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10 Questions with ... Kristian Stanfill
June 29, 2009
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Discography:
Attention (2009)
1) Can you give us a brief recap of your musical journey and hoe you found yourself with sixsteps?
I started playing guitar and writing songs when I was 13. Shortly after that I started leading worship for my youth group and continued leading there through high school. During my freshman year in college I started leading at North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA. It was there that I met Louie Giglio and began leading with him at a singles Bible study called 7:22. In January 2005, I led a community group at Passion '05 in Nashville. Over the next couple of years, I continued leading at passion conferences and when the time was right, joined up with the sixstepsrecords team. I'm so grateful and humbled to be a part of this family of artists and friends.
2) Tell us what we can hear on the brand new record "Attention," sounds, words, message:
What we really pray and hope for this record is that that these songs will inspired people to worship God passionately and honestly. We believe that when we come to worship jesus we should be brining everything we've got because that's what he's worthy of. The way this record sounds and the lyrics all reflect that belief.
3) What's the story behind the first single "Beautiful Jesus"?
I started working on "Beautiful Jesus" in 2005. I was at my house alone singing out to God. I was singing out whatever was on my heart and out came the chorus of "Beautiful Jesus." All I had was the chorus until May 2006 when I had the chance to sit down and write with producer and songwriter extraordinaire, Ed Cash. He helped craft melodies and lyrics and "Beautiful Jesus" was finished. It comes from Hebrews 1 where it says that Jesus is "the radiance of God's glory." It also says that Jesus "provided purification of sins" and that God created the universe through Jesus. My response to that is, WOW!
4) What is your favorite song on the record?
Well, that's a tough one. We worked so hard at crafting each one of these songs and I love them all, but I've really been digging on "Glowing" lately. We wrote this song together as a band and so it's special in that way. But I also like it because it speaks to the change that happens in our life when we see Jesus for the first time. Also, musically it's one of my favorites on the record
5) What's your barometer for writing a "good" worship song?
It has to glorify God and call people's attention to who he is. That's the point of what we do as worship leaders and songwriters. The goal as we lead is to focus people on matchless qualities of God and that's also the goal of the songs we write.
6) What does the remainder of 2009 hold for you?
We are actually in Orange Beach, AL, right now leading a camp for students. This is the first of eight camps we'll do this summer. We are really excited about this summer in particular because we are going into it with brand new music that we get to share for the first time with a lot of people. Summers are always a cool time for our band. We get to play live A LOT which we love. But we also know and believe that we will see God do fresh things this summer in the lives of the students we'll be leading and in our own lives. It's always such an adventure to see what will happen while we're on stage.
7) As you were in the studio working on this record, did you have any "ah-ha" moments when you thought, "Now we have something, and this is good!"?
There was a moment when we were working on "Wake U" that we all looked at each other and knew something cool was going down. Our producer Matt Goldman had the brilliant idea to layer several drum parts on top of one another to form one part and he did it in such a tasteful and inspiring way. The end result is something that we are grateful to God for.
8) What's the church schedule look like nowadays? How often are you home leading worship?
My wife Kerri and I are a part of Passion City Church (passioncitychurch.com) in Atlanta. The church is a church plant so we're just getting rolling. We're excited to see all God will do in the city of Atlanta and around the world as a result of us meeting together.
9) If you could have any job outside music, what would it be and why?
I have always thought that it'd be cool to have my own restaurant. I love to cook and love food experiences so I think it'd be a lot of fun.
10) Do you have time to listen to much music? What other artists are you listening to right now?
I might be the biggest music nerd you'll ever talk to. I LOVE listening to music and I'm constantly on the search for new stuff. Currently, I'm listening to the latest Paper Route record, "Absence," the new Hillsong United record, "Tear Down the Walls," and Christy Nockels' new release "Life Light Up." I'm also still loving Kings of Leon's latest "Only by the Night."
Bonus Questions
1) Who would be your dream artist to record with (any genre)?
Bono, Justin Timberlake or Tom Delonge
2) Favorite city to visit:
Santa Fe, NM
3) Favorite or best meal on the road:
Green Chile Cheeseburger from Bobcat Bite in Santa Fe. This burger was actually voted best in the country by "Gourmet Magazine." Amazing!
4) Any musical guilty pleasures?
The Wonders, Capitan Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters and Del Paxton
5) What song do you wish you had written?
I've actually thought about this. There are many but if I had to pick one, "Fields of God" by Sting.
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