Casting Crowns’ Mark Hall writes songs from his heart

ALBANY — Even though his band, Casting Crowns, is recognized as one of — if not the — most pre-eminent acts in Contemporary Christian Music, having collected multiple Grammy, Dove, and Billboard Music awards over the course of their career, CC lead singer/songwriter Mark Hall insists he doesn’t necessarily write “Christian music” per se.

“Like all artists, I believe, I try to write songs that teach something,” Hall said during a one-on-one conversation with The Albany Herald. “As a youth pastor (at Eagle’s Landing First Baptist Church in Atlanta), I do tend to teach about Jesus. But I write story songs … for instance, ‘American Dream’ is about a dad who could lose his family. I tend to write the songs that I feel.”

But that doesn’t mean Hall is looking just to make inroads on radio stations whose playlists include generally only the Contemporary Christian and like-minded genres of music.

“Hey, we play songs that really rock,” he said. “And we’d have no problem if some rock station had the courage to play our music. I think some of the stuff we’ve done would fit in well with other genres of music. But I know my lane. I sing to church people. If others catch up, that’s great.”

Casting Crowns have been Billboard’s top-selling act in Contemporary Christian since 2007 (with more than 11 million records sold), and with a new album due in January and the successful “Only Jesus Tour” stretching across the country, there doesn’t appear to be a challenger on the horizon set to knock the seven members of the band off their lofty perch.

Casting Crowns will perform Friday at the Albany Civic Center, joined by multiple ASCAP Christian Music Songwriter/Artist of the Year — and sometimes collaborator — Matthew West. Tickets for the Albany show begin as low as $20, and are available at CastingCrowns.com/tour.

Hall took a few moments before a recent chiropractor’s appointment to talk with The Herald about Casting Crowns and his and other band members’ commitment to their student ministry in the Atlanta area.

ALBANY HERALD: I know your time is short, so we’ll jump right into this. You, like all artists, had a musical choice. Yours was divine or secular music. What led you to the path you chose?

MARK HALL: For me, it was just a matter of writing what came out of my heart. I was a youth pastor in south Atlanta before I started playing music, so that’s where my heart is. Like all artists, I believe, I try to write songs that teach something. As a youth pastor, I do tend to teach about Jesus. But I also write story songs. I tend to write the songs that I feel.

But what a lot of people don’t realize is there are a lot of Christian artists in the secular world. For instance, (producer) Mark Miller — if I have a problem and need prayer, he’s one of the first people I call. People’s faith doesn’t necessarily live only in Christian music.

AH: What music do you typically listen to?

MH: I listen to Josh Garrels, to Christian rap, a lot of old stuff like Switchfoot; I listen to Matthew West, of course, and when the redneck in me leaks out I like to listen to Southern rock.

AH: Your writing is obviously inspired by your faith. But where does your musical inspiration come from?

MH: In high school, we all listened to the ’80s rock of that time, and then a Classic rock station came to town, and we all went from listening to Duran Duran to Pink Floyd, Journey, a lot of Blues. I’ve also found there is a lot of transparency in Christian rap. I think people were a little wary of it at first, but eventually I think the powerful lyrics won people over. People can handle the truth if it’s spoken with love.

It’s important to me that people know that I bump my head in life every day. But I know that, no matter what, Jesus loves me. There’s no false bravery. I don’t mind letting people know that we rarely hit who we target, but we stay connected. Some artists live their lives on these tour buses; it becomes their lives. We go home.

AH: Your music could easily fit in with popular secular music. Is there any temptation to try and make that happen?

MH: I don’t feel that kind of pressure. I know my lane. I sing to church people and people in church who are not saved. If Mark Miller says, “That song would fit in with what’s being played on country radio,” that’s not something I’m seeking. But if any station wants to play our music — if any is brave enough — we welcome that.

AH: You guys make your faith a big part of your performances. Are there temptations for you, though, when you’re out on the road away from hone?

MH: My family has traveled with me since the beginning. Early on we did a three-week tour with Rebecca St. James, and when it was over I said, “I think I’m done with this.” I couldn’t handle being away from my wife and kids. I decided I was not going to continue doing this unless we figured out a way for (wife) Melanie and the kids to be with us. So all four of our kids have grown up on the road. And that’s the way it is for us; it’s expensive to use extra buses, but there are two moms in the band, and none of us could imagine doing this without our kids present.

AH: How do you guys unwind on the road?

MH: My son, John Michael, plays in the band, and our drummer came up through our youth group. I tell them, ‘This is your job, it just happens to run from 4 to midnight.’ When we come into a town, we all go off in different directions, looking for things to do. My wife will head to the mall; I like antiques, and John Michael looks for a shooting range. We find something wherever we go.

AH: Do you feel limited at all in performing a certain genre of music, Contemporary Christian?

MH: I’ve never felt the pressure to write any certain thing. They trust me to do what I do. We have a new album coming out in January, and I think there are some songs on it that go in different directions. I think I’ve grown over the years as a writer. We just keep moving. John Michael listens to all kinds of music, and he often sends me stuff and says, ‘You’ve gotta listen to this.’ There’s always a breath of fresh air, musically speaking.

AH: As you look over your career, is there anything you wish you’d done differently?

MH: I think one of the things I would change is to take more time with production. We’re usually up against a wall and have to make quick decisions. On a few songs, there were story things that I think we tried to get too cool. I often think about revisiting those songs. But concerts are fans’ moments, not ours. If they love a certain song and they come to our concert, they want to hear that version of the song.

AH: Is there any artist you’d like to perform with if you got the opportunity?

MH: Zach Williams is a singer I really like, and I’d love to sing with him. … Oh, hey, sorry, but they’re calling me into the chiropractor’s office. I have to run. We’ll see y’all in Albany on Friday.

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