Transparent Christian Magazine

When I met Brandon Frazier 5 years ago he was strapped to an acoustic guitar. He was playing worship music for a house church, and would often show up in flip flops and jeans.

Even then, his talent was undeniable and his enormous heart would shine through his conversations. As the church grew, so did Brandon.

He has become a fierce leader of one of the freshest and tightest worship bands in the Nashville area, leading worship for the Hendersonville Campus of LifeChurch.Tv. Over the last year he has developed a solid collection of high energy rock/pop songs for his debut record “Viper”. I was lucky enough to sit down with Brandon to discuss his thoughts on music, the making of this record and his upcoming CD Release party.

Transparent: I have listened to this album about 300 times! The songs are… crisp? It’s a funny description but as an example, the tracks you posted on your Facebook Fan Page seem really alive, and man they start immediately when you push play.
Brandon: Yeah, I think that was because of Digital Mastering. The songs, kind of jump out at you. I don’t know much about the process for digital mastering, except that It’s tedious and it takes a special kind of person to do it.

Transparent: So, tell me about recording this record.
Brandon: Well, it was recorded at Brown Owl Studios, which is run by Chris Kimmerer. I’m friends with Chris’s brother and he brought me over to the studio one night. Chris and I hit it off right away. He listened to my demos and had great ideas. He was really honest with me: “I like this song I don’t like this song” and because of that, we were able to develop a good relationship.

Transparent: Brandon, I love this album… There is something for everybody. Liar Liar, Lay it Down, and Viper are rockers, Offering and Mercy could be on Christian Radio right now, Jackson is a southern rock anthem, You Should Be Kissed is a future pop hit… and June sounds like a Grey’s Anatomy or movie soundtrack song. Really great variety, and yet they all seem to fit perfectly. I’ve heard people talk about the importance of certain songs being on certain albums, can you explain to me why such a diverse group of songs seem to work perfectly together on this record?
Brandon: I don’t know man… I said the same thing! Honestly, I couldn’t even hear drums on Walk On By. Most of this has to do with Chris’s vision. He had faith in these songs, and honed them by bringing in the right players that are congruent and fluent. As an example, you mentioned the rock songs… The same guitar player is on all or most of those, and he’s done work with Marc Broussard. Another guy played on Mercy and You Should be Kissed, Offering and Walk on By. I actually played electric on most of the tracks, so that also kind of tied it in.

Transparent: Wow, I didn’t think of the producer having that type of impact on a project.
Brandon: Right, me neither. As a writer I hear songs one way, and a producer hears it a different way. Chris brought in this guy that lives in Houston. His name is Josh Moore and he’s actually kind of a keyboard prodigy that did some work for Ludicrous and Paul Wall. He’s a big white guy with this giant beard, and pretty much played on every track. Hmmm… Maybe not on Lay it Down, but pretty much every other song… He’s got multiple keyparts, and just has crazy flavor, he’s really amazing.

The song order on the cd was really important, and Chris laid it out. He really believes in the music and he’s really legit. He had a vision and we agreed on that vision… When it clicks it just clicks.

Transparent: This sounds like it was released from a major label.
Brandon: Yeah, totally. I would never been able to make this record without technology. Thirty years ago you’d have to have a major label. No way around it. You would have to have a hundred thousand dollars to record it, produce and then distribute it. With technology the music is placed back in the hands of the artists, and so is the money. You don’t have to peddle your music in whatever town you live in… You can do it like I did. All of the recording, production, art and everything has already been paid for. I did it over time, in small chunks throughout the last 12 months.

Transparent: You are a worship leader at LifeChurch.Tv, in Hendersonville, I know you’re a Christian, but this album certain isn’t your typical CCM or “Christian” record. Talk to me about that.
Brandon: I think we try to over-complicate spirituality and music. For me, I just come from a place of injecting what I believe into this craft, and that can mean different things to different people. It’s amazing how profitable the word “Christian” can be, it’s no different than the plumbing company guy that puts the Jesus Fish on the company van. In that sense it could be just about money. Maybe his quality of work doesn’t reflect his faith, or maybe the way he reacts to others doesn’t reflect his faith, or maybe that fish is just so he can get more customers, or maybe he is totally sold out for God, and the fish is his symbol of faith… It’s hard to discern that, especially in music.

I’ve met Christian artists that are the greatest people on earth, and then on the other side of that, there is a perverse underbelly in that market. There are plenty of artists that are in the Christian realm that sing songs about Jesus but don’t act out their faith. I mean, music is universal. Why would I want to limit myself by saying “I’m a Christian artist”. I would never want to alienate anybody. In fact, there is a line in Walk on By that says “You’re the best damn woman I’ve ever met”… In a way it’s kind of my safeguard to not be put into that market. (Laughs)

WALK ON BY

Transparent: (Laughing) That was tame compared to the subject matter in Viper or some of the sexual undertones in that song, or Lay it Down, or The Way You Should Be Kissed.
Brandon: Yeah, but I don’t think the word “sexual” is something we need to be scared of. I mean, we are sitting here because of sex right? We can thank our parents for that. (Laughs).

There is certainly a time and place for things… I’m married and what I wrote about my wife is what I feel about her. I’m writing these songs as a guy that really loves his wife and is affectionate. Maybe this will connect with another guy that really loves his wife. Maybe it helps them make babies (laughs). Maybe I’m the reason for another baby boomer generation… (Really laughing)

Shifting into his best news reporter voice:

“We traced the new boom back to when Brandon Frazier + The Majors released “Viper”, the population went up 25%”.

Transparent: How do you think your church friends will react to this project?
Brandon: So far, the reaction has been very positive… Sometimes, just like Jesus did, you offend pharisees when you are living life and being real and I’m ok with that. There is always going to be a marriage of what I do at Lifechurch.Tv and who I am. I have a position that I love with Lifechurch.Tv and I’m a different person because of Lifechurch.tv. They support me and let’s face it, I get to play music and lead a great team of people, and build relationships for a living. I think this music will affect people and if they just put it in and give it a good listen, I don’t think they will pick out the more controversial things. Like Mercy for instance, is really a humanitarian effort:

When there isn’t retribution
Mercy offers a solution
It squashes out a grievance
And alternates the sequence

When mercy is the heart that’s beating
There’s never been a greater meaning
You’re living on the low note
Mercy is the high road
Lead me there

I worked really hard on my worldview– at defining what makes me, ME, and then poured that into this project. I am what I am, I write what I write, and that’s that. A lot of people disagree with that, but a lot of people don’t as well.

Transparent: What is “Viper” about?
Brandon: (Laughs). I guess it depends on where you come from. I would typically ask what the listener thinks it means. I think it ruins a personal connection you have with a song when you get an explanation. If I say “I wrote it about a guy who’s the town pervert and nobody cared about him” it sounds really dark, and at the same time, it could be interpreted as a good vs. evil song or a warning about playing with temptation, and how you have to be careful. You could think of it as a “light of hope” song if you really dig into it.

Transparent: What else is happening in your life?
Brandon: Well, I’m going to be a father for the first time. I’ve been so focused on the record, and now that it’s done, I’m trying to define what the next steps are and where to go from here.

JUNE

Transparent: What do you worry about?
Brandon: I think what worries me is when I have rifts in my relationships. I’m not talking about someone being upset cause I can deal with that pretty well… But if it’s a really close friend, and something goes down that can stress me out. Also, I’ve learned that It’s never good to have your woman mad at you. I’ve been married 3 years now, so I’m still new at this game. (Laughs).

Transparent: You are busy. With your job at Lifechurch.TV, the new record, working with the youth there, I think you could easily work 7 days a week. How do you recharge?
Brandon: I’m very intentional about my time. When I’m home I’m home. I typically don’t check e-mail at home, and I limit my calls there as well. I try to bring as much separation as possible between what I do at work and what I do at home. It’s important to me now and will definitely be later. I want to make sure that my family’s taken care of and always feel loved. I would hate to hear my kid say “you’re at home but you are always doing other stuff.”

Transparent: What is your songwriting process like? Music first? Lyrics First? Melody First?
Brandon: All of it. It’s all first, and when I’m inspired and I write, many times it’s seamless. A lot of what you hear on the record, is literally the first thing that came out of my mouth. Sometimes there are revisions… but to a LARGE degree, the way that I form lyrics and the way I write all happens at the same time. I’ll have a guitar part, and I’ll start mumbling where the words are supposed to be and sing THAT mumbled line like it’s already written, and then I’ll keep working on that until the song emerges. It doesn’t always happen that way but for the most part, that’s how I write.

Transparent: So what’s next?
Brandon: I’m just trying to take this all in right now. This is the biggest musical accomplishment I’ve ever had, and one of my biggest personal accomplishments as well. I’ve never recorded and released a record, and it’s huge deal. This required an unsurpassed level of faith in the songs that have been written. I’m VERY critical of my music, and I believe so much in this music and I’m so confident in this music, I was finally like “Here you go.” If you don’t like it, I’m sorry, but I do have faith in it and what it’s capable of doing… What it’s capable of doing for me, my family, for the guys that play with me… For people to connect with. I love listening to the album. It’s terribly cliché’ and many artists will tell you that they don’t like listening to their own music. But not me. I’m on my own iPod son! (Laughs)

Transparent: Where can people hear the album?
Brandon: It’s available on iTunes and Amazon… It’s streaming now in it’s entirety at www.brandonfraziermusic.com. They can buy it at my CD Release party on Friday in Nashville at the Music City Lab in Cummins Station on March 26th the year of our Lord 2010! The show starts at 8:00.

Transparent: I love that venue.
Brandon: Yeah, MCL is the hottest venue in Nashville and people are JUST beginning to know about it. I think that as the months roll by, people are going to want to have their shows there. Ken Gay is the guy that runs the show over there and he and his wife Sha are really cool people. Josh Wienczkowski is coordinating everything for me. He and his people are developing street teams to push the event and get people buzzed about it. He’s really bought in.

There are many people that are helping me and have taken some ownership of the success of this. It goes beyond friendship. When people love what you have done, and especially that are your friends are behind you, it makes everything that much sweeter. My wife included. She’s been behind this project, even financially. Kacie could have pushed back on the money a long time ago, but luckily we have some margin in our lives to be able to put some money into this project. We paid everything out of pocket and I own everything, the music, the masters, everything. That’s the dream these days in Nashville.

Come watch Brandon live his dream on Friday, March 26th in Nashville at Music City Lab!
Brandon on Facebook
Brandon’s Website
Become a Fan of Brandon Frazier + The Majors: Facebook Fan Page

Brandon on iTunes.

Thank you Brandon for the interview and especially for the original recordings of June and Walk on By, two of my personal favorites on the album. – Jason Elkins