I believe the main thing, Press Play was first built as a worship team. With a typical worship team you've got people who are volunteering and being available from the house of God there. It started with that. It was always like a natural progression for us, kind of like the
Hillsong model and
Jesus Culture and different ones like that where some of the members may do that.
And then when Jon (Thulin) and Nicole (Croteau) came on board, we knew even from the very beginning, when I had them come on board, as with the other players, God had already instilled new things into their lives, things individually that they had going on their own, but yet we still wanted to partner together with them.
I'd never had the band be one of those where Press Play can be the only thing and the only thing that you do, but instead of whatever God is doing in your life individually, I want to tap into that and be a part of that. That's always been the vision I've had since the very beginning, knowing that it would have some people with us shorter than others, but God was just showing off when he brought—it's been three years now with Jonathan and Nicole a little over two years. It was God showing off and doing His thing and putting that together and of course it's so neat to see their own individual ministries flourish and do that. Press Play is what we started DREAM Records with. It all just launched from there.
It's kind of been that flagship artist where I'd better set the standard with this artist as far as how to let, like I said, God work individually, too, among the team. He's just blessed that and honored that. It seems like with every change I'm always sad to see them go, but then God always does this thing and upgrades every time.
What is it like now just the vibe and the creative process being a trio?
It's so great now because the three of us are so uniquely different on our styles individually, but then when we collaborate together, we're all like, "Are you kidding me?" This was like it was always meant to be. So it was totally that God union of three individuals who collaborate and then you throw in Jonathan's brother,
David Thulin, in there too.
It's like, "God, you know what you're doing and we'll always trust you on this." It's a fun time. We have the funnest time when we're collaborating. We did this last album in 11 days, 11 songs. We just did a shut-in in Minneapolis. It was like five below zero and snow; nothing else to do but get close to God and make 11 songs. It was fun.
What's great about you guys is it's almost like, in Christian music, you guys have been a little bit ahead of the curve because dance music now is a big part of pop and the mainstream. A lot of bands are trying to catch up with that with synths and things like that, but it's kind of been who you guys have been since the beginning. With #LITO, what can people expect stylistically in pushing music forward?
You're so right. We always felt a little ahead of it. Radio promoters were always like, "I love this. Christian radio is not there yet." Now radio is there. You've got Capital Kings. You've got so many others that are doing it. Now we can be ourselves, which is bringing continuity to an album because before we were trying to still do what we do, but then answer for the others who needed something else and do that instead of being just who we are all the way through 11 songs.
It was so great on this one to have that continuity and let it fly on what we really felt to do all along. It's great to see that we can be relevant and hopefully we'll stay with the trends.
Or even make them yourselves, kind of like you've already done.
Exactly. We're anxious for the next single, which will be probably either "Top of the World" or "Song for the Broken." That's a little behind-the-scenes info for you. We're anxious for those because it's a departure for Press Play to enter into the ballad realm in a heavy way, but we just believe those songs are really anointed and we need to push those, so we're excited for that.
What is the personal song for you on the album?
Probably the one that speaks the most to me in a spiritual way is "I Can Breathe." I wrote that one and it's kind of a personal expression of just God doing so much personally in my life, in our ministry's life, my family, my wife, our daughter, just everything. It was one of those things where I felt when I was writing the song like it was almost like somebody had taken a grip off of me, the pressure, the worry and everything just released. I felt light as a feather.
I can actually breathe. I can breathe and just lay back in God—rest in God and I can have a new thing. It was just such a relief. I remember bawling and just saying, "I can breathe." There was such a peace. It was just an overwhelming peace that was upon us.
Then on the fun end, I think "Snap A Picture" is my favorite song on the album. Literally we felt led to write it for the social media and without pictures, social media with Instagram, Facebook, you name it—without pictures it wouldn't be happening. We literally wrote it for that. Who knows what God's going to do with that crazy song, but I love that one.
Even the album title is hashtag LITO (#LITO). It seems like there's a very strong gravitation towards social media, I mean even doing a remix contest and all that. Talk about that a little bit.
In the beginning social media was just for the young ages, and now I look at my mother-in-law. She's like 80 years old and she can't leave social media alone. She lives on it. From young to old, it's our life. It is our life now. We're trying to be extremely communicative and relevant in that field and so that's how we talk now. We use our social skills through media. Those are literally part of our language. I think the album has several of those elements in it that just naturally we speak that way.
What does it mean for you, Dave, to #LITO? To love in the open? What does that mean for you today?
Hopefully it's a theme. I know it's a theme internally and hopefully it's perceived that way through all and through the ministries is that to be bold with our faith. Not be a Christian who is in a Christian business and it's only in business, but to really live openly for Christ, not in a crazy way, not in a turnoff way, but to be extremely proud, to be extremely confident and to be bold enough to win the lost with our lifestyles—not our songs, but the way we walk it out off the stage, the way we live it out.
To be very open with our faith, to be people that are attracting and influential and to attract others to Christ through our lifestyles. It's not just random acts of kindness. It's not just love, but it's actually living the lifestyle in front of them and being bold and proud in a sweet way, not an arrogant way.
Sometimes it's fun and very open. Other times it may be extreme ministry driven, but hopefully that entire album and all of our albums. "NY2LA" and "Let it Out" were the same way. Let's not be hiding this. Let's not be ashamed, but let's be extremely proud at what Christ has done and win the loss with it. Be over the top.
I grew up in the industry all my life in Nashville and sometimes it's easy of course to try to be rogue and try to be stealth with our faith and not meaning any harm by it, but we're kind of the opposite and believe let's just be extremely awkwardly proud of who we are and let Christ just live through us.
That's great. That's a good word. What are you getting excited about Dave, and the band, and as a label as well?
We're checked for the tour that is coming up, the JCTV Tour. Manic Drive is opening at Silverline and Jonathan Thulin. It's October 25th through November 26th. We do like 27 cities in 30 days, so we're pretty excited about that.
Personally what's getting you excited as well?
I am an extreme family man. My wife's a cancer survivor. I had the accident where I broke my back, a car rolled over me. Our daughter has been healed. We feel so blessed. We give in ministry all the time, the community between Nashville and Honolulu and our offices there, but knowing that family is – we are blessed to have it and together we can win the lost with our family. Feel very blessed.
How can we be praying for you, Dave, and the band?
Main thing, this tour coming up, it's heavy on our hearts that souls be saved through it. Without that it's just a bunch of noise and work and stress and waste of time. We've got to make sure every night that souls come to Christ. Help us pray for those 27 days.
