Lately music's been wearing on me like a wool sweater in the summer. So much of it just feels heavy, smothering and irritating. So in my continual search to find stuff that's more uplifting and more fun to listen to, I discovered a young band by the name of "Shachah," (pronounced shaw'kah).
They're part Roots part Dave Matthews (remember them?) all praise. These cats go hard with a good purpose. Anyway, after listening to their 2nd CD, ON THE MOVE, I just knew I had to reach out to these guys. Fortunately, Brenden, the crew's lead singer was kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions for me.
By: B. Canseco
HK: Tell us about Shachah. For starters what does “Shachah” mean? How long have you guys been together?
Brenden: Shachah is the Hebrew word meaning to worship and bow down. I got this name from my studies of the old-testament instances of worship when I was in Bible College. Shachah has been together almost 6 years now.
HK: Shachah is pretty unabashed in its lyrics regarding Christ and faith. How do you balance the music and the message without sounding “too preachy”?
Brenden: I don’t ever consciously think “am I being to preachy” I just go through my daily walk with the Lord and the content that comes out is a direct refection of that. My aim lyrically is to layout truth and let the Holy Spirit do the rest. If you go from Genesis to Revelation you will deal with all the issues pertaining to life and godliness so I just proclaim that truth. When you are listening to a Shachah song you are really hearing an echo of my devotional time and prayer with the Lord.
As long as I have a platform I will always be unabashed lyrically because our time here is short and I don’t want to waste one verse talking about cheeseburgers or something. Some bands have no problem making “positive” songs which is fine, but as for Shachah we are a band that proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ.
HK: Which came first for Shachah—the music or the ministry? (Did you guys start out as musicians first or followers looking for a way to minister and the music followed?)
Brenden: Well we all kind of come from a different place as far as the ministry goes. Stephen(drummer) and Josh(guitar) were both very active in youth worship teams as teenagers. Earl(bass) came from the music side of things. He went to college for music and came to California in 2003 to enter the school of worship. I grew up in church but did not start to actually develop musical skills until my late teens. Shachah really, was a youth worship team that happened to become a ministry almost over night. Ministry, for us, always comes before the music. We do what we do to see people come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and not just to make cool music. Music fades but eternal life does not.
HK: For me one of the major draws to ON THE MOVE is its blending of genres. You manage to fuse everything from rap, rock, pop, even a little reggae. How would you guys describe the “Shachah sound”?
Brenden: We describe “our sound” as Funk-Rock Hip-Hop. It does have a little bit of everything and I think the listener today appreciates that. We do not live in a time where people swear allegiance to only one style of music anymore. In the average iPod today you will see a wide range of styles and artists. We are the same way and I think our musical style reflects that. I can listen to the new Ambassador album and jump straight to some good ol’Andre Crouch without batting an eye.
HK: Most of the songs on OTM depict
common everyman struggles—getting your equipment stolen, self-doubt,
standing up for your beliefs, etc. What’s yours or Shachah’s biggest
struggle so far?
Brenden: I would say the biggest
struggle for Shachah is getting out of the way of what the Lord wants
to do. It is so easy to get so caught up in the ministry or music that
you forget that you must completely depend on the direction of the Holy
Spirit. It gets hard sometimes to be honest. You have to be faithful to
what the Lord has called you to but you still go over on your cell
phone minutes, or pick up a side job so you can afford to get your
wisdom teeth pulled. You have to constantly be led by faith like
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego they didn’t know how they would survive
the furnace necessarily or even that they would survive but, they knew
they would not bow down and worship anyone or anything other than the
Lord God Almighty.
HK: On The Move sounds really different from your previous album To The One, which seemed to have a more straight-ahead, power-pop/contemporary Christian rock sound. Was it a natural evolution or more by design (i.e. were you experimenting with different sounds, musical ideas?)?
Brenden: Well to be honest with you “To The One” was a natural move for us. We play probably 60% worship services and 40% upbeat concerts, so naturally we needed a worship album for the people that know the “worship band” side of Shachah. We started as a worship team so we always wanted to put together our original songs of worship in a contemporary style for the people. In the future we will, Lord willing, do another worship album.
HK: What’s the Shachah songwriting process like? Do you start with a message you want to convey or a rhythmic/melodic concept?
Brenden: Our song writing process is all over the place ha ha ha. Sometimes it starts with a riff or a beat or a melody idea. It is almost always different. Another thing with Shachah is everybody plays a few instruments so you never know who will bring what to the table. As far as my role in the band goes I am the mouthpiece. I take my role in Shachah very seriously. I write all the lyrics and melodies for the band and that is a great responsibility. My band mates are very talented and gifted guys so the canvas they can lay out for me musically is exciting and always evolving. That is why I have to be on my game at all times because they throw me some curve balls once in awhile ha ha.
HK: One of my favorite songs on OTM is “Found My Place”. On it you guys say, “we need to take His strength and break the chains of cursed church tradition/ we need to speak His name and walk in faith like a relationship and not religion.” Do you think that “religion” is why so many young people seem not interest in church these days?
Brenden: First off let me just say that the line you are talking about is a quote from Benito P who was featured on that song. That being said I do think that young people are turned off to a relationship with Christ because of the way “religion” is viewed today. You can turn on the t.v. at anytime these days and see religion being slammed and made a mockery of. I think it will take real people that are passionate about a relationship with Jesus Christ to reach this generation. The youth today respect reality because they can see right through the façade that the world paints for them. It will take people like you and me living a life that is not compromised by this world to reach these young people.
HK: What’s it like being on Cross Movement Records?
Brenden: Being on CMR is like being picked for your older brothers basketball team on the playground after school. I grew up listening to Cross Movement and always loved and respected them as men and as ministers.
When I was 16 my youth pastor handed me Ambassador’s “Christology in Laymen’s Terms” and it literally changed my life. After listening to/ studying that album it was made obvious to me that if I were going to be in a position of ministry and specifically an emcee then I would need to know very well what I was bringing to the people. It is still kind of a trip to me thinking that I not only know these guys now but we are good friends and co-laborers in the ministry.
Also being on CMR is a beautiful thing because they give us freedom and they trust that we are hearing from the Lord, so artistically the pressure is not there. I praise God for the guys in Cross Movement because they paved the way for guys like me and showed me how to be a solid example and a minister of Jesus Christ and still make music that is quality.
HK: Shachach’s appeal seems to cross cultural and racial lines. Why do you think that even in this “age of Obama” that so many churches/church services remain so segregated along racial, and cultural lines?
Brenden: The Church is the body of Christ, some of us are arms some are toes but we are one body with the Lord Jesus the Christ as the head. When we really begin to let that set in and practice that unity in Him we will worry less about us and more about the work at hand. It starts with a dependence on the Lord because only God can truly bring change, not man, the best we can do is filthy rags.
HK: Do you guys ever encounter any criticism for being “too pop” or “too urban” or too secular” to be considered “real” Christian artists?
Brenden: For the most part people really dig what we are doing. I did have a group of young guys come up to me and tell me that I cannot use the term “Hip-Hop” to describe our style because of the negative connotations that come with the term. I didn’t really say much back to them, I was really just shocked to be honest. If I could speak to them again I would tell them that our God is in the business of redemption and if something has to be thrown out because of its origin or a span of its history then I wouldn’t be here today.
How does a man that is born into sin approach a perfect God? It is only by His grace through our faith in His son Jesus Christ. He created music and we will use all kinds of different forms to worship Him with.
HK: If people want to check you guys out—see a Shachah gig, catch a service, etc. where can they go?
Brenden: We keep our website up to date it is www.Shachah.com. They can also check us at www.myspace.shachahmusic.com
HK: Words to live by—got a favorite scripture/quote?
Brenden: One of my favorite verses right now is Hebrews 12:1-2 “THEREFORE we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares [us,] and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of [our] faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
That’s it, man... a diligent walk with Christ. God Bless you and your ministry thank you for inviting me to this interview.
HK: No prob, B. I appreciate the time and the insights on your end. This was great stuff!
