Interview with Justin Anderson of “Paper Candle”
One of my most recent interviews was with Justin Anderson (you may know him from the band Mainstay) who is no stranger to hard work. He is the perfect example of a musician who is unswervingly passionate about what he does. He knows exactly what it takes to make a name for himself. He has created a distinct sound in PaperCandle, has bared his soul in every note and lyric and has established himself on the upper echelon of singer/songwriters.
PR: Would you mind telling me your story and how you got to where you are today with your music/career?
JA: ”I can still remember the first time I heard Nirvana and Metallica circa 1991 and my eyes grew wide and my mind expanded. I knew what I wanted to do. I started out playing guitar as a 13 year old boy in Southwest Minnesota and I wanted to start a band and eventually myself and a friend (Ryan DeYounge) started Mainstay in 2000. From there, it was a long path playing bars, clubs, bar mitzvahs (just kidding) etcetera and we eventually signed a recording contract with Tooth & Nail Records in 2005. Mainstay achieved moderate radio success and we toured like mad in hopes of being able to sustain a music career. This path was littered with wonderful, exciting and fruitful moments of connecting with people and bands as well as moments of extreme disillusionment with Christian music and the industry that “runs” it. Many good things and many bad things. Basically, 2000-2008 was a long journey of discovering all the things I loved about music and all the things that I hate about trying to make it as a musician.”
PR: What brings you to the point where you are pursuing a solo record? Was there an “ending” to Mainstay? Are you guys “on a break”?
JA: ”We (Mainstay) are definitely taking a break. I needed it and I know some of the other guys did too. It’s healthy and good. I love the other 3 guys and have loads of affection for each of them.”
PR: Who inspired you to pursue music full time?
JA: ”When I was 19, my step-mom said something that rang loudly in my head; “You can always go back to college, but you can never be 19 again.” – I quit college a week later.”
PR: What artists would you say you model your sound after or have helped shape “Paper Candle”?
JA: ”That’s tough! In making this record I listened to a lot of Singer/Songwriter people like Matthew Perryman Jones, Patty Griffin, Jeremy Enigk, and lots of Jon Foreman to formulate pieces of my musical thoughts. But I also love the composition of pop bands like Safetysuit, Parachute, and One Republic. And primarily, I listen to a lot of ambient music and that has actually really inspired my feel for music as well…artists like Hammock, Helios, Max Richter, Goldmund, and Rhian Sheehan. This record is definitely a kind of a mish-mash of those styles…pop and singer/songwriter, I guess.”
JA: ”…I’m not sure these are my “favorite” per se, but they are artists I’m really into right now: 1) Hammock 2) Bon Iver 3) The Civil Wars 4) Eastmountainsouth 5) Fleet Foxes”
PR: If you were to describe yourself in 3 words, what would they be?
JA: ”Free and Insecure. (Song 3 on the record)”
PR: What song, that isn’t your own, do you have stuck in your head right now?
JA: ”I just listened to “Restless” off of the new Switchfoot record (Vice Verses) and it hurts. It hurts like songs should hurt you.”
PR: If you could sing a duet (or write a song) with anyone, who would it be?
JA: ”I would want to stick John Denver, Thom Yorke, Ryan Adams, Paul McCartney, Jeremy Enigk, Tom Petty, Patty Griffin, Ben Gibbard, Damien Rice, David Bazan, Brian Eno and Jónsi from Sigur Ros in a big room for 6 weeks and write an entire record. It would either be terrible or the best thing ever made.”
PR: Who do you look up to in the Christian music community? Why?
JA: ”2 new artists – John Mark McMillan & Gungor are breaking ground on a popular level, helping to add a new voice to the community. But honestly, I think Jon Foreman has been the most important voice in Christian music in the past 5 years. What Switchfoot has done and what he’s said via his own personal music is so influential in terms of music, but also in terms of helping move Christian music in the right direction.”
PR: Tell me about how you came to know Christ.
JA: ”At the age of 9 I was invited by my pastor to accept Christ as my savior and developed a great love for God. My faith has gone through many storms of doubt and rejection since then (and still does) but I am always drawn back to the beauty of the gospel of Jesus and the sense that Christian Theism makes out of life.”
PR: Why Paper Candle? What is the meaning behind that?
JA: ”There is no inherent “meaning” behind the name – it’s simply an aid for thought.”
PR: Where do you get your ideas for songs? They seem to carry such weight and seem like you sing them with conviction. Are they things you have personally experienced?
JA: ”My songs really are a part of me. They are reflections on problems or feelings within me or observations I see in the lives of people around me. There are songs for every occasion and several of the songs on the record mean so much to me…if I’m tracking a vocal and I get choked up because of how personal it is, that’s usually a sign that I’m right where I need to be, and that happened a lot on this record.”
PR: What is your typical song writing process like?
JA: ”I usually tinker with melodic ideas 50% of the time and see where they lead…the other 50% of the time I sift through the pages and pages of lyrics I write and see which thoughts/ideas cohere into something I really want to say. It’s a fun process that has been really life-giving to me and I try not to have any formula. Sometimes I will force myself to write from mandolin or piano just to make myself uncomfortable or think about melody or composition in a different way. On a couple new songs, I’ve tried to start with just a melody and a beat and leave all the accompaniment out (guitar/piano) and it’s been really stretching and good for me.”
PR: What is the hardest thing you have ever written about?
JA: ”My reconciliation with my mother (whom I love so dearly) in a song, October Came Late. An unreleased song (coming within the year on my B-sides album) about God being distant or overly hidden. And definitely “The Prince, The Idiot” on my new record – I wanted it to be really, really raw because that’s how my year has been with pain and doubt. I actually ended up editing several lyrics because it was ‘too raw’ for some audiences, if you catch my drift. But the edited version gets the same feeling and message across and I’m really happy with it because it is a song for those who doubt and struggle with finding God in the midst of pain and skepticism.”
PR: Which is your favorite song on the album and why?
JA: ”I would say Free & Insecure or The Prince, The Idiot. I really enjoy all of the songs on the record, but these two in particular really capture the past 4 years of my life. They encapsulate in a straight-ahead way all the pieces of self-discovery that have been a part of my journey since I arrived in Colorado. (Although, each song has bits and pieces of my recent self-discovery)”
PR: What is the one thing you want your fans to hear through your music?
JA: ”I don’t have one singular thing I want them to hear, but rather a big collective of thoughts and experiences. (Disclaimer – this is not meant to be a polemic against anyone, but rather a direct attack on myself and my ways of doing things…and if you find your toes stepped on, so be it. Please hear a humble heart in what I say…)
“I want listeners to hear that it’s okay to be human. It’s okay not to have it all together – theology, psychology, relationships, etc. That it’s okay to be “in process” and admit that Christians have all kinds of hypocrisy and inconsistencies in their lives. I want to be okay with not having all the answers and openly admit that I often don’t live up to the ones I do have. That it’s okay to suggest different ways of seeing things and learn to be friends with all peoples in the middle of disagreement.
“I want people to be free of all the baggage that 90′s Culture-war Christianity saddled me and so many others with. To learn that it’s okay not to be Ned Flanders. To hear that God doesn’t vote Republican nor is He contained within systematic theology. To suggest that the hungover bum on the street might be entirely more holy than your pastor. To learn to extend grace and freedom to others to believe different things than you do. I want to suggest that making the intellectual ascent to believing something might not even be as important as doing something. I want people to loosen their desperate grip on “being right” or “having all the answers” and find a gracious way of living in community with the world – not just others who think exactly like them.
“I want people (myself included) to re-evaluate the way we look at life and grace and faith…in the hopes of living more genuinely. I want more honesty and more openness.
“And finally and most importantly, the one thing that I want listeners to take away is that we need to extend grace to everyone we meet – EVERYONE. Regardless of how we feel about anyone’s ideologies or choices or actions, we need to meet them like Jesus and not like Rush Limbaugh. To love people first and seek to understand those who are different.”
PR: If you didn’t make a living as a musician, what would you have done for work?
JA: ”I would love to either 1) make my living as a journalist or author or 2) Teach literature or history.”
PR: What advice would you give to up and coming artists?
JA: ”Be cautious about how you enter into the industry. Guard your money and your hearts. Be true to yourselves but be humble enough to let people tell you that you need improvement. That’s important not just as an artist, but as a person. And most of all, make sure you are having fun with your music – music is definitely work, but if you stop enjoying it, it’s probably time to rethink things and find a way to make it sustainably enjoyable and fruitful.”
Similar Artists: Phil Wickham, Shane & Shane, Steve Moakler
Similar (Secular) Artists: Ryan Adams, The Fray, Gavin Degraw
Rating/Would I buy it?: This is one of my favorite albums right now (and that isn’t because I am writing this article). I love when a musician can write about their lives in a real and effective way with musical talent and creativity. I know Justin put all of himself into this and deserves your support.
You can buy Paper Candle here.
