NASHVILLE (WordNews.org) Dec. 5, 2012 – Christian recording artist Chris August says when he’s working on an album, he doesn’t set out with any particular theme in mind.
“I just have this random group of songs,” he told WordNews.org. “Sometimes I’m looking at them [the songs] and saying, ‘Man, a lot of these songs are pretty different. And I think that’s a good thing.”
His latest album, The Upside of Down, has been described as “soulful,” “acoustically driven” light at times and reflective at other times.
“I think that’s almost my job, to take these human emotions that we all feel an put them in a way that people can related to and go, ‘Man, that’s exactly how I felt and I didn’t even realize it.’”
August said the title didn’t come after his serious skateboarding accident that led to a stay in the hospital. But in one interview, he said the song ministered to him during his recovery.
He said at the end of the day, he wants to sing songs that connect with people.
His first hit, Starry Night did.
“I heard a lot of stories,” August said, from people saying the song impacted them.
“I was in Baltimore after a show and a guy came up to me,” he said.
August said typically it’s young teens that come up seeking to have their CDs autographed.
“I don’t usually have older men waiting in line to talk to me,” August said. “He finally gets up and right when he gets up I could see he had tears in his eyes. He pulled me in close and said, ‘I want to let you know I was going to be ending my life and I heard Starry Night on the radio and it reminded me that God has something for me and it gave me hope again.’”
The man had driven two hours to deliver that message.
“Anytime when I’m getting discouraged I just think, ‘This is something God’ called me to do. It’s helping people out,’” August said.
But it’s not all seriousness for August, known for his silly song “I Love Candy.”
“I’m just a goofy kind of guy,” he said. “I like to laugh and have a good time. Laughter is a good thing and I think sometimes a lot of people are so serious about so many thing…We need to remember to just step back for a second, spend sometime with God and chill out for a second and not forget all he’s given us and have a good time. God does not hate laughter. He loves it, I’m pretty sure.”
As for what’s next, August said God always has something new on the horizon.
“There’s a couple of things, ideas I have. I’m kind of working on a devotional book right now based on different songs that I’ve written and the stories I’ve heard,” he said. “Who knows if that will come to fruition.”
Related:
Part 1: Expectations
Part 2: Writing songs on the fly
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