This weekend, I returned from Anaheim, CA where I played guitar for a popular Catholic artist at the LA Congress, which is a fairly large Catholic religious education conference. We played for about 8000 Catholic teens. While I was there, I had the privilege of meeting and chatting with some powerful people in the Catholic music business. I met a few fans of my work at the studio, and it was so cool to hear how much people appreciate what I do. I think that its awesome even when people tell me that they love what I'm doing for the Catholic church, though I am not Catholic, and actually not even Christian (I have a Secular Humanist worldview). When I'm at events like this and I chat with people about my faith (or lack thereof), 9 times out of 10 the person I'm talking to will get very nervous, give me a confused look, and then not know what to say. Understandably so. It is very ironic that I, a Secular Humanist, could become one of the most well connected and established names in the Contemporary Catholic Music world. How is something like this possible you might ask? The answer is simple: Geography.
I live in Steubenville, OH, home to Franciscan University, one of the most prominent and well know conservative Catholic universities in the US, maybe even the world. I am also a music lover. I moved to Steubenville in 1994 as a guitarist and music producer because of the connections I made while attending the Art Institute of Pittsburgh (Steubenville is only 40 miles from Pittsburgh, and it is a lot cheaper to live there). At the time I moved, I worked part time at a local recording studio where Franciscan University produced a lot of their music tapes. This is how I began to work with artists like Bob Rice and Jim Cowan, and it ultimately led to my involvement with the summer conferences. For those who aren't familiar, Franciscan University hosts conferences every weekend throughout every summer that are attended by tens of thousands of people. To Franciscan University's credit, they have never questioned my faith and I've always been able to maintain a positive working relationship with the organization as a whole. I have made quite a few close friends who are very into their Catholic faith, and my own faith (or lack there of) has never been kept a secret.
My role in Catholic music has always been the same role I play in any music that I work on. That is, the role of musician and recording engineer. There has been one exception to this, and that is when I wrote the theme song for the Franciscan University youth conferences in 2003. I didn't write the song to promote my own agenda, I wrote it because it was a good song for the conference, and it was a work for hire business transaction. Because I've been involved in conferences so much and recorded most of the theme songs from prior years, I understood what the conference staff was looking for, and also what kind of song the attendees would relate to. It didn't matter to the University staff whatsoever whether I was Catholic or not. I think the University sets a great example that way. I provided a service to the conference as a songwriter, and that was it. This confused a few people.
In a conversation I was having this past weekend with a Catholic artist who has become very popular, he told me that he would never participate in Catholic music if he had my worldview. My response to that is: why not? I think that I do good work, and I'm an easy guy to work with most of the time. My role as a professional musician is to perform to my clients' expectations. It makes me happy to be able to make music that affects people in a positive way, whether they're Catholic, Hindu, Buddhist or Atheist. My music career is about music, and when I'm asked to provide music, that is what I bring to the table. I myself, do not want to proselytize my own worldview. I am strictly in it for the universal language of music. If I became acquainted with a Hindu organization and they liked my music, I would definitely offer it to them in the same way. I have the same respect for all of the major religions. We all live together in the same community, breathe the same air, eat the same food, etc.
The thing is, I never imagined that my playing would become so widespread in the Catholic church. There have been some faithful individuals who have criticized me for being deceptive. Just because I don't share faith doesn't mean I can't share musically. Music affects everybody and doesn't discriminate against faith. I have no problem working with anybody who wants to make great music, as long as they're professional about it. Faith doesn't matter. I admit that I've pondered the ethics behind my heavy participation in a faith I don't believe in. I've come to the conclusion that it is totally cool, since it is limited to music. I think that it would be wrong for me to reject the opportunity to make good music based on difference in faith, because then I would be guilty of discrimination and would be missing out on working with so many awesome, creative people. I have also decided to draw the line at playing for Mass, because it is a sacred ritual of the Church and I feel out of place being there "ministering" next to the altar. I don't usually kneel, and I never take communion (obviously). There have been a few times when I was asked to kneel instead of sit, because I was visible to the entire congregation. That is a situation where I'm portraying something different that the real me, and I don't belong up there. There have been, and will continue to be, many Masses without an electric guitar player. I think Mass will be fine without me.
One of the best parts of my job is getting to interact with all kinds of people from different backgrounds. I've learned a lot from working with the Church, and I know there are quite a few people who have learned a lot from me. And that's what its all about; interacting, creating, learning, and growing. That's all good stuff.
