Christian Music Online

Mr. Smith comes to Modesto

November 30, 2008 – 10:42 am

Michael W. Smith is on the A-list in Christian music, with three Grammy Awards, 42 Dove Awards, 33 No. 1 songs, career sales of nearly 15 million, five platinum and 16 gold records.

And he’s coming to Modesto on Dec. 17 for a Christmas concert.

“It’s a Wonderful Christmas Tour” will be staged at Calvary Temple and features the Modesto Symphony Orchestra and Melinda Doolittle, an “American Idol” sixth-season finalist.

Tickets, widely available last week, were selling fast this week and range from $29.50 to $75, from iTickets.com or Beardsley’s Book & Bible in McHenry Village.

Smith — called Smitty by friends and fans — said the concert will include tunes from his three Christmas albums and probably music from his newest release, “A New Hallelujah.”

“We start rehearsals tomorrow and are thinking about (the playlist),” he said in a telephone interview from his home in Nashville last week. “Obviously, people want to hear Christmas music, but we want to do something new, too.”

Smith is coming off of a huge tour with fellow Christian superstar Steven Curtis Chapman. The tour was such a success, the two plan to go back on the road in the spring. Smith’s son, Tyler, played keyboards on that tour but isn’t accompanying his dad on this trip.

Family is a big deal for Smith. He volunteers with Compassion International, a children’s aid program; founded Rocketown, a skate park, dance floor and cafe for disenfranchised youth in Nashville; and serves as vice chairman on President Bush’s Council on Service and Civic Participation (the two also share that middle initial — Dubya). Yet his biggest priority, he said, is his family — wife Debbie and children Ryan, Whitney Smith-Mooring, Tyler, Anna and Emily, who range in age from 16 to 24. Two grandchildren are recent additions.

Smith got his start as a keyboard player for Amy Grant, who brought her 20-year anniversary tour to Modesto on Oct. 24, along with many musicians who toured with her in the 1980s.

“I was the first person she called” about reuniting for the anniversary tour, Smith said. “I really wanted to join her because I obviously was a big part of that. Unfortunately, I just (didn’t have the time).”

He did have time to recently shoot an NBC special with Grant, “Holiday Celebration on Ice,” that will air Sunday at 1 p.m..

And it was the Grant gig that gave him his first solo album, “Michael W. Smith Project,” in 1983 with Reunion records.

In the early years, his wife wrote the lyrics and Smith wrote the music. “Friends,” one example of their combined efforts, was recorded in 1997 and still is popular at graduation services. Debbie Smith stepped away from her lyrical job for a decade or so.

“We combined for this last record, ‘A New Hallelujah,’ that came out three weeks ago,” Smith said. “But you start having babies and whoa, man, life changes the amount of time you have to be creative.”

A special song

His hit songs are many, but one of the most memorable is “This Is Your Time,” written about Cassie Bernall, one of the victims in the Columbine High School shootings in 1999.

“That one pretty much holds a special place in my heart,” Smith said. “It was an extremely difficult situation. I was asked to go out there to be part of a memorial service. All of a sudden, there are 200,000 people waiting to mourn and you’re in there with 13 families who had lost their kids. I cried for days when I came home.”

The song, he said, “was not an easy one to write. But God always turns tragedy into triumph somehow. It doesn’t mean you understand it or you don’t have questions, but he allows certain things to happen. I think we found a way to turn this into something positive; at least, I hope so.”

The song later was featured in an episode of the TV series “Touched by an Angel” in which a busy Congresswoman learns a lesson from her elementary-age son and travels to Sudan to redeem the lives of Christians sold as slaves.

Visiting Modesto

Why is the famous singer coming to a church venue in a smallish city?

“We’re trying to take this to smaller halls,” Smith said. “This (Christmas tour) is more conducive to a symphony hall. There are some challenges playing at a church, but we’re going to pull this off.”

Smith said he is excited to work with the Modesto Symphony at this stop. Finding time to rehearse with a new orchestra for each concert is a problem, he admitted.

“It makes it difficult, but it’s OK,” he said. “We send in the (music) charts, and on the day of the show, we have a 2½-hour rehearsal for the symphony. We have to blaze a trail because we do the show that night. It’s a lot more difficult (than taking a band on the road), but it’s worth it.”

As for adding Doolittle to the lineup, Smith said, “She’s just awesome. She’s from Nashville, too, and we just got to be good friends. She came on the tour last year and was a hit. If it’s not broke, why fix it? The audience loves her. She’ll do ‘All is Well,’ which is on my first Christmas album, and another special song to me.”

Living on the road and staying active in charitable activities keeps Smith busy. How does he keep his faith fresh?

“Surround yourself with great people,” he said. “Learn how to say no, which was very, very difficult for me for many years. Being still. Slowing down. I make a very concentrated effort to do that.

“We have a family farm down the road from here with a big barn that sleeps 14. Last night, I checked with my wife and told her I needed some time alone. I went out to the barn, built a fire, spent the night. Just a refreshing time. I also have a favorite park where I go and turn my cell phone off and just walk.”

And how does he keep the home fires burning bright in the midst of his busy schedule?

“I think it all comes down to communication,” he said. “If you stop communicating, all kinds of things can come in and widen the gap. When the gap gets extremely wide, you lose hope. Sometimes I’ve even said I’m sorry and confessed to something when I didn’t think it was my fault, because I wanted to keep peace.

“I’ve got a great wife, a loving wife, and it’s worth it to keep communicating. It’s the same thing with your kids.”

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