly contrasting styles, genres, time periods, and belief systems. But I must say, they've all influenced and affected me musically, and sometimes spiritually, in very inspirational ways. God develops us through other people a lot of the time, and that's not just spiritually. It's amazing how sovereignly He uses all these things to make us who we are. I never want to put Him in a box in that area. He can do anything, and He can use anyone.
 
For those who haven't heard it, describe your music to them.
 
I would say my music is soulful, rhythmic, heartfelt, genuine, and I can tell you it always comes straight from my heart; it just has to! I can't make music that isn't moving me in some way, whether it's stirring something in me that is celebratory, or contemplative; happy, or melancholy; painful or "feel good". It's always coming from somewhere honest. My goal is that my music can reach someone in that way, because that's where it's coming from. 

It is hard to only describe my music within the context of a single category. It feels pretty pop, I guess, overall. I'm always bending the genres just slightly, not that I'm really trying to. It just seems to happen that way. Often, when I write a song, it seems to shape itself into what it's supposed to be, often different than I originally planned. I've learned to go with that and not fight that creative process within my writing. 
 
In addition to being a solo artist, you are on staff at a church. Talk about that for a moment--the church, what you do, etc.
 
I work with Central Peninsula Church in the San Francisco Bay Area, and have been working with churches here in California for over a decade. I have served as a Worship Leader and Director in many different capacities over this time, focusing on growing impacting teams and communities of musicians and singers to really connect with the church and outside the church. 

Musicians, singers and artistic folks in general, are community-minded souls who feed off each other's work. All creativity thrives when it's encouraged and championed within a healthy community. Therefore, the church can be, and I believe was intended by God to be, a place where expression literally flourishes and grows within individuals. It's a refuge where creative people can find their place. 
 
How does being a part of the week-in, week-out routine in a local church influence and inspire your solo music, and vice versa?
 
Whenever you talk routine, my mind automatically jumps to something I'm not necessarily good at--schedules and stuff! I would not say I'm a total train wreck in that area, but I will say it doesn't come naturally. It can certainly be quite a juggle to manage it all, and I'll admit, it's even comical at times. I have to wear many hats, and "routine" can seem like a foreign word to me, even though I do crave it once in a blue moon. My schedule seems to be constantly changing and in flux due to many different factors. I am thankful and blessed to have taken part of in several church communities that get that, and even knows how to laugh with me when I get my wires crossed and bite off more than I can chew. That's where grace comes in. I do want to pad that by saying that I think this is genuinely and unapologetically the life of the artist. Some are just better at managing it all than others. It will never fit into a nice, neat and tidy package, even if we want it to. We must embrace that as artists and as people who work with artists. 
 
Talk about the tension between being a worship leader and a pop artist.
 
Whatever I do artistically, or musically--be it in the church, or in any context outside the church--is unto God. If I'm leading worship in a congregational setting, or singing a mainstream song in a club or at a concert, it's all God's, and every note I could ever sing or play exists because, and only because, He allowed me to wake up this morning and put the breath in my lungs. It all starts and ends there, and I really see it that way! 

Some may think that being a worship leader and a pop artist is automatically at odds with one another, but I love to point out that it's not necessarily the case and doesn't have to be. In anything we do with bringing our lives into alignment with God's purposes in the earth, it's all about the positioning of the heart. God wants to work through us in every facet of life, and in many different ways.
 
What's your calling as best as you can tell right now?
 
I have an assignment on my life to build bridges where people who don't know God, or think they need to know Him to be able to consider a spiritual walk with Him. Or, even if someone thinks they're just too far gone and off track or somehow "don't fit" as they see it, that they too are welcome at His table. There's just nothing more fulfilling and sustaining than walking the journey and knowing that He is real and seeing Him active in your life. Music is one of my means to express that--whether explicitly or implicitly.

What does 2016 look like for you? Tours? Releases (outside the new single)?

I do hope to finish up and release a double EP set. I have many songs I have been working on for years that are almost fully produced and ready to go. Let me tell you, the struggle has been enormous with this with more mountainous road blocks in the process than I care to even talk about! But at the end of the day, I will have something sizable very soon. As an indie artist, I sure need a lot of help, because it's all on me, in the midst of wearing a lot of other hats! Once released, I do hope to set up a tour or get on a tour.
 
How can people be praying for you?
 
I would love prayer for getting the projects done and out. Would also love prayer for God to give me all the right divine appointments to go beyond what I can do on my own, which is so limited! Yet, I'm so aware that He is unrestricted, limitless, and infinite even in the middle of all that. I hope everyone is enjoying my music and somehow touched and encouraged by it. 


Get Tim Drisdelle's single, "Never Alone," on iTunes here.