Tommy Walker Band / Never Gonna Stop
by Integrity Music(Hosanna Integrity의 100번째 앨범)
Artist 소개
Tommy Walker Band 는 특별히 Los Angeles 에 사는 사람들에게는 친근한 worship band 이다. Christian Assembly Church in Los Angeles, California 에서 찬양리더로 있는 Tommy Walker은 그의 음악적 은사를 하나님을 위해 어떻게 사용할 수 있을 것인가 1980년도에 간절히 기도했다고 한다. 그의 기도는 곧 응답되어 California 뿐만 아니라 전 미국 지역에 그와 C.A. Music Band 의 찬양이 널리 알려지게 되었다. 그는 필리핀 등지에서도 초청을 받을 정도로 사역의 지경을 넓혀 가고 있으며 그의 live worship album은 bestseller중의 하나라고 한다. 재작년 샌디에고에서 열렸던 한인 2세들을 위한 집회인 JAMA 에도 초대되어 한인들에게도 무척 친근한 worship leader이다.
Album 소개
이 앨범은 호산나의 100번째 앨범으로 지난 해 그의 교회 (Christian Assembly in Los Angeles, California. 에서 라이브로 녹음 되었다. 세계적인 saxophone 연주자 Justo Almario, Drum 주자 Bob Wilson등이 참여한 이 앨범은 집회의 뜨거운 열기와 전문적인 연주를 느낄 수 있다. Tommy Walker 의 새 곡 "Never Gonna Stop" 과 "How Good and Pleasant"는 전형적인 Tommy Walker Band의 분위기를 살린 곡이며 "When All is Said and Done" 과 "He Knows My Name"은 부드럽고 아름다운 찬양곡으로 한국 사람의 정서에 잘 맞는 찬양이다. 호산나에서 100번째 앨범으로 내면서 많은 심혈을 기울인 앨범으로 Tommy Walker Band만의 뜨겁고 uplifting한 찬양의 열기를 생생하게 전달해 주는 앨범이다.
Album 목차
1. How Good and Pleasant
2. Only A God Like You
3. He Saved Us to Show His Glory
4. Give Us The Sounds
5. Jesus, That Name
6. When All Is Said And Done
7. I Fix My Eyes On You
8. Let's Think About Our God
9. Where You Are
10. I Hide Myself In Thee
11. Jerry's Story
12. He Knows My Name
13. How Could I But Love You
14. Never Gonna Stop
Biography
Tommy is a gifted worship leader who has led worship throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. Traveling with Promise Keepers, Harvest Crusades, C.A. Worship Band and Youth With A Mission. He graduated in 1982 from Christ For The Nations Institute with a degree in practical theology. In 1987, he graduated from the famed Guitar Institute of Technology in Hollywood, California with a diploma in jazz and fusion.
Tommy has written songs for the Promise Keepers movement which include "No Greater Love", "Yes We All Agree", "TheseThings Are True Of You", "From The Sunrise", "Prepare Ye The Way" and also revised "O God Our Help. He also revised the song "A Mighty Fortress" sung at the Promise Keepers "Stand In The Gap" in Washington D.C. Tommy has also written songs for Greg Laurie's Harvest Crusades such as, "He Knows My name" and "Lord I Believe In You."
Songwriter of the popular song, "Mourning Into Dancing" from the Ron Kenoly recording, Lift Him Up. This song has been recorded over 400 times on other worship projects.
Wrote the song "Lord I Believe In You" recorded by Crystal Lewis which became Adult Contemporary Christian Radio's #1 song.
Key worship leader for various stadium events at Promise Keepers 1997, 1998 & 1999.
Member of the worship team for Promise Keepers, "Stand In The Gap" in Washington, D.C.
Key worship leader for events for Harvest Crusades with Greg Laurie in 1997 & 1998.
Key worship leader for El Paso Luis Palau Crusade in 1997.
Worship leader for various events at Willow Creek Community Church.
Full time worship leader at Christian Assembly in Los Angeles, California.
Maranatha Worship Artist on LIVE Worship Series.
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Mourning Into Dancing
By Tommy Walker
Multitudes have celebrated their way to the throne of God riding the Latino groove of Tommy Walker's "Mourning Into Dancing." It echoes from stadiums filled to capacity at Harvest Crusades. CDs are spinning and cassettes are rattling Ron Kenoly's version in hundreds of thousands of homes, while another 400-plus recorded renderings of the song surface and circulate endlessly. It's even been arranged for easy piano. Walker, a 38-year-old alumnus of Christ for the Nations, has led worship since his teen years and has been active in evangelism since the Jesus Movement years.
It was in 1983, though, while leading worship at his brother's church in El Paso, Texas, that he discovered his true passion: "Worshiping God was all I wanted to do with my life." While working at a "terrible job" on an assembly line, Walker prayed, "God if there's any way you can use me to bring people to Christ-to do evangelism and to worship You at the same time-that would be the most awesome thing." In that moment, he understood his calling. "I began a quest," Walker says, "to write songs that would be very worshipful to believers while musically and spiritually interesting to non-believers." He formulated his philosophy of song writing, sharpened his musical skills and tailored his performances with these ideas in mind.
In 1991, as worship leader at Christian Assembly in Los Angeles, Walker was reading Psalm 30 and writing a new praise song for his congregation. It wasn't going very well. "Some-times songs are straight from Heaven and you jot them down as quick as you can," he says. "Other times, it's more of a homework assignment." "Mourning into Dancing" fell into the homework category. As he considered a God who exchanges the deepest sorrows for joyful dancing, Walker remembered the dance-ability of Latin music. "I thought this psalm would go with that style of music, so I came up with a Latin groove, kind of a Samba. I didn't think it was that great, but as we began to sing it at my church I realized, hey, this is really working!"
If not for a twist of timing, though, the song might have stayed forever within those walls. Walker and Justo Almario were hosting weekly musicians' fellowship meetings at the church; their guest speaker one evening was bass-artist Abraham Laboriel. Earlier that day, Laboriel had been at a recording session with Integrity producer Tom Brooks and had invited Brooks to come and hear him speak. "I think we were actually playing the song as Tom walked in," recalls Walker. Brooks loved "Mourning into Dancing" and wanted it for his new Integrity project: Ron Kenoly's Lift Him Up.. That 1992 praise recording has since achieved gold status while leaping denominational and cultural boundaries. "I've seen this song used in every kind of circumstance, from praise parties to funerals," he says. "I think it connects because it's a song of hope and redemption and promise. "The song has been a door-opener for me," Walker says. "People seem to recognize it where ever I go." Is he tired of it? "I hate it!" he laughs. "I'm totally sick of it! I've probably sung it 5,000 or 10,000 times, but I'll do it every day for the rest of my life if it keeps ministering to people and keeps opening doors."
Walker's life has changed since writing "Mourning Into Dancing." "Maybe people think I'm a songwriter now," chuckles this father of three. But indeed, dozens of his songs have since been picked up by music companies like Hosanna, Maranatha and solo artists like Crystal Lewis. In addition, Walker now leads worship regularly at Promise Keeper events and Greg Laurie's Harvest Crusades. At last year's?Stand in the Gap in Washington, Walker stood behind his guitar and witnessed a million men roaring his chorus to "A Mighty Fortress." "As far as my eye could see, there was no end of humanity worshiping God. But to think that that many people were shouting out my chorus and I had anything to do with it...." He stops for moment to gather his thoughts. "I was useless. I wasn't even singing. I was just bawling, to tell the truth. It was like heaven. To see every kind of person and race worshiping God. I definitely had a glimpse of eternity."
Leadership opportunities such as these notwithstanding, Walker remains committed to his local fellowship. "There's something about staying in touch with what God's doing in the local church. And there's accountability, too. When you're there every week, you're nothing special. It keeps you humble. "My songs that people sing at Promise Keepers have all been birthed the same way every other any other worship leader/songwriter in the world would do it. He'd just write a song out of his devotional time and teach it to his small group or his church." These days, Walker is focusing on worship evangelism in missions. Regular crusades to Asia, the Philippines and elsewhere are an outreach of his local church, funded by sales from their own Get Down Records. After all these years, his passion for worship and evangelism remains the same. WL
Tommy Walker and Get Down Records can be reached at 213-255- 1421.
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