The origins of MIKESCHAIR took place in a freshman guy’s dorm room one night at Belmont University in Nashville. The band’s peculiar name begs for an explanation.

“The 'chair' was the central gathering point where we got our start,” says Sam Tinnesz. “All of us lived on the same floor of our dorm at Belmont, except for Mike. But since he was always hanging out with us on our floor, we decided to get him a piece of furniture to make him feel a little more at home. The chair was his only piece of property on our floor. He wrote his name on it in big capital letters, and it kind of became his seat of inspiration for writing songs and being creative. The name is a reminder of our humble beginnings and how far God has brought us.”

MIKESCHAIR is a very good self-titled debut album by a promising new band. MIKESCHAIR joins Rush of Fools, Tenth Avenue North and Fee as new bands who've quickly made a big impact on the Christian music scene. MIKESCHAIR has a sound that, in my opinion, is a very nice combination of the sound of those acclaimed bands.

I had the chance to speak in-person with the band in Atlanta before the Dove Awards about GMA Dove Award nominated rock song “Straight To Your Heart,” which is another stand-out hit song from the album along with “Can’t Take Away”, “Keep Changing The World” and “Let The Waters Rise.” (You can watch the video interview here.) 

Please tell me about the background message behind the song “Straight To Your Heart.”

I would say for us that it’s a really fun rock song to perform. The first verse of the song sums up the message: “I've got the strength to walk a thousand miles; I'm not going to stop till I reach You.” I think there’s something naturally inside all of us and a passion that we all have when we come to know the Lord. We want to reach the world for Christ. The pre-chorus talks about how Jesus is pulling us closer to Him. As you get further into your journey as a Christian, you get closer to the heart of Jesus. Not only His Word, but community and loving people. It’s basically a worship song. The song is a prayer reflecting our desire to walk closer with Christ.

Do you have a life verse or any Bible verses you used in writing the song?

John 3:30: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

What's the takeaway message for listeners regarding the song?

I would say that our mission as a band is ultimately to point people to Christ. Our prayer is that our music creates an environment for people to encounter the Lord in a real way. We hope that’s accomplished by us being honest through our songs. We want to sing about struggles, joys and passion for the Lord. We hope those messages seep into listeners' ears and their hearts in a way that regular music can’t without the Lord. We want His Name to be proclaimed for however long we are in this music ministry.

The Dove Award nominations have been a huge encouragement for us as a band, that God is speaking to people through our songs. We’ve always felt that this is our calling, and we’re honored that we’re nominated, but we just want to reach more people for Christ. We are very excited about our new album. We’re in the final stages of mixing for our new album and the first single is out now, called “Someone Worth Dying For.”

As we’ve been touring the country and hearing stories from thousands of people, we were inspired in writing our new songs. We want to help encourage and challenge listeners. The new album releases in August and we’re excited for people to hear what the Lord has been putting on our hearts.


Here are the lyrics:

I've got the strength to walk a thousand miles
I'm not going to stop till I reach You
You give me peace when the storm keeps ragin strong
I'm holding on, I'm holding on

You're pulling me, you're pulling me Oh Oh
You're pulling me
Straight to Your heart
Straight to Your heart
Straight to Your heart
Straight to Your heart
Oh Oh Whoa
You're pulling me
Oh Oh Whoa

I feel Your love push me forward
As the wind pushes back
I'm not going to stop till I reach You
I'll do whatever it takes no I'm not going to break
I'm holding on, I'm holding on

You're pulling me, you're pulling me Oh Oh
You're pulling me
Straight to Your heart
Straight to Your heart
Straight to Your heart
Straight to Your heart
Oh Oh Whoa
You're pulling me
Oh Oh Whoa

You're pulling me whoa oh
You're pulling me whoa oh
You're pulling me whoa oh
You're pulling me whoa oh
whoa oh oh oh

Straight to Your heart
Straight to Your heart
Straight to Your heart
Straight to Your heart
Oh Oh Whoa
You're pulling me
Oh Oh Whoa

Here’s Asbury’s Bible commentary about John 3:22-30: “Jesus and John were engaged simultaneously in ministries involving baptism. Jesus was at work somewhere in the Judean countryside and John at Aenon near Salim, whose precise location is not now known. A dispute between John's disciples and a certain Jew about ceremonial washing, stimulated no doubt by John's ministry, led to a pointed reference to Jesus' baptism and popularity. But John felt neither threat nor jealousy. The honor that both were receiving was decreed in heaven, that is, by God and God's arrangements were not to be disputed. In any case, John was not the Christ but only the forerunner. Jesus was the Christ. Now that he was present, John must diminish.”

With all the fanfare and celebrity of the Doves, I was concerned about the sin of pride. I prayed for the Holy Spirit to give me some biblical guidance in conducting artist interviews and a theme verse in praying before each of our artist interviews and on Monday night the Lord gave me John 3:30: "He must increase, but I must decrease."

The ministry of Christian music is not about these great singers whom God has blessed with amazing talent, or about the media coverage. The whole purpose of the event and these devotionals is to praise our Lord and Savior, Jesus. He provides us this opportunity to point people to Him.

As Christians, we all must remember that truth. Accepting Jesus as your personal Savior and putting aside our own pride in accomplishments and laying all of our sins at the feet of Jesus is more important than any number of awards. It is a decision that I made after hearing Gospel truth from the biblical messages of Christian music and accepted Jesus as my personal Savior. For that gift of life in Christ Jesus, I’m eternally grateful. Amen.