Interview: WorshipMob
Colorado collective of worship leaders and musicians, WorshipMob, have just signed with Integrity Music for the release of their full-length album, 'Carry the Fire'. LTTM spoke with Colorado Springs worship leaders and founders Sean Mulholland and Garrett Chynoweth to find out more about them.
Tell us a little bit about your new album ‘Carry The Fire' and what the inspiration behind it was?
Sean: This album is really a "favorite worship sessions" CD from some of the most powerful times we've had over the past 4 years. These songs are all live recordings, with everyone playing and singing at one time, together - and then they're mixed to try to bring the most life and power out of each worshiper's heart and talents.
Garrett: Over 50 musicians from 20 local churches participated in the recording. For this concept to work, every one sacrifices something to be involved, which provides its own beauty... we hope listeners can sense that.
Which is your favorite track on the album and why?
Garrett: If you were to ask five different people from WorshipMob, you would get five different answers. For me, it’s “Arrested By Grace.” The lyrics came directly from my personal journey, learning to be loved by Love. I grew up thinking that God wanted me to do better and try harder... feeling as though I could never measure up. Then, I was “arrested by Grace” and have been learning how to trust God’s goodness, kindness and work in my life ever since. I'm finding that the fruit of trusting is 100 times greater than when I tried as hard as I could to please God. Knowing that I am pleasing to Him just because I am His beloved son... that changed my life. Peace is easy now.
Do you prefer playing live or working in the studio?
Sean: We love doing both! We've set up our studio for live worship experiences - trying to allow as much passion and spontaneity to flow as possible. This sometimes means that we have a lot of editing to do, but it sure keeps our songs from ever sounding plastic or dry. We meet every Thursday for 3-4 hours of worship, and sometimes we record, other times, we just worship the roof off.
What advice would you give to any aspiring young bands/artists out there?
Sean: Hmmm... There is power in community. Don't just stick to a 4-5 person band - work to create a setting where many musicians can join together and collaborate, and see what happens. Don't be afraid of other people who play your instrument, or sing "better" than you do. We're all unique, and each person has value - musical talent is just a small part of the pie.
There are many more important spiritual gifts that can have an equal or even more profound effect on your community. Love and trust are both much more dream-achieving than exclusion and fear. Don't be afraid to keep the doors open, and see who God brings through your door. Find out why they are there, and give them room to express. People are amazing.
How would you define success in your career as an artist?
In your opinion, what makes the perfect worship song?
Garrett: I don’t know about “perfect,” but some songs resonate more... a song that somehow expresses a piece of God's heart for His children, in a profound or new way.
Sean: Songs that destroy fear and empower us to have more trust and more faith so that our Father-son/daughter relationship can grow stronger.
If you could work with any songwriter, who would it be and why?
Sean: It would be fun to work with some of the Bethel and Hillsong writers someday. I’ve really enjoyed our internal community of 10 or so songwriters - collaboration has been an amazing blessing!
What is your favorite album of all time? Why?
Sean: Too hard to pick just one album. It’s easier to name some of my favorite artists... Bethel, Hillsong, Sting, James Vincent McMorrow, OneRepublic, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay. It’s a long list!
You're stuck on an island, it's hot, you only have enough battery life left to listen to one song on your mp3 player. What track is it?
Sean: "With Everything" by Hillsong really gets me amped up.
What does the next year hold for WorshipMob?
Sean: We're open to where God leads, but we mostly look forward to our intimate nights of worship with Him at our WorshipMob House in Colorado Springs. Anything else is a fun adventure. It looks like we have some exciting festival opportunities in July & August, so we'll see what unfolds.
