By Cathryn Lien, Contributing Writer
The Asbury Worship Collective was hard at work this week preparing for their live recording in Asbury’s Greathouse Theater yesterday. The Collective is made up of the touring band from Asbury’s worship arts program. The band included Micah Pace, Stephanie Glyzewski, Madelyn Baier, Zach Jeffcoat, JD Smith, Paul Sigler, Emily Royster and Daniel Lycan.
“I feel that we have a valuable voice as a program, and as a band,” said Dr. John Roller, who facilitates the student-run Asbury Worship Collective. Roller believes that this album will share the “heart of the worship arts program. This is a voice of a group, not just per individual.”
On what inspired the idea of a live recording, Roller said, “We intend to capture worship in its natural setting. There’s something about the possibility that the Holy Spirit could break out and you could have it on tape.”
As for the post-production side of the Asbury Worship Collective, producer and audio engineer Jake Halm says, “We only get one shot at recording live, which means that you have to prepare for anything.”
The process has given students a new experience outside of the studio, since recording live can be unpredictable. “I’ve learned to value teamwork and communication, since [this production] involves a lot of different parts, and everyone needs to be on the same page.”
All seven of the album’s tracks were recorded live. The band’s leader, sophomore Stephanie Glyzewski, wrote two of the three original songs. She is most interested in how the audience will react to her lyrics.
“The song Hidden is about the invisibility of God,” she said. “We are constantly searching to put a face to a name. I think that the hiddenness is out of love. That he would hide himself from us so that we would choose him.”
Glyzewski also said that the “darker melodies paired with the hopeful lyrics,” set the Asbury Worship Collective apart from other bands. Videographer Abby Hamilton, who also wrote original content for the album, emphasized the unique sound of the Asbury Worship Collective: “The place I was writing from is a really honest place. Mainstream Christian music tends to be cliché. I think that the tone and lyrics [of our original songs] are more raw.”
Asbury Worship Collective recorded a live event back in March of 2014, but as production manager Kat Combs put it, “a lot of the plans fell through.” Combs says that Dr. Roller intentionally organized the students into teams to learn from their previous experience.
“We send out bands throughout the year to different churches, conferences, and other events, and having a product like this that we can sell is a huge draw,” said Combs. “This way, we can go into a church and leave behind something we’ve all worked really hard to create in hopes that those people would know Jesus a little better after listening to our album.”
Band members say recording this album will also benefit students’ future careers in the music industry.
“The touring band gave me a range of material and experience,” said singer Zach Jeffcoat. “This will give me a track that I can send to churches and employers.”
Halm says this hands-on experience is something you can’t get inside of a classroom. “The only way to go is to jump in, do it, and hope you don’t sink!”
