Behind the Music
The recording of FPCB’s Modern Worship Team’s Christmas CD, On Christmas Night
by Matt Woll, Director of Modern Worship
After finishing our last recording project, Upside Down, the modern worship musicians and I were kicking around some ideas about what our next creative endeavor might be. During a week at the Willow Creek Arts Conference last year, I had a guitar idea running through my head that I later spent an entire evening working out. After finishing the musical arrangement, I decided to start thinking about some lyrics. After singing through it, I realized that the melody from Away in a Manger fit perfectly with the music. I decided that this was God telling me to consider putting together a Christmas CD for FPCB. I was also inspired by one of my favorite artist's new release and the "organic" production quality it had. Real sounds from acoustic instruments, creative instrumentation, and unique parts made it really sound fresh and alive. For this project that translated into two self-imposed limitations that forced us to be creative; 1) no electric guitars, and 2) no toms on the drums. Parts that I might normally play on electric guitar, I played on the piano, or asked Ross Hauck to play on the cello. Co-producer Molly Balko and I decided on a song list made up of seven traditional carols, two pop songs, and an original Christmas song written by a friend. Our good friend Timothy James Meaney offered us a great package at Wiseman Studios, and we set off to record the album. After spending a couple of impromptu sessions with the musicians, we found our collective groove and began to track the record. Although it was a little strange to be focusing on Christmas music in August and September, we did the best we could to capture the spirit of Advent and looked forward to releasing On Christmas Night.
FPCB musicians and friends on the project also included Nathan Novak on drums, percussion, and timpani; Alicea Novak on trombone; Jon Young on double bass; Molly, Chris Martenson, Joel Broom, John Tripp, and I on vocals; Scottie Kosman on mandolin; Ross Hauck on cello; Brian Eichelberger on violin; and Randy Bourland on keys. We took what's called a "multi-track" approach to the recording of this CD, which means each player recorded their parts individually and we built the songs a track at a time. I recorded the guitar tracks first, then Nathan recorded drum and percussion parts, bass came next, then keys and other color instruments, and lastly the vocals were recorded. This style of recording helps the musician achieve their best possible performances, and allowed us to build great sounding songs. Our ultimate goal in producing On Christmas Night was to glorify Jesus through art and music, and to provide a sound track that celebrates and reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas. Recording a project like this in the summertime reminds us that we celebrate Emmanuel, God with us in every season, and helped us look forward to the upcoming Advent celebrations!
Over 500 copies of On Christmas Night were sold during Advent and songs from the CD received radio airplay on 104.3, 105.3, and 106.5 FM. Both On Christmas Night and Upside Down are available for purchase on Sundays and during the week.