Transparent Christian Magazine

Critically acclaimed singer songwriter Nathan Clark George’s music embodies an honesty that is sorely lacking in today’s overproduced and over-compressed music. His latest CD “Rise in the Darkness” is a masterpiece of acoustic praise music that feels comfortable in an “Americana” or “Folk” category– “Rise in the Darkness” could be the byproduct of Nickel Creek and James Taylor, riding around in a van together singing songs about God, life and love.

Transparent Christian Magazine was able to catch up with Nathan and talk about his life on the road, and an upcoming project!

Transparent: First of all, I wanted you to know that I have really enjoyed listening to your music. Is there a favorite song that we haven’t heard on a cd yet? Can you tell me about how that song came to be?
NCG: I have been playing and recording a new tune called “Whatever it Takes.” It looks like we will put it on the new CD. It’s essentially a prayer that God would slow me down and remind me of eternal concerns, rather than the temporal. I get frustrated when I hear folks, even pastors, put family in a list of temporal things, and so I very purposefully sing about serving our loved ones and equate that to worshiping Christ. Christ thought that raising our children, and serving those around us is loving him, which is worship. This is something I continue learn, and singing about it keeps me thinking and praying that I will follow Christ on this, rather than culture.

Transparent: Speaking of culture… You are living a bit differently than the mainstream culture. Describe your life, as you travel with your family and play music.
NCG: Three years ago we decided to put all our things in storage, give up our apartment, buy a motorhome, and hit the road with our 5 children! It was a crazy time, to be sure, but we had no desire for my wife and children to be at home while I was on the road. We said many times that we would either do this together, or we would not try it at all. Since then, I’ve played hundreds of concerts, and as a family we have seen amazing places and met so many wonderful people!

Life on the road is hectic, peaceful, crazy, frustrating, relaxing, and very cramped. What’s weird is that sometimes we feel all these things within the space of minutes!

Transparent: I can only imagine the emotions you go through. What is your favorite thing about being on the road?
NCG: I really love those times when our family can find time to relax, or take a walk, or sit on the beach and see the children play. I love what I do as a musician, but I suspect we will eventually remember the family times rather than great concerts.

Transparent:Tell me about some of the surprising struggles that this lifestyle has.
NCG: Laundry! (Laughs) Getting laundry done on the road is a pain. Some other things that are daily struggles are making beds out of the table and couch for our children. Since we homeschool, the organization of books for Patsy is pretty tough. Carrying all these books and notebooks around becomes cumbersome, but being able to be with our children, take them to historical and natural sights, and just let them experience life and other people is invaluable. Our homeschooling experience has certainly been an adventure!

Transparent: What drew you to make the decision to be in music ministry full time?
NCG: Four years ago I started receiving more and more concert invitations, and so the decision to go full time was really a practical one – keep the family together while accepting the concerts. It just looked like the doors were opening, and so we simply tried to take the steps before us.

Transparent: What doors have been opened to you, based on that decision?
NCG: Many – it’s been a pretty amazing four years. I’ve been most thankful for all the concerts – small and large – house concerts, church concerts, coffee houses, and I’ve been able to be a part of worship services as well. But also I’ve been asked to speak, invited to play at several large gatherings of pastors, and now we are in the process of shooting a documentary and live DVD concert! This is pretty incredible, because we could never afford it – it just something that Franklin Spring Family Media wanted to do!

Transparent: I noticed you have a concert this coming weekend in Franklin Tennessee. Tell me about that show, and what that’s all about.
NCG: Yeah, this is the final stage of the Documentary and Concert DVD. This Saturday, October 18th at 7:00pm we will be at Epworth Methodist Church. I’m going to have Ross Sermons on upright bass, Mark Stoffel on mandolin, and Ben George on Drums. Plus I’ll be playing several solo tunes. Franklin Springs Family Media will have several high definition cameras there, we are taking a multi-track recording of the whole thing! Plus, we are taking some of the audio for a new CD! It’s pretty overwhelming, but exciting!

Transparent: Wow. Can you tell me what it’s been like to have people around you filming your life?
NCG: Two camera guys followed us for 5 days in the motorhome! It was actually quite fun. The guys were great, kind, and considerate, and we all really enjoyed the time. My oldest son, Jonathan, loved being interviewed – he loves to talk…. The final step after the concert is to edit it all together and send it to replication.

Transparent: When does the DVD come out? How can the TCM readers get involved in helping you promote it?
NCG: The release date has been set for Nov. 20! I can’t believe it’s coming that soon. Folks can either hop on my email list or check out the my news page to stay in touch. As for the concert just come on out and bring a friend! We would love to have a great crowd – and we’ll try our best to have a great evening of music!

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If you are anywhere near the Fanklin/Nashville Tennessee area, I would encourage you to go see Nathan live this weekend, October 18th at 7:00pm we will be at Epworth Methodist Church. His music and story will hit you deep in your soul!

To see a sneak-preview of the DVD, click here.

Buy Nathan’s Music Here.
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