We recently had the pleasure of doing an interview with Worship Leader David Gate. We asked a number of questions related to his new album, worship leading and his life. Enjoy!
Hi David
We want to be able to provide the canadian and usa folk some info on your new album
and yourself.. many thanks.
1. David, How did you first get started writing songs and leading worship?
I started to play the guitar when i was 15 and i was encouraged by youth leaders very early on to lead at our youth group. Writing songs came very naturally for me is seemed like what a musician should do! So I started like most people doing the best with what I had, which wasn’t alot….
2. What is a typical day like for you?
A typical day for me would revolve two things, work and home. I would usually spend about half the day looking after Ethan our son and doing house stuff, then the other half I would teach guitar, piano, singing and stuff…. after that I try and squeeze in music, church and football…
3. What other song writers have been an inspiration to you? and why?
In regards to worship song writers, alot of the earlier stuff of Matt Redman, Delirious, Kevin Prosch and vineyard would have formed my song writing influences. Nowadays i look towards writers like Neil Finn, Elvis Costello, Elliot Smith and David Bowie for more creative ways of writing songs…
4. Your currently relocated to Belfast, Ireland from the UK. what made you choose to go there? and do you see any noticeable differences there among the people vs the UK?
Belfast is still part of the UK actually as it is in Northern Ireland, but I know what you mean… There is a huge evangelical history in northern ireland and alot of peoples faith is wrapped in their politics, often in the worst way. Alot of people have had bad experiences of the holy spirit here as well so that also can make it hard to lead sometimes… saying all that the people of Ulster are some of the most friendly and warm you could imagine and they have a wonderful history and sense of mission…
5.You have a new album out called Unapproachable Light, What can you tell us about the album?
Unapproachable Light is a collection of my worship songs, some of which have been around a year or two but mostly are recent songs. I was really aware of trying to create a record that didn’t sound like every other worship album that is being churned out at the moment. We were very deliberate to try and be creative
6. What song off your new album means the most to you and why?
Extravagant/Magnificent will always be important to me as I initially wrote it to be played at our wedding, so that is a special one for our family. For me personally Hands on the Cross stands out. It is the song about the cross that I’d been trying to write for years but never quite got it right. Then one day i kind of just happened in 20 minutes. It was like there was 4 years of preparation for that one song to just appear quickly.
7. It seems that one of the Continual challenges Christian Song writers face is creating songs that are God focused, revealing something new and fresh yet at the same time musically providing something which is good. You seem to do that well, do you have any advice for budding song writers on tackling this challenge?
I’ve been really aware of the language we are using worship songs and how relevant some of these we say are. A couple of the songs were very deliberately trying not to use religious language, trying to express these truths about God in a more normal or natural way. Also I’ve become aware of how clichéd most worship songs can be. I wanted to write a song about God’s holiness without saying ’You are Holy’ which has been said countless times, so instead the lyric to the song ’Unapproachable Light’ came about which I think says more about God’s holiness than one line could.
8. On Redemption and Unapproachable Light you worked with Paul Burton How did that come about?
Paul produced all of the initial ’Emerge’ albums for Survivor so we were put together for that and obviously I knew his work from Hungry and Surrender. We gained a lot of mutual respect working on ’Redemption’ and we were both keen to work together again. We had great fun making ’Unapproachable Light’ and we were really glad to have Tom Mills onboard to produce as well and he gave us a great vibe throughout the album
9. What songs from your latest album are you finding are connecting with Congregations?
The older 2 (’all the kings will bow’ and ’led to the lost’) I have used for years so they were ’tried and tested’. Of the new ones I have had great connections with ’Hands on the Cross’ ’Killing Hill’ and ’The Waiting’. Though it seems to be ’Extravagant’ which is having the broadest appeal.
10. Everyone seems to be different when it comes to writing songs, some write an entire song in one sitting, some use a dictaphone and write songs over time. Could you give us some insight into how you went about writing/crafting the songs for your latest album?
Since having a baby my songwriting has changed. I used to spend hours developing and crafting, cataloguing everything. Now I tend to grab 15 minutes when I can and write things down on scraps of paper. Its often not until I take time out to demo them that I finish the lyrics or add new sections.
11. What is your relationship like with other Worship Leaders from the UK, Like Matt Redman and Tim Hughes?
Its great to have friends that can share and journey with you as you develop as a song writer and those relationships have been really important to me. Its a real privilege to see how far God has taken Matt’s and Tim’s songs. There is so much humility and integrity with those guys that it is a real inspiration.
12. Is their anyone you would like to tour with, given the chance?
I am really into what David Crowder*Band are doing. I would love the chance to play with those guys. For me they have a great balance of accessibility and creativity.
13. Do you think you will be heading to the USA or Canada in the near future?
I’ve never been across the Atlantic so I would love the chance to come over. Everyone goes on about America but I have to say Canada interests me much more…
14.What are your plans for 2006?
Emilie and I are having another baby in June and I hope to see England win the world cup in July!
15. Lastly, what is the best bit of advice you have received about song writing or leading worship?
It all about you and Jesus. Everything can (and will be) a distraction. Being obedient is more important than being ambitious. Kingdom success is something we just cannot quantify.
thanks Dave for taking the time to provide your Canadian and USA listeners with answers on your album and song writing, we wish you all the best with this coming year and all that it holds.
For More Information on David Gate use the urls below.
www.davidgate.com
www.tearfund.org
http://dailyhealthscare.blogspot.com
Technorati Tags: David Gate, Christian Interviews, Christianity, Religion, Worship, Spirituality
