Prone To Wonder...

Editor of About Christian Music, Mark Tulk, caught up with Nathan Tasker recently to discuss more about what it means to be a Christian and a musician and how he's been travelling since relocating to the United States in early 2007.

Mark Tulk: What prompted your move over to the US -- you were travelling there regularly over a number of years, but what finally made you decide to pick up and move? What is the story behind that?

Nathan Tasker: The main reasons that we decided to move to the US... it is hard to actually think of just one! I'll just chat and let you know! I spent seven years visiting Nashville and spending time with other Christian artists -- especially older guys in the industry such as Charlie Peacock and Michael Card. I got to hang out with guys like Randy Stonehill -- guys that I looked up to, and found them to be extremely faithful and full of integrity in an industry that is not always known for that, sadly. So I think that we decided that -- for a period of growth -- I'd put myself in their way and the chance to move over came because we had a lot of very good friends in Nashville, and a church which we really loved and wanted to become more a part of.

We also recognised the fact that we had enjoyed playing in Australia for so long and had got to visit so many of the major cities and the regional cities, that we kinda felt each year I was going back too soon to revisit the churches and communities that I loved... I felt that I did not have anything new to offer them in the short amount of time that I was heading back there. So we figured that if we spread our wings a little bit... and we had always been interested in being able to minister within the US. We see a real need for what I would call 'Australian honesty', when it comes to what it means to be a Christian, and what that looks like. I think we felt like we could have a place here; it's a difficult idea as well, especially because most people end up moving to America because they feel they could become more famous or earn more money, and that wasn't necessarily our intention at all. The move was also partly because in Australia -- not that I ever really dug the whole 'being famous' thing -- there were people who knew my music and that was encouraging, but now I am in a place where you start with nobody knowing your music. And when it comes to money, there's a sense in which Australia allowed us to survive and stay alive really well, and America is a lot harder place to work in.

After a year of actually living in the US and working and touring here, a lot of my fears (which were whether they would respond well to my music, whether we would have a place here, whether I would just be another artist) have been really assuaged. We feel very at home in America -- we've got something to say and people are willing to listen to it because I speak in a funny accent. [laughter]

I think the novelty factor really works in our favour. I also feel that I arrived in America having done well over 1,500 shows in Australia, and so there was nothing that really that took me by surprise; it makes you feel confident going in and being able to share the truth rather than feeling that I should say what they want me to say in case they won't buy my CD! I would rather be known as being honest and telling the truth with love, rather than trying to flog a product.

Mark Tulk: Now you have moved over to the US (and I know that you know Nashville well), is actually living and working there different from what you thought? Is where you are now, where you have always wanted to be? Or has this 'place' evolved?

Nathan Tasker: To the first part of your question, I will say that Nashville is very different when you live there compared to when you just visit. I think that in the past when we visited, it was either for me to take time off and just sit 'under' other guys, or it has been to record, mix or master albums. I guess this last year it was a whole new beast to actually tour and play churches, and that has been very different for us. In 2007 we spent probably at least half of our time out on the road, so living in Nashville felt like a little haven! We would come back and go to Bible study and go to church, do normal things like that, and then we would be back out on the road again. I think that one of the best things about being able to live in Nashville now is being able to interact with the community; we live in a really great little part of town -- a very low socio-economic area and our church has a real vision to reach out to the people in our neighbourhood...

Mark Tulk: You live in East Nashville?

Nathan Tasker: Yes, we do, we live on the East Side. Where most people do not choose to live -- most everyone who is famous doesn't live in East Nashville! But there is a small community of people who have decided to live there and to sow into this part of the community -- and to be honest, that's what kinda consumes our time when we are back in Nashville: it is interacting with our neighbourhood group, being involved in the mission of the church. Then we go out on the road and the great thing about living there is that we are just one of many people in our church who go out on the road to play music and I like that -- it means we are no more important than the guy who walks down the street to teach in the school, we're just another person doing what they think they should and doing it for the glory of God. And I really like that and I don't think we really felt much that way before -- before we always felt we were the only people doing what we did. It either meant that people had this idea that your life was better than what it really was, or they just couldn't comprehend it, couldn't understand it and that often made you feel very alone. Whereas now, I think we feel we are more a part of a community that understands us and that doesn't allow our music to be the most important thing in our life.

Mark Tulk: What are some of the other differences between working as a Christian musician in the US and to working in Australia? Obviously in Australia it is a much smaller scene -- you were saying that you had almost exhausted the market here and I can understand you wanting to reach more people in the States. But what are some of the other differences, both positive and negative, between the two countries?

Nathan Tasker: I think that some of the positives would definitely be that a lot of the places that we visit are very used to having Christian artists come in and minister to them and so they are kind of set up in that way. Just little things -- like almost every church that we play, there will be accommodation included in what we do, and they provide meals for us. Little things like that mean so much to you when you are on the road. In Australia, I don't think that many churches are set up necessarily to take care of artists like that, and so I think in the US you are plugging into a network which has been around for a lot longer and is a lot bigger and we find that really helpful -- especially when you are out for two or three months at a time.

I think other positives would be being an Australian in America it allows you to have a voice that I think often times other American Christian artists don't have. As Australians, we can stand back a little bit and have an outsider's view of Christian America -- and I guess share the positives and the negatives about what we see. I will share more about that in a second. Another positive from our perspective is that we have always thought that we wanted our ministry to be global, so Cassie and I last year went to the UK for a few weeks and had a really great time playing over there. This year we'll head again to Western Europe. We hope that each time, each year, we can add somewhere else where we can go and minister -- and coming from America you are a hop, skip and a jump into U.K., Europe -- Eastern Europe and all those kinds of areas. I think those are all positives.

The negatives... when you play Christian music in Australia and you call yourself a Christian, there is a sense in which people know what you mean -- you've got to really mean it to call yourself a Christian in Australia. It means you probably follow Jesus, you take his commandments seriously, and there is a good chance you read your Bible and a good chance you are involved in your church community.

In America it is not like that. When you call yourself a Christian, what you mean is 'I am an American... this is a Christian nation and so that is what I call myself', but you are only really defined by your patriotism more than by your actual 'hands-and-feet' life... I think that means that in Australia I felt that I would speak about Jesus and I could define what it means to follow him, as the first step. In America I feel as though I spend time re-defining what it might look like to follow Jesus, and then encourage people to follow him. So there might be an extra step involved. I don't know if that is necessarily a negative. It probably means that America isn't quite as post-modern as Australia, but certainly I find that I have to change a little bit of what I do, just to take that difference into account. In the 'Bible belt' where we live, a lot of people go to church because that's what you do. I think we want to be a voice saying don't just do it because that is what you think you should do, but do it because you take Jesus seriously and you want to live for him here.

Mark Tulk: Our website is about Christian music, but the idea of it really is to critique that whole notion of what is Christian music, so do you have anything to say on that as far as your own personal view of what it is to be a Christian who plays music? And have those ideas changed or developed?

Nathan Tasker: I'd say that my ideas on that have developed a lot. I think when it comes to definitions of Christian music, one thing I've definitely noticed is that very few artists in America -- those that are honest truthful artists, doing a great job of just making great music as Christians -- would want to define themselves as Christian artists and yet the industry that makes money off them is very keen to make sure that they define themselves as Christian artists. So I have established this idea that most Christian artists, when you ask them to define Christian music, are pretty hopeless at it. And I am one of those -- just because you don't often want to see what you do boxed into what has really become a marketing idea!

I guess that is one of my little get-out-of-jail free cards for whatever I say next, but I would say that from what I see these days, I define myself as a Christian who takes the death and resurrection of Jesus seriously, and wants that to impact the art that I create. It means that I will naturally write about the things that inspire me, encourage me, and it means that I will probably look at this world and I'll see the good parts of the world and the really bad parts. I will look at myself and I'll see the good bits and the really bad parts, and then I will try and see what it would look like if God's intentions were honoured -- not just by the world but by myself as well: what would it look like? I think that is what I would like my music to be defined by: it's that kind of honesty, but then including looking at it from God's perspective and actually sharing that. I guess a lot of my artist friends have a more 'Socratic' way of doing Christian music -- encouraging people to ask the right questions, but not necessarily giving them an answer. I would say that I am less concerned about that, but more than happy to share the answer that I believe is true. I am happy to have that as part of it, rather than just leaving it hanging.

Mark Tulk: Are there things in the Christian music industry -- specifically in Nashville -- that you feel you do not want to identify with? Do you sometimes feel like you might be a 'Christian artist' in quote marks, but that you are not 'like that', or 'don't include me in that set'...?

Nathan Tasker: Yes, I feel there are a lot of things. The great news is -- and I would certainly let this cover everything that I say -- is that I have met some incredibly beautiful Christian people in the Christian music industry in Nashville. There are guys who are working in labels where they know that the bottom line is the most important thing for the label (which might be the head of EMI or the head of Warner or whatever) and yet they are still desperately trying to live as God had intended them to in that situation. I honour those people and I respect them, and I think that would be a hard gig. But I also do see elements where a lot of labels often choose their artists based on things that are less than Christian in ideal -- more interested in marketing potential, what they look like, how they dress, and not based on song-writing excellence or musicianship, which are the things which I naturally value and strive towards and a lot of my peers strive towards as well. It seems to be based more on marketability than other things that I think as a Christian are much more valuable in the economy of heaven, and so that is what I see as what I don't want to identify with.

I don't necessarily feel that creating a Christian sub-culture is necessarily the best way to go, it is certainly the best way to go if you want to make money (which I think is what happens) but I do think that Christians are called to live counter-culturally, and that might mean that sometimes what you say is not an easy pill to swallow -- which is essentially the gospel itself and you just have to wear that. And that is a hard thing for a label to think about, because at the end of the day they have to survive; they have got people they have to pay. But from my take, I do like the idea of being truthful and working at what you do as excellently as you can, and then God decides whether or not that is scattered to hundreds, thousands or millions... not necessarily what shoes you're wearing .

Mark Tulk: The way you see Christian music, what role do you think evangelism should have or does play in Christian music? You work predominantly in churches, but is that what you want to do? Are you happy with that -- what do you feel the role of your music is?

Nathan Tasker: I feel that the role of my music is to say things that artists have always said; that is, they say things usually more truthfully, with more honesty than maybe other people can say. I think that is just the very nature of art, which is why it is often subversive. And I see that my role within the church, when I play in the church, is to remind them -- through the arts -- of the things that are important. I guess I tap into the imagination as a way of doing that... I want to inspire and capture people's imaginations again with the glory of God, with who He is and who we really are before Him, and I think that art can do that in a way that oftentimes preaching can't, or a small group can't. And I fear the day when it becomes much more cool not to play music in the church, or even for Christians, because I think that would be one of the saddest things in the world. Artists are meant to be the ones who can stand before their brothers and sisters and say 'this is how we grieve' or 'this is how we rejoice' and we kind of tap into that through the creative arts. That has always been the way that God has created; I see that in the Psalms, I see that in the worship of Israel, I see that in the New Testament as well. There is definitely not an absence of poets and poems and songs for the church -- not just as an evangelistic tool but as great art for the church -- and I don't think that is a bad thing. I think that is a great and honourable thing!

Mark Tulk: Do you think that Christian art is better understood in your experience in the US than in Australia, or do you think it is just as varied? When you talk to people about what you do, is it 'legitimate' to talk about 'Christian Art' (with a capital A) or do you need to be focused more on the ministry side of things?

Nathan Tasker: I think in the US, they are much more willing to acknowledge great art in the church, which is probably the way I would put it instead of calling it Christian art. And that is only based on the people that I have spent time with here in Nashville. I always find that a really helpful clarification for me, is that I think that within the church it's embraced if it's good, and I like that. It is no use me being a Christian artist, my art being really average, and expecting that the church should therefore dig it because 'hey that is what I wrote it for!' and I like that. I think the church should be as demanding on its artists as hopefully a lot of the mainstream world is demanding on theirs... you expect the pursuit of excellence to come into play.

I would love to see art that's created for the church specifically, but also intended for mainstream indirectly. I would love to see that done excellently, I would love to be a part of a people who are striving to do that as best as they can, especially because you are doing it for God primarily, for his body secondarily -- and what an honour! I find it really difficult when I see people spend more time -- I don't know -- creating MySpace friends than they do practising their instruments... that strikes me as a really odd phenomenon. And I don't think that brings glory to God. This is all stuff that I know I read in you website and I think we are on the same wavelength... I think I am just regurgitating...

Mark Tulk: No, I think there should be more critiquing and questioning. I think there are people who say 'I play a guitar, I sing and I am a Christian so therefore I'll be a Christian musician and I want to get lot of gigs in churches' ... and then they might wonder why they are not getting gigs.

Nathan Tasker: I agree with that and I think that one rule of thumb is: could I play a gig myself (apart from the material, like what is actually written in the songs) in any pub in Australia or, you know, a mainstream locale in America and not get booed off because of my musicianship or how I've crafted the song? People might object to the material within it in, but can they appreciate that there is something excellent about what I have attempted? That's how I think about it these days. Oftentimes I think a Christian festival is not the best indicator of that -- people are much more gracious and generous there than people would be in your local pub.

Mark Tulk: Thinking of festivals, do you feel there is any need for the church, or the Christian music scene, or the Christian culture, to look beyond itself... I am wondering whether you feel that it is legitimate and okay that the church is focused on looking after itself. How does that fit with what you might think about the church being a 'light on the hill' and reaching the 'lost'?

Nathan Tasker: I think that a Christian festival run well -- and I think that Easterfest is a good example of one that is run with a commitment towards excellence -- is being a light on the hill; it's not pretending to be something that it isn't. It is an openly Christian festival and I think that is really important. I think that the last thing that people these days want to feel they are being sucked in; they don't want to go to a festival that is called like 'Rockoutfests' and they all go along expecting to be rocked out and then someone sings about Jesus -- that seems to be pretty devious.

However, I think at the same time that our festivals and our church events should be run in a way that if your average punter walks in off the street they feel welcome; they can engage with what is being sung about, even if there is some language within the Christian church that needs to be explained from the stage. I've got no problem with using words which are Christian words, words like grace and forgiveness, the blood of Jesus -- I don't think we should ever lose those words in an attempt to be more relevant. But maybe there needs to be another step where we start to explain things like that, within what we do as Christians. I think that naturally when you put on a thing like the Easterfest, you are going to get mostly Christians along -- they will be the bulk, but there will be some Christians who come along and see, hey, this is really actually really good, I'll bring my friends along. I think that will happen as well, and that to me is a really good example of a great thing.

Mark Tulk: In our experience (at Small House Records), there need to be churches that see that where there are good quality, serious Christian artists who are making music their life calling, that the church has some responsibility to look after them -- not just financially, but in the way that it treats them, relates to them...

Nathan Tasker: I agree, and I would put in there that artists are going to say things that are going to represent the church a lot of the time, and so if there isn't a church leader looking after an artist, I think that's a real shame; from an accountability perspective, that is vital to me. That would be the only thing that I would lament -- when I have seen other artists and bands come through where their mentors have been really just cheerleaders who haven't actually ever said some of the hard things that need to be said; reminding the band of who they truly should be. I am always grateful for people in my life, like my good friend Ken Moser who took me aside and said 'Man, if you ever get a big head about what you do, then expect that I am going to come down on you hard!'' I think that is great. I will never forget the things that he would say.

Mark Tulk: Do you think that it becomes harder for that to be the case when Christian artists, as they become more known, more 'famous' if you like -- to take a secular example, is there anyone in Paul McCartney's life whose going to say to him 'You are full of yourself, Paul! You've done some great work, but as for that last album...!' [laughter]

Nathan Tasker: I hear you... I don't want to be that guy for Paul! [laughter] I would say that it is going to be a natural issue, that when you strap on a guitar and sing in front of a group of people, they are going to make you feel good about what you do -- most of the time! And if you are not careful, you will believe your own publicity. One of the first things my good friend Wes Jay said to me when I started to have my songs on the radio, was 'never believe your own publicity'', and that was one of the most helpful things, because as soon as you start to believe that all the things that critics have written or said about you, then I think you are in real danger of worshipping yourself more than worshipping Jesus.

With the Paul McCartney example, I know that with his latest album the producer was able to take Paul aside and say 'I don't think this is working, I don't think this is a great song,'' and I reckon Paul listened to him because that was a guy Paul could trust, someone whom he respected.

If someone comes up to me after a gig and says 'Hey, I think this about you!' I would be less likely to listen to that, than to my pastor who would take me aside say 'I think this is what is going on', and I think that more artists need to have pastors who pursue them in that way. Artists need to give permission to their pastors to be able to speak into their lives like that, and then I think the natural result would be artists being more committed to serving the church and the world than serving their own ends. I guess that is what it boils down to, you are either an artist who thinks that it all revolves around you and how far you can get with your music and your CDs, or you are someone who thinks 'how am I serving the church in what I do?' and 'how am I serving the world?' and at the end of the day, if you think of yourself as a slave of Christ -- which is a literal translation of the word servant -- then you are going to be really different. That is a long answer...

Mark Tulk: You have a freedom in what you are doing in that you are an independent artist, but are you happy in that position at the moment? Being independent, you can sing and say what you like, you can have these views about your faith and your art and there is no one to direct you or no marketing team to push you in a particular direction -- so where are you with all that at the moment?

Nathan Tasker: I am extremely happy being an independent artist, for many reasons. I guess the ones that you outlined are really valuable: that are you ready to say what you really think is right, to be honest about that, to serve where you want to serve rather than where you are told to. Those things are extremely valuable. Would I love to have people gather around with the same focus as mine to help get the music out to more people if I felt that would be more encouraging and a good thing? Yes, I would love that!

That being said, this is one of the best times in the history of the world to be an independent artist; the networks that are open to independent artists are much more vast and comprehensive than they have ever been before. And there are independent artists -- you see them every single week -- you know, the 'signed guy' who ends his contract and immediately goes independent, because he realises that the labels are fumbling big-time to try to work out how they are going to adjust to this big new world. An artist, as always, is like a little boat which has to be able to turn around quickly, whereas labels are more like a giant vessel trying desperately to turn around with a very small rudder. So I think from that perspective I am very happy being independent.

It doesn't mean I wouldn't entertain the idea of signing, if I felt it was something that I felt was going to be valuable to the ministry that I do. Last year I got offered a record deal and quite a good one, and I would have signed... if it was just up to my pride. There is nothing better than being able to say to people 'yes, I am a signed artist'. But the truth of the matter is that after negotiating for many months we didn't feel that right now was a good time to make that decision. I must admit I feel a pride, in the sense that there have been people who have listened to my music and wanted to sign it -- that's great -- but at the same time, I am really quite satisfied in seeing where God wants to lead me and I don't want to make any decisions that I don't feel He isn't in charge of. I listen to my mentors and to my friends, and I take seriously what they say -- that is more important to me than the pride of being able to say 'guess who I have signed with'. That is where I am at the moment!

Mark Tulk: Do you think you are in that position because this is what you have been doing for a while? You are in your early thirties and not just a 19-year-old starting out... do you feel you have learnt a lot over the years?

Nathan Tasker: Yes, definitely, I think I am not necessarily a record-maker's dream, simply because I actually know what I want now! So when I get offered 80 cents from a record, I am not going to accept it -- I think that is a terrible deal. But there are younger bands and younger artists who don't necessarily think like that, and so they sign whether or not it is a good thing. I can tell you that for every artist who gets signed in Nashville, probably one in ten ever see an album being made, and one in fifty ever sees an album released, so the odds are pretty well stacked against you if you are going to rely on a record label being the answer to all your problems!

I think for me, I have built up a lot of momentum, and to be honest, and the day after I decided not to sign with a label at this time, I was invited to have a song on a 'Top 20 independent artist of 08' CD put out through Word and Warner. I wouldn't have been able to do that if I had have been signed, and I guess that is how it happens.

I think God honours your decisions. He is not a 'Plan B' God -- everything is a 'Plan A' with Him. I think I am learning to trust that more; I am learning that fame and finances aren't the things that should be guiding my work. Fame and money shouldn't be deciding how good my art is, and shouldn't be the deciding factors in how I go about my ministry -- and that makes me an independent artist right now.

Having said that, there are some great labels in town; a lot of little independent labels coming up (of which you guys are obviously one) where there is the right focus, there is a real sense of sharing the ministry ideals of Artists; labels that understand the need to try and get out to people music that is good, honest and is excellent... so those things are starting to crop up.

Mark Tulk: What you are describing is almost a kind of partnership, which is how it should be.

Nathan Tasker: Yes, exactly. INO Records in America do that really well; I have a lot of friends who have signed with them. I think they are one of the best; they take something which is already really good and happening and they come alongside and say, 'you know, with our help it could be even better!' and I think that is a really honourable and great way to run a record label.

Mark Tulk: An aside to record labels and music promotion, what are your thoughts on Derek Webb's NoiseTrade idea of free music?

Nathan Tasker: Derek goes to my church and he is in my bible study group. I do a lot of talking with Derek, and last time we had coffee we chatted a lot about NoiseTrade.com. I understand what Derek is trying to achieve: that if the world is going to start de-valuing music to the point where you just give it away (or it gets stolen) then why not use that to your advantage, use it as an opportunity to share your music with people? To see sharing music as an attempt to get you to like my music enough so that you'll come and see me play -- and then you might actually contemplate buying something of mine as well.

I see that happening in America. People these days are not earning their income from CD sales, that is not just happening. Even in the independent world, they all know that. Yet where they are seeing growth, is in their touring income -- people coming to live shows and paying to come to those live shows. This NoiseTrade thing obviously came from the Mockingbird album which he gave away for free; he gave away around 100,000 copies of that album and the industry went berserk in Nashville! They were so excited that someone had seen 100,000 albums go out -- but between you and I, I don't know if the industry reps realized that they wouldn't have seen a dollar for those! But anyway, they were all excited.

What Derek did see was that his concert audiences grew by about two thirds and that sales from all his other CDs spiked. So he thought: why not experiment with this on the larger scale? Hence NoiseTrade was born.

I think it is a great idea, as there is no obligation from any artist to be involved. However, if you do have an album which is two years old, and you can want to try to build up some momentum ready for the next album, you could put that on NoiseTrade. It's also a great way to meet people you would not otherwise meet, through the internet. You also get to find out where those people live and you might just find there are a hundred people in some city who might want to see you play -- and so away you go, you've got a tour in that city!

I see his point, and I see what he is trying to achieve. I think Derek Webb -- on many issues within the church and within Christian music -- has always struck me as being somewhat prophetic. I guess I will be watching with keen interest to see how this develops.

Mark Tulk: Moving to your new album...

Nathan Tasker: I released an album last October called Prone To Wander: The Hymn Project. It was a labour of love; I had always wanted to do a side-project of hymns -- re-writing some, doing some of them in an acoustic style. So we set aside three and a half days to track the album and then I mixed it with my good friend Ben Wisch in NY, and mastered it with my good friend Ken Love. It was like visiting all my good friends -- and then we put it out! It was only ever intended to be a side-project, but it's been great! I think within Australia we sold over 1,000 copies in the first two months, so we were pretty happy with that! I am looking forward to seeing other people listening to it, too. We didn't release anything to radio; didn't even release any PR on it because it really was a side-project, but I am very proud of the album and I am proud of the lyric material. I really think there are valuable things hymns bring us that maybe aren't being sung right now in every church; I want to be involved in that conversation and making sure that those treasures aren't lost.

Mark Tulk: Have you any thoughts about contemporary worship and the need for more people not to forget about the hymns?

Nathan Tasker: Yes -- I think that when people come to church they come in a variety of 'forms'. Very rarely does every single person who comes to church on a Sunday feel that they are leading a victorious Christian life. I actually think that the bulk of the time the reality is more like what the Psalmists write about, and that is 'God, I have got to admit you feel far away', or, 'you seem to be on the side of the people who don't care about you -- and yet I do care about you, but where are you?' And then praising out of that place, because that is what the Psalms do. About two thirds of the psalms are really laments, really 'God what is going on?' and they always end in praise -- except for one of them. So I think that should be the place where our churches pray from: that ability to look at the world with enough honesty to say 'this doesn't look right!', but then seeing God's hand there still, and still trusting and honouring Him and letting that be the source of praise.

I would much rather praise God from looking at the painful situations in my life or in this world and saying, 'but I still trust you' rather than saying 'you increase my salary and now I can sing'! And that is the psalmist's way, and that is the way of the Bible. I think there is a lot of honour in being someone who writes like that. Having said that, I think that the song 'Blessed Be Your Name' is one of the most important songs written in the last five years, because it does just that. That song looks at the world as it is, and then what it is when you honour God. Let's sing songs like that just as much as we sing songs about how joyful it is to be Christians. That's my take -- it is not necessarily a popular one, but when you look at the hymns -- every hymn approaches the Christian life with truthfulness and honesty, and it means they the lyrics are about stuff which I do not hear sung about much in the contemporary church very often. So I figure, let's not lose those lyrics then! If we don't know how to write them right now, well let's at least borrow them and get re-inspired...

Mark Tulk: If that's a side-project then, any plans for a new album?

Nathan Tasker: I am really excited about some of the material I am writing right now. I have also learnt to collaborate -- having not done it for any of my albums in the past -- so I am excited that I have got some really great song-writing buddies in Nashville who I will continue to write with. Hopefully by the end of this year we will have an album full of new material, ready to release! I kind of feel that all my talking about excellence sometimes paralyses me, in that I never feel I have a song good enough to put on a CD! But I am really hoping and praying that this will change over the next few months; that I will feel confident with what I have been writing and feel that I have got something of value to say. I want the album to sound great, but I want people to be able to listen to the lyrics and get something more out of it than just a foot tap.

Mark Tulk: Are you able to name any of your collaborators?

Nathan Tasker: I have told some people, because I am really excited about being able to do something with him... that is, I have been writing with Charlie Peacock which has been great! He is awesome at being able to take a song and make it a good one, so I have appreciated that! I have got other people in town whom I write with and I am hoping to write with more. One of my friends is Tiffany Arbuckle, who is from Plum -- or she really is Plum. She is a fantastic songwriter and an awesome Christian person; I really like her a lot and I am looking forward to writing more with her. There are a few others whom I won't name, but hopefully when it gets released, those ones will sound good as well!

Mark Tulk: Do you think you will have a number of tracks which are collaborations?

Nathan Tasker: Yes. In the past, I have arrogantly felt that I could do it all on my own and do it just as well as anyone else. These days I think I am a little more humble and more than willing to accept the fact that there are other songwriters who are way better than I am, and will bring something fresh and unique to the table that I don't have on my own.

Mark Tulk: Does working with someone else bring its own challenges -- let's say you are working with someone whose work you really admire, is it tempting for you to denigrate your own ideas, and defer to them with an 'okay, if that's what you think... well let's do that then'?

Nathan Tasker: Whenever I am writing with someone I respect (which is most people I write with) I come in with my 'A game'. Usually how it will work, is that the 'lesser writer' (who would be me in this case) brings in their best material and then you both sculpt and work it into something which is kind of already there -- and I always come in with my 'A game' when I am doing that kind of thing. There are some times, though where I am sitting with someone for three hours and we try and write a song, but the end result just isn't very good. Then you realize that maybe the chemistry doesn't work with that person -- and I am all about that. I would much rather write with people who I 'get' and who 'get' me -- people who see that what we are doing is more than just trying to write a hit. I prefer that to working with someone who is the hit song writer of the minute, but we just don't gel; so that is probably the only challenge, knowing which way to go when it isn't working, and be able to walk away from it without feeling bad.

Mark Tulk: How would you define success at the moment -- what is success for you and how do you know when you are there... if you are there?

Nathan Tasker: As soon as you asked that question, my immediate response is 'success is faithfulness' and I think that is God's perspective on it. Is God more impressed with the guy who sells a million albums but doesn't really do it for the glory of God, or with the guy who sells a thousand, but their heart is completely sold out on Him? I am talking about the same quality of album, but a different perspective on it, and I would say that God is more much impressed with the guy who sells a thousand. I think the economy of the Kingdom is very different from this world, and I am really aware of the fact that when I start to define my success based on where I am living, what I am wearing, how many gigs am I playing, how many people am I am playing for... that kind of stuff.. then that is a slippery slope. That slope of 'my jet won't be as big as the other guy's jet' .. then it is all downhill from there! But are there things that I want to achieve? Yes -- I want to reach the potential of my ability as an artist, as a minister, I want to make sure that I am doing the best that I can. I don't want to be lazy, and so I take meetings with people, I try and work out better ways of marketing what I do. I think that is part of what it means to work hard, and to do it as if you're doing it for the glory of the Lord, so I guess it is an anomaly... I think I am less focused on success and more focused on being faithful and being the guy with the talents who works as hard as he can with them, rather than just burying them and thinking that that will impress his Master.

Mark Tulk: One final one: if you were to imagine yourself ten years down the track, where would you like to be (maybe that is related to the success question)? Any ideas? Or, maybe, where would you not want to be...?

Nathan Tasker: I think that I would like to be still someone who trusts that God is doing his Plan A with me, that's maybe the first thing. But I think that no matter where I am, I would be tempted to think otherwise. And then I think I would love to be able to still be doing what I am doing, but be doing it better than I do it now; I would love to be writing better songs. I would like to tour a little less than I do, I would love to be able to be a better member of my church, and be able to be someone who is interested in family just as much as he is in playing music -- and apart from that, I honestly don't know! I think that every single year Cassie and I start out thinking, '2008, who knows what is going to happen this year?'. I think honestly that has happened every single year of my life, so in ten years' time, my guess is that I will wake up on that morning and think '2018, who knows what is going to happen this year?' and I hope I will be okay with that and not feeling as though some master plan was never realized! I am working very hard, and Cassie is very good at doing this for me -- at genuinely being happy and content with where I am at and with what I am doing, and not looking around me and thinking 'that guy is doing it better', or that 'he has more' or whatever. And I really hope that in ten years time I will be the same!

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MORE> Nathan Tasker Interviews

[*Mark Tulk is Editor of About Christian Music and President of Melbourne-based Non-Profit Independent Record Label, Small House Records.]