Amy's advice: 'Have fun, tell stories, laugh'

By Bethany Wesley/Bemidji Pioneer  Amy Grant wasn't sure she'd ever make another studio album. But then she signed with a new record company. It was a "catalog deal," so she was expected to release collections of her established hits, mixing in a new song or two. "Creativity is a funny thing, you can't really force it," Grant told the Pioneer by phone last week. "You have to have a certain amount of wind in your sails." As she went through her old material, Grant reconnected with her past. "I just got my creative juices flowing," she said. "At every stage in life, you need music to articulate the experience." In May, Grant released "How Mercy Looks from Here," her first new studio album in a decade. The album is dedicated to her late mother, who encouraged her to "sing something that matters." Gloria Grant died in April 2011 at age 80. "She just had such a natural curiosity and a great energy toward life, even in her decline," Grant said. "It just added an extra smile to putting the record out and dedicating it to her." 'Have fun, tell stories, laugh' This week, Grant will appear in Bemidji's Sanford Center, performing a selection of hits from her 30-year career and also some of her newest work. Grant, a household name for Christian music fans, has won 25 Dove Awards, including four Artist of the Year awards. She also marked success as a crossover artist with mainstream hits such as "Baby Baby," "Every Heartbeat," and "That's What Love is For." Of her 10 Top 40 pop singles, six have become No. 1 hits. She has sold more than 30 million albums and won six Grammy Awards. Yet, despite her success, Grant aims to have a personal connection with her fans. "When you go to one of her concerts ... you leave there feeling like she's a friend," said Mark Schultz, the Christian singer/songwriter who will be featured as Grant's special guest performer Wednesday night. "It's not lights and smoke, she's a real and genuine person." Grant hopes to sell out the arena, but said that no matter how many people attend, she wants it to  feel like she's performing for them personally. "I know when I buy a ticket for a show -- and there's a lot of great live music that comes through Nashville -- I welcome the experience of enjoying entertainment in real time with real people," Grant said. "Do I wish we could get the whole town there? Yes ... (but) whoever shows up, we're going to have an amazing time, the theater is going to feel like a living room. "I'm going to cherry-pick some songs from over the last 35 years, have fun, tell stories, laugh." While Grant and Schultz have never toured together, both said they were looking forward to working with the other. Coincidentally, the two know each other from a different environment. Schultz, now a Dove Award-winning artist, was the youth director at a church in Nashville where Grant's children attended. Really, it was Schultz's experience as a youth leader that led to his eventual music career. He was going on mission trips with students and would come back and write into song those stories. Many of his songs -- just like Grant's -- stem from personal experience. For example, "He's My Son," tells of a father praying to God in hopes of healing his ill c feel like she's performing for them personally. "I know when I buy a ticket for a show -- and there's a lot of great live music that comes through Nashville -- I welcome the experience of enjoying entertainment in real time with real people," Grant said. "Do I wish we could get the whole town there? Yes ... (but) whoever shows up, we're going to have an amazing time, the theater is going to feel like a living room. "I'm going to cherry-pick some songs from over the last 35 years, have fun, tell stories, laugh." While Grant and Schultz have never toured together, both said they were looking forward to working with the other. Coincidentally, the two know each other from a different environment. Schultz, now a Dove Award-winning artist, was the youth director at a church in Nashville where Grant's children attended. Really, it was Schultz's experience as a youth leader that led to his eventual music career. He was going on mission trips with students and would come back and write into song those stories. Many of his songs -- just like Grant's -- stem from personal experience. For example, "He's My Son," tells of a father praying to God in hopes of healing his ill c feel like she's performing for them personally. "I know when I buy a ticket for a show -- and there's a lot of great live music that comes through Nashville -- I welcome the experience of enjoying entertainment in real time with real people," Grant said. "Do I wish we could get the whole town there? Yes ... (but) whoever shows up, we're going to have an amazing time, the theater is going to feel like a living room. "I'm going to cherry-pick some songs from over the last 35 years, have fun, tell stories, laugh." While Grant and Schultz have never toured together, both said they were looking forward to working with the other. Coincidentally, the two know each other from a different environment. Schultz, now a Dove Award-winning artist, was the youth director at a church in Nashville where Grant's children attended. Really, it was Schultz's experience as a youth leader that led to his eventual music career. He was going on mission trips with students and would come back and write into song those stories. Many of his songs -- just like Grant's -- stem from personal experience. For example, "He's My Son," tells of a father praying to God in hopes of healing his ill c feel like she's performing for them personally. "I know when I buy a ticket for a show -- and there's a lot of great live music that comes through Nashville -- I welcome the experience of enjoying entertainment in real time with real people," Grant said. "Do I wish we could get the whole town there? Yes ... (but) whoever shows up, we're going to have an amazing time, the theater is going to feel like a living room. "I'm going to cherry-pick some songs from over the last 35 years, have fun, tell stories, laugh." While Grant and Schultz have never toured together, both said they were looking forward to working with the other. Coincidentally, the two know each other from a different environment. Schultz, now a Dove Award-winning artist, was the youth director at a church in Nashville where Grant's children attended. Really, it was Schultz's experience as a youth leader that led to his eventual music career. He was going on mission trips with students and would come back and write into song those stories. Many of his songs -- just like Grant's -- stem from personal experience. For example, "He's My Son," tells of a father praying to God in hopes of healing his ill c hild. Schultz said he wrote the song thinking no one outside of his own church would connect with it, since it was written about a member of their congregation. What he found, though, was that many churches have members with similar concerns and issues and it connected with many, many listeners. "Walking Her Home" is another Schultz hit with a real-life backstory. It tells the story of a young man who walks a young woman home after their first date, then follows them to the birth of their child, and eventually to the woman's deathbed at age 85 in the nursing home. The song stemmed from Schultz's own experience, having had neighbors who lived such a life. "It's a sweet story about real life and I think that's why it resonates," Schultz said. 'The world of music' Grant said she loves all of the songs from her latest  album. But the one that strikes the deepest chord with her is "Shovel in Hand," a song is about a young man who is burying his friend. "I left the cemetery the day my son and his friends were burying their childhood friend," Grant said. Her son was a teenager at the time, and Grant, who was flying out to Las Vegas that day, couldn't shake the image of those young men standing at the graveside, their suit coats on the ground, the sleeves of their dress shirts rolled up as they tossed dirt onto the grave of their friend. Her son is now 27, and the song is dedicate to his late friend, Davis Porter Rice. Proceeds from the song now benefit a foundation that was established in his name. "Every song comes from something in life," Grant said, "and the song has a life of itself with its impact." All of her music comes from her life, Grant said, whether they be slower ballads or more upbeat compilations. "I just can't imagine not making music, not experiencing to make new music," she said. "I've done it since I was a kid. There are better singers, better musicians, better writers, but there's room  for everyone in the world of music. You might not be able to pay your bills, but music, it's good for your head, it's good for your heart, it's just good for life." If you go... What: "An Evening with Amy Grant," featuring special guest Mark Schultz When: 7 p.m. Wednesday Where: Sanford Center Cost: $25, $35, $75 Tickets: Sanford Center ticket office, Lueken's Village Foods, charge by phone (800) 745-3000, or online at www.ticketmaster.com
By Bethany Wesley/Bemidji Pioneer Amy Grant wasn't sure she'd ever make another studio album.But then she signed with a new record company. It was a "catalog deal," so she was expected to release collections of her established hits, mixing in a new song or two."Creativity is a funny thing, you can't really force it," Grant told the Pioneer by phone last week. "You have to have a certain amount of wind in your sails."As she went through her old material, Grant reconnected with her past."I just got my creative juices flowing," she said. "At every stage in life, you need music to articulate the experience."In May, Grant released "How Mercy Looks from Here," her first new studio album in a decade.The album is dedicated to her late mother, who encouraged her to "sing something that matters." Gloria Grant died in April 2011 at age 80."She just had such a natural curiosity and a great energy toward life, even in her decline," Grant said. "It just added an extra smile to putting the record out and dedicating it to her."'Have fun, tell stories, laugh'This week, Grant will appear in Bemidji's Sanford Center, performing a selection of hits from her 30-year career and also some of her newest work.Grant, a household name for Christian music fans, has won 25 Dove Awards, including four Artist of the Year awards. She also marked success as a crossover artist with mainstream hits such as "Baby Baby," "Every Heartbeat," and "That's What Love is For."Of her 10 Top 40 pop singles, six have become No. 1 hits. She has sold more than 30 million albums and won six Grammy Awards.Yet, despite her success, Grant aims to have a personal connection with her fans."When you go to one of her concerts ... you leave there feeling like she's a friend," said Mark Schultz, the Christian singer/songwriter who will be featured as Grant's special guest performer Wednesday night. "It's not lights and smoke, she's a real and genuine person."Grant hopes to sell out the arena, but said that no matter how many people attend, she wants it to feel like she's performing for them personally."I know when I buy a ticket for a show -- and there's a lot of great live music that comes through Nashville -- I welcome the experience of enjoying entertainment in real time with real people," Grant said. "Do I wish we could get the whole town there? Yes ... (but) whoever shows up, we're going to have an amazing time, the theater is going to feel like a living room."I'm going to cherry-pick some songs from over the last 35 years, have fun, tell stories, laugh."While Grant and Schultz have never toured together, both said they were looking forward to working with the other. Coincidentally, the two know each other from a different environment. Schultz, now a Dove Award-winning artist, was the youth director at a church in Nashville where Grant's children attended.Really, it was Schultz's experience as a youth leader that led to his eventual music career. He was going on mission trips with students and would come back and write into song those stories.Many of his songs -- just like Grant's -- stem from personal experience. For example, "He's My Son," tells of a father praying to God in hopes of healing his ill cfeel like she's performing for them personally."I know when I buy a ticket for a show -- and there's a lot of great live music that comes through Nashville -- I welcome the experience of enjoying entertainment in real time with real people," Grant said. "Do I wish we could get the whole town there? Yes ... (but) whoever shows up, we're going to have an amazing time, the theater is going to feel like a living room."I'm going to cherry-pick some songs from over the last 35 years, have fun, tell stories, laugh."While Grant and Schultz have never toured together, both said they were looking forward to working with the other. Coincidentally, the two know each other from a different environment. Schultz, now a Dove Award-winning artist, was the youth director at a church in Nashville where Grant's children attended.Really, it was Schultz's experience as a youth leader that led to his eventual music career. He was going on mission trips with students and would come back and write into song those stories.Many of his songs -- just like Grant's -- stem from personal experience. For example, "He's My Son," tells of a father praying to God in hopes of healing his ill cfeel like she's performing for them personally."I know when I buy a ticket for a show -- and there's a lot of great live music that comes through Nashville -- I welcome the experience of enjoying entertainment in real time with real people," Grant said. "Do I wish we could get the whole town there? Yes ... (but) whoever shows up, we're going to have an amazing time, the theater is going to feel like a living room."I'm going to cherry-pick some songs from over the last 35 years, have fun, tell stories, laugh."While Grant and Schultz have never toured together, both said they were looking forward to working with the other. Coincidentally, the two know each other from a different environment. Schultz, now a Dove Award-winning artist, was the youth director at a church in Nashville where Grant's children attended.Really, it was Schultz's experience as a youth leader that led to his eventual music career. He was going on mission trips with students and would come back and write into song those stories.Many of his songs -- just like Grant's -- stem from personal experience. For example, "He's My Son," tells of a father praying to God in hopes of healing his ill cfeel like she's performing for them personally."I know when I buy a ticket for a show -- and there's a lot of great live music that comes through Nashville -- I welcome the experience of enjoying entertainment in real time with real people," Grant said. "Do I wish we could get the whole town there? Yes ... (but) whoever shows up, we're going to have an amazing time, the theater is going to feel like a living room."I'm going to cherry-pick some songs from over the last 35 years, have fun, tell stories, laugh."While Grant and Schultz have never toured together, both said they were looking forward to working with the other. Coincidentally, the two know each other from a different environment. Schultz, now a Dove Award-winning artist, was the youth director at a church in Nashville where Grant's children attended.Really, it was Schultz's experience as a youth leader that led to his eventual music career. He was going on mission trips with students and would come back and write into song those stories.Many of his songs -- just like Grant's -- stem from personal experience. For example, "He's My Son," tells of a father praying to God in hopes of healing his ill child.Schultz said he wrote the song thinking no one outside of his own church would connect with it, since it was written about a member of their congregation. What he found, though, was that many churches have members with similar concerns and issues and it connected with many, many listeners."Walking Her Home" is another Schultz hit with a real-life backstory. It tells the story of a young man who walks a young woman home after their first date, then follows them to the birth of their child, and eventually to the woman's deathbed at age 85 in the nursing home.The song stemmed from Schultz's own experience, having had neighbors who lived such a life."It's a sweet story about real life and I think that's why it resonates," Schultz said.'The world of music'Grant said she loves all of the songs from her latest album. But the one that strikes the deepest chord with her is "Shovel in Hand," a song is about a young man who is burying his friend."I left the cemetery the day my son and his friends were burying their childhood friend," Grant said.Her son was a teenager at the time, and Grant, who was flying out to Las Vegas that day, couldn't shake the image of those young men standing at the graveside, their suit coats on the ground, the sleeves of their dress shirts rolled up as they tossed dirt onto the grave of their friend.Her son is now 27, and the song is dedicate to his late friend, Davis Porter Rice. Proceeds from the song now benefit a foundation that was established in his name."Every song comes from something in life," Grant said, "and the song has a life of itself with its impact."All of her music comes from her life, Grant said, whether they be slower ballads or more upbeat compilations."I just can't imagine not making music, not experiencing to make new music," she said. "I've done it since I was a kid. There are better singers, better musicians, better writers, but there's room for everyone in the world of music. You might not be able to pay your bills, but music, it's good for your head, it's good for your heart, it's just good for life."If you go...What: "An Evening with Amy Grant," featuring special guest Mark SchultzWhen: 7 p.m. WednesdayWhere: Sanford CenterCost: $25, $35, $75Tickets: Sanford Center ticket office, Lueken's Village Foods, charge by phone (800) 745-3000, or online at www.ticketmaster.com