You can’t win a staring contest with Brad Reynolds. Go ahead and give it a try. His eyes carry an intensity and his gaze can burn through your skull. He is friendly, and engaging, but has the focus of a master craftsman. He’s also not afraid to challenge you.

Me: “I really liked that last cd from Mile7 that I reviewed.
Brad: “I know. I read the review and it was very positive. What are you going to do when you get a cd to review that you DON’T like?”

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Our interview took place during a gig on February 18th, 2008. He was playing at Christoper Pizza, around the corner from Music Row in Nashville. He was opening for Christian Walker, from Knoxville. Christian brought with him a SMOKIN’ utility player named Jackson Carter. Jackson burned up a dobro, and had some hot lead lines on an acoustic as well. Both of those guys were very kind and put on a great show.

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Reynolds was wearing a pair of jeans and a striped black button up long sleeved shirt. He was joined by his wife Kelley, and they showed up early to meet with me.

TCM: What’s it like before you go onstage?
Brad: I get kind of worked up. TCM: Do you have a routine you go through every time?
Brad: Yes I do. I pray, and nothing more than that really…{Pauses} I think a lot I guess. TCM: Does the venue matter? Do you act differently if you’re at a church vs. a pizza joint, or a coffee shop?
Brad: For me, it ultimately comes down to what I feel the Lord is saying to me, and I try to be obedient to that. It doesn’t matter if it’s a church or a coffee shop.This obedience theme is a common element that reappears multiple times during our discussion. It’s this ’surrender’ and ‘obedience’ that seems to shape his desires, ministry and…life. TCM: Is it easier to play for people you know?
Brad: Before I get up there, I’m always anxious and nervous, but when I get onstage the Holy Spirit takes over…Whether I know them [the audience] or not, it’s more just me trying to be transparent and sing from my heart and hope it speaks to whoever it is. TCM: You and I have talked before about your 8 to 5 job. How has it been since you have been getting some success with your music?
Brad: I turn my nose up to people and make them carry my laptop! {Laughs Loudly} Seriously, I may come across as arrogant sometimes because I get excited and love talking about the great things that God is doing with my music and music ministry. Most people keep it in when God starts blessing things and good things happen. I don’t. An example of some of this recent success: Indelible Creative Group will be releasing the much anticipated TOP 20 INDIE Compilation CD. Indelible is a very legitimate and reputable record label and media group and Brad has been chosen to be 1 out of 20 artist from across the nation to be included on the CD. ‘Anyway’ is the song they selected and this will be distributed nationally in stores by WORD.

TCM: Are all the people you work with Christians?
Brad: No. There are several Christians there, but not all. It’s a mix of denominations and faiths, or lack thereof. Everybody there is still ‘good people’. I’ve been able to get to know some people that have a different perspective on faith than I do, and it’s allowed me to establish relationships and share with people here and there. My boss has really been cool with time off and whatnot…I’m just me. Not Brad the artist. They all know who I am, and they know when I get frustrated at work…They know I’m a normal guy.

TCM: How far have you gone for gigs?
Brad: Wow. All over the place, Minnesota and New Jersey are probably the farthest I’ve played.

TCM: Hmmm. Do you like playing out of the area better or worse than Nashville?
Brad: It’s not ‘rather than’…Home is like a base…a place for me to be fed and be filled. I play [locally] and I love to do it. Usually it’s much more financially rewarding to play out of town. {laughs}

TCM: When you are here, what do you do to recharge?
Brad: I like to watch movies, sit in my room and play guitar, take a nap, spend time with my wife, my kids, my family.

TCM: I have raved about your cd, bought 3 copies, asked you to play at multiple lifegroups including my own, and I really love your music. It’s great to see you get some radio and national exposure! I know you are kind of humble about the numbers, but how many stations are playing your stuff?
Brad: Recently there were about 80 stations playing my stuff counting XM. I seriously have no pre-conceived notions about radio, or breaking into the industry. I would love to make a good living doing this, but as long as my songs are speaking to people, I’m happy. I get e-mails from people telling me that a song [I wrote] has blessed them. To me, that’s what it’s all about. I went on a prayer retreat this weekend, and we sat around a campfire and played some songs, and played some praise and worship, and it was a great experience. However…{long pause}

I write these songs for me. They challenge me, they make me seek God more, they make me ask [myself] the hard questions. Am I loving people and am I loving God, and am I showing it?

It makes me confess my failures…it makes me realize how much I need God and his grace. In the Real World…that’s what that’s about…how imperfect I am and without God’s grace I would be lost…You know, we all would. When I write a song, I write it FOR Me, and that’s where the honesty comes from… If one of my songs does something to others when I’m writing them, that’s great. I view that as a blessing and a bonus.

TCM: It’s interesting to hear you say that, because several of your songs, actually most if not all of the songs on “In the Real World” could be viewed as radio friendly.
Brad: Well, definitely writing for me is counter to Nashville, it’s totally counter to the Nashville machine…The machine is a business and the business needs revenue, so that has to be their focus. There are great songwriters in THIS town that make a great living writing great songs, so it’s not a bad thing necessarily. If it speaks to people, it speaks to people. If it’s something the machine produces, or if it comes from an independent artist, it makes no difference, as long as the song is reaching someone.

I guess mentioning that I write songs for myself may sound a little selfish initially, but hear me out. Even though I may lean a tad bit towards the weird side of normal {smiles}, overall I think I am still a pretty normal person. I have life experience; I have been divorced, I lost my father to a heart attack, I’m a dad, a son, a friend, I have had successes and failures, dreams and ambitions, and I have experienced the grace and forgiveness of a loving God. All of these things are just real life truths that we all experience to some degree during the journey. Since that is the case, I think there are thoughts and feelings inside me that are likely pretty common among the rest of the world as well. If those thoughts and feelings can work their way out and be weaved into a 3 1/2 minute lyric and melody that will minister to ME in a genuine way, then I feel confident that it will also minister to others somewhere along the line. If what I had to say in a song wasn’t “for me” and “from me”, then what I write would have no credibility.

Brad takes the craft of songwriting very seriously, and actually does song critiques from time to time for other artists from Indieheaven. Indieheaven is a Christian independent musicians resource alliance dedicated to the advancement of independent Christian musicians and the independent Christian music scene. Brad is a highly respected contributor to this alliance.

TCM: You mentioned being an independent artist…Would you rather have a record deal?
Brad: {smiles} My identity isn’t found in whether I’m an independent artist or label artist or a father or whatever. It’s about me being obedient to what God wants me to do. I try to look at it as a one day at a time thing. Am I obedient right now…today.. I’m not opposed to throwing my guitar away and going on a mission to Africa if He calls me to do that. The cool thing about God is that He knows the desires of our hearts, because he put them there. Even if he does call us to do something that we think we will hate, he will generate that love if it is what we are supposed to be doing.

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I can’t imagine Brad throwing his guitar away and I was frankly stunned by the statement because he meant what he said.

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Brad got oddly quiet about 30 minutes before the show, however he managed some obligatory chit chat with Kelley and me. I noticed that her relaxed personality is a perfect compliment to Brad’s intensity and she seems to have a calming affect on him. She orderd some pizza and waited for the show to start, while Brad got in his “pre-show zone.”TCM: Do you write out a script or reminder of what to say before you play a show?
Brad: If I’m doing a full concert sometimes I’ll write up some notes just to keep myself on time and on task. Tonight I didn’t because I’m just playing 4 or 5 songs. Once I hit the stage, I try to be obedient to God’s leading so sometimes what I write down is different than what I say.
James Brown’s “I Got You (I Feel Good)“ was playing over the internal sound system as Brad got situated on stage. (I found this kind of ironic given Brad’s slight nervousness.) During his soundcheck he jammed a bit of “In The Light” which is a DC Talk monster hit, and the Taylor guitar sounded amazing. The sound guy asked asked him about the guitar and vocal sound for a final live mix, and brad said with a grin “I like my guitar HOT to drown out my voice”

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The first song of the night was Brad’s guitar shredding masterpiece Locksmith. I remember him playing this at a Biblestudy one night. The study guide was on a music stand in front of Brad, and someone in the room asked him to move the stand so they could watch his hands during the song. The riff is memorable and really impressive to watch.

Well I have another story
Written on the pages of my soul
I think Jesus was a locksmith,
Here’s why I say it’s so
Cause He made for me a key shaped like a cross he set me free
Releasing all the weight and chains and pain that sin comes with
He is my Locksmith

Next up was The Edge. Brad mentioned that this song was just cut (recorded by another artist, and put on their latest album) by the winner of the 2007 Christian Artist Talent Search–’CATS’–Think American Idol for Christian Artists. Brad attends church with a guy named Brian Hardin, who was responsible for producing the album. Earlier last year, Brad had given one of his cd’s to Brian who liked it enough to have the winner of CATS (one of Brian’s projects) record The Edge and Anyway. His name is Charles Scarlette and he is incredibly talented. His style is sort of a contemporary country gospel. You can hear an entire interview with him discussing both of Brad’s songs at the Whiplash Records website.

“Someone liked this song enough to put it on their cd” he says humbly from the stage. “It’s the title track and the name of his cd, which is very cool!” He goes on to say that “God’s grace is available for anyone who wants it. This song is about me, a ‘Christian’ and someone who messes up– but God is there to catch us when we fall.”

I dreamed I fell
And I landed on my soul and I cried
‘Til I couldn’t cry no more,
But my heart kept breaking
Until I heard you say
Come with me,
Come and see…and you said
Let’s walk out to the edge tonight
Just to see how far you’d have to fall
Before my love could not make it right
Ten times the highest mountain is still too small

Brad is able to tell a story in a way that draws you in. He does this with ingredients like great guitar playing, excellent melodies, unique concepts, and solid lyrical content. As an example, in the song Anyway he sings “Love is the only evidence against us that tells the world we’re guilty of a change”. You could teach a whole sermon or a bible study on that one line! Brad recorded a video for Anyway that you can check out here. Several people have asked him lately for the story behind Anyway. He shared that with me, and I posted it here.

After the show, Brad and I chatted a bit more. Christian Walker (who has an amazing voice and puts on a fun show) said he loved Brad’s writing and said “Brad, I need great songs like yours dude!”

We all need them…and he has more. I was blessed enough to hear two new songs a few months ago, and they sound every bit as good as the best of the songs on “In The Real World“.

My hope and prayer is that God will not tell Brad to throw his guitar away, and that Brad will continue to write great songs for himself.

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You can purchase Brad’s amazing CD “In the Real World” and keep track of him at:

http://www.bradreynolds.com
http://www.shoutlife.com/bradsreynolds
http://www.indieheaven.com/artists/bradreynolds
http://myspace.com/bradsreynolds

Brad will be headlining with David Teems live at Latham’s Lighthouse Events Center in Hendersonville on April 4th, in the “Show Your SouL” concert series. Learn more about this event here. He will be joined by Brandon Frazier and The Anna Ross Project.