Ever since I was a boy, I
desired to sing and compose music for my career. In 1998, I was
laid off from my job as a television reporter. About that time,
I wrote many of the songs which are on this CD. I would sit in
our living room with my wife and good friend Pat Hertel, and
just sing. The presence of the Holy Spirit was so tangible, we
would often just look at one another and sigh. When others came
over and listened to the music, they would be deeply touched.
It seemed as though God were urging me to move forward with these
songs.
So I put together a small
demo and sent it out to about 20 people to raise some funds to
record. To my surprise, two large donations came through. But
the confirmation to go ahead with the project came when my banker
agreed to loan the rest. I remember him saying three times, "This
is just too risky for banks to get involved in. We get people
asking money for this all the time." Then he suddenly changed
his mind, "Okay, we'll do it!" I couldn't believe it!
Thanks so much, Greg. I vote you banker of the year.
In the late summer of '98,
I was driving past the golden canola fields which cover northern
Alberta that time of year. All of a sudden I had a strong image
of standing in a canola field with my arms in the air and my
guitar in one hand. I could picture a photographer up on a ladder
taking a photo for my future CD project. The image burned into
my heart and gave me goose bumps whenever I thought of it. A
year later, we decided to go ahead with the project. My wife
Léa (who designed the CD and this website -- nice job,
honey!) emailed her photographer in Calgary, Doran Clark, and
asked him if he had any ideas for imagery for the CD project.
He wrote back saying, "Yes, actually, I visualize a shot
of Mark standing in a canola field with his arms outstretched,
holding a guitar. We could bring a ladder with us and get a shot
from on top...." There went the goosebumps again! It was
just one more sign that God's hand was in this.
The day before Doran was to
drive 5 hours to meet us, Léa and I took the kids and
went for a little drive out in the country a couple miles from
where we lived at the time. We had already picked a photo site
about an hour away, but felt the urging to pray "Holy Spirit,
lead us..." I remember driving by a crossroad when suddenly
I felt I should stop, back up, and take the turn. So I did. A
half mile down the road, hidden in the bush, was this incredible
old homestead with delapitaded buildings, rusty vehicles, and
vintage machinery. And glowing vividly beside it all, of course,
a golden canola field. Tom and Rose Fedyna gave us permission
to do our camera shoot there... and hence, the photos you see
in the CD and throughout this website. The cover photo with the
porch is the old Fedyna farmhouse.
But the night of the shoot,
a rainstorm socked in and wasn't letting up. With a half hour
to sunset, we decided to take Doran to go see the site anyway
(umbrella in hand). Suddenly, five minutes before sunset, the
huge gray mass above us lifted--just barely--off the horizon.
Seconds later, the sun dropped into the gap, and for five minutes,
we were like little children in a playground. The red light was
spectacular, and to put icing on the cake, a full rainbow
broke out above us! Everything glowed with the glory of God --
we all felt His presence that evening. The next morning we arose
at four a.m. to return to the homestead for an exhilarating sunrise
shoot -- camera gear and ladder in hand. It was an experience
we will never forget!
Of course, making a CD is a dream come true for many people,
including me. But this dream almost didn't...
After eight months of hard work and long hours (my producer seemed
to be averaging 4-5 hours a night of sleep!), we were two songs
away from being done--that is, I had two more songs to sing.
But early on in the project, my voice developed problems. I could
hardly get through one song and it would begin to sputter. I
had a cold virus that wouldn't go away. We all felt helpless!
We were so close to being done, and now we had no idea if it
would be weeks or months to the end. But we decided to book the
studio and try anyway. I flew into Edmonton to sing my heart
out, but after a half an hour, the look on my producer's face
said it all.
The 60 minute flight home seemed like hours.
So I flew back three weeks later, this time in worse shape.
I feared I might have damaged my voice permanently years before
from having screamed my lungs out when the Saskatchewan Roughriders
won the '89 Grey Cup. My voice was tired, the cold still there.
The night before I was booked in the studio, I felt like Moses
and the Israelites: the Red Sea in front and an army behind --
a seemingly impossible situation. "God, I've come all this
way... this is my last chance to do this before my life gets
too busy." I was on my knees now, knowing the huge debt
for the project was looming and my new ministry back home just
starting. "I need a miracle tomorrow." It was very
dark when I turned out the light and closed my eyes.
The lights were dimmed when I entered the studio the next evening.
It felt good to put the headphones on one last time... but
can I sing? ...my sore throat cruelly hung on. We always
asked God's blessing on each session. This time was no different.
But now, I felt helpless.
Something happened. It was
as though the darkness fled and the Red Sea parted. I sang for
six hours straight. By three in the morning, I was ready to keep
going, but my poor producer was half-conscious. The next night,
I sang some more. In fact, we went on to sing the last tune,
and even re-sing part of another tune.
And I haven't had a problem with my voice since.
Choosing a producer is the
hard part. This is a person who will take your music and arrange
it for recording. They can destroy the heart of the music, or
they can draw it out. I had worked with Darcy Phillips once in
the past. He wrote the score for a documentary I made that went
on to win "Canadian Documentary of the Year." The score
was powerful. But I had no idea if Darcy could produce for an
artist, which is a whole different thing altogether. But for
some reason, he was burning in my heart. I recognized that burning...
it was there when I chose members for my ministry four years
before. So, my wife Léa, Pat, and I went over to his house
and sang for him. He wanted to hear more and more. He loved it!
So I hired him -- then I asked myself what the
heck I was doing!!!
I told Darcy that I felt the
arrangements should be low-key, no drums etc. But Darcy had a
vision for this music, which at first I doubted. In the end,
his interpretation of the music, I think, was incredible. His
ear for hearing the whole song as it should be is as good as
the reputation that follows him. What you hear on this CD is
not just one man, but the effort and giftedness of many. But
especially of Darcy who envisioned each part from the beginning.
Mike Lent, who plays a beautiful
bass on this project, told me early in the project, "If
you are willing to let go of your ego, and step back and allow
others to do their job, something more beautiful will come forward."
Christ said it another way (though I knew God was speaking through
Mike), "Whoever humbles himself will be exalted." It
was hard for me to trust Darcy with my music; it was difficult
to allow studio musicians to play some of my guitar parts.
But letting go did allow so much more beauty and creativity to
emerge.
Besides, these are God's songs.
And I wanted them to be as beautiful for you as they could be....
-- Mark
