JOE MONTAGUE speaks to Michael Olson about the inspiration behind his second album…
American singer, songwriter and musician Michael Olson recently took time out from his twenty-gig concert tour to talk about his second album, released earlier this northern hemisphere spring. Relaxing in his home in Nashville in the midst of a 20-gig tour to promote the album the affable Olson talked about the songs and creating the new disc.
“This record is titled Where Fear And Faith Collide, and this past year-and-one-half, especially the past six months have been extremely challenging,” he says.
CHALLENGING TIMES: Michael Olson says that the past 18 months of his life have seen more change than ever before, a factor which served as part of the inspiration behind his latest album.
“It is true that in the darkest time of man, God’s saving hand is found,” says Michael Olson. “Even though we experience turmoil and transition, we have this ultimate hope that God is going to work things out for our good. That hit me like a lead brick when I got hold of it.”
“There has been more transition than I have ever experienced before in my life.”
He recounts how he’s recently moved to Nashville from the US’ midwest, his recent marriage to wife Ashley, moving into a new house, a new career path and finding a new church to attend. There were also some difficult issues to deal with in his extended family that caused his faith to stretch.
Olson says that while he struggled with the song On The Third Day when it was first pitched to him, he came to see it as a “response to the things that I was going through”.
“It is true that in the darkest time of man, God’s saving hand is found,” he says. “Even though we experience turmoil and transition, we have this ultimate hope that God is going to work things out for our good. That hit me like a lead brick when I got hold of it.”
While, on his debut CD Long Arm Of Love, Olson opted to work with producer Nate Sabin a fellow Minnesotan, on this project he hooked up with producers Nathan Danztler (Tree 63, Kids In The Way) and Jason Ingram.
“I met Jason Ingram through the song-writing that we were doing together. Nathan Danztler and I had recorded the song Helpless as a trial run. It came off sounding like it would compliment what Jason was doing. It seemed like Jason’s stuff was going to be more artsy, and Nathan’s was going to be more straight ahead pop. Don Donahue from Rocketown Records and me felt those two things complimented each other.”
Since they were using more than one producer and Olson was also more hands-on with this project, there were some concerns in the early stages about striking continuity and arriving at a harmonious sound throughout the album. Those concerns were soon dismissed.
“I feel the way that the record is paced as far as the order of the songs is concerned, that it comes off quite unified. I really love the way that it worked out,” Olson says.
“The difference between (creating) this record and the last record is that Nate and I came down to Nashville, hired a bunch of seasoned session players and had only four days to work on it (the debut CD). We just cranked it out. We worked like crazy for those four days, brought it back to Minneapolis and overdubbed it. This record (Where Fear And Faith Collide) came out in a completely different fashion. I was more involved on the production side of things, mostly because I played all the acoustic guitar tracks and all of the drum tracks. We had three months, instead of four days to work on this and to tweak stuff out. It allowed me to be more involved in that process.”
Olson’s music falls into two distinct camps, one being music that – in the artist’s opinion – is ideally suited for corporate worship at the local church level – On The Third Day, God Is With Us, and Our First Love. Songs such as If You Can Stop The World, Tell Me Again, and Drawing Near allow Olson the freedom to express his views and share his experiences.
While the song Our First Love is a worship song, it originates within Olson’s personal experience.
“That song was written over a course of four or five years,” he says. “The chorus of that song materialised out of nowhere when I was leading worship while in Minnesota. It came about naturally. It was so meaningful to me that I didn’t want to hurry or throw a couple of verses and a bridge on it (just to finish it). I wanted to wait, and I ended up waiting four years until this record.
“We were making sure that we had all of the songs we needed heading into the recording process and I said to Jason Ingram, ‘What do you think of this song?’ He had written the first lyric (that wound up on Our First Love) for a record of Michael W Smith’s and it never got used. We were amazed at the way it fit together with (what Olson had written). It took us half an hour to write the whole song, get it arranged and create a two-line bridge. It was an amazing experience.”
Olson agrees with the observation that the song Tell Me Again acts as a touchstone for the frailty of his faith.
“I think a lot of people view their faith more like a statue that sits on a mantle. It is nice to look at, but it really doesn’t do much. I think our faith should be more like the lawnmower that sits in your garage. You have to take it out, service it, and get it dirty and then it is worth something to you.”
“The title of this record states that. I hope it is a bold statement, and helps people to open their hearts to talk about those things. The line between fear and faith is closer than we would like to admit. I think a lot of people view their faith more like a statue that sits on a mantle. It is nice to look at, but it really doesn’t do much. I think our faith should be more like the lawnmower that sits in your garage. You have to take it out, service it, and get it dirty and then it is worth something to you.”
He goes on to explain the meaning behind the lyrics to Tell Me Again.
“The way that Tell Me Again opens up, I was wondering what was going through Abraham’s mind when God made him that promise. There is this interplay of, ‘Can I really believe this, is this true or is this all in my head.’ Could David really believe in his lowest moment that God would reach out and make him new? That is where fear and faith collided for those guys. It has been happening for thousands of years, and it is nothing new.”
Olson’s music is not fluffy and comprised of shallow imagery as is the case with many mainstream and Christian songs today. His lyrics are infused with theological meaning, and he is the first to say that they derive their inspiration directly from the Bible.
“Even a pop song like If You Can Stop The World, is taken out of the 33rd chapter of the book of Jeremiah,” he explains. “The song (speaks to) a promise that God made to Jeremiah while the Babylonians were sacking the city of Jerusalem. There is so much depth in the Word of God that it is difficult for me not to go there when I am writing. Those are the things that move me.
“I believe as the song Tell Me Again says that we are all part of a huge story, and the story is about God’s salvation history. It started with Abraham, and it has moved to the moment that we are sitting at right now. God is reaching out to try and bring people closer to Himself. That is the greatest story in the world to write about and so I have this very deep affection for using that for my lyric. It comes very naturally.”
