A Ridiculous Blessing: A Conversation with Sidewalk Prophets’ David Frey and Cal Joslin

One of the premier bands in the contemporary Christian music
scene, Sidewalk Prophets have been delighting listeners for nearly 20 years with
a blend of impeccable musicianship, poignant songwriting, and their strong
desire to spread a message of love and positivity. During that time, the band
has recorded four full-length albums plus a Christmas album, has garnered numerous
awards and nominations, and has released five number one singles, including the
RIAA Gold-certified “The Words I Would Say.” On top of that, prior to last
year’s pandemic, the band averaged over 150 live shows per year. Perhaps, most
impressively, despite not being able to tour in support of their 2020 album, The
Things That Got Us Here, Sidewalk Prophets found a way to bring their music
to fans with a “virtual tour” that featured over 80 shows tailored to
individual cities.

Now that live shows are back, Sidewalk Prophets are hitting
the road for their Great Big Family Reunion Tour. Lead singer David Frey and
bassist/musical director Cal Joslin were kind enough to take some time away
from their busy rehearsal schedule to chat with Sweetwater about the band’s
approach to writing and recording songs, their ambitious virtual tour, and their
advice for aspiring musicians.

Sweetwater: It’s been said that the birth of a song
begins in the heart of the songwriter. What approaches do you take to access
your heart so that the songs can come out?

David: When our manager, Ben McDonald, and I started the
band years ago, we were just writing songs together in our dorm room. Now that
we’re in Nashville, we usually have another writer in the room with us, and it’s
fun to experience people’s different approaches. But, for us, I think the key
is to always be honest and real. There are conversations at the beginning of a
songwriting session where you’re just hanging out and catching up on things
that are going on in your lives. Ben and I always reflect on how important
those conversations are because there could be a song in there, something we
can delve into that will lead us to a big picture. We like to start with that
main idea — whether it be the title lyric of the song or the big hook. It’s
great to know where you’re going to land in a song. When you come up with that
concept, it makes it easier to unlock the door to all the other parts of
songwriting.

When you’re writing collaboratively, what are some of the
things you do to make those sessions as fruitful as possible?

David: You’ve heard it a thousand times before — dare to be
stupid! You might think your idea sounds dumb but be as open as you can. When
we walk into these collaborations, they might be with a songwriter who’s
written hundreds of songs, including a lot of big hits. Recently, I got to
write with Dan Haseltine, the lead singer and founder of Jars of Clay — one of
my favorite bands — and I was so intimidated. But, when I finally spoke up, he
said, “Oh, that’s brilliant!” That was such a beautiful thing. When you’ve got
an idea, don’t shirk away from sharing it. You can write a hundred songs, and
maybe only one will be a hit. But maybe 40 of them will be songs that people
will hear and say, “Man, that resonates with me because of that one line,” — where
you dared to be stupid and didn’t know if it was going to be the right thing.

What’s an example of a song that was sparked by a crazy
idea?

David: One of my favorites is a Christmas song called “Hey
Moon” that we wrote with Sam Mizell, who also worked on some of our biggest
hits, “The Words I Would Say” and “Keep Making Me.” We went to his studio, and
his daughters’ toys were everywhere — they had wrecked his little studio
(laughs)!  And I said, “We should write
something that feels like we’re in a toy workshop.” Sam started playing around
with a toy, turning its gears, and made a drum loop out of it. Then he said, “I’ve
got this stupid idea. What if the Christmas star was hanging out with the moon
and remembering the night Jesus was born and what it felt like?” I was like, “Dude,
that’s not stupid!” I’ve told that story a hundred times, and it still gives me
goosebumps. I’m so grateful he dared to say that.

Once you and the other mad scientist have written the
songs, how are they transformed into full productions?

Cal: Production is very collaborative for us. When we go
into the studio, we have a producer calling a lot of shots and acting as the
musical director for the album. We’ve been fortunate to work with great
producers who have been really open to everybody’s ideas. It can be tough if
you have a producer that doesn’t let you do that as a band. It’s a group effort
between the band and the producer to steer the demos into what we’re
envisioning for the album and make sure everything fits tonally.

David: That’s the part that blows my mind. I’ll have the
basics knocked out — the bones, the lyrics, the melody, and then it goes to Cal
and Dan (guitarist Daniel Macal), and we just see what happens in the studio.
As Cal said, a lot of our producers have given us liberty to experiment with
sounds and use strange instruments, like the dulcimer or even banging on Coke
bottles!

Knowing that much of the production will happen in the
studio, do you consciously limit how far you’ll go on a demo in terms of arrangement?

David: Some of our songwriters are also trying out to be our
producers, so, sometimes, the demos can be overproduced, and we’ll have to dial
it back when we get to the recording. With all the tools available, it’s easy
to think “Why don’t I add this and this?” But, sometimes, adding too much to
the demo can steal some of the creative juice once you get into the studio.
But, with a work tape, which is often just a guitar and a vocal, you have
absolute freedom.

Cal: When David says, “work tape,” he means literally a
voice memo on his phone.

David: Right! 100%.

Cal: But that’s a great representation of whether a song is
good or not. If a song works as a voice memo, then you know it’s going to be
good on a record.

We know touring and being in front of a live audience is
very important to you and the band. That said, how much thought goes into how a
studio production will translate to the stage?

David: The further we go in our career, the more we have
that on our brain. In the beginning, we were just like, “Wow, we get to make
songs,” and the label called a lot of the shots, and the producers pulled us
along, which was great. We released our fifth record last year (The Things
That Got Us Here), and, while we weren’t going to include an eight-minute guitar
solo, we thought we could maybe do a 45-second guitar solo and create the kind
of moments fans will want to hear live. It’s making the album almost a
concert-like experience.

Cal: At the same time, we’re always trying to do what’s best
for the song. If we hear a great part on an instrument that we don’t play,
we’ll figure it out later. But, on the last album, we hardly programmed
anything — it’s us playing all the instruments for almost all the songs. It’s
much easier to translate the songs to a live performance when you start at that
point.

On the topic of live performance: last year, you did
several virtual concerts in lieu of in-person performances due to the pandemic.
Can you describe that experience?

David: That was Ben’s brainchild. We rented a space here in
Nashville and made it our own.  That’s
where we broadcast from and welcomed people into. We performed over 80 virtual
shows last year, which is a ridiculous blessing. We did a lot of iterations of
the virtual shows. Each night was a little different. One show, the audience
was invited to vote on the songs they wanted to hear next. They would pop up on
the screen while we were playing the previous song, then I would talk about the
requested song while the band switched instruments for it — that was a crazy
one!

Cal: The virtual shows have led to a community that is even
stronger than we had before — our fans, whom we call our Great Big Family.

David: Some people tuned in to every show. And we had people
from England and Finland — they were tuning in from all over the world. We’ve
never had a chance to play in England or Finland, but they got to see us live
for the first time, and we did VIP hangouts and answered questions. It was a
special experience.

And the band performed at the legendary Ryman Auditorium
last year.

David: Yeah, virtually. We were supposed to play the Ryman in
March (of 2020), but, a week before the show, we made the call to push it back
to July 4 — of course, that didn’t turn out! So, we did a virtual livestream instead
and positioned the band so that the pews and stained-glass windows were behind
us. You almost got the perspective of what an artist sees from the stage while
you watch them perform.

Cal: It was also the first show where we played our entire
album from front to back. We invited a bunch of friends to join us so that we
could authentically play all the parts, including an auxiliary percussionist
and six background singers.

David: It was important to us to say that we played the
record from top to bottom along with some of our hit songs from the past. It
was an exhausting day, but it was one of the most special days of the band’s
career.

As you think about your journey as musicians, what is one
thing you have learned that you would want to share with aspiring musicians?

David: I think it’s always just, “Don’t give up.” There may
be times when you’ve rehearsed or practiced a lick a hundred times to perform
it the way you want to, and then someone else steps up, and they can do it
instantly. That can be frustrating. Or you may be seeing other bands surpass
you in popularity. However, at the end of the day, if this is what you’re
pouring your heart into, then who cares? For me, this is my outlet that God has
given me to let people know about his goodness.

Cal: As a musician, I would say you should listen to
everyone else who is playing onstage. I think that gets lost sometimes. Say, in
a worship team, you might come in having learned your part, but you might not
be listening to what everyone else is playing. If you’re trying to be a
professional and make a living playing music, make sure to pay attention to the
other musicians and listen to how your part fits in with theirs. How well you
play with others is really important.

David: What he’s trying to say is there’s a time and place
for double bass pedals!

Conclusion

Check out Sidewalk Prophets’ latest album, The Things
That Got Us Here (Curb Records), on all the major streaming platforms. And
join the band on the road this summer for their Great Big Family Reunion Tour.
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