Sound Instruction

AN INTERVIEW WITH STU G

6/21/2017

Stu G is one of the most well respected and accomplished musician/artists. It's hard to imagine in what area he has not had an impact on countless others. From being a major force in the realm of worship through his involvement with Delirious?, to his more current role in the band One Sonic Society, he has paved a tremendous path of influence for fellow worshippers and musicians. He's made waves in performing, songwriting, production, recording, and now even writing!

The first time I had heard Stu's guitar work, was the "King of Fools" record. I remember being on the road with the band I was in at the time soaking in that album. Songs like "Hands of Kindness" stayed on repeat on my portable CD player (I'm old Ok?). As time progressed, I discovered some of their earlier albums - such as "The Cutting Edge." Songs like "When All Around Has Fallen," and "King of Love" stayed on rotation. One summer when we went on tour out to California, our bassist showed us "Live and In the Can." Then add to it the rest of his discography with Delirious?: Mezzamorphis, Glo, Audio Lessonover, Touch, World Service, The Mission Bell, and Kingdom of Comfort - and this is not even including the live albums as well. It was ridiculous how great Stu's work with Delirious? was/is. Timeless. He always puts the right guitar parts in the right places - and that's one of the highest compliments I can pay a fellow musician.

As A Side Note: Worship music back then (90's & early 2000's) had a different spirit about it. It was sweet. Affectionate. Effective. It wasn't a genre. These were the days when Vineyard Music was a thing. When albums like "Sweet Mercies" by David Ruis blew me away- or Kevin Prosch's old band, The Black Peppercorns and their album "Tumbling Ground," stayed on repeat. These musicians at the time were "History Makers," and Stu G is certainly no exception.

20 years later, and Stu is still putting out timeless work. I caught up with him recently via a Skype interview to discuss his new album "The Beatitudes." The thing that struck me by speaking with Stu, is that his heart really is to reach people. He's on his own journey. His own path. And along the way, he has really turned out something really quite unique and beautiful:

One of the many things that sets this album apart, is the incredible line up of guest musicians who lent their gifts to make this project happen. Pictured below are some of the artists that are featured on The Beatitudes:

Pictured at The Smoakstack studio in Nashville during the recording of the Beatitudes album (except where noted) are artists Matt Stanfield, Jimmy Abegg, Anthony Skinner, Paul Moak, Steve Hindalong and Stu G (left top), Amanda Cook (left, upper middle), Propaganda (left, lower middle, at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles), Paul Moak, Stu G and Jimmy Abegg (left bottom), Terrian Bass (right top), Matt Maher (right middle) and Amy Grant (right bottom). (Photos by Daniel C White, Jeff Arnold, Tom Williams.)

Pictured at The Smoakstack studio in Nashville during the recording of the Beatitudes album (except where noted) are artists Michael W. Smith (left top), Joel Houston (left center, at Record Plant recording studios in Los Angeles), Martin Smith (left bottom, at RAK Studios in London), All Sons & Daughters’ Leslie Jordan and David Leonard with Stu Garrard (right top), John Mark McMillan (right, upper middle), The Brilliance’s David Gungor (right, lower middle) and Audrey Assad (right bottom).

The breadth of musicians and special guests on The Beatitudes project is really remarkable. I am quite sure Stu must be very happy with how his original vision (from so many years ago) to make an album revolving around the beatitudes played out. There's not a weak performance or a mediocre song on the whole album. The songs are powerful, thought provoking, fresh, & inspiring.

My Interview with stu:

Which brings me to our interview we conducted with Stu a few weeks ago via Skype. I found him to be a humble & open book regarding his impressive history as a musician, his current projects, and even his own personal life. We go through the album and the gear used for his new project, but the last part of the interview really spoke to me. I decided I would only show this part of the interview because it really speaks to so much of us in so many different areas of our own lives. There are numerous videos and interviews where he discusses his gear and such, but this was truly a unique moment: