We hope everyone had a great Christmas yesterday! But, the Christmas
season still lives on, and that's why we have a special look into
one of Christian music's best, The Waiting. Making music as a steady
band for about 10 years is a rarity in this day, but the Waiting
have kept their life in God at the forefront, and the fruit has shown.
Their new disc released earlier this week, and we bring you this
inside look, courtesy of our amazing interviewer, Josh M. Shepherd.


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INTERVIEW WITH TODD OLSEN OF THE WAITING
by Josh M. Shepherd

cMusicWeb.com: The Waiting has been together, unchanged, for how
long now?
Todd Olsen (guitarist, songwriter, producer, The Waiting): Since
1992, we've had the same membership; the band started in '91 with
a different drummer. The Waiting has been a long-term thing - at
the present day, one of the longest running [Christian] bands.

cMW: With that time in mind, particularly the success of Unfazed,
what have these last three years meant for the band?
Todd: It's been really cool. Normally when a band at our level records,
the longest time spent recording is two months (as we did with Unfazed).
This time we've spent over two years! To be able to do that is an
artistic and financial step - something we couldn't have done without
Unfazed. That record brought us to where we could do something we've
always wanted to: as artists, just dig in at the studio and explore
the possibilities. Very much technically and in a lot of ways, I
feel Wonderfully Made is a cut above anything we've done.

cMW: You've been quoted as saying, "In the music industry, you're
always one step from quitting." Did that option come up during your
searching time?
Todd: (laughs loudly) Where did you get that quote!?
cMW: You know how TBN plays stuff from like two years ago? An old
Waiting interview came on, you said that, and I was like, "Gotta
use that."
Todd: Man, that's great, I love it. But, no, during the making of
this record… It's the indecision that kills you. When we decided
what we were going to do, we set our minds to it and went after it
- then everything else seemed to fall into place. We are in the business
because we feel called, and feel like we have a vision for it. In
short, this is what God wants us to do with our lives. I can understand
where I was at that point: let's just say I'm at a lot better place
now! (laughs) This business is really, really tough - it hits you
with a lot of things that make you want to quit. Even very successful
artists get into money crunches and different things. Then always
being away from friends and family… being gone that much is rough.
If anybody gets sick, or (God forbid) you have a death in the family,
or your niece is born - whatever - it's hard to miss everything.
You're really glad to be out on the road following the purpose for
your life, but you're missing some stuff and that can be a tough
thing. All the problems along the way are what I was talking about
as far as being, "one step from quitting." There are numerous challenges
to overcome, to put it in a positive light. At that time, I was struggling
a lot more with those than I am now. God has given me grace. Having
been through a bunch of problems, I realize that each one is not
the end of the world; it tends to make you more mature and less traumatic.


cMW: One observation is that Wonderfully Made features a lot of scripture.
Was that a conscious decision going in to writing?
Todd: Unfazed said, "Man, we have so many problems, but we're not
letting them get us down." There's a strand throughout all our records
about struggle and the light at the end of the tunnel: mainly the
struggle, and, "Oh, by the way, there's light at the end of this
long, dark tunnel." That was the theme of Unfazed. With this record,
we made a conscious decision to make a record about the joy of the
Lord. I didn't feel like our other records completely represented
us, because our whole lives aren't just that struggle. Another part
of our lives is that normal, solid, joy of the Lord-type thing that
Christians have - a security. Wonderfully Made is about being strong
in Christ, about being happy to be one of God's children, about saying,
"God made me." We have a song "What Else Can I Say" which tells
God, "I love you"; in another part it admits that saying such a thing
is a clichι, but I have no other words to use. That one came out
of writer's block for my brother. This is the record that I've always
wanted to make. As far as direction, The Waiting is a compromise
between four people [sic]. I'm the one always pushing to emphasize
the positive, the hope - not dwelling too much on the negative because
we're commanded not to. Anything that's good, anything that's wholesome:
we're commanded to think about those things. That side of us, of
my brother Brad (the main writer), isn't seen often. You wouldn't
know him from his records. I wanted people to see that side because
it's a large part of his life, as well as all our lives.

cMW: Why only ten songs again?
Todd: That will be something we change on the next record too. We
really spent a lot of time writing for Wonderfully Made, having way
more than ten songs we could have put on there; but we picked out
of all the songs the ten best ones. Instead of, like… A record will
have a bunch of album tracks that the songs are ok, you know, but
not real gems. We wanted every song on here to be a gem; we feel
this is a strong record. We're really happy with it. From a fan's
perspective, the song that's been getting a lot of attention is "Sleepless.
" It's not unlike "Hands In the Air" or things we've done before.
Bryan [the producer] and others talked of cutting it, because it
doesn't totally fit the theme of the record. It's the moment where
our older side is shining through, but I love that song and am glad
it made the cut. The treatment that Bryan did really turned out nice.


Read the full interview with Todd Olsen:
http://cMusicWeb.com/alternative/waiting/interview.shtml

Find out more about The Waiting at cMusicWeb.com:
http://cMusicWeb.com/alternative/waiting


AVAILABLE MONDAY, DEC. 24 (at cMusicWeb.com or your local music store)

WONDERFULLY MADE - THE WAITING
Working in the studio for two years, Wonderfully Made is a non-stop
listen of some of the best tracks from the Waiting. It's great to
have them back after a couple years of nothing from them. This is
definitely the PICK OF THE WEEK.


AVAILABLE TODAY (at cMusicWeb.com or your local music store)

HERE I AM TO WORSHIP - TIM HUGHES
After many years of leading worship alongside Matt Redman and other
British worship leaders, Tim finally makes his debut in the states,
with a set of worship anthems not unlike Matt Redman's. The title
track is set to become a common church anthem, and many other songs
are sure to follow.


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