As Promised I've started interviewing Church Guitarists. You probably won't have heard of any of these guys, but that's really the point.
I want to talk to the average Church Guitarist in the average Australian Church.
I know there are the rock star musician's of the Church world out there but I want these interviews to be relevant to as many as possible. I want to speak to people whom we can all identify with.
Not that there's anything wrong with being a Rock Star Guitarist or high class musician.
I just that "most of us are the like the rest of us". Just trying to do life day to day and still give God our worship with our instrument of choice.
The first Church Guitarist I interviewed was Phil Dawson, who belongs to Central Life Church in North Wyong of the Central Coast of Australia. Phil is without doubt a master craftsman and Luthier (Guitar Maker).
I've added some photo's of some of Phils guitars here as well for you to see. All of Phils Guitars are made from Australian Timbers, they are beautifully handcrafted instruments. Phils attention to detail is astonishing. One of my goals for the future is to own a Dawson handcrafted guitar. Heres the Interview and the pictures. Enjoy.
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| Weissenborn Lap Steel |
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| Dawson - Acoustic - All Australian timbers |
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| Dawson - Telecaster Electric - Australian Timbers |
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| Dawson - Electric Bass - Australian Timbers |
KA: Thanks Phil for giving me your time today and allowing me to interview you.
Phil: Not a problem.
KA: So Phil what do you get out of being a Church Guitarist?
Phil: My personal way of connecting with God in Worship through putting my hands on the guitar and strings.
KA: Do you have a personal preference or style of Music?
Phil: My personal preference is Soul Music but there's not a lot of Soul music as a style contained in Church Worship music. But I'm happy to say that I still love Church Worship music, even though I don't get a chance to play the style of stuff that is probably the roots of my style of guitar. I'm really happy to adapt what I like to play to Church worship music. I could sum it up in one sentence that Probably my life revolves around Church music and instruments used for worship.
KA: So you also make instruments? Phil: Yes
KA: What kind of guitar's do you make?
Phil: Mostly electric guitars but also weissenborn (lap slide guitar) and the odd acoustic, weissenborn's are Hawaiian lap steels. Manly solid bodied Telecasters, Stratocasters.
KA: Do you find the making of Guitars part of your worship, to create an instrument?
Phil: Oh yeah Definitely, definitely I see worship as a lifestyle so my whole lifestyle revolves around using the gifts and also responding to that in worship through playing guitar.
Ka: Do you have a practice regime?
Phil: Yep, 6:00am to 6:30am every morning for at least 30 minutes sometimes longer than that and if its a new song I might spend 20 hours working on that new song at least sometimes 30 hours. If I'm not happy with that I'll record that and listen to it back and change the style of what I play to suit our band.
KA: Do you have a set routine you use?
Phil: Not really, most weeks if I get the worship set then I guess my routine is if I get the worship songs early enough then I'll start early in the week practising those ready for the next sunday. If it's a difficult thing or something I don't feel confident with I might spend the whole week practising that one song
KA: Now you've been a guitarist in Secular bands? and your a guitarist in Church bands? Phil: Yes
KA: Is there anything you've found to be different?
Phil: Yes definitely, the thing is with a secular band you might have a set of 30 songs that you play pretty well continually and you get used to those 30 songs. In a Church worship situation you might have 60 songs or more and only play some of those songs every month or two months, so it's really hard to get to know that song if it only cycles around every two months. You need to devote that time to take notes or remember how you played it or a reference to something so that you can go back and listen to it and play it later. Because I believe that electric guitarists is almost like a horn section in a band they have a part to play and rather than just noodle around all the time I think you should learn certain parts that work with that song and enhance the worship and play those parts rather than just improvise all the time, there's always plenty of time to improvise.
KA: I love that, for me I'm always listening for those key elements that you put into a song, and I wait for them.
Phil: Yeah well there like hooks within a song. When people hear you know a guitar intro that has a set theme or specific note they immediately go "Oh it's that song". So it introduces a song, you know it's just like a drum fill ends one phrase in the song and begins another phrase. Music is made up of these little expressions or phrases so I think that it's important for a Church Guitarist to know these phrases and play them in a way that fits it doesn't have to stand out, like super loud or anything as long as it fits within the context of that song.
KA: So If you could give one piece of advice to a budding or new Church Guitarist what would that advice be?
Phil: My Advice and the advice to myself every time I play is "do a lot of listening and make sure you play something that fits and the other advice is don't overplay there are some songs where you won't play much at all, might be just a little theme you play here and there and learn how to unpack a song become an arranger in your own head, and I would always say Learn to listen outside of your body as if you are in the audience and recording yourself makes that possible because often people don't realise what they are playing".
KA: Well thank you very much Phil
Phil: No worries my pleasure.
Something special here is a couple of guitar licks PHIL Dawson style enjoy.
