JASON GRAY

It takes a very special gift to meld internal revelation with eternal truth and create songs that strike a universal chord with both enlightened scholars and struggling broken souls, but Jason Gray has that gift. Never afraid to look inward for inspiration and just as ready to analyze the world around him, Gray is called to create music that makes a difference and he continues to share that gift with passion and conviction on his new album.

On his latest Centricity Music album, A Way To See In The Dark, Gray once again exercises his gift for channeling complex emotions and bold truths into songs that resonate strongly with his audience. His songs are personal yet universal. Who among us hasn’t struggled with fear and wrestled with identity? Who hasn’t exhaled in exasperation and breathed the name of God?

Gray captures these vulnerable moments in such songs as No Thief Like Fear, Remind Me Who I Am and The Sound Of Our Breathing. “Author Frederick Buechner tells us that before we presume to proclaim the hope and the good news of the gospel we should look at the headlines of the day and acknowledge the worst of the world, otherwise nobody is going to believe the best of the hope we speak of,” Gray says. “With all my songs, I want to be conscientious of the person who feels like an outsider, excluded because of their pain. I hope by acknowledging difficulty, heartbreak, and pain that I can cast a line for them to hold onto and be drawn in.”

It’s Gray’s honesty and his willingness to explore both the valleys and mountaintops with equal candor that define his artistry and have made him one of the most compelling songwriters of his generation. While Gray draws from a deep well lyrically, what sets him apart musically is the diverse array of influences that make up his colorful palette. A Minneapolis native who has struggled with stuttering, Gray’s early years were filled with the pop sounds of Billy Joel and Duran Duran as well as the lyrical poetry of Simon & Garfunkel and the soul searching anthems of U2.

“I appreciate pop music, but I also want to marry it to a reflective, hopefully interesting and compelling lyric,” says Gray, who was also influenced musically by his mother. “I grew up on the road with my mom’s band, so I was always hanging out in the bars while they were doing a concert every weekend. In the 4th grade, in the midst of an ugly divorce, is when my mom became a Christian. She went from singing in the bars to singing at revival meetings and so at that point I was introduced to Christian music. Meanwhile, I was also navigating the challenges of being a kid with a speech handicap and this growing feeling of being an outsider. All of these experiences have shaped my music.”

Gray released four independent albums before reaching a national audience with his 2007 Centricity Music debut, All the Lovely Losers. The impressive collection prompted ChristianityToday.com to call him one of “Christian music’s best kept secrets.” Gray’s Acoustic Storytime album captured the stories and songs that have made him such a popular live act and 2009’s Everything Sad is Coming Untrue helped Gray gain momentum at Christian radio.

“My last record connected with radio, so in some sense there was the pressure to build upon that with this new record and not squander it,” Gray confesses. “You can get consumed by the anxiety of that kind of pressure, but every step of the way I felt like the Lord gave me the grace not to let this record be my identity and who I was in the world. I was better at that this time around than I have been in the past.”

In recording his new album, Gray once again worked with producers Jason Ingram and Rusty Varenkamp, well known for their work with Brandon Heath, Tenth Avenue North and Sanctus Real among others. “I feel like I occupy two worlds in that I’m a singer/songwriter who loves contemporary folk music and music that makes you think, but I have this other side of me that desires to be accessible and enjoys making pop records. Jason and Rusty are great because they love both of those worlds too. They want to make a great pop record with hits for the radio, but they also want to have something of depth, something meaty, so they help me work that balance in a way that I’m really grateful for. They help me to bridge the two worlds---the artistic side of me as well as the side of me that wants to be accessible and serve a wider audience who might not typically be drawn to lyric driven singer/songwriter music.”

In writing songs for his fourth Centricity Music album, Gray took a less structured approach than previous projects. “I used to begin with a theme and write songs around it,” Gray relates. “This time around I just wrote whatever came and the themes emerged after the fact. A lot of the songs have to do with fear - that we aren’t enough, or that maybe God isn’t in control. I think one of things I’m trying to say with this record is that all of our fear, regret, and shame is answered in God’s love for us, His heart towards us. Fear loses its hold of me when I’m confident of God’s love for me and that He is in control. He’s always at work and especially in the most difficult things I experience. None of it is beyond His reach to redeem.”

Gray begins to make the case for this with the album opener, Remind Me Who I Am. The song is the lead single from the new album, and Jason cites it as one of the most important songs on the record. “It picks up where I Am New from my last record left off. It’s about identity,” Gray explains. “I began to wonder why exactly do I sin? I was raised to believe that we sin because of willful rebellion, but the thing is most of the time when I sin, I don’t want to sin, so it’s almost like I’m doing it against my will. I wonder if I sin less because of willful rebellion and more because I forget who I am. We run to all these other things – like relationships, materialism, career, etc. in hopes they will give us a sense of worth, but they can never fully name us. If we would only run to Christ, he would remind us who we really are. He says, ‘you are enough because I said so. You are my beloved bride. You are the adopted child that I chose. You are my treasure.’”

In addition to impassioned anthems like No Thief Like Fear, the album also contains such buoyant numbers as Good to be Alive, a summertime tune which finds Gray proclaiming, I want to live like there’s no tomorrow/Love like I’m on borrowed time/It’s good to be alive. The album closes with the worshipful Jesus We Are Grateful. “It’s significant that the last verse kind of takes us back to where the album began,” Gray says. “It goes back to resting in our identity as the one who God loves. There is security in that, deep, deep assurance of God’s love and knowing that His heart towards us is kindness and compassion.”

Gray finds as many opportunities to live these songs as he sings them. “In the early years of my music career, I was always so anxious about being rejected because my identity was so wrapped up in it,” Grays says of making music. “One of the blessings of getting older is that you learn to not care as much about what other people think. This time around in making a record, my identity wasn’t as entangled in the process. I didn’t feel like this album had to prove my worth in the world so I was less anxious over it and able to enjoy the process a lot more. I felt more free with this project and less afraid. This allowed me to have a lot more gratitude and I hope that gratitude comes through the record when people hear it.”

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World Vision
World Vision - An amazing humanitarian and relief organization serving the poorest of the poor. We are so grateful to be associated with them.

Artists I have had the pleasure of working with:
Andy Gullahorn http://www.andygullahorn.com/
Andy Osenga http://www.andyosenga.com/Andrew Peterson
http://www.andrew-peterson.com/
Downhere http://www.downhere.com
Ben Shive http://benshive.com/
Jill Phillips http://www.jillphillips.com/
Joel Hanson http://www.myspace.com/joelhansonmusic
Matt Patrick http://mattpatrickproduction.blogspot.com/
Michael Card http://www.michaelcard.com/
Nate Sabin http://www.natesabin.com/home.html
Randall Goodgame http://www.randallgoodgame.com/
Sara Groves http://www.saragroves.com
Staci Frenes http://www.stacifrenes.com/

Some of my favorite authors:
Frederick Buechner http://www.frederickbuechner.com/
Wendell Berry http://www.wendellberrybooks.com/
Mark Helprin http://www.markhelprin.com/
C.S. Lewis http://www.cslewis.org/
J.R.R. Tolkien http://www.tolkien-online.com/
G.K. Chesterton http://chesterton.org/
Donald Miller http://www.donaldmillerwords.com/index.php
Phillip Yancey http://www.philipyancey.com/

Full Name:
Jason Jeffrey Gray

Born:
1.18.1972 (I expect gifts now that you know this)

Family:
My lovely wife: Taya
Our three sons twin boys:
Kipper and Jacob
Youngest: Gus

Pets:
Our pets have all passed on, but Buster and Bucky were as good as family while they were with us. We buried their ashes beneath the apple tree in our backyard.

Pet Peeve:
We used to have a pet beta fish who we named Peeve. Also, people who talk, chew loud, or generally make distracting noises when you're watching a movie. And, I don't meant to sound rude or ungrateful, but people who ask me to sign their shoes. It's like, "hey, let me take the dirtiest, smelliest thing I have on my person, hand it to you, and ask you to sign it" Ewwww.....

Nickname:
I'm not going to tell you...

Instruments:
Taylor 714CE, Alvarez Yairi, Dusty Strings hammered dulcimer, my homemade lap dulcimer (made it myself), Gibson Les Paul electric. I also generally use Elixir guitar strings.

First Job:
Aside from all the bean spraying, rock picking, and hay bailing I did every summer, the first job that really mattered (you know, like where I had to comb my hair and shower before showing up) was at Embers Family Restaurant.

Favorite Movies:
Too many to mention... but I'll always have a special place in my heart for these three: for a drama: the The Shawshank Redemption. In the comedy category: O Brother Where Art Thou. Spectacle: The Lord of The Rings. Nacho Libre is quickly becoming another family favorite. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Magnolia, and Waking Ned Devine are up there, too. Eternal Sunshine is like marital counseling, Magnolia is a difficult movie, but one of the more redemptive films I've seen, and Waking Ned Devine is just... delightful.

Actor That Would Play Me In A Movie:
Clint Howard (look him up at imdb.com). Actually, I was told the other day that I looked like Kevin Bacon. Only I can't dance...Favorite TV Show:Well, we don't have cable anymore. But favorite TV show of all time? Probably Northern Exposure.

Favorite TV Show:
Well, we don't have cable anymore. But favorite TV show of all time? Probably Northern Exposure.

Best Advice:
"Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace." - Frederick Buechner

Places I love:
One of the cool things about what I do is that I get to see a lot of the country. I think my three or four favorite cities are St. Augustine, FL, Chicago, IL, Nashville, TN, and Seattle, WA. But home is truly what I love the most since I never spend enough time there.

Most Valued Possession:
My Ed Grimley "Action Figure" and my Roger Wagner print of "The Harvest Is The End of The World and the Angels Are The Reapers".

Recently Played On Your iPod:
Paul Simon - Surprise
Derek Webb - Stockholm Syndrome
Daniel Lanois - Belladonna
Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Tom Waits - Mule Variations
Regina Spektor - Far
Over The Rhine - Drunkard's Prayer
U2 - No Line On The Horizon
Jill Phillips - Wrecking Ball
Randall Goodgame - The Hymnal

Records That Changed Your Life:
Mark Heard - Satellite Sky
Over The Rhine - Ohio
Rich Mullins - Liturgy, Legacy, & A Ragamuffin Band
Charlie Peacock - West Coast Diaries Volume 2
Paul Simon - The Rhythm of The Saints At The Foot of The Cross Vol 1 & 2, Various artists
Daniel Lanois - Shine; Acadie (producer of some of the best albums of U2, Peter Gabriel, and Bob Dylan.)
Pierce Pettis - Chase The Buffalo; State of Grace
Peter Gabriel - Secret World Live
John Hiatt - Crossing Muddy Waters
Tom Waits - Mule Variations

Favorite Songwriter:
That's always changing, but Mark Heard is a constant. Andy Gullahorn (Jill Phillip's husband), Andrew Peterson, and Derek Webb are my most recent favorites. Writers who influenced me early on were Rich Mullins, Pierce Pettis, Paul Simon, Peter Mayer, and Bill Mallonee. There are so many great writers! But hardly any of the great ones get radio airplay... do yourself a favor and hunt down music by these artists.

One Thing I Wish Everyone Knew About Me:
My long fingernails are for guitar playing and should not be considered an indicator of poor personal hygiene.

Favorite Verse:
Isa. 49:16.

When I'm Nervous...
I don't know where to put my hands

But the worst isn't the last thing about the world. It's the next to the last thing. The last thing is the best. It's the power from on high that comes down into the world, that wells up from the rock-bottom worst of the world like a hidden spring. Can you believe it? The last, best thing is the laughing deep in the hearts of the saints, sometimes our hearts even. Yes. You are terribly loved and forgiven. Yes. You are healed. All is well.
Frederick Buechner , The Final Beast (pg 175)

Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.
G.K. Chesterton

God writes a lot of comedy... the trouble is, he's stuck with actors who don't know how to play funny.
Garrison Keillor

If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:the only proof He needed for the existence of God was music
Kurt Vonnegut "Vonnegut's Blues for America" published in Scotland's Sunday Herald

Something terrible happens, and you might say, "God help us!", or "Jesus Christ!" -- the poor, crippled prayers that are hidden in the minor blasphemies of people for whom in every sense God is dead, except that they still have to speak to him, if only through clenched teeth.Frederick Buechner

Here are the two best prayers I know: "Help me, help me, help me" and "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
Anne Lamott

Traveling MerciesI don't deny that there should be priests to remind men that they will one day die. I only say it is necessary to have another kind of priest, called a poet, to remind men that they are not dead yet.
GK Chesterton

There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is.
Albert Einstein

SCOTTISH PREACHER (haranguing his flock): At the day of judgment, there will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth!
VOICE FROM THE CONGREGATION: What about people who've lost their teeth?
PREACHER (grimly): Teeth will be provided!
Compiled by John Train Wit: The Best Things Ever Said

"I believe it to be a great mistake to present Christianity as something charming and popular with no offense in it.... We cannot blink at the fact that gentle Jesus meek and mild was so stiff in his opinions and so inflammatory in his language that he was thrown out of church, stoned, hunted from place to place, and finally gibbeted as a firebrand and a public danger. Whatever his peace was, it was not the peace of an amiable indifference."
Dorothy Sayers

I can't live without songs...writing them...listening to then, playing them alone in the basement...crying over them, nurturing them...they keep me hopeful and happier...they grace my life....it's almost like forgiveness...
Bill Mallonee of The Vigilantes of Love

Love means to love that which is unloveable, or it is no virtue at all; forgiving means to pardon the unpardonable, or it is no virtue at all; faith means believing the unbelievable, or it is no virtue at all; and to hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all.
G.K. Chesterton

He who would have God as his Father must have the Church as his mother
Saint Augustine

One word of truth outweighs the whole world.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn Quoting a Russian proverb