Curtis Stephan | Close-Up
Congratulations to Curtis! His song "NO ORDINARY DAY" is the 2006 March Music Madness Champion! In his honor we are proud to present an encore of the Curtis Stephan Close-Up that appeared here on September 29, 2005.
Q: We are anxiously awaiting the release of your sophomore record Sacred Revolution. Did you approach this recording differently than Through the Storm?
Through the Storm came from a time of real brokenness in my life. For many years I really struggled with depression and feeling abandoned. Many of those songs are about my prayers to God and how he saw me through those times. Sacred Revolution comes from a place of joyous adventure that God taken me on. This collection of songs comes from finding purpose in life and diving into the love that God has for us.
Q: Do you have a favorite song on the new album?
I'm really excited because I love so many songs on this CD. There's a very diverse mix of songs that are very complimentary to Through the Storm. I am particularly fond of "You are Not Forsaken" because I've been thinking about that bridge for years as a chorus and finally found a place for it. "This Day" has become a morning staple. "In Paradisum" and "Pastures' really hit home because when my Dad was really sick, I wanted to make sure I had something prepared just in case. You know?
Q: You co-wrote the theme song "Winds of Change" for this year's National Catholic Youth Conference. How did this come about?
The National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry opened up the opportunity to submit a theme song for the conference. I wrote a couple of different choruses. At my parish here in Texas, we have a large Spanish speaking community and I've worked with them many times. After our annual Mexico mission trips, I fell in love with the language and I felt challenged to write a truly multi-cultural, multi-generational song. I called Jesse [Manibusan] and asked him if he would be interested in helping me work on the project. Sitting in his living room we wrote the rest of the song. I was overwhelmed when I got a call about our song being chosen.
Q: What CDs are you listening to in your car these days?
I've had my Ceili Rain CD, Erasers on Pencils in quite a bit... Bob Halligan is a great writer and musician who writes very clever songs. I also have a whole stack of Beatles CDs and the Best of George Harrison in there. Chris Tomlin and David Crowder are also big players in my driving experience.