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Derek Webb
Interview
By:
Benj Pocta
http://www.dallasmusicguide.com
Though many
Christian books stores labeled his debut album
inappropriate, Derek Webb has continued to sing and
speak his mind in a way few artists in Contemporary
Christian Music (CCM) dare. In the spring of 2003, newly
married to recording artist Sandra McCracken and having
spent a decade in the successful Christian band
Caedmon’s Call, Webb felt it was time to set off in a
new direction, releasing “She Must and Shall Go Free,”
his first solo album. Written for and to the church,
this album sparked some controversy due in part to its
use of the word “whore” in the song “Wedding Dress.”
Mardel, one major Christian retailer, decided not to
carry his album, and many other stores were close to the
same decision. While Mardel and others have since
recognized the value of Webb’s music and put his albums
onto their shelves, Webb has not compromised his
honesty. With a live show featuring almost as much
teaching as playing, Webb continues to build and edify
his fan base at churches, bars and even people’s living
rooms. With a new album to be released Nov. 9, “I See
Things Upside Down,” and a fall tour that includes an
appearance at Trees Nov. 8, Webb is back again and he
has brought his provocative message with him.
Dallas Music Guide:
You have often cited the work of Bob Dylan
(particularly his albums “Saved,” “Slow Train Coming,”
and “Shot of Love”) as exemplary Christian music. What
do you think the church’s artists would do well to
learn from Bob and his work?
Derek Webb: I believe artists like Dylan,
particularly on his “Christian” records, give us great
examples of how to marry art with the scriptures. When
I found those records it was like having a wish
granted. It was like being able to ask your favorite
artist to write a bunch of songs on your favorite
topic. I’ve said this before, but I believe that the
church in America, as expressed in evangelical
Christian sub-culture, is very long on mediocre but
explicit art and very short on good art, especially
contrasted with a time like the Renaissance. When we
look at statistics on how rapidly the church in
America is losing relevance in our culture, this
should cause us to pause and think about what we’re
doing as artists in the church. With the current
standards of art in the church, we’re failing to meet
and engage with culture on what is an essential level:
the arts. I believe that it’s by way of the arts that
the church gets in on the major worldview discussions
that are happening in our world. Bob Dylan continues
to give us a progressive road map on how a believer
can make art that is relevant in the way that it
respectfully engages culture by way of its great
beauty, and therefore like creation itself, is both
beautiful and functional.
DMG: When and why did you start wearing the
white t-shirts?
DW: Pure pragmatism. I just couldn’t pack four
months of clothes in the biggest bag I owned, so I had
to change what I was packing. Caedmon’s [Call] would
have stretches on the road like that all the time, so
I adapted. That would have started about 8-10 years
ago.
DMG: At your last couple of shows you’ve played
a song from your upcoming album called “T-Shirts”
(which I loved, by the way). Would you explain a bit
about the meaning of that song?
DW: “T-shirts” is a song about the fact that
unfortunately, the Christian sub-culture in America is
not known for our love as much as for our “Christian”
t-shirts and our slogans on cars and billboards. Our
clever marketing of the Gospel will not reach the lost
and hurting in our world nearly as well or as
efficiently as our love will. This song highlights
that Christians will continue to remain irrelevant in
post-modern culture until we are truly known for our
radical and reckless love.
DMG: I have heard that of all your tattoos, the
first one was done by your own mother. If this is
true, what is the story behind that (if you are
willing to share)? If this is not true, could you
explain a bit about the tattoos you do have?
DW: It’s true, actually. My first tattoo was my
mother’s idea. She was trying her hand at something
called ‘permanent make-up’ at one time, which uses the
same gear as tattooing, and she needed someone to
practice her steady hand on. She asked, and I said
yes. I guess I was about a year out of high school.
The tattoo is around my ankle (Ichthus connected at
the nose and tail all the way around). The tattoo
itself is starting to fade a bit, but the story is
still pretty strong.
DMG: A lot of your music focuses on seemingly
negative themes. For example, the idea of man’s
sinfulness is a recurring theme in your lyrics. I have
in mind songs like “Wedding Dress,” in which you
confess your (and our) whoredom; “Crooked Deep Down,”
with its acknowledgement of not just your own but
everyone’s inherent crookedness; and “I Repent,” with
its litany of shortcomings (some of which many would
count as blessings). These are just a few of several
examples. Many fans of Contemporary Christian Music
might see this focus on sin as simply depressing. Why
do you think the sinfulness of man is an important
theme for the Christian artist to emphasize in his
art?
DW: A great hero of mine, Jack Miller, once
said, ‘For every one look you take at your sin, you
take ten looks at the cross.’ One of the problems with
American Christians is that we aren’t looking at the
cross. That’s why we’re so obsessed with keeping a law
that cannot justify us as a means of micromanaging
both our sin and God and calling that “the Christian
life.” I don’t think you can overemphasize sin,
because sin only emphasizes our need and continued
need for Jesus which, on the contrary, is what the
Christian life is all about. It’s about recognizing
our great need for Jesus. That’s what glory will be
all about as well. I also believe that as a community
of Christians in this country we must be modeling
repentance for each other. What we model instead are
methods by which we can better hide our sin from each
other and convince ourselves and others that we are
“good Christian people” who in turn deserve something.
It’s no wonder we’re so judgmental. It’s no wonder
we’re so arrogant. We’re not looking at our sin, so
we’re not forcing the issue of having to look at the
cross. Art that is marketed as “Christian” but does
nothing to help break this cycle of flattery and
self-righteousness, and in the worst instances
encourages it, is potentially much more harmful than
what some would call “secular” art because it does
nothing more than put warm clothes on corpses. I for
one would rather make art that is honest about sin and
run the risk of seeming morbid than the alternative.
By:
Benj Pocta
Derek Webb(Homepage)
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