In 1997, Matthew Barnett and the Dream Center joined forces with David Hanley to develop a new and exciting vision for music. This vision was to change lives with a positive and relevant voice. Press Play was established from the local community and across the nation, brought together by a common passion for music and to see lives transformed, including their own.

As the Dream Center has grown into a major social catalyst for change, Press Play has exploded into a multimedia experience onstage, and off stage has become a collection of creativity. In 1998, Dream Center Studios, a state-of-the-art recording studio and full production media department, was launched. As a functioning outreach of the Dream Center, the studio has completed eight projects for Press Play including live recordings, DVDs, and several full-length albums. Musicians worldwide have come to contribute to this ever-expanding wealth of innovation that has become Press Play.

David Hanley, founder of Press Play, devised a dynamic transformation of the historic Angelus Temple, and in 2001, it became the primary platform for this cutting edge, musical group. Entertaining in an auditorium equipped with line-array speakers, 52-foot panoramic screen, LED stage panels, and a high-tech sound system, Press Play performs for thousands of individuals each week from all walks of life. Captivating fans with heartfelt songs, Press Play continues to reinvent themselves, serving as a model for culturally relevant musicians worldwide.

In 2007, Foursquare International and the Dream Center, Press Play’s incubator, collaborated to launch Dream Records. The vision of this record label is to distribute a positive message worldwide through existing media outlets. Dream Record’s first release was Press Play’s Life is Beautiful in May of 2009.

NewReleaseTuesday.com contributor Andrew Funderburks recently had an opportunity to speak with David and hear more about the intense passion behind Press Play.

Hi David! Thanks so much for doing this interview with NewReleaseTuesday.com and welcome!

Thank you! It’s great to be here

After seeing that many members of the band have originated from all over the United States, I’m curious to know, how did all of you guys meet to form Press Play?

The band was formed through the L.A. Dream Center, which is a community outreach and mega-church that was formed 14 years ago by volunteers that came from all over the world. They run over two hundred programs that, in L.A. alone, reach some 40,000 people per week. It’s an incredible thing that God is doing. Press Play was birthed from those internships—combining people with great talent and the heart to reach those that everyone else has given up on. We had a vision to reach the homeless and make a difference in their lives. We’ve been together almost ten years now, and a few of the band members have changed during that time.

Let’s talk about the name of the band. What made you guys choose this name for the group?

[Laughs] It was one of those obvious things when you hear it. If you’re in the technical world, playing CD’s, or playing anything, you’re constantly...

Pressing play?

Yeah! Just press play. It wasn’t some godly revelation or anything, it was strictly us thinking, “Well that makes sense. We say it all the time, and there we go!”


The song off your debut project is "Life is Beautiful". Explain to us the theme of the song, and why you guys chose it for the title track.

“Life is Beautiful” was the perfect track to represent what God is doing in L.A., the Dream Center and Press Play. Years ago, the ramparts district, which is the troubled and dark area of the urban city of Los Angeles, had one of the worst homicide rates in the nation. We’re in the inner city and about 500 people live on the campus of the Dream Center—people who are coming out of gangs, violence, and human trafficking, as well as unwed mothers. These people come from dark lifestyles and tough situations, and the music from here has to represent the complete opposite. The music needs to let the people know that they can still make it—that there’s life, and the life that’s in front of them, regardless of what situation they came from or are currently in, is beautiful. And if they give it to God, their life will be beautiful, and there will be something to live for. Instead of ministering to them and trying to be relevant in a way that’s too urban, too dark, too this, or too that, we’re just being ourselves, and saying, “It’s a beautiful day! We are happy, and it’s great to be alive!” And life really is beautiful, if you just live it by being a reflection of who God is [1 Corinthians 11:11, The Message]. If you mirror your life after Christ, life is beautiful in Him.

“Sound of Love” is a great song about shouting out the sound of Jesus’ love to the world. What was the inspiration God gave to you to write this song?

You said it right there! It’s about the “sound of love,” and Press Play is all about that. Every day, the members of Press Play are out on the streets ministering to people, loving on people, and lifting up boxes filled with food. There’s no greater expression of love than serving others.

When I heard “Angels Sing,” I absolutely felt the presence of God flowing through the house. Give us some insight on the message of this song.

I wrote this song in a staff meeting with Pastor Matthew Barnett. In this staff meeting we were talking about many of our ministries. So many people have given up on hope. I can relate because, in my own life, I’ve made mistakes. Sometimes we’re so focused on the past, that we don’t see what God sees in us. We don’t see the possibilities; we don’t even see ourselves through the eyes of God. He has created you, and [He has a plan for] who you are to be. God sees in us what we can’t see in ourselves. He believes in us, when we don’t believe in ourselves. In my own life, only God could make the angels sing despite the mistakes I’ve made. He saw things inside of me I could never have dreamed of on my own. He showed me mercy and grace in my own life, and has allowed me to do what I’m doing today. So that’s where this song came from.

Tell us about the song “One Life,” and how it came into being.

There’s probably not a better song that expresses what the Dream Center is about. It not only appeals to Christians, but also to the mainstream world as well. It still lets them know that we’ve only got one life. So much of our life is built upon what we do, what titles we have, what status we have, and how much money we have. God put every one of us on this planet to make a difference. We only have one life. The movie, The Bucket List, really drives home this point. It makes you realize that what you’ve done in this world for others is what life is all about. When my life is over, and I read through my own review of what my life was all about, I want to look back and be able to say I didn’t waste one day. We get used to the phrase, “I’ll do it someday.” The song says, “My some day’s have come and gone/Today is the day for me to be what God has called me to be live every minute of my life living for others.”

Out of all the songs on this project, which was the band’s favorite to record?

We base a lot of that on recording, as well as performing live, so it depends. We used many different cameos to try to make the project appealing to a lot of different people. “Say Say” was fun recording, because the actor Tyler Williams, who is the lead actor on the TV show Everybody Hates Chris and Lil Irocc, who is a Christian artist, rap on the song. However, it’s so hard to say which song is actually our favorite because they’re all such a variety.

Life is Beautiful has several guest appearances on it. Was there a favorite of the guests for you guys to record with?

It would probably be the guests we had on “Say Say.” It was so fun watching Tyler Williams and Lil Irocc do their thing. Hopefully when the listeners listen to the song, they will be able to feel the energy that was produced. I also enjoyed “Break It Out,” which was produced by Elijah Kelly, who plays the starring role in the movie Hairspray. He’s only 21, but he’s an incredible writer, singer, and great man of God.

You guys have partnered up with the Dream Center in L.A. to release Life is Beautiful. You’ve already talked a little bit about the Dream Center, but tell us a little more about it, and how the band feels about this partnership.

It’s not only a partnership. Press Play works directly from the Dream Center. The Dream Center was founded by Matthew Barnett 14 years ago. He wanted to create a church that would reach the spiritual and physical needs of the down and out. From that was birthed the great church of the Dream Center. From that, the Angelus Temple was formed, and from the Angelus Temple, Press Play was birthed. Now there are over one hundred fifty Dream Centers worldwide. By meeting the needs of over two hundred programs here in L.A., Pastor Matthew had the vision of tending to the needs of the ones everyone has given up on.

What was one of the craziest moments the band has ever experienced on stage, or off stage?

Matthew Barnett, who created the Dream Center, has just lived everyday of his life to the fullest, serving other people. He’s not a singer or a dancer and can hardly keep a rhythm at all. However, he knows music like the back of his hand. In the middle of one of our sets where we have hip-hop dancers, he actually came on the stage and began break dancing, spinning, and doing all these other crazy moves. Since he’s our senior pastor, we had no idea he had all those moves. He floored us! So now, every time he is at one of our performances, he has to get up on stage and do those crazy moves of his.

By the time you guys retire from music, if you ever do retire, what legacy would the band as a whole like to have stamped on the world of music?

That we made a difference in people’s lives. Where there’s a great song, there’s a great band. But leaving a legacy of knowing we made a difference in someone’s life, rather than just bringing them music, is what we we’re all about.

What Scripture verse, or verses, has been one of the band’s main sources for encouragement?

Proverbs 3:5-7 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Don’t lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.”

What piece of encouragement would you like to share from your heart with the audience listening or reading this interview?

A lot of the people listening to or reading the interview are going to be music minded. They can always know that it’s not going to be about the music, the notes, how you play or sing, but it’s always going to be about the questions: “Have you changed someone’s life?” “Have you lived your life for someone else today?” If you do that, I can guarantee you that God’s Word will not return void. If you’re an artist, a musician, or whatever, and you want to use your gifts to serve others, I can definitely say that God will make your dreams come true.

Thanks so much Dave for doing this interview with NRT! May God continue to bless Press Play’s music to touch lives everywhere!

Thanks Andrew! God bless!