Former dc Talk singer Toby McKeehan -- TobyMac for short -- received a Grammy nomination for his latest solo release, the live CD/DVD "Alive and Transported." Now he's on tour with the Christian-music roadshow Winter Jam. TobyMac, 44, gave us a ring before a show in Tallahassee, Fla.
Q: How is Winter Jam going?
A: It's been going really, really great. For all intents and purposes, my label wishes I was in the studio making a record right now. But I chose to come on the road because I really love Winter Jam.
I love hanging out with the other artists backstage. Today, after this interview, we're going to go play some five-on-five basketball.
Myself and the Diverse City Band, my band, we play against NewSong.
We played our first game the other night. I'm not going to say who won. But I am smiling.
Q: Does the tour have anything to offer to concertgoers of different faiths or those who aren't religious?
A: My portion of Winter Jam definitely has something for them. I'm definitely not proselytizing. I'm not shoving anything down anybody's throat.
My show is about diversity and people coming out from all walks of life and celebrating who we are as people and our differences.
There are plenty of songs on any of our records that just would invite anyone to listen. It's not just for the God Ghetto.
Q: Which is more fulfilling for you: being on tour or being in the studio? Or are they both fulfilling in different ways?
A: You nailed it: They're fulfilling in different ways.
I love making songs that connect with peoples' lives. . . . I've always counted on the fact that if I write songs about my own struggles and the struggles I'm sitting back and watching in society, people will relate to my music and my music will encourage them, make them more aware of something, cause them to think. That's always my goal. In the studio, that's my mindset.
When I go out live and you actually walk onstage and you see that that music has connected with people, you see people singing back a lyric that you feel like God breathed through you, you're like, "Yes, man, this is it. It all comes together right here."
Q: What's the plan for your next album?
A: I worked pretty hard toward a new studio record, from about late August through November. I got four or five things together that I like.
I will try to get in the studio as much as I can on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays -- that's when we're home from Winter Jam. But typically I'm a little bit vocally worn out, and it's really hard to write without your instrument. I can hear it in my head. But to communicate it to other people is difficult when you have no voice a lot of times, and you're just waiting to be recharged. Also, I have my family and I want to spend as much time as I can with them when I'm home.
The goal is just tour into the middle of March. March, April and May, I'm just going to bust it, try to get it done by about July, mixed and everything, and hand it in. It should come out October-November.
I love spending about six to eight weeks on every song, just layering and layering and finding the right sounds, the right vocal arrangements. But I listen to the radio now and I can hear this simplicity. . . . The simplicity of rock radio and pop radio and even hip-hop radio is inspiring to me right now. I would love to go and do that.
Q: Is there any momentum toward a dc Talk reunion?
A: When we're in the same city or at a festival, we usually jump on each other's stage. The thing about dc Talk is, the first thing I want people to know is that the relationships are there, solid. It wasn't like it was a weird sort of parting. We're friends.
The second thing is that we're all enjoying what we're doing. We're all passionate and driven by what we're doing. If we get back together, it'll feel like a reunion, not like a revamping of the career.
I would say a reunion . . . is inevitable. I think we want to do it. It's just a matter of when.
Christian Music News Source
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