Voices In My Head Podcast Episode 337: Around The Mic 2 with Brothers McClurg

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Welcome back to Voices in My Head. As always, I am your host Rick Lee James, and I am so glad that you are here with us again for what is going to be another great conversation today with my old friend Chris Hoisington of the band Brothers McClurg. Brothers McClurg has a new album which, by the time you're hearing this podcast, has already released just a few days ago on September 20th, 2019. They are a wonderful band from Buffalo, New York on the Old Bear Records label, and we're going to talk some more about their new album Around the Mic 2, which I have listened to. I've listened all the way through a couple times now, and I really love it, and you're gonna love it too. So Chris Hoisington, welcome back to Voices in My Head.

Yeah, man, glad to be back. It's like, it's like coming like reunion. Yes.

Yeah, I was just thinking, I was just thinking the other day we were due for a phone call anyway, so this will end up being a good chance to catch up and hear what's going on in each other's lives.

Yeah, yeah, I love that, I love that, you know. So we're— I'm, uh, been thinking about you and wondering what you've been up to. I know you've been pretty busy, I see. Uh, and you're doing— you got a lot of irons in the fire, it looks like, which is good.

Very much so. Yeah, actually, this is— even today, this is my second podcast of the day. I had the other podcast that I do this morning, which is a Mr. Rogers tribute podcast called Welcome to the Neighborhood. Yeah, and, uh, some exciting stuff, uh, coming out with that. And then I get to talk with you about some really great music today and, and just hear how it's going. Now, it's, it's my understanding that you've just been shot, right?

I've been shot, man.

Just a few moments ago.

A couple times.

You were at the doctor's office and they shot you, or gave you a shot, let's put it that way. Right, yeah, yep, yep. So now you're driving, but you're driving safely, right?

Well, now I'm just sitting in a really beautiful spot, just kind of looking out and in a, you know, got to be in a spot that's inspiring to sit and park and just kind of catch up with you, you know. But can't drive, that's too much, that's too much thinking.

I understand, I understand. Well, it's a good day to sit out in a beautiful spot because we're having some great weather right now. Well, the, the album, uh, I want to get into that a little bit because it's, it's a really great album to listen to, and we can do all kinds of other catching up throughout the course of the album. But I'm excited because on today's show So as we have these conversations and as we talk about songs, I'm going to be sampling for our listeners some of the songs so they can hear it while we're having the conversation. So that'll be spliced in and out through the show. So this is going to be a special episode for people who love music and who love good conversations. And I want to start right out just talking about a song we were talking about a moment ago before we officially started recording. On Around the Mic 2, it's a real stripped-back album, much like Around the Mic 1. But these songs are unique and they have a real great Brothers McClurg feel. But this, there is one special cover song on the album that I think is gonna be special to a lot of people, not just to your family, but it was written from what I understand by your grandfather and it's called "Going, Going, Gone." <LYRICS>The path we walk here on this earth is often steep and long.</LYRICS> But Jesus walks beside us, and he's leading us toward home.

And he knows the way that's best for me, and he says no It won't be long until we've walked that final mile. We're going, going, gone. Tell us a little bit about that.

And why you chose to put it on this album.

Yeah, I don't— I think like when we were— when we— before we made Around the Mic 1, we— I had been, uh, 2 years before even that record, I had started kind of delving into old records and old gospel records. And, um, I think, you know, artists like the Leuven Brothers, they did a record called Satan is Real. It was great. And, and just a lot of like the early Black gospel and Southern gospel records, Truck Wagon Gang, and just a lot of that early primitive music and being inspired by it. So I started kind of writing in that vein, but also kind of dug through my parents' some of the records that they had made in the '70s. They made 4 or 5 vinyl records and That song is on one of the records, and it was kind of one of those moments where I realized that, like, you know, your parents did make some good songs. And, you know, we always— when you're younger, you kind of look at everything your parents do as kind of cheesy, but then you kind of get to a point where you can kind of embrace it for what it is and see it, see the beauty in it. And, uh, that was one of the songs that kind of stuck. With us. And so over the past probably 4, 3, 4 years, we've done that song live in various places, and we have people ask us if we're ever going to record it, um, and we never have. And then, you know, the opportunity came in this Around the Mic 2 and kind of remembered it. We may would have— we may have tracked it in the— in Around the Mic 1, we would have, but we didn't. I don't think we remembered about it. At the moment we were doing that. We were just kind of— we kind of have a very loose approach to how we approach music, um, and writing. And so usually, you know, the writing process in the, in the studio comes to come together very organically, where we're like, oh, I have this song, and, you know, and I have this— the other guys chime in, I have this song, kind of finish them, and just kind of lay them down and then see which ones stick, uh, in the process. So that was kind of one of those songs that came up and we remembered about when we were tracking this time. It's like, we should really do that song, um, because people ask about it and it's, it's got a great story and it ties into our family legacy and, and kind of the, the musical heritage that we came out of that was very much playing small churches, rural churches, usually back roads churches that, you know, maybe 200 to 300 people at the most, you know, that, you know, do backyard barbecues and Sunday afternoon tent revival type things. And that tends to be where our wheelhouse is musically, is kind of ministering to those types of churches that maybe still have one foot stuck in the way past of gospel music and hymns and stuff like that. Yeah. And, uh, it tends to be where we land. So that song in particular really kind of serves the niche that I think we, we serve, you know, that we're going after. Um, you know, we're not— we're not— I know this is another— there's another comment, but I mean, we kind of gave up on writing massive worship songs a few records ago when we— I think we kind of found our home in this. We're like, every time I play this kind of music, it just puts a smile on my face because I just feel like the weight of the past and the weight of my family. And it feels very, uh, it feels very authentic to us. And it doesn't feel like I have to— we have to try very hard to be something we're not. It just comes out naturally. So it feels Though these songs feel kind of hokey at times, or they feel very bluegrass at times, um, to us it feels very timeless because of just the enrichment of all of those variables. And so to me, it's not really trying to make records for the— for a certain time, you know. Like, we tend to, like, make records these days based on what's trending, or like Oh, Mumford Sons came out 5 years ago, so let's try to like kind of have foot stomping in our records and stuff. Or, you know, and now it's been '80s synth in the records. And all of that's well and good, and I appreciate it as much as the next guy. But what I love about these albums we've been doing lately is we're not really chasing the trends as much as just chasing what feels authentic. Yeah, and, um, that— I can't really put a label on it, you know. I can't even say that this record is going to be, uh, embraced in a trending sense, but it just feels very authentic to who we are, you know. And so I, I kind of gave up on walking the path of, you know, how, how much is this going to be perceived as cool or not, or how much is this going to grow my fan base. In fact, this is very much a niche record, you know. But when I think when you're walking in your, your God-given abilities, that's why I think some of the breakout— you know, you always hear about these breakout artists like Amy Winehouse and these really young musicians that sound like they're in— they sound like they're 50 or 60 years old, but they're only like in their 20s. It's like, because they're, they're in their teens tapping into something that's very authentic and is very tried and true about American culture and things that are kind of in our DNA and our blood. We don't even realize it almost sometimes till we get in our mid-30s and we start realizing, I don't even like the music that's on the radio. I actually like this artist over here because he really inspired— you know, it's like the older we get, the more we're not really as impressed by some of that stuff. We just want to hear things that are real and honest. And you know, that's why you'll have older folks that'll take their lawn chairs and go set up at an acoustic festival. They're not really there to like fawn over the artist, they're there to just hear authentic music, you know.

Yeah, no, and that's— those are some fun festivals too. And I, I was thinking as I'm listening to the music, because you guys, you mentioned the smile on your face when you play that music, and because you guys are doing something that feels very authentic to you and you're finding a lot of joy in, even if it's not the people who are listening in the audience, if it's not normally their preferred style of music, they automatically start enjoying it too. I have noticed people who are like, you know, heavy rockers normally, I've seen them at your concerts being like, yeah, this is terrific, you know. And it is, you guys have found something very authentic and real, and that always sounds better than trying to sound like something else. But I also had this thought this morning, because you and I were talking just briefly beforehand about "Going, Going, Gone," for instance. And it was your grandfather's song, whose theology was a little bit different than yours. You kind of jokingly said N.T. Wright would probably not smile at some of the eschatology. He would frown a little bit. But at the same time, you take this next to another song like what I believe is the opening track on the album, Jacob's Ladder.

1, 2, 3. We're going up and down Jacob's ladder, going up and down with the Lord, filled with the glory of our Savior, filled with the glory of the Lord. Jacob had a dream, there was a stairway to the heavens, drank communion with the angels in the presence of the Lord. He descended back to earth with what he saw and what he heard in the power of the resurrected one.

Going up and down Jacob's ladder, going up and down with the Lord, filled with the glory of our Savior.

I almost feel like you guys are chronicling in music almost a history of Christian music. And I don't know if that makes a lot of sense, but as I was thinking through it, I thought this is almost a— it's a modern take on on a very classic sound that a lot of people would probably just hear in churches, whether it ever got recorded or not, you know. A lot of churches, especially if you'll go to smaller country churches, they weren't always like piano organ-driven churches. A lot of times it was just a guy with a guitar, you know, that could get up and play songs on Sunday morning. So in some ways, projects like this, I almost feel like you're chronicling a history of music. That is lost in some ways that people just aren't making anymore. What are your thoughts kind of about that?

I mean, I think that that's true. I think in a lot of artists in general that we look at and we think are doing something really, you know, not just in Christian music but in music in general, you know, like I think of a guy like Jack White who like when he came out in early 2000s, he sounded like an old blues musician. Yeah, right. I mean, that's, that's the style of music that's been done decade after decade after decade in bar rooms and in church, you know, even in some churches. And but he does it in a way that's authentic to him. So he's taking a method but putting his spin on it, you know. And, and when I think of church music in particular, um, gospel music— I think gospel music will always be a thing that will find its way into the marketplace and trend heavily more times than others. But I think if you can take a mode like that that's kind of been tried and true down, you know, through, you know, 75, 80 years of the church, that even now when any of us pull those songs out in our sets at churches, there's this— the lightheartedness or a different type of nostalgia or a different type of openness to the music. And I even think that like, as much as we jokingly think, say too, that, you know, we don't really connect with young people as much, like we have a lot of fans in their 40s and 50s and 60s. At concerts you will see a lot of younger kids that will stop and listen because they hear an authenticness to it. So I think in whatever we're doing, like even as pastors, preaching the word of God, sometimes if you can take the guise of it off where you're just kind of preaching to a room with passion, and you can proceed with more of an honest— honesty to like, you're, you're doing a mode of something that's been done for thousands and thousands of years, you know. But if you— if your take on it can come across as more authentic than just, you know, being boisterous and passionate and really good at bringing, bringing it down. Other than just— if you can just seem passionate but also seem very authentic, I think that's the thing is what I'm trying to say. But I think with— when you, when you talk about this record, you know, I can totally hear that because it's not like we're reinventing the wheel with any of this stuff. We're kind of just— but we're putting our own spin on it, obviously, with the harmonies and what we— Jeremy's playing and kind of what we do a little different, our own spin on it. But, and obviously the songwriting, we're not covering a lot of those old gospel songs. We're kind of writing new versions of some of those tunes. But yeah, I think I, I agree with you in that, you know. And I think it'll be interesting to see what kind of musical styles, you know, how, how some of the musical styles over the last 20 years, uh, keep up in, you know, 20 or 30 more years. Like, if, if we can keep coming back to those, those places, those musical styles, and kind of putting our spin on it. And I do think it's possible because I think you've, you've already seen a resurgence in the '80s music. You've already— you're, you're seeing a resurgence in bands that come out that kind of have a grunge garage rock feel again. I don't know if it'll ever quite hit the same thing that like what gospel did or hymns did, um, but at the time we did it, man, there was a, there was, there was a lot of hymn covering, but I was like, where was— where's gospel music again in the church, you know? Like, other than straight up Southern gospel, like, who's taking that mode? Because we don't play a lot of Southern gospel events, though it could go over well in some of the— a lot in some of those places. Our appearance is the thing that probably will keep us out of those places, you know. Um, more than the way we sound. You know, if we could just get people to close their eyes, Rick, you know, just don't look at us, just close your eyes, you'll like it, I promise. So yeah, I can see what you're saying about chronicling it, um, a little bit, uh, from, you know, years past, you know. Um, but I think you see it too, and you, even with songwriters, you know, like Rick— Rich Mullins and how he's inspired you and, and a lot of other writers, you know, like you're seeing And that poor, that poor guy never, never— he was, for everything I gather about him, and you know, I've been— I've had a lot of conversations with Mitch McVicker recently. I mean, he was kind of misunderstood in, in his time, you know, and it's almost like in the last 20 years he's kind of gotten this real understanding. And so it's almost like the real music makers like yourself— and, and I'm not saying that other people aren't real music makers, but I'm saying people like you and me that are doing it, and we're doing it for the passion and the love of it, and we're driven by making music that's authentic and it's creative, and we're not so much chasing the marketplace. Maybe, maybe our attention or the eyes on our music might happen 10 or 15 years from now when You know, and that might not sound super exciting now, you know, but I think— because— but I think enough people will recognize what we're doing now to kind of keep it afloat. But I'm just saying that you're going to look at a guy like Rich Mullins and say like, yeah, he had a good career back then, but in some ways his music is having more of an impact now because it's like seeped into a lot more. And I think people are starting to kind of understand him more now and really kind of get what he was trying to do, you know what I mean, at the time.

So yeah, that's true. Although, you know, I, I would beg to differ. Uh, I think you, all of you in Brothers McClurg, you are just, uh, sort of Adonises among men, and I think people should look at you as well and just admire you.

Uh, is that another word? Is that another word for dinosaurs?

No, no, you're just— no, you're just, you know, beautiful specimen of mankind. Kind, you know. You need to look at us too. That's, that's all I was— yeah, yeah, yeah, you're not bad looking guys. That's all I'm saying. No, I know, I, I just— but I totally get what you say, um, and I appreciate, uh, those words. And, and you're right, um, I, I've always appreciated though just the way that you guys have been able to make it your own thing, whatever you do. And I think especially in, in, um, and you know, you and I have talked before too, that I think it was the first album that you guys did with Integrity Music, uh, and it was, it was a good album, but you, I believe, even said yourself it didn't quite feel like us because it was a little bit like they were trying to force us into a bit of a, a bit of a mold that would go with like modern worship music, um, right? And when they released you to kind of do your own thing on the next album and let you guys do it your way, um, it just, it just had such a freeing feel. And I, I think you can hear it like in, in the music that's made then And I feel like you guys have just gone above and beyond and over from that and have just gotten better and better each time, each album that you release. When you play live, there is always something special that takes place with the audience. I've never seen you guys play when the audience just wasn't taken in after song 1, you know, even if they've never heard you before. And that's a very special thing. I think it's a God-given— it's part of your gifting that God has given you guys, and you've been faithful to nurture the gift that you're good at and made that part of your vocation. And I just always do— I always feel like there's something very special that God does in the room when you guys are playing together. And I don't know that anybody can quite put their finger on it. It's just you're being faithful to do it. And you're doing it well, and you're doing it, I think, the way God made you to do it.

So yeah, and I think the older I get, the more I kind of realize that, you know, like, you, you hit a spot where you're like, well, I'm doing it kind of the way I want to do it, you know, and I don't, I don't have a lot of people trying to deter me from doing it that way. Yeah. And there's a lot of freedom in that. And, you know, uh, learning to accept yourself and what you're doing, you know. And, and there's a lot of freedom in being independent versus, you know, being signed to a label. And inevitably, it's not that labels are bad, it's just it comes with a fair amount more of pressure to— and opinions, um, to, to, to do certain things. And not kind of abide by your own creative muse and what you're feeling led to do in the moment or in the season. Um, like, I'm really— I'm still really— I really love the record we made together. I mean, the— with the single, the Thunder single, and some of the treatments that we did throughout the tracks. And just, it— I think when you hear it, you can tell that we had a lot of fun making it and that we Um, we were going after just like capturing that and capturing you and what you're doing and not stepping on the lyrics because there's a lot of really great lyrics in some of those songs. And, you know, just trying to, you know, bridge all of those things together of your previous work into new work. And, and, and that's why I love— we love production. And, and the Lord has really opened that door for us. I mean, we weren't doing that in the Integrity days at all, you know. It's like, so God's kind of opened up this whole other thing for us to like be a part of friends of ours' lives to make music together. And it always— it's, it's always like this bittersweet thing when I'm like driving home the last day from a session and I'm just kind of, you know, because I have a long commute, you remember, I live like an hour from my— from the studio. And sure, just kind of thinking like, oh man, it's kind of bittersweet, you know, like we just, you know, because it goes so fast. You're in the studio and you're making this record and there's all these ideas flying around and everybody's just trying to eat and trying to like stay alive for 6 or 7 days, you know. And, uh, not, you know, stay with it, you know. And then, and it's, it's always crazy to me how it can come together because we don't really— it's not like we ever go in with you. We didn't even go in with this mentality of like, okay, we're gonna have the drums like this for this song, we're gonna do that for this other song. Like, we kind of went in a little bit of a blank slate with it. Like, we obviously knew we wanted a couple for— of songs like for you on the songs Be My All and, um, uh, this— yeah, Be My All and the one about your, your, um, your wife's miscarriage, um, yeah, The Lord Is Our Shepherd. Yeah, yeah, that were very like touching. We kind of knew we wanted those to be stripped back, you know, but like the rest of it we kind of approached open-handed. And I think there's there's a freedom in that too, of like, those experiences don't have to feel methodical as much as like you can meet the Lord in creativity, and the spirit of the music, which we believe is the Holy Spirit, can lead you into a place of making something special, you know. I mean, my only thing— like, this is off the record, but we're on the record— I'm just gonna say, like, if we, if we do ever do a record again, like, I would just love to have, like, more time to just, like, plan another, like, 3 or 4 days where we can just create and not, like, rush ourselves. Yeah, you know, like, really, like, let's— and I love, I love every, everything that we did on that record. I'm not saying anything about— I'm just saying that, like, if I was to follow it up again and try to, like, outdo what we did on that record, what would I do different? It would just be like, let's just have more time to really sit in it and sit in the songs and the arrangements. And I don't know.

No, and I, you know what, I'll tell you what you did. I didn't mean to turn the conversation about me, but it was fun to get to record those songs with you. And something very interesting happened that I didn't expect to happen. You know, on past albums I've been content to play a little bit, or, you know, the one I did with Lifeway, I barely played at all on that album. I did some, you know, electric lead stuff every now and then, but mostly it was them. And you really pushed me to, like, you know, have fun and play all the instruments. And something I did on that album that I'd never done before very much at all was play piano. And it ended up those tracks that have, you know, some of them are just me and a piano playing, like The Lord Is Our Shepherd You know, like, that music video on YouTube has over 10,000 views now, and it's the one that people are like requesting a lot in concert. And this weird shift has happened when I play live now. I'm starting to become known as a piano singer-songwriter instead of a guitar singer-songwriter because— right, it's, it's, it's weird. I've never had that before because I've always been known for like playing guitar and stuff, and I didn't— I don't think people even knew I played piano until this album. So now it's even working with like management and stuff, they're putting out pictures that are piano-based. So it's, it's been interesting because you, you I think helped to kind of unlock a new, a new, um, I, I don't know if image is the quite, quite the right word, but you know, people do associate a certain way of thinking about you with the instrument you play. And so there's kind of been become a different feel when I tour and when I play my own music. But I think you do that with a lot of artists. You know, you guys have figured out your sound and where you're going. You work with, you know, whether it be with somebody like Ian Zumbach, you've really helped him capture who he is. And, you know, just a few weeks ago I got to hang out for a few days with Weston, Weston Skaggs, and we hung out at the Sing Conference in Nashville. And, you know, you guys really have done the same thing with him, and I just feel like you're continuing to grow as a producer, and the productions that you're coming out with, they're very unique and very stylized, and I don't think we're hearing anything quite like them coming out from any other record labels. So I really appreciate what you're doing.

Well, you— when I came into the studio the one day, I think I had— you were playing Stay, the song Stay on the record. Um, and, uh, and, and if you edit any of this out in the interview, I'm going to be very offended, just so you know.

I hardly did anything.

Okay, because I know, I know we're talking about your record, but you know what, that's a big part of our story. A big part of what Brothers does is what you do, because we, we took the journey with you. We were at your CD release. We made something. We put it out into the world, and I'm proud of it, and I want to talk about it too. And I'm, you know, I, I didn't— I don't think I ever came out onto this with you. I didn't come onto a podcast with you after your record came out, so I never got to share any of my, uh, memories of those sessions. Um, but yeah, I mean, you— I came in the one day before we started and you were playing Stay on the piano, and you had That song has this real— it has a really cool feel. The chords are really, really interesting. It almost has this like, uh, jazz. It comes out— it's like jazz chording, but it comes out of like a folk place. So it's like, it reminds me a little bit of like a Van Morrison record where it's like he's kind of a more of a folk rock guy, but they threw this kind of like spazazz, like, chording in there, and it just— it seems to, like, unlock— those combinations seem to unlock something that's kind of unique. And so— and the same thing with this— with that song. And so I heard you playing on piano, I was like, I didn't— it never really struck me that you played outside of, like, the demos, you know? And then you started playing the other songs, and it was like, this is kind of another facet of what you do and in a different way for people to kind of hear you than just with an acoustic guitar, um, because it just brings out a different type of intimacy. When we were at the CD release and you're playing those songs on the piano, it just draws people in in a totally different way. And then with Thunder or, you know, some of the more upbeat songs on the record, which I like those too because they're fun to drive to. But yeah, I think the ones that really stick with you are the ones where you feel like there's, uh, the most— the least amount of pretense or the least amount of any of that stuff, and it just is— it's pretty raw and it's pretty real. Um, you know, and we try to do that with some of the elements. Be My All, like the potter's wheel and just kind of bringing in some of the sights and sounds of that stuff too, because I'm, I'm big on, on those things. Just, you know, just like how we, you know, virtual reality is becoming a big thing right now, you know, like, you know, experiencing things, or, you know, you hear something and it brings to mind other things, and besides just the song itself. So trying to pull in these other elements as much as we can. But I mean, all of those things are apparent in those songs, and so it doesn't, it doesn't surprise me that you, that you say that to me. In fact, it may be cool to do something you should think about doing is doing a, doing a follow-up, or maybe you even do some new songs but then take some songs from your other records like Before Thunder and do versions like that where, yeah, you still have— you still had a few songs, you have bass and drums. Like, we had, you know, Paulie and Steve and Jeremy playing upright and a little bit of tremmy electric guitar and some stuff like— but it's all kind of rooted in— hey, because the thing I would say about a lot of your stuff is like the lyrics are really, are really solid and you can kind of easily forget that because there's other stuff going on. So how do you like enjoy the story or what the— what the— where the lyric is trying to take you? And I think that's something that you've really honed in on that sometimes with other folks I work with, I— they don't bring that to the table. And then I have to like— we have to try to force that out because it's like, you know, if the songwriting isn't there, it, it makes, you know, it's like just an album of really cool sounds without, you know, the song. So it's kind of a shell. So I mean, I think you have that, and I would encourage you to like do something like that because I think that would help people even enjoy some of your past songs in a way that maybe they hadn't before, you know, like, or even like, man, I never really heard that song that way, or it never really hit me the way it's hitting me now because, because of the production, you know what I'm saying?

Yeah, no, I appreciate that. It, it just occurs to me that those who are listening, this is a lot how we talk before we're getting ready to make a record together. Yeah, yeah, yeah, this is kind of fun.

It's—

this is behind the, behind the scenes baseball, as they say, or however it is, right? Yeah, this is great. Now, well, I appreciate your kind words, and I, I appreciate just how You've— you guys have invested in me too as an artist, and it's always meant a lot. I do— you know what, I'm going to surprise everybody at the end of our conversation, and I'm going to surprise you with an announcement that has to do with Thunder. But I don't want to do that just yet, uh, because I want to get back one more time, uh, about your new album, uh, Around the Mic 2, because we really want to promote that a lot while we're here. And we're running low on time, but tell me real quick Tell me real quick, is there a special moment on the album for you? And we've already talked about your grandfather, and we've talked about Jacob's Ladder, and the listeners today are going to get to hear some of these. But is there a moment on the album apart from those that really just became a very special moment musically or spiritually for you, just really stands out, that is always going to have a special place in your heart on this release?

Yeah, probably. I mean, I think— I personally think the song that really marks where we're at right now is, uh, track 3 of the project, which is Old Time Religion.

There is a place I long to go to satisfy my soul, a place where I can rest my weary head, where I can lay down my work and toil no no longer in the sun, be at peace when the day is done. There is a place I long to find like my grandfather's home. I can still hear his old radio playing songs of revival and hope in Jesus Christ, and we'd sit and watch the rows of corn Give me that old-time religion. Give me that old-time faith. That old church choir singing out amazing grace. Give me that name of Jesus above every other name. Give me that hope. Give me that love. And give me that faith. There is a place along the go that I can call my home. A place where I can lay my burden down. Where your goodness shines upon me like the brightness of the sun. And I can finally breathe the air you're riding on. Give me that old-time religion. Give me that old-time faith. That old church choir singing out amazing grace. Give me that name of Jesus above every other name. Give me that hope. Give me that love. And give me that grace.

Faith.

And it's good enough, good enough for me. Taste and see that the Lord is good. It's good enough, good enough for me. Taste and see that the Lord is good. It's good enough, good enough for me. Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Give me that old-time religion. Give me that old-time faith. That old church choir singing out. Amazing grace, give me that name of Jesus above every other name. Give me that hope, give me that love, give me that hope, give me that love, give me that hope, give me that love, give me that faith.

I don't know what it is about that song, but it's— and, and that one in particular was like a straight collaboration between all three of us. Like, my brother had the verses, Jeremy wrote the chorus, and I had like a bridge idea of like, we need to further this you know, you know, that you're, you're already singing Old Time Religion in the chorus. We need to further that old chorus with like, it's good enough for me, you know, taste and see, the Lord is good. Let's further that idea. So it's kind of like a— the only song on the record that's probably like a straight three-way collaboration. Like, it wouldn't, it wouldn't sound that way if, if it wasn't all of us kind of adding to the conversation. Now all the other songs were like more heavy-handed by one of us and then the others kind of offset it with a verse or something, but that one was like kind of a real straight collaboration. And so, and that one just kind of makes me smile the most because it does, you know, my brother talks about my grandfather a lot and, you know, I can remember being a kid in the summers outside with his garage open because he fixed cars too and always had like these old Christian revival time radio stations on, you know, like the Jimmy Swaggarts and the, the even before, was it some of the other guys that, uh, Jim Baker, you know, like I know he's, he's had a different public life the last 20 years. I'm talking, you know, 30, 40 years ago, um obviously the very old stuff with Bill Gaither. And, and, but anyways, so all of those images kind of come into mind when you, when you hear some of the lyrics in that song. And the chorus is really strong. Like, it— I— people keep saying, man, it should be like a country artist needs to cover that song because it's like, it's catchy and it's just— it, it— but it also brings in this like this homegrown feeling of like, I think what a lot of people who've even walked away from God and faith can still receive it because it reminds them of the times they were in the church or around religion in a good way, like before, you know, stuff hit the fan, or they— somebody offended them, or they just decided to— they didn't believe in Jesus anymore. So it's like, I see that song kind of drawing, drawing on, tugging on people's heart, heart a little bit, that, uh, maybe aren't in the faith anymore but grew up in the faith when they were kids, and they could remember being at church and kind of experiencing some of those things. And that, to me, when I think of the church, it's like, you know, yeah, I have my doubts like everybody else does, You know, like, mm-hmm. And there's stuff that people bring up all the time that I'm like, yeah, there's a lot about the church that I don't agree with. And even doctrinally, I'm not necessarily on the same page of it, but like, even if like science proved that God didn't exist, it wouldn't change how I feel about it because it's so innately in my soul. Because it was modeled for me. I saw it in the faces of my parents, my grandparents. It's so ingrained in my— steeped into my system that I just feel it when I see it, or when it, you know, when I'm around it, that it's like— it is— it genuinely feels like faith. It doesn't mean that I'm always in the best place spiritually, or that I always feel like worshiping, or, you know, I'm not very consistent in my Bible reading. Um, but that thing never leaves me. And that's like what I think the Bible talks about when it says, you know, that, you know, you, you know, you're, you're a child of God. You know, those born of the Spirit are blown by the hand of God. And you can kind of see it throughout your life. And I even think there's a lot of people that are not following the faith right now that still have that in them, and they just need to be reminded that like you know, you may have walked away from this, but he hasn't walked out on you, and he's still following you and going before you. All you got to do is just receive it. Like, you don't worry about all the other stuff, you know. And so when you say a term like old-time religion, you say that now, and, you know, we would shoot a thousand holes in that because religion— well, we don't believe in religion, we believe in relationship. But what that says to me is the things about the church, the community of the church, the helping your brother out in need— there's things about the early church that I remember of, like, not the early church in history, but the early church of my life of '70s and '80s, of just, you know, the, the giving side of the church, the, the where Jesus gave a cup of cold water, and just going back to those old elementary things. Those religious things, um, I think just are still really effective and still really are the— it's always the simple things, man. It's never like— it's never debating with somebody about why you think God is real or not real, right? It's got to be something that hits your gut. Yeah, you know, and so that, that song just does that for me. So sorry for the rant again.

No, that's terrific. I love, I love You know, VH1's Behind the Music show was always my favorite show, and I, I feel like what we're getting here is a little bit of the Behind the Music on these songs, and I appreciate it so much. So no, this is good content, all of it, and I'm so glad that you shared it with us today. But I'm going to be running out of time, and you've been so great. We've, we've talked almost 40 minutes today, so that's pretty awesome. Um, do you want, do you want to be with me here for this special announcement that has to do with Thunder since you produced the album and put so much into it?

Oh yes, I do.

Okay, wait, there was a pause. I wasn't sure. I was getting a little scared. So this is something that officially is not going to be announced until we do the press release in October. So this is sort of a Voices in My Head exclusive, and you don't know about it yet either, so I'm going to share it with you and I'm excited to do that. It just feels like a good time to do it because we were talking about the album that you produced for me, Thunder. In October, we have a very special half-hour radio show around the album Thunder that's going to be distributed and marketed to 2,000 Christian radio stations throughout the US and a few international things. We've been working really hard on it. It's very much going to be in like a documentary style format.

So I love that.

There'll be different clips and kind of telling behind the scenes and about the songs and the announcer. I mean, it's a for real radio special and I'm so excited about it. It's going to be a full half hour featuring 5 songs from the album plus behind the scenes stuff. And you know, it's kind of a financial risk, but it's one I'm hoping that's going to be able to pay off and get it into a lot more ears. It's also, from what I understand, going to be promoted to the Worship Leader Magazine audience as well through some email blasts and stuff. So I'm really excited about that and I'm proud to share about that with you today.

That's on some global stations? Radio stations that are— Yeah. Are you going to have a premiere of it?

Yeah, what's going to happen is it'll be pushed and marketed through, uh, through WestStar Media. And so they have the option— I don't know if you remember, but last year, um, we promoted Advent Hymn, uh, very heavily around the holiday season, uh, the song that I wrote. And it got played on, I don't know, it was close, close to like 900 outlets, something like that. So it had a lot of play at Christmas time, but it's always choice of the radio stations. So this will be working through WestStar Media to distribute it to over 2,000 radio stations. And so they basically have the option, yes, we'll play that as a show, and— or no, we won't. But even if they say no, we won't, we're still going to make it available through my YouTube page and my website so people can actually go online and share a link and hear the show and share it with other people and listen. And hopefully it'll be a way for people to kind of not just hear the album but be able to get behind the scenes and hear some stories about it and, uh, and really kind of dive in that much deeper into the album. And so I'm really proud about it. And yeah, I love that, man.

I definitely like— you should do like, uh, some sort of Facebook like premiere event, you know, because I would— we would definitely share that too because You know, I, I'm, I'm a big believer in the story of a record, and I think there's a lot of story to that record. And so I would love, like, our fans and Old Bear and all of those people to, like, hear those— hear what you're going to say about it, you know?

Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm excited. That's a great idea. And, uh, so we can keep talking about it later, but for right now, I want everybody to go out and buy a copy of Around the Mic 2. I was so glad to get to preorder it and be able to listen to it. It's a really special album, and I think, I know all of your fans are going to enjoy it. So everybody listening to Voices in My Head today, do me a favor, share a link about Brothers McClurg's new album Around the Mic 2, whether you use Twitter or Facebook or even email. You know, you can send an email to a family member or a friend and say, hey, there's this album that I really dig, and you know you're gonna like it just from the music you've heard on the show today. So Chris Hoisington, thank you for being one of the Voices in My Head this week.

I love it. Thank you, man.

1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3. If it's peace that you need, if it's shelter you seek, come to the altar and pray. For the soul may be willing, but the body is weak. Come to the altar and pray. It gets tough on the road when you're traveling alone and you just can't keep your hand to the wheel. Just know there's peace if you need it, shelter if you seek it. Come to the altar. If it's comfort you need or compassion you seek, come to the altar and pray. If you're out on your own with nowhere to go, come to the altar. It gets tough on the road when you're traveling alone and you just can't keep your hands to the wheel. Just know there's peace if you need it, shelter if you seek it. Come to the altar and pray. He said, come to me, all who are weary.

Come lay your burdens down, down at his feet.

Oh, when you need a hand, he'll give you strength to stand. So come to the altar, pray. It gets tough on the road when you're traveling alone and you just can't keep your hand to the wheel. Just know there's peace if you need it, shelter if you seek it. Come to the altar and pray.

Thank you for joining me here this week on Voices in My Head. I hope you'll visit me on my website at rickleejames.com where you can find out more about me, get my music on vinyl and CD, follow my blog, and even schedule me for a concert or a speaking engagement. Or better yet, even a book signing in your neighborhood. You can find all that and more at rickleejames.com. Also, it would mean a great deal to me if you could write a review of this podcast on iTunes. The more positive reviews that we receive, the more visible this podcast will be online. And now for the benediction. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. God bless you, and thank you for listening to Voices in My Head.