Sungha Jung Zelda Born Again Josh Garrels Album
The following is an unreleased interview with Trace Bundy that I fabricated with him a little while ago. Trace remains non only i of my very favourite musicians, simply besides one of my favourite interviews. I am grateful for his generosity and am delighted to share this with Cultivating readers.
LES: Trace, yous have a well told story almost how yous and your brother came to purchase your get-go guitar when you lot were 10 or 11– a shared purchase for a vast $10 and got a magazine teaching how to play Metallica songs. That always makes me laugh – because it proves an old proverb "In one case you begin the weaving, God furnishes the skein." and the idea of not despising small beginnings. I afterwards heard you tell that y'all couldn't afford formal lessons and y'all just had to effigy it out for yourselves. Looking back, how exercise you think that not beingness able to beget guitar lessons afflicted the development of your manner and level of craft?
TB: Guitar playing began as my brother's idea, and he had to work hard to convince me to spend this tiny sum of money on a guitar. I was a frugal kid, and $x seemed like a lot of coin. My blood brother's love of heavy metallic meant that we spent our time learning Metallica songs that we notwithstanding jam out to when we are together. Since guitar lessons were out of the question, I pigeon into learning guitar on my own. I never knew the "proper" fashion of learning, so I was free to think exterior the box. I fabricated up my own guitar theory, which I called "Trace's 7 chord theory." When I took a music theory class in college I realized that I hadn't discovered anything new. My goal became to know music theory well plenty that I could "break the rules" in every song I wrote. I'm grateful that I never had formal training in the sense that my music developed organically. Of class the downside is that I have enough of bad habits that would make a classically trained musician cringe.
Music has ever been a passion, and something that I take loved doing, and having fun has always been my goal. In high school I spent a lot of time learning songs I loved, and jamming with my two best friends, Tim & Jonah. We would play Bob Dylan covers at the local java shop, and talk for hours about song lyrics. Information technology was the glue of our friendship and our organized religion. As adults, the 3 of us brand our livings playing music. That $10 guitar had a profound impact, non merely on my life, only also on the life of my friends.
LES: One of things that truly surprised me to read that you lot were an engineering professor at CU Boulder. "Subsequently instruction stone and ice climbing for 2 years, I decided to go back to grad schoolhouse and get a Masters in Ceremonious Engineering. I defended my thesis and was presently asked to teach two technology courses at CU. During those two years every bit an adjunct professor, my musical fashion connected to rapidly modify as I experimented with different musical ideas and guitar techniques. I and then released my third album "Arrange" and soon after hit the road as a full-time musician." Applied science seems about as far removed on the spectrum of thinking styles from music as well-nigh of us could imagine, but I am guessing there is some overlap there. How would you describe the overlap between those 2 poles of thinking processes? Did something practiced come up out of the engineering studies there still bears some fruit in your life and pursuits now or was that a waste of fourth dimension?
TB: My father would always tell me that I needed to find a career considering I "wasn't going to make a nickel playing the guitar." It was engrained in me that I needed to get my education, and I chose engineering because math came easily to me. It wasn't until I came back for grad schoolhouse that I found myself excited about what I was learning. Water Resource Engineering is an important field, and as someone who is passionate nearly the surroundings, becoming an engineer had great potential as a meaningful career path. Only music remained my true passion, and I pursued information technology in my free fourth dimension until it began to make sense as a realistic change of career.
Engineering taught me to pay not bad attention to detail and patterns. It might seem strange, merely music and engineering utilise a very like side of the brain. I've heard that one of the most mutual double majors with Engineering is Music (the least common is Psychology). Technology tin can be an art and music tin be a science. For me, both are inextricably linked.
A huge benefit of my applied science degree has been preparation in design and spreadsheets. As a musician I have run my ain business, and those skills take helped me be successful. Today my male parent is my biggest fan. I think he's happy that I pursued my passions and took the risk to leave technology behind for music.
LES: In near every one of your concerts yous take spotlighted others every bit a function of the concert even though yous are yourself billed as a solo performer. Nothing near you comes across as a solo or ego-centric performer. The level of date between you and others yous share the stage with is always very supportive and beholden, whether information technology is with a seasoned musician like Josh Garrels or with a very new and young talent similar Sungha Jung. How does the role of collaboration on – and off – stage work with you equally solo performer rather than yous in context of a full blown band?
TB: Being a solo performer has its benefits, and there are times when collaboration is hard for me. Music can feel very personal, and at times information technology tin be hard to open myself up to critique and collaboration. But, music has always been connected to friendship for me, and I honey celebrating others through sharing music. About of my life happens off stage, and having quality friendships is what my life is about. Josh and Sungha are not bad examples of people who I am friends with first, and collaborators second. When you maintain that kind of attitude, the music reflects that.
LES: In an announcement well-nigh you playing at Heaven Fest this comment was made. "Equally an acoustic guitarist who performs more often than not instrumental music, he'south non normally identified with the Christian genre of music. But Bundy said he comes to Sky Fest, not because he's a Christian creative person, but because he's an creative person who happens to exist a Christian." Could yous talk with us nigh the difference and why you think nearly this the fashion you practice? What role does organized religion play in your life?
TB: My faith journey began in loftier schoolhouse at a Young Life Camp in California. I was transformed by the grace and forgiveness that comes with the faith, and have been working out what that ways ever since. Having not grown up in an evangelical habitation, I wasn't exposed to "Christian Music" in the same way some of my friends were. Information technology never dawned on me that music needed to be "Christian" to be sacred. I noticed that when bands identified with the Christian Music Genre, they often spent the residual of their careers but playing for Christian audiences. My desire has been to remain outside the box of genre, and especially to be able to play for all kinds of audiences. My music is instrumental, which means that the listener is able to create their own "lyrics" as they heed.
My promise is that my listeners have an feel of God as they listen – that they get out my concert with a smile on their face, with more joy and wonder than when they walked in.
LES: I read an article by Brenda Jank about the practice of keeping Sabbath and in it she writes: "Night and day. Winter and summer. Hardwired into the fabric of creation is the rhythm of life—of rest and productivity. Modern applied science has created a culture with no rhythm. It'due south on, it's loud, and its lure is relentless." That notion tied in with what I watch you practicing so vividly in the manner yous play and the inclusion of then much percussion in your music – ever cultivating rhythm. It is something you seem very much at dwelling house with musically.
TB: With a very full life with a wife, small children, a thriving and demanding career both in performing and instruction, lots of travel, many friends… How practice you practice balance of all those elements in your life? How do yous see your experience with rhythm in music conveying into the way y'all live?
Creating and maintaining balance in life is something that I'm not sure I e'er practice well. I accept seasons of intense travel and seasons of beingness home. My family unit and I try to create rituals around my departures and arrivals – the day after I come home we spend the morning time at our local coffee shop, reconnecting and eating our favorite pastries. Becoming a male parent has grounded me in many ways, and created a new rhythm for my life. The life of a musician is fluid, and it can be difficult to create a schedule – parenting has helped build that into my life.
LES: Permit's talk well-nigh capos and percussion, the use 5 fingers – techniques that are unique in many means to your style. Why did you stop using a pick and what drew yous to desire to develop a more than complex musical style? What other artists influenced that drive? In particular what influences has Phil Keaggy had on your playing style?
TB: Subsequently playing guitar for a couple of years, I began to feel constrained by the use of a pick. It dawned on me that if I were to get rid of information technology, I would accept five "picks" in the form of my fingers. That epiphany changed my guitar playing immensely, along with my training habits (as I now visit a nail salon for acrylic nails every half-dozen weeks…). I was introduced to Phil Keaggy sometime in college, and was given a context for instrumental music. Because I can't sing well, I ever believed that I could not make it every bit a musician. People like Phil Keaggy changed that. I have met him on a couple of occasions, which has been quite special. I hope to collaborate with him more in the years to come and am grateful for the manner he has been a pioneer for innovative and exciting guitar music.
LES: One of the things that only captivates me – and doubtless your audiences at big – is your inclusion of so many kinds of "guitars" – everything from the fabulous McPherson to the fascinating creations by your dad (stick-tar and stitch-tar…) to your iPhone. In fact, it is your inclusion of not only a remarkable range of instruments and equipment, simply the beautiful residue of other musicians that creates a genuine sense of magic and wonder about your performances. Your "performances" have never felt similar so much as a operation itself equally an invitation and inclusion into an feel of please. I think almost it long afterwards I get out one of your concerts, and long later I tin can't quite hear the music in my retention, I think the sense of astonishment. As someone who has congenital a reputation as an extraordinary acoustic guitarist, why do you comprise so much multifariousness in your music?
TB: Music has always been something that brings me joy. I might be in my mid-thirties, only in my heart I'm still a kid. For me playing the guitar is just partly about mastery and mostly about having fun. Once music becomes an obligation or a dull part of my chore, then I need to re-recall how I am approaching my instruments. Playing the iPhone, or ane of my dad's homemade guitars reminds me that playing music is fun. I always hope that my audiences go out with a sense of joy – and if that is my goal, and then I need to experience joyful on stage.
LES: Yous use highly stylized graphics on your website and on CD material – some of the best in the business and very distinctive. Exercise you take a office in defining the await of the hard product as well as the music itself? How would you lot draw the office of visual media in your concerts and web presence?
TB: Art and design are an of import office of my music. In a digital age, where albums are mostly downloaded, it's piece of cake to lose sight of the value of beautiful album artwork. Creating a beautiful physical product remains of import to me. I collect vinyl records and love understanding more almost a musician's work via their blueprint and media presence. I practise take an agile part in blueprint, collaborating with my designers to make album and website art that reflects my music and my sense of artful.
LES: Who are your heros – musically and otherwise?
I always come back to David Wilcox, singer/songwriter out of Asheville, NC. He has been my musical hero since loftier school, and a lot of my performances today are influenced by him. His lyrics deeply impacted my faith and in many means his songs take been a audio track for my life. He is as well a phenomenal guitarist, and it was watching one of his concerts that inspired me to write "Love Song". I saw him use a capo to change tunings, and information technology dawned on me that I could write a song moving capos. Information technology was my honor to play a bear witness with him in Bedrock a few years ago, and I take been greatly impacted past conversations with him on and off phase. He is a story and truth teller, and I hope to exist more like him every bit I go on to abound older.
LES: In your Boulder Theatre Concert with Josh Garrels, the chemical science betwixt you lot every bit musicians seemed like deep friendship and it is striking how he has percussive hand movements that echo yours. How exercise you and Josh know each other and what is the history at that place?
TB: Josh and I met through our wives, who were friends in Seattle. Becca and I traveled to Indiana in the leap of 2006 to keep our beginning Bundy/Garrels (or "Gunbarrels") tour. It was my first time coming together Josh, and we became fast friends. We have collaborated on at least one bout a year since then. Our families observe a special kindred-ness in one some other equally we learn to balance travel, music, and family. Josh is a phenomenal creative person and phenomenal person, and I'm honored to accept been able to share the phase with him.
LES: Y'all seem to accept more fun on phase, and on-line in social media than just about anybody I know. It is a discussion that comes up with you lot repeatedly and information technology is a quality that actually seems a natural part of who y'all actually are. How are you lot able to keep an attitude of play in a business that can be then terribly competitive?
TB: Sense of humor has e'er been important to me. It's probably a defense mechanism of sorts, merely it'south also a huge part of my personality. I love to laugh and to make others laugh. Business is important to me, of course, but having skillful relationships and laughing are more of import. I likewise endeavour to surround myself with people who value relationships over money. My friends and family keep me grounded…and beingness a father means that I spend part of every day playing with toys on the floor. That keeps things in perspective.
LES: 1 of the things that I find actually mesmerizing about you lot is how lightly y'all seem to concord yourself and your skill equally an acoustic guitarist. You are very open handed most sharing with tips and techniques, teach with ease and generosity, and never seem to hoard your secrets. Information technology is such a stark contradiction with the more commonplace defensiveness among artists and performers. What allows you to exist so openly giving and do you ever experience threatened or at hazard of somehow losing an edge in the market?
TB: With the ascension of the internet, it is incommunicable to hold tightly to things. People tin can see my videos and listen to my music for free. If I spend energy on being angry or trying to protect my holding, I will lose the joy I accept in making music. If I spend a lot of energy worrying that someone will "steal my thought" and be more successful than me, it volition just lead to anxiety.
I notice that generosity begets generosity…Other musician's have inspired me, and I hope my music will inspire others. My goal has never been to become famous, but simply to get to share my music with others.
LES: The creative industries are replete with stories of gifted, skilled performers falling prey to all kinds of ruin. Addictions, broken marriages, sometimes jail, financial ruin, sometimes death. Artists of any expression seem by our very nature to be especially prone to destructive patterns. This issue is ane of the founding questions behind this series of interviews. What are the elements in your life that continue you lot living a life that is balanced and full merely not just pulled apart or swept away? What role does Becca play in this?
TB: Becca is a huge part of keeping my life grounded and counterbalanced. For five or six years she traveled with me total-fourth dimension, and I have e'er seen music as "our" matter instead of simply "my" thing. We make all of my scheduling decisions together, and really think about what is best for our family. Our priorities are always connection with each other above money or fame. Sometimes this is challenging, but it is always rewarding. Nosotros live in a tight-knit community of friends who are an incredible support. They support Becca when I travel and are skillful about keeping me in check.
LES: What gives y'all your greatest joy – in music and in life?
TB: My family unit. Watching my children grow up has expanded my capacity for love and joy.
I'm a nerd at heart. I dearest fixing things, creating solutions, and learning almost the globe. I'm also a mountain boy at heart. Rock climbing, hiking, and being outdoors is the mode I most deeply connect with myself and with God. I'm a blessed person, and I am securely grateful for this life I get to live. I hateful, I become to travel the globe and play my guitar for people. How cool is that!?
To read the interview with Trace Bundy for the release of his Elephant King album, click here.
To find out about Trace Bundy concerts and albums, head over to his website!
Lancia Due east. Smith is an author, photographer, teacher, and business possessor. A grateful lover of the Triune God, Lancia is the Founder & Executive Director of Cultivating & The Cultivating Projection. She has served in executive direction, church leadership, boards, and Fine art & Religion organizations over 30 years. She & her husband Peter accept parented 7 children, & have a flock of beloved grandchildren. Lancia loves garden and website pattern, beautiful typography, road trips, beingness read aloud to by Peter, & cherishes every book she ever read by C.South. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and George MacDonald.
Lancia Due east. Smith
Source: https://thecultivatingproject.com/trace-bundy-interview-for-cultivating/
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