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  ÀÚ·á½Ç (ÀÛ¼ºÀÏ : 2003/03/25
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 [ÀÚ·á] Sara Groves

Sara Groves

Bio

Imagine how thick the air would be if every word from our mouths flew up toward the sky and hung there, like a cloud. Like the dialog in cartoon strips, only floating free above our heads, without a bubble to contain them. Now imagine the shock of seeing the words we think, but never say, gathered there as well. Our pride, our anger, our doubts, our fears all spelled out and undeniable. How could we live like that?

For Sara Groves, whose music speaks into existence words most of us would never dare, as vulnerable at that would make us all, it's a prospect worth pondering.

From a very young age, Sara always wrestled with words. She'd get them down on paper and even put music to them, but she never really considered their worth. After graduating from Evangel College in 1994, Sara taught high school English and History for four years and began singing her songs 'on the side.' But the more her relationship with God began to be challenged and shaped by life experience, the more Sara felt compelled to do more with her words. Music became driving force because life simply left her with too much to say.

As a result, in 1998, Sara, with the help of husband/manager Troy, recorded Past the Wishing on a shoestring budget as a gift for family and friends. By word of mouth, the album project grew in popularity, becoming one of the standout independent recordings of that year. Sara's concert schedule grew exponentially, and major labels came calling with recording deals, but Sara chose to remain independent to focus on developing a ministry and growing as a songwriter.

speaking from experience

Encouraged by the reception of Past the Wishing, Sara recorded her second album, Conversations, at The Sound Kitchen, by invitation of Pamplin Music's Dino Elefante. The album released independently in 1999, and in 2000 Sara met industry veteran and owner of INO records©ö Jeff Moseley. Sara felt Moseley©ös innovative and new way of doing things met her desire to have more marketing support and larger distribution of her albums, but also allow her to remain very involved in her career. In fall 2000 Sara recorded new songs for the INO release of Conversations, which will release March 2001.

On this project, Sara was able to give her poignantly honest songs the musical attention they deserved. There's a distinctive clarity in the production that enhances the rich acoustic folk/pop settings in which Sara frames her lyrics. Musically Sara is reminiscent of Shawn Colvin and Sarah McLachlan, and although her lyrical style is uniquely hers, she has been compared to Rich Mullins. Complex in its simplicity, powerful in its weakness, whimsical but wise.

Conversations gives the listeners a chance to eavesdrop on scenes in Sara's life-from struggling to talk about faith with a friend in the title track, to asking God to speak up when faced with big decisions ("Hello Lord"), to trying to comfort a person facing death ("What Do I Know").

"These songs are all real experiences," Sara explains. "I hope to unveil the things we feel but don't always say...about life, about our relationships with each other and with God... and basically to say it's okay. Because I think God is saying 'It's okay.' He knows who we are, and he knows when we're trying to put on a brave face, and that's such a joke. He sees us for real, and it's okay."

Conversations is an album that communicates, in subtle and forthright ways, that faith is not a subject to be shied away from, that honest discussion among friends--believers and non-believers alike--can only make us stronger.

"I believe every person has a next step with God, something next to do," she says. "I want my music to challenge people to take that next step. Whatever that next step is, even if it is coming from a place of doubt--where you aren't sure God even exists--say that, that's a step.
Yell it out."

the universal language

Sara Groves knows that music is a universal language, and she is excited about the opportunity to speak it on her own terms, as a songwriter with a Christian worldview. "It's amazing to me the doors music can open. You cannot say five words to someone, but you can talk to them about Christ
and who He is...in the music," she says. "I used to struggle with the fact that I don't write as poetic as some people... I used to think good music was something you couldn't understand, all these veiled literary references that the average person couldn't decipher."

But, she says, when it comes down to it, "My music is not so much about the poetry or the art, as it is about being understood...."




fast facts

home now: Minneapolis, MN
born where: Vineland, NJ
Grew up in Springfield, MO

birth date: 09/10/72

instruments played: Piano, violin (4th grade because they said I didn't have enough wind for the saxophone) saxophone (because in the 80's all the cool solos were sax solos)

family: Husband, Troy; Son, Kirby; Dad, Dwight Colbaugh, campus pastor at Evangel University; mom, Nancy Colbaugh, elementary school principal; sister, Julie Fillweber, manager of Peaberry Coffee shop in Denver, married to Mick and expecting a baby soon; sister, Katie Colbaugh, just graduated from college with a degree in Psychology.

favorite gig: Every singer's favorite gig is any night where the audience is interested and the house is full.

first job: Taco Bell cashier

favorite christian record: Right now it's a toss up between Fred Hammond's Pages of Life and Waterdeep's Everyone's Beautiful.

points of note:
A 1994 graduate of Evangel University (Springfield, MO), Sara taught history and English at a public high school in Minnesota until she became a full-time musician in the spring of 1998. Her 1998 debut release, Past the Wishing, became one of Christian music's all-time best-selling independent recordings. Sara received national attention, including an interview on Billy Graham's "Decision Today" radio program and an article in CCM Magazine.

previous/debut release: Past the Wishing

radio: Has already garnered a #3 Inspirational chart hit with "Generations"

touring: Currently performs over 120 dates per year

scripture: Isaiah 41:9, 10




Q & A

You taught high school. What's the number one thing you learned from your students?

I think I have a more insight on how God must feel when he tries to teach me something.


What is it that prompted you to leave teaching school to pursue your calling as a singer/songwriter?

It didn't really happen overnight. I did a fundraising concert for Fellowship of Christian Athletes while I was teaching. Afterward some of my students asked me for a tape or CD, but I didn't have anything recorded. My first idea was to just have something available in case I had a chance to witness with the music. We started sharing music on the weekends, and gradually it became too much, so my husband and I decided I should take a year leave. By the end of the year we were traveling full time.


Your church commissioned you out into the music ministry - what was that like?

It was a tremendous vote of confidence. They helped us recognize that what we were doing was more than just music. They send us out with their full support, they lift us up in prayer, and they refresh us when we get home. That is invaluable to me.


You filmed a music video for "Painting Pictures of Egypt" - give us a glimpse of the story behind the song and why you were inspired to write it.

It's about the way we romanticize the past even though it wasn't the best thing for us. I was reading about the Israelites in the desert and was trying to think about how I would have responded in their place. I think my tendency is to want to go back to what I know instead of waiting for the promise. But the key line is "the places that used to fit me cannot hold the things l've learned." You can't go back anyway, so trust in God and move on.


What should an audience expect at a live concert?

Oh, I like to tell stories. I like to give the inspirations and thoughts behind a song so when you listen to it, it has a deeper meaning. I love live music, so I do that whenever possible, and I bellydance. Just kidding.


What artists in Christian music do you admire - and have you been influenced creatively and/or spiritually by them?

I wear out all of Fred Hammond's CDs. He takes his music from the Word of God, so you can't help but be lifted up by it. I am a fan of Keith Green's music and I love his ideas about ministry. My creative influences and my spiritual influences are very different. Creatively my greatest influences have been secular artists like Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls. I love the way she is so real and honest even though I don't always agree with her worldview. My goal when I write is to speak honestly like that, but with a Christian worldview. I have also been influenced by the people I have worked with over the last few years. Our producer Nate Sabin has really influenced the way I think about music - in a good way. He takes music very seriously like I've always wanted to. My parents were a huge influence on my music of course. They are both great teachers, and they really gave me room to think and come to faith in my own way. The themes in my music come from a million places - books, movies, relationships, sermons, etc.


When did you start writing and performing music? How did you get into writing & performing?

My mom and I think I wrote my first song when I was about five. Playing the piano and working out song ideas has always been like therapy for me. I will be doing it for the rest of my life if people are listening or not. I enjoy the performance part of what we do, but I understand it is just for a season. I want to write music I can live with for a very long time, not just for the current audience.




[ÀÚ·á] NICOLE C. MULLEN
[ÀÚ·á] Caedmon's Call

 
 
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