10 Questions with ... TobyMac

NAME:TobyMac TITLE:Musician LABEL:Forefront Records

Brief Career Synopsis:

Label:
Forefront Records

Discography:
Portable Sounds (February 20, 2007)
Renovating Diverse City (2005)
Diverse City (2004)
Re:Mix Momentum (2003)
Momentum DVD (2002)
This Christmas (2002)
Momentum (2001)

1) What's the timeline for making a record look like for you?

Maybe you should ask the label. The timeline starts with choruses, melodies, themes that come after the last record releases. I continue to get ideas down on tape or on my computer. I don't get serious about it until a year from release. I really jump into it about nine months out. It's a reflection of life so I record songs as they come. I was working on two others for "Diverse City," but they never quite got there, so they were included this time, which I guess you can chalk a few up to divine intervention because those two work well on "Portable Sounds." At my worst, oh my gosh! I'm nailing it on the deadline, using all the time the label will give me, because I'm a perfectionist and I like to tweak things.

2) Which do you enjoy more the process or the performance?

That's like saying, "What do you like best about Sour Patch Kids?" Is it the sour outside or the gummy sweet inside? I love both; I wouldn't take one without the other. I love the thought of coming off the road to create again, but then I'm also dying to get out of the cave of a studio to perform these songs.

3) It's been said that CCM is a few years behind the curve on music trends. Do you think that's true, somewhat true, or untrue?

I think in the past it has been behind the times. I don't know if it's that groups have been behind or gatekeepers. It's hard to say in one sentence. But I think now, today it's all changed. Different artists and music are more accessible now and it makes for a very current sound in the music and bands that you hear.

The other compliant you hear is that some CCM is a Christian version of something in the mainstream. But what irks me is that the mainstream does the same thing. When something in mainstream is successful, all of the sudden there are five more of those same sounds.

And something to consider is that, for example, there was an era of bands that sounded a certain way, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, Pearl Jam. They all had a similar style, and it wasn't like they were copying each other. It was more like a moment in music. There was this sound emerging that came from this moment. Whether mainstream or Christian, everyone can ride on a wave of emerging sounds.

4) How does your music beat that rap?

One of the things about my music is that I don't listen to anything. I listen to everything but I don't get obsessed about any one thing. Generally I listen to a record once or twice and that's it. I don't land on something and become obsessed with it because that's when you can start sounding like everything else. There are so many textures and sounds and stylings to my music.

It's funny that people hear certain beats and guitar and screaming or rapping in my music and think I pulled it from P.O.D. I think back to 1995 and what we did with "Jesus Freak" with dc Talk and its beats, guitar and rapping, and think, "That was before P.O.D." I think you can easily get the finger pointed at you, but at the end of the day, I know that these songs have to be my own.

5) Does Christian radio help your cause?

It's nice when your stuff is played on the radio. I don't feel the need to change anything to fit radio. I just feel God is breathing through me, and if the stars align (so to speak), there might be something with radio. And that helps. Hard to say what will happen this time. The first record [MOMENTUM] went cold. DIVERSE CITY got some radio and then went cold. I don't think radio sells my records so much; it's more word-of-mouth, but radio does affect sales. DIVERSE CITY went gold faster and that has a lot to do with radio. It might not sell 500,000 more units but. I've been going out doing concerts and I'm hearing that people are hearing "Made to Love" [the first single]. It's really only been accessible to radio so far, so it's a nice outlet to know that it could become a household melody for people who might not buy the record.

6) Being involved in the label side of things: what's the biggest topic facing the Christian music industry today?

The amount of art that is accessible, the number of bands' music that you can get your hands on is greater than it was, say, seven years ago. Take a snapshot at how many bands are out there with a certain sound and you could research for days and days. At what level are we willing to release quality music: mp3 or higher quality? Does it matter that we have speed over quality? It's the difference between a microwave and a convection oven. What are we willing to offer?

7) How does family factor into work nowadays?

Well, I'm in the laundry room now doing this interview because if I wasn't all you'd hear is kids running through the house. My wife Amanda is amazing as she gives me space to create and support by touring, because she knows that I love and believe in it and that it's not just for me; it's about people being challenged and dialoging about things that matter. But we've set up healthy parameters, too. I made a commitment to my family. I'm never out on the road for more than 7 to 8 days. When I'm home recording, I leave the studio at 6:30 and we have dinner together. No matter what the cost, I commit first to my family. That keeps me in love with my wife and my kids; it keeps them as a part of my life. That does explain why it takes longer to finish a record. I'm at the studio from about 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Most bands spend 15 to 16 hours a day in the studio.

8) What continues to motivate you to create music? Is it a balance of your own urge to write with your desire to get people dialoguing?

It is a balance. I've always believed that what's happening in my personal struggles and how I'm getting over something, talking about relationships gone bad or getting better, most people are going through the same things. People are sensing the same things and it is food for thought through my life. We all go through it.

9) When it comes to your faith and life, what are you urgently seeking right now?

My struggle very clearly is that I'm always taking things into my own hands and trying to control the situation instead of letting go. It's like the song "All In." It's about really taking it to that step of faith and letting God take care of me. The song "Lose My Soul" is about the times that when we're running and running, it's so easy to get caught up in life rather than in those times of pondering, prayer, meditation when you see that it's not worth much. Internet, TV, magazines are all telling you what's important, fashion, partying. Nothing wrong with that, but what's going to matter in the end? Will you lose your life to save your soul? All of us face that, and that's what matters most.

10) You've been named "most influential" person here and there. No matter you think about these awards personally, don't you have to take to mean something and how do you handle that?

It's interesting, these types of things. I'm humbled and grateful and they're probably just a reflection of God moving in certain ways through me. I might just be willing to walk through the doors open to me. I have a lot of vision. I'm driven to achieve, I'm wired that way, but this recognition is just like water off a duck's back. I don't embrace that recognition; I just set my sights on something higher. I think I'm driven for the right reasons and not for the sake of achievement. Achievement doesn't drive me, thrill me. It just makes me want to climb higher.