Community is at the very core of who Brandon Heath is both as a private person and public figure. He shares this idea with friends and followers alike, both of which have grown considerably since the release of his 2006 debut project Don't Get Comfortable, which produced national touring and multiple radio hits, including the No. 1 blockbuster song "I'm Not Who I Was."

Heath has garnered professional accolades, to be sure, with the success of songs like "I'm Not Who I Was" also generating the steam that earned him multiple Dove Award nominations in 2008, including taking the trophy home for New Artist of the Year. He was also nominated for Songwriter of the Year and Song of the Year for "I'm Not Who I Was."

2009 has continued to see major success with “Give Me Your Eyes”, the first single from his sophomore release, What If We, earning the “Song of the Year” award at the 2009 GMA Dove Awards, and the second single, “Wait and See” recently peaking at No. 1, marking Brandon’s third top radio hit.

But even as success as an artist started to come his way, Heath knew that his personal, creative satisfaction was always going to come in the form of his songwriting. And where many new artists get caught up, for good or ill, in the swirl of activity surrounding that first record, Heath buckled down and maintained his focus on the talent and skill that brought him to the table in the first place.

Brandon recently spoke with NewReleaseTuesday.com’s Bill Lurwick about his quick rise to success, his beginning aspirations as a songwriter and how life on the road challenges his daily comfort. It’s a great conversation that takes you behind the scenes of an artist that has quickly found his footing in Christian music.

Hey Brandon! Thanks for joining us here at NewReleaseTuesday.com. I understand you’re on your way to a video shoot?

Yes, we’re in a car heading down to Birmingham to do the video for “Give Me Your Eyes.”

Great Song! Congrats on all the success at radio and winning “Song Of The Year” at the 2009 GMA Dove Awards.

Thanks. It has been the little song that could.

Your very own Thomas the Tank Engine.

That’s right. You put these songs out like they’re your kids, and hope that they do well in the world.

Now, you were born and raised in Nashville. You’re a guy who’s actually from the city that’s the center--not an outsider getting in. Wouldn’t you say that’s kind of the odd way to make it in Christian music?

Yes, but it kind of worked out pretty well to be a local. Most of the guys that I ended up working with, I go to church with as well.

That is pretty cool and, indeed, an added bonus. You started playing guitar when you were about thirteen. Did you actually feel led to this career path at that age, or was it just something you started trying out as a hobby?

Well, the thing is, I learned how to play guitar so I could write this girl a song. I was really trying to impress her, and I think it worked. We ended up breaking up two weeks later, which is pretty good for 8th grade.

Yes, that’s not too bad.

But, you know, I kept playing the guitar. One of the things that I learned is that there is a thriving community of songwriters in Nashville that you would never know about. They live undercover a little bit. They go to the grocery store or to a restaurant and nobody ever recognizes them, but they’ve written these huge songs. It’s almost like a secret society, and I was really intrigued by it. I also loved to write, so I thought, That’s what I want to do. I want to be a song writer when I grow up. So I went to college and majored in English and, as soon as I was done, I signed a publishing deal. That’s kind of how I got my start in the music business.

You’ve won the Dove Award in 2008 for the New Artist of the Year, and you’ve got your second project out there now. I’m sure you’re still a part of that songwriters group, but it’s not such a big secret anymore. Do you miss that anonymity at all?

Well I do, and I don’t at the same time. As a Christian artist, the fact is, I can lead a pretty anonymous life. The majority of people don’t know who I am, and my face isn’t super recognizable yet. That’s the luxury of being a new artist. I can go out of the house and most people probably aren’t going to know me. I won’t say that I don’t enjoy being recognized every once in awhile, though. That’s pretty fun.

The new project is called What If We. What’s it about? Finish the sentence for us.


“What If We” is a statement, but it’s more like a question, I think. It talks about possibilities, and it talks about doing things together. I think God has called us all to serve together--to serve as a group of people, rather than individually. We are to serve and to love the world. The “What if” in that statement basically talks about the endless possibilities. How cool is it as a believer to know that there really isn’t anything holding you back? You’ve got God on your side. What can you not do for His Kingdom? I think that these songs are all a response to that title. They all can answer the begging questions: What if we listened? What if we went? What if we communicated? To me, it’s a challenge.

Well as a fellow believer, it’s a big challenge for me as well. It seems like, somewhere along the way, we’ve lost that child-like faith doesn‘t it?

I think that we complicate things a little too much sometimes, when it really is a very simple gospel. Jesus wants us to love the world and to love Him. The fact is that He forgave us, and if we just accept that forgiveness and live in the freedom of being forgiven and being loved, we can extend that to other people. I love being able to be spontaneous and not planning out my life too much. I am open to whatever God wants me to do, so I pray that I won’t be too afraid or so over-committed that I can’t go and do whatever it is He wants me to do.

Take us through the process of how creating a musical project begins. When did the second project actually get its birth? Were the songs already there, or was it a process where you had to sit down and decide, “I‘m going to start writing these songs”? Is it an 18-month process or a 12-month process?

Well Bill, my favorite thing has always been co-writing and, thankfully, there are some great guys in Nashville that helped me through this creative process. I don’t know that I necessarily had a time period. I definitely had a cutoff--a deadline, of when we needed to turn the record in. I was hoping to have everything written by the beginning of January of last--actually, of this year. That way, we would be in a studio in February and March and then be ready to put the record out this August. I took about three months to really focus on the songwriting, but we also drew from songs that I had written even before the first record had come out. I was talking about that, actually, to somebody earlier today. Some songs you sit on for a while. It’s a relationship that you have with the audience, and the audience has with you. You don’t want to spill everything all at once in the beginning. There’s a time and a place for certain songs. Specifically, there’s a song called “London”. I had written it five years ago, but it wasn’t until now that I was ready to put it out.

Yeah, I’ve listened to that song. It’s kind of a love song.

It is. I wrote it with Chad Cates. It’s about his fiancé, who is now his wife. He was in London and missing her. I think that we can all relate to a song like that because we’ve all been places that can’t be enjoyed as much alone as with somebody else.

Absolutely.

And I certainly find myself in that situation quite often.

You’ve talked about that three month period where you dedicated yourself to writing and new ideas, but you were also touring and promoting during that three month period, right?

Yeah, the world doesn’t stop. I’ve got to go on tours and all the things that come along with promotion. It’s a demanding job, but I won’t pretend to say that it’s the hardest job in the world. There are things that are a lot harder. I think the hardest part is just being away from home, and home is really where I like to write. I have to be very intentional, when I am home, to get things done.

Do you have a personal favorite on the project, besides the first radio single? Is there one song that you had to have included on this CD?

I’d say “Love Never Fails” is probably my favorite. It’s either “Love Never Fails” or the last track on the record called “No Not One.”

“Love Never Fails,” that’s right out of 1 Corinthians 13, isn’t it?

Yes, I wrote that one with Chad Cates as well. Chad and I were in a Bible study together and the whole thing was based around 1 Corinthians 13. For me, it was relaying the message of what love is and what love isn’t. It is making sure that we recognize that there is a certain order to what it says in the scripture. Also, if we are called to love the world, then this is how we’re supposed to do it. Mainly, that’s why I thought it was important to write the song. I also really love the melody and the simplicity of it.

Now tell us about “No Not One.” You mentioned that one as well.

“No Not One” was written with Christy Nockels, who is formerly of the duo Watermark and now a worship leader with Passion, along with Louie Giglio and Chris Tomlin. She lived in Nashville, and I always loved her voice. We had coffee one day and we thought, why not try writing a song together? I don’t think that Christy does a lot of collaboration with people but, for some reason, within thirty minutes, we had the song. I think it might be one of the most powerful songs I’ve ever been a part of.

Really?

Yes, it’s a very exalting song. I love the fact that it finishes out the record. Not only does it give the record a foundation, but it’s also a triumphant ending. It’s saying, “God, You are worthy to be praised because all these things come from You.” It’s a proclamation saying, “There’s never been a greater love, no not one.”


Tell us about the guy, Brandon Heath. Are you married yet with kids? What do you like to do in your rare down time?

I’m a single guy, so I’ve got lots of time on my hands. My new love is motorcycles. I bought a Triumph Bonneville T-100 two months ago, and I just finished a trip from Mexico to Canada with three of my good friends.

That is awesome.

I think it was a good way to spend [the beginning part of] my summer because I knew that I would be busy later on in the summer with the new record coming out. It was good for me to take a little time off, invest with friends, and do something that I’ve never done before.

Tell us about the fall. Are you going to be touring in support of “What If We”?

Yes, I’m doing a tour with Sara Groves, Derek Webb (formerly of Caedmons Call), and his wife Sandra McCracken. We will be joined by Charlie Peacock as well, so it’s going to be a good line-up. I’m excited about this tour and really excited about the message. We’re sponsored by IJM, which is the International Justice Mission. The name of the tour is Art Music Justice. IJM’s main message is that there’s a problem with slavery around the world and it needs to be addressed locally. While we’re entertaining and playing great songs, we also want to educate people about an epidemic that is alive and well. These victims need a voice, and we want to be a part of that voice.

Amen. That’s awesome. I believe that Sara recently went to Kenya--it may have been a year and a half or so ago--and I know Derek has done many great things. So you had the opportunity to travel overseas and see some of the things that you’re going to be supporting on this tour?

Yes, the first country that I went to, that I would consider to be under the third-world umbrella, was India. India has a real presence of Human Trafficking and sex-tourism. It’s one of the things that I was not aware of and, honestly Bill, it took seeing it with my own eyes. It touched my heart in such a way, that I can’t get rid of it. It’s that burden that I need to speak on. I’ve been over to Africa—to Kenya and to Uganda. You see, a lot of us share in the same experiences and the same priority, and that’s to love our neighbors, who are not necessarily in our own back yard.

Brandon, we appreciate your spending time with us here at NRT. We are really excited about What If We. I am sure it is going to be just as good as the first Brandon Heath project that came our way. God’s blessings to you, brother.

Thanks Bill, great talking to you too!