Church gigs?

Pollyanna

Platinum Member
I should preface by saying I'm not religious, not even a little bit.

I'm bemused by the numerous references by members to the church gigs they play. When I was forced to go to Sunday school as a little 'un the music was limited to the congregation in a hall singing All Things Bright and Beautiful (badly). I don't know of any equivalent to what happens in the US churches in Australia, though there may be a few. Bear in mind that almost half of US people go to church whereas less than 20% of Aussies do.

What's the story with these church gigs? Do you have to play God Squad songs or can it just be any music? Do you get paid? How long do you play? If you're playing rock how do the oldies handle it? From a few stories it seems to vary from institution to institution and the description of some of the gigs seems to range from well organised to feral (including the behaviour of some of the flock).

Just curious.
 
I remember, when I was a youth, hearing a friend telling about someone playing a acoustic guitar for church and thinking Oh My. But now it is so common place. I guess it just grew. I went to my Moms church for a service when she died and remember looking into this booth in the corner by the front door and it looked like a recording studio.
 
It really depends on the church. If it's an evangelical church, there are artists and bands out there that most here probably have never heard of that are a really big deal in Christian worship music circles. Hillsong, Tommy Barnett, Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin, Paul Baloche, and a bunch of others. Most of it is very U2-sounding. It's not the type of music I would spend money on or spend my time listening to, but I have a lot of experience playing this stuff in churches. If you're playing with some other good musicians that like to mix things up, it can be fun. If not, it can be mind-numbingly boring. The music itself is VERY derivative and same-ey for the most part, but there are a handful of songs that I do enjoy playing.
 
Ditto on it varies from church to church. Some larger churches even have distinct "traditional" and "contemporary" services (Choral music versus "rock" full-band music)

If you youtube any of the above mentioned (Hillsong, Chris Tomlin, David Crowder Band, Matt Redman) you'll get a feel for the contemporary style.

Most church bands are volunteer musicians from the congregation and there will be a paid music minister on staff.

I have had situations where a church needed fill-in musicians and was paid for time/travel or whatever, but in most cases pay is not the norm.
 
Most of it is very U2-sounding.

That's pretty funny ... I'm imagining "In the naaaaame of loooove!"

Do band members have to be members of the congregation (or even religious)? If so, I imagine you could wind up playing with either some great musos you'd never get to play with otherwise or some very dodgy ones ...
 
I was called to do a church gig once, about eight years ago. It was a sort of...really I couldn't figure out what it was, a jazz service or something, although we didn't play anything that could be called jazz.

It was a big church, with a proper food-service kitchen and a PA system. It even had an elevator up to the big room where all the pews were.

We were all set up right there on the alter or whatever it's called. The music was geared around the service, we all had charts (sort of) and during the stretches when there wasn't any music we'd go backstage or whatever it's called in a church. It was just a little room off to the side. I couldn't make heads or tails out of what the hell was happening.

I felt very weird, being up so early on a Sunday and in a church for crying out loud. But the dough was great! A very nice guy came up and handed out the checks before we'd even played. That was a first.

I got $250 for playing about fifteen minutes of music. These cats were loaded with cash, you should have seen this place.

We were invited downstairs for coffee and doughnuts after the gig but I didn't stay for that.
 
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Do band members have to be members of the congregation (or even religious)? If so, I imagine you could wind up playing with either some great musos you'd never get to play with otherwise or some very dodgy ones ...

Pollyanna, you're in Sydney, right near one of the main hubs of where a lot of Christian music is produced! There are at least two or three churches in Sydney that make albums that sell worldwide, like Hillsong and C3.

As far as I know, in Australian churches, (I work in a church in Melbourne, and I help oversee one of our music teams), the requirement is that band members do have to be active participants in their faith. You're right in that to a degree, it's quite a mixed bag, but we do have standards insofar as auditioning for the band goes - whilst we generally want to encourage people to step out of their comfort zone and try something new, we don't want a crappy-sounding band. I would personally insist that band members be active participants in their faith simply because they would a) go into the gig understanding that it's not about them or their abilities and b) understand what people want from a church band and provide that.

A lot of the top musicians in churches here though are often established artists themselves, or have done a lot of session work - a lot of them have played a lot more normal music than Christian music per se. So while it's a volunteer, part-time gig here (mostly), it's still a demanding, high-quality gig. I like to think of it as a gig unlike any other, where you step in and play different songs with a different bunch of people each week for an audience that isn't really there to watch or hear you, but still has expectations of you. I'd also imagine in the bigger churches, the full-time musicians would probably be compensated for their time.

All that being said, I will say that I think the entire idea of 'Christian' music is becoming far too commercialised and the marketing and whatnot is becoming a bit ridiculous; it seems to me like a lot of it is more about generating profit (which is not necessarily a bad thing for a church, but when it's your main goal...) than really doing anything great.
 
That's pretty funny ... I'm imagining "In the naaaaame of loooove!"

Do band members have to be members of the congregation (or even religious)? If so, I imagine you could wind up playing with either some great musos you'd never get to play with otherwise or some very dodgy ones ...
At the churches I have played at, yes you do have to be "member" of the congregation, meaning you come to services regularly at the very least. It helps if other people at the church know you as well.

I'm not joking about the U2 thing. On one hand, it is cool that Christian contemporary worship music has been so inspired by U2, but on the other hand, it is kind of weird because the Christian music community pretty much shuns all other non-Christian artists and bands. But they have championed U2 for years now for some reason. Maybe it's because of the Christian overtones in some of U2's music, I don't know.

To give you a clue of what I'm talking about, take a listen to Where The Streets Have No Name by U2. Then listen to this Hillsong tune called The Time Has Come. Listen especially to the bass line in each song. They are very similar.

Where The Streets Have No Name by U2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWUXcmoPZxw


The Time Has Come by Hillsong United:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQk65gVED1I


And as someone already mentioned, Hillsong is from Australia. They are easily the biggest thing going in Christian contemporary worship music and they have been for a number of years now.
 
3 of my students play in church here in Australia.

Hillsong has a large concert every week and makes millions from it. And doesn't pay the musicians.
 
I play a few church services. I volunteer at my own church, play for pay at another, and sub for pay at 3 others. You typically play just worship music or hymns, unless there's a "special element" in the service. I've played U2, Beatles, Evanescence, and Journey during church services before. Secular songs are pretty rare unless they perfectly fit the theme of the sermon.
 
It was a big church, with a proper food-service kitchen and a PA system. It even had an elevator up to the big room where all the pews were.

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I felt very weird, being up so early on a Sunday and in a church for crying out loud. But the dough was great! A very nice guy came up and handed out the checks before we'd even played. That was a first.

I got $250 for playing about fifteen minutes of music. These cats were loaded with cash, you should have seen this place.

We were invited downstairs for coffee and doughnuts after the gig but I didn't stay for that.

That sounds like the gig for me !

Dan
 
I should preface by saying I'm not religious, not even a little bit.

I'm bemused by the numerous references by members to the church gigs they play. When I was forced to go to Sunday school as a little 'un the music was limited to the congregation in a hall singing All Things Bright and Beautiful (badly). I don't know of any equivalent to what happens in the US churches in Australia, though there may be a few. Bear in mind that almost half of US people go to church whereas less than 20% of Aussies do.

What's the story with these church gigs? Do you have to play God Squad songs or can it just be any music? Do you get paid? How long do you play? If you're playing rock how do the oldies handle it? From a few stories it seems to vary from institution to institution and the description of some of the gigs seems to range from well organised to feral (including the behaviour of some of the flock).

Just curious.


'God Squad'...that's funny.

Personally, I don't get paid for playing at my church. I've played at 4 different ones now and have never been paid.

Most of the songs are covers of popular current songs or some older 'standards' as mentioned in an earlier post. And yes, nearly every song does have a vague 'U2' quality to it. It is pretty remarkable. I shared my opinions on the christian music 'industry' in another post. I don't remember which one right now. A lot of it is a really cheesy ripoff of secular music.

As far as talent, the other members of the band are pretty accomplished musicians, so it isn't like some situations where they let just anyone jump up and play or sing simply because they are willing to serve. There are basic proficiency standards to meet, at least at my current church.

We usually play about 4 songs at the beginning of the service. The first song is pretty much our only really up-tempo one. I haven't heard any issues with the oldies not liking the newer/louder songs. However, at a recent church meeting a few of them requested that the band do a few more older hymns. There is now an almost equal mix of newer and older songs in our setlists.
 
Not really religious either, went to Sunday school as a child, remember a few Latin masses, some chant style singing with choirs which I found rather cool and theatrical, lots of sing along god is great type stuff on projectors at smaller churches, not really my cup of tea. Never seen a proper band at a Church, though I have friends who are religious and have played such events. I've met guys from an Adelaide band who recorded with the Adelaide symphony and they play quite religious heavy music.

Probably worth mentioning that Christianity on the whole isn't as "big" here in Australia as America. There are plenty of Christians, but statistically Australia has one of the highest percentages of atheists in the world, with a large number of other faiths (Buddhism, Islam etc.) due to the fact the majority of the country reside in the capitals, which are very multi-cultural.


I should preface by saying I'm not religious, not even a little bit.

I'm bemused by the numerous references by members to the church gigs they play. When I was forced to go to Sunday school as a little 'un the music was limited to the congregation in a hall singing All Things Bright and Beautiful (badly). I don't know of any equivalent to what happens in the US churches in Australia, though there may be a few. Bear in mind that almost half of US people go to church whereas less than 20% of Aussies do.

What's the story with these church gigs? Do you have to play God Squad songs or can it just be any music? Do you get paid? How long do you play? If you're playing rock how do the oldies handle it? From a few stories it seems to vary from institution to institution and the description of some of the gigs seems to range from well organised to feral (including the behaviour of some of the flock).

Just curious.
 
My band played in a church once (for free unfortunately...). We've got breakdowns and blast beats and chest-pounding double bass and whatnot, the pastors won't talk to me the same anymore...
 
Thanks guys. That's helped clarify things for me.

Wy and Major Panic, that makes sense. From the minuscule amount I know about Hillsong, it would seem the most likely to do music (other than The Lord's Our Shepherd).

Major, that link really brought home the U2 connection. Must be all that sincerity and passion that does the job for the pastors/ministers/priests/etc - plus a lack of blast beats :) I take it the black churches do the whole gospel/soul/rap thing, complete with gospel chops.

Not surprised that Christian music is being increasingly commercialised. It's a bummer but it's the way of the world - everything gets commercialised if there's a buck to be made.
 
Thanks guys. That's helped clarify things for me.

Wy and Major Panic, that makes sense. From the minuscule amount I know about Hillsong, it would seem the most likely to do music (other than The Lord's Our Shepherd).

Major, that link really brought home the U2 connection. Must be all that sincerity and passion that does the job for the pastors/ministers/priests/etc - plus a lack of blast beats :) I take it the black churches do the whole gospel/soul/rap thing, complete with gospel chops.

Not surprised that Christian music is being increasingly commercialised. It's a bummer but it's the way of the world - everything gets commercialised if there's a buck to be made.

woman drummers are very prevalent in black gospel music. it´s NOTHING to see a 13 year old girl walk from the seats and climb behind a drum kit and and stomp the crap out of it.

this is called a Drum Shed. note the lady in red top on the middle kit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPh_Kr3eJBg this is not a church service, but gospel ppl jamming.
 
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Thanks guys. That's helped clarify things for me.

Wy and Major Panic, that makes sense. From the minuscule amount I know about Hillsong, it would seem the most likely to do music (other than The Lord's Our Shepherd).

Major, that link really brought home the U2 connection. Must be all that sincerity and passion that does the job for the pastors/ministers/priests/etc - plus a lack of blast beats :) I take it the black churches do the whole gospel/soul/rap thing, complete with gospel chops.

Not surprised that Christian music is being increasingly commercialised. It's a bummer but it's the way of the world - everything gets commercialised if there's a buck to be made.
Gospel music is a whole other animal from the stuff I listed above. To me, gospel music is the only legit style of modern Christian music today. The musicianship is usually quite a bit higher. It's got tons of energy and passion and it's probably the only type of Christian music that I really enjoy playing consistently. The blacks have never closed themselves off and cloistered themselves from non-Christian music like the rest of the white evangelical church has and it shows. Not surprising really since just about every form of popular music we enjoy today was invented by the blacks anyway.
 
Worship drumming doesn't get much better than Rolf (Hillsong), of course JC is getting pretty close.....still searching for the U2 connection....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE-qIyawMaY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXR65YfWehI

The connection is there. Maybe you can't relate it directly to a U2 song but there is a heavy influence.

We've done quite a few Jesus Culture songs lately; our worship leader is a huge fan of them. In fact, that was the first thing I thought when I heard their songs, that they sounded like some sort of U2 tribute band.
 
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