Worship Teams
Christian Music Through the Years w/ Michael Tate
Michael Tate from Newsboys sat down with Loop Community Founder Matt McCoy to talk about how he got started, how Newsboys has continued releasing music since 1988 and more!
How Christian Music has Changed
Matt: “You’ve been a part of DC Talk and Newsboys two of the most influential Christian bands ever. What’s it like to be a part of a band that’s been around for so long? Members have changed, so many songs, so many albums.”
Michael: “I feel like we’re just conduits and catalysts. Blessed carriers of this musical message. The members have changed, but the message stays the same. I love the fact that I get to be a part of a legend band and keep the music alive. We’ll pass away, but the songs live on. We’re carriers of the good news and it’s an honor to be that.”
Matt: “How have you seen Christian music change over the years?”
Michael: “When you listen to Christian radio today, most songs are vertical. DC Talk was pretty horizontal with social conscious lyrics. Now there’s a heavy lean on worship. I’m not a worship writer, my life is worship and how you treat people is worship. But it’s tough sometimes when you are used to being a “pop” writer but I’d still honor God and talk about God. I like to keep both. When the vertical is in place, the horizontal is in place too. I think the music has changed quite a bit, and it’s great because it’s where people are at.”
“He Lives” by Newsboys
Matt: “Tell us about your new single “He Lives”. It’s more of a congregational worship song.”
Michael: “It really is. We do some songs that we don’t write. We try to chase the art and what’s working. One of my favorite things we do in Newsboys is take songs that are out and put our spin on it. “He Lives” our manager Dave Wagner brought it to us. I heard it at church and it was such a powerful message for Easter and about how our God is not dead because he lives. Exactly what we talk about. People at our concerts are also church goers so it’s a familiar factor for our shows.”
Matt: “How do you guys continue to keep things fresh in songwriting and touring? I can imagine singing the same song can get old so many times.”
Michael: “Like everything else bro. I do believe the old cliche that if a man enjoys his occupation, he’ll never work a day in his life. We get tired, we get weary, we get delayed flights, we have a lot of responsibilities. But it’s such a beautiful thing to be able to do what you love to do. We keep it fresh because we enjoy it. If we didn’t enjoy it, I’d be long gone.
Click below to watch the rest of the interview! Be sure to check out Newsboys’ single “He Lives” and get the multitracks on Loop Community and the chord charts on SongSelect.
