Andrew Greer is an accomplished singer/songwriter and respected music journalist. His work has appeared in Christianity Today, CCM Magazine and ParentLife, among other noted publications. While his critically-acclaimed 2009 debut, Open Book, chronicled a soul-searching season that ultimately led to the rekindling of his faith, Andrew’s musical journey now makes an important stop—a step back to his roots. Angel Band is a collection of treasured hymns, the beloved songs that first articulated, and still remain, his story...
I grew up in church. I can’t recall many of the sermons my pastor preached, or the lessons my Sunday School teachers taught, but I do remember hymns. In fact, if it hadn’t been for the impact of those indelible tunes, I may have never fallen in love with music, or been introduced to God.
Angel Band is an album full of hymns. As a songwriter, many people ask me, Why record other people’s songs? Maybe it is the poetic storytelling, or the earthy melodies inside hymns that entice my ears. Or maybe it’s the vulnerable accounts permeating those historic pages that capture my heart’s attention—mysteriously linking my present pains to a thoughtful past. Blind from infancy, Fanny Crosby wrote mid-19th century classics including “Blessed Assurance” and “Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross.” Horatio Spafford penned “It Is Well with My Soul” after losing all of his children to disease and a shipwreck, and his fortune to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. All I know is, the same Spirit that evoked those hymns and first moved me as a child, still inspires, convinces and formulates my life 20 years later. Hymns are as true to my human experience as my own catalog of songs. Simply stated, Angel Band is my story.
Writing My Story
I have befriended many artists thanks to my unexpected role as a writer. Though I have no formal training in journalism, I have always loved the written word: books, magazines, and of course, songs. During my senior year at Nashville’s Belmont University, The Belmont Vision, our campus paper, asked if I would write a Q&A music culture column, utilizing some of my connections with artists. The idea of combining an old passion, music, with a new discipline was a no-brainer. That column alone afforded me dinner with Maroon 5, backstage insights from Gavin DeGraw, email trails with Lee Ann Womack and phone conversations with Vince Gill.
After college, not yet knowing how I wanted to incorporate music in my career, I used The Vision’s experiential tutelage to continue writing artist features, music reviews and current events pieces for a diverse number of outlets, including Christianity Today, CCM Magazine, ParentLife and Everywhere magazine. The research necessary to fill in a feature article makes me aware of musical and personal perspectives I may have never dug up on my own. Each interview gives me insight into how veteran artists balance life on the road with life at home. And each new critique gifts me with musical perspectives from artists who I may have not been exposed to otherwise.
Composing My Song
I also began writing songs 10 years ago as a college student. But it wasn’t until a season of personal and spiritual growth in Wyoming a few years later, that I discovered my story through music. Due to a series of very personal circumstances, I felt my back was against the wall: spiritually, emotionally and mentally. Backpacking and hiking in nature has always helped put my anxious tendencies into perspective, and provided an environment to more purely commune with God and myself. So after a few weeks of praying this prayer, “God show up, or don’t. I just have to find out,” I headed West for some much needed heartache relief.
And in the most fitting format, God did show up. Hashing out my troubles on an old upright piano in an early-20th century lodge built by “Buffalo Bill” Cody, I began to feel a pulse resume in my heart. There, in the middle of the Shoshone National Forest, I unintentionally composed the track listing for my first record. Released in 2009, Open Book afforded me the opportunity to tour full-time, sharing my story with listeners across the country, as well as a chance to collaborate with like-minded singer/songwriters Cindy Morgan, Ginny Owens and Nashville folk artist Julie Lee.
The Angel Band
Having loved the camaraderie of working with those artists, and considering the communal heritage of hymns, I wanted Angel Band to reflect a wider musicianship than my abilities could express alone. I invited artists that have specifically influenced me, and broadened my love of hymns, to contribute in a way that I hope would emphasize, not distract from, the songs’ devout lyrical meanings.
I remember the first time a record by Gospel/bluegrass band, The Isaacs, landed in my mailbox “For Review,” introducing me to the voice of Sonya Isaacs. Respected as much for her songwriting (Martina McBride, Trisha Yearwood) as for her crazy studio skills (Dolly Parton, Dierks Bentley), it is a total honor to have Sonya sing background vocals on the title track, a song I first heard on a hymns recording by her family group.
Of a similar musical class is Ron Block of Alison Krauss and Union Station. Growing up on the rural fringes of Forth Worth, country music was the working soundtrack for everyday life. And in that genre, Alison and her band stole my heart—especially the songs written by Ron. Connected through our mutual musician friend, Julie Lee, (who contributed her delightfully vintage vocals to “Down By the Riverside”), I asked him to help me replace the usually overblown renditions of Albert Hay Malotte’s “The Lord’s Prayer” with a more spacious, “live in-studio” banjo-vocal recording. The track’s haunting reverence set the tone for the entire hymn sessions.
My parents’ Louisiana born-and-bred musical heritage of zydeco, southern jazz and soul music infiltrated our home growing up, and eventually led me into a relationship with Gospel music. After I heard Nashville’s legendary McCrary Sisters for the first time, I innocently breezed up to them and asked, “Do you ladies sing background sessions?” I soon learned their discography of collaborations include Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder and Johnny Cash. Silly me. The way they provoke “Jesus Paid It All,” which includes a second verse I wrote with their voices in mind, and the record’s only original tune, “I’ve Been Searching,” is simply spiritual.
Cindy Morgan, Sandra McCracken, Ginny Owens, and the others who so graciously agreed to be a part of this recording, have all strongly influenced me musically. But there has been no greater artistic influence than my mom, Jane Greer. She not only taught me how to be a musical technician, but because of her spiritual sensitivity and connection with God, she taught me how to be an artist. What an experience to have her bed Angel Band’s final track with a glorious pipe organ. I’ve worked with many of my favorite artists, but recording with Mom was a definitive dream come true.
Professionally, I’ve dabbled in some format of music for years – whether behind the scenes, writing or as an artist. Angel Band is another step forward in this journey of life through music. Artistically, this record is most indicative of the sounds I love. The musicians involved are a comprehensive list of personal influences. But the songs—they are what count. These hymns opened my heart to God. Their verses and melodies continue to cultivate a conversation between my best Friend and me. I hope they will help do the same for you.
