Exclusive interview with MercyMe

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Greetings and welcome to my little corner of cyberspace, courtesy of the good folks at Gospel Music Channel. I'm Deborah Evans Price, a Nashville-based journalist who has had the privilege of covering Gospel music for many years. Since 1994, I've served as the Christian/Gospel music correspondent for Billboard magazine and also contribute regularly to Country Weekly, HomeLife, Christian Single, Devo'Zine and other publications. And now I'll be writing a monthly column exclusively for Gospel Music Channel.com!

This is a great time of year to be a music journalist because of all the incredible music that is issued around the holidays. Most of the record companies gear many of their big releases to the fourth quarter, the last three months of the year when Christmas shoppers fill local retail outlets in search of the perfect gift, and of course, the record labels are all hoping you'll want to give the gift of music.

Among those who have been busy promoting their new projects are the guys in MercyMe. The Texas-based band's new INO Records CD, All That is Within Me, hit the streets on November 20, and the group spent the week leading up to its release visiting radio stations and retail outlets in Dallas, Chicago, Minneapolis and Washington D.C., and Nashville. On November 19, MercyMe launched All That is Within Me with a special performance at B.B. King's in New York City, then spent the next morning doing a live satellite media tour overlooking Times Square.

"We were so excited about it," says MercyMe frontman Bart Millard about the Big Apple performance. "We're focusing on the release of the record, doing whatever we can do to promote the new album."

There's always a high level of expectation surrounding a new MercyMe album, and the band doesn't disappoint with All That is Within Me. After achieving surprising crossover success with the hit single I Can Only Imagine, the band has continued to court mainstream airplay with subsequent singles and have earned respect – and airplay – from many mainstream radio stations. However, on All That is Within Me, MercyMe delivers a collection of songs geared toward the church. "Our favorite moments in concert are when we have the crowd singing along, in a corporate worship kind of setting," says Bart. "Regardless of what takes place at mainstream radio, that's always what we kind of evolve around – songs of the church. That's been our original calling since 1994."

When the band prepares to record a new record, Bart admits he usually comes up with the title first. "I don't know if it is backwards or not, but I've always come up with the album title first and then start writing songs around it," he says. "I'm not sure why that is, but I always have. I always thought [All That is Within Me] was a great title for a worship album."

Bart says they originally considered recording a cover album of popular worship songs, but once they got in the studio, new songs started flowing. "We just started writing and the next thing we knew we had 10 songs that we thought needed to be on the record," he says. "I really wanted to get these out. We were writing so much at the time, we had a whole record. We could do the worship album anytime as far as cover songs, but the ones that God laid upon our heart, we definitely wanted to put them on an album."

Among the most powerful tracks on the new record is Finally Home. When I mention it sounds like a sequel to I Can Only Imagine, Bart replies "It totally is!"

"With everything that has happened to us and all the success that we've had, the one thing I wish we could change is my dad could see all of that," he says. "He passed away in 1991 right before we started the band and people always say he's probably looking down from heaven which I don't think is the truth. I think he's got better things to do than stare at me, but there will be a day that I finally get to see him and talk about all of this."

He admits it was an emotional song to record and he had second thoughts about including it on the album. "[Producer] Brown Bannister started bawling and I started bawling along with him and I was like, 'Maybe it's too sappy or maybe I shouldn't go there," recalls Bart, "and he was like, 'Are you kidding me?' So we pushed it through and I'm really glad we did. I love the way it turned out."

In early 2008, MercyMe fans will have the opportunity to hear some of the band's new music live when they embark on the Winter Jam tour.

More by Deborah Evans Price...

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News Notes

* Natalie Grant's A Christmas to Believe In tour kicked off December 2 in North Carolina. Natalie is joined on the holiday trek by Centricity Records' newcomer Daniel Kirkley, American Idol alum Mandisa and Brash Records' Aaron Shust.

* Look for gospel newcomer DeNetria Champ in the new Sony Pictures movie This Christmas, starring Loretta Devine, Chris Brown, Mekhi Phifer and Regina King. The JDI recording artist's performance has earned her glowing reviews from movie critic Roger Ebert and from Variety magazine.

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About the Writer

Deborah Evans Price is a Nashville-based journalist who has spent the past 11 years covering country and Christian music for Billboard magazine, and has contributed stories on everyone from Alan Jackson to Bon Jovi to Avril Lavigne.

Deborah has received the "Outstanding Mainstream Contribution to Gospel Music" award from the Gospel Music Association. Considered a key analyst in the music field, Deborah has been interviewed by MSNBC, CNN, CMT, New York Times, Today Show, and ABC Primetime, among other outlets. She's served three years as judge on TBN's "Exalting Him Christian Artist Talent Search," where some say she's become the "Paula Abdul" of the Christian competition.

A Virginia native, Deborah grew up on Air Force bases in New Jersey, Georgia, Arkansas, and Japan. She and husband Gary have been married 21 years and have a 16-year-old son Trey. They reside outside Nashville and attend Mill Creek Baptist Church.