Daniel Amos Interview

Cornerstone 1984

by Chris Bajkiewicz

Daniel Amos has been considered by some as one of the most creative and innovative bands in Contemporary Christian rock. The group's leader, Terry Taylor, who acts as lead vocalist and chief lyricist, is particularly gifted in his insight and perception into the issues and trends of our day. These qualities emerge in this interview with free lance writer Chris Bajkiewicz.

CB: What sort of touring has Daniel Amos been doing lately? How extensive?

TST: We haven't been touring real extensively. There are several factors for the band in not touring as regularly. Two or three years ago, we were on the road about half the year, but there was a growing concern individually about time away from families, the rigors of the road, the incredible cost of touring, the overhead involved. Our touring days began to diminish quite a bit when gas prices started going up, and so we've had the opportunity at home to work in various other musical aspects. I am personally doing some production work, Ed is involved in a publishing company, and both Tim and Jerry do some session work and that sort of thing. I think the days of just rolling on a thirty day tour, of hopping in a van and taking off, are over. I doubt whether that will ever happen again. I want to become more involved in studio work.

CB: You've been doing a lot of that lately?

TST: Yeah, I have and it's not something that I've been soliciting, it's just fallen my way. I may get a phone call, "Hey, I've got a group," and I say, "OK, let's go for it." So it's been a lot of fun.

CB: Could you tell us more about Rebel Base?

TST: A couple of years ago, the Rebel Base idea was conceived and with it the idea of bringing something of what we learned to other groups and individual artists. Apparently, it's a name a lot of people are hearing about and many respect, and so it's attracting attention and that's always nice. It's always nice to work.

CB: You did the production on the Randy Stonehill album, Equator. How did that go?

TST: Randy's album was a whole lot of fun. He was a little apprehensive because it was definitely some new directions for him; but I think it's good to keep moving. There was enough of the standard Randy Stonehill to say, "Well, he's not totally freaking out; it's still good old Randy." We were all real proud of that album. And I'm happy it reflected Randy as an artist who is ready and willing to step out a little and take some musical and artistic chances.

CB: What motivates you to be out there playing? You've been at it for years, the albums, the trials...

TST: Well, I don't want to get cliche' ridden here. But, for one thing, we felt many years ago, when we first began (as much as people toss around this idea that God has called you for this purpose) we really think that God did. I think God put a vision, a desire in our hearts to do what we do. Sometimes there are certain points in our life that God has to renew that vision. It can be tarnished by some of the experiences we have, the tedium, and the controversies and things like that.

I think the other reason is that we just love to do what we do. We love music. I love to play music. I love to exercise creative capacities, talents, or whatever you want to call them. God has put that desire in my heart to express myself musically. I can't cease from doing that: it's something that is just there. I've been involved with people in the band who have come and gone, and we've shared wonderful experiences together, but they haven't had that same desire. So they will go back to school, or get involved in the church as a youth minister or something like that. That's good, but for me, as long as there's the desire, I will be restless until I am able to express myself in that respect. I have to write. I love to work in the studio and work with other artists, and that's all part of it.

CB: Do you think D.A. often gets misunderstood?

TST: The problem is (in the past years I've done it) there's a tendency for me to come off rather morose and gloomy, "Our greatest desire is just to be understood." Really, it isn't. I don't feel we're picked on, or singled out, and I don't want to get into that martyrdom syndrome. I've really gotten beyond that. I don't know that we experience it anymore than anybody else does. We may get a different sort of criticism that we don't say God enough or something. I'm sure that the Resurrection Band, DeGarmo & Key, and a lot of other people get their share of criticism for whatever reason. I think we're different in our approach, we have our own aura or whatever you want to call it, and because of that, people don't always understand. We're not incredibly accessible to the vast majority of Christians and people that follow contemporary Christian music. I understand when people criticize and I welcome honest criticism. The tough ones are the people that are grandiose in their assessment making statements like, "You're serving the devil," or "You're backslidden," or "We've listened to your album backwards and it says you love evil" or something. Those kinds of things are just sick little things that I'm almost beyond being disturbed by. I'm not disturbed in the sense that I'm confused, and thinking, "we're deceived?" I get deeply disturbed for the kind of people that get into making accusations against other people in the Body of Christ. That's where my concern is.

CB: Does it bother you when people try to peg you as a particular art form or music style? Daniel Amos is....?

TST: I don't think it would be fair to be critical of people who do that, because we have changed so much. Unless you've closely followed the band, it's hard to know exactly what the band is trying to do. It really has only been with Horrendous Disc, Alarma! and Doppelganger, that we're making a very solid artistic statement and saying this is what we do, this is what we are. We're not cowboys and that sort of thing. I understand when people have a problem with it, but I hope we're beyond that. People have at least begun to expect the unexpected. We've done enough articles and radio interviews and so on, to give people some understanding of what we are trying to do.

CB: It's been said that Daniel Amos' lyrics are some of the most complex and diverse...

TST: Well, I came to a place in my Christian life where I no longer was afraid of exposing myself to film and to literature and just to life's experiences. And because I opened myself up to those things, I've accumulated a whole lot of ideas, and those come out in the only way I can express myself, which is musically.

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