Talk about your nice Christmas gifts! When Editor Supreme, Kimberly Hall, called to inform me that EXIT had secured an interview with Jennifer Knapp and that she was giving it to me because I’m such a fan, I was thrilled to death. (See, incessantly telling that "I took pictures with Jennifer Knapp in a public bathroom" story finally paid off!) And the fact that I got a copy of Jennifer’s new album,
Lay It Down, over a month before its street date (February 29
th) was icing on the cake.
So what do you say to one of your favorite musicians? Well, after a little of the gushing fan bit, you realize that she’s really nice and easy to talk to.
I explain to her that I’ve never done an interview before and don’t know how to start, so she just says, "Hit me . . . get me while the getting’s good!"
She wasn’t kidding. In about 4 days, the "getting" will be non-existent because she’ll be starting her tour in support of
Lay It Down. And that’s where our conversation begins.
I cannot imagine knowing what I would be doing everyday for the next ten weeks, much less the next ten months. Yet Jennifer has her schedule laid out through the end of the year. She agrees that this lifestyle is "very unusual." "It is kinda weird, knowing your life a year from now."
But it’s not too unusual for Jennifer, who is typically on the road from 180 to 200 days a year. Add in the ten weeks she spent this past year (from September to Thanksgiving of ’99) in the studio, writing and recording
Lay It Down, and she’s not left with much time to herself. Recording the album was almost like downtime for her. This past fall was "the first time in three years I’ve been in the same bed that many consecutive nights!"
Recording
Lay It Down was a bit of a departure from her in-studio experience with
Kansas (her first nationally released album).
Kansas was recorded in 28 days, but with the new album, Jennifer was done weeks ahead of schedule, which allowed her time to go over the music again and again, ensuring that she was pleased with the finished product.
As with anyone releasing a second album after a very successful debut, there is a certain amount of pressure—avoiding the dreaded "sophomore slump." Jennifer laughingly describes the pressure as being "all like junior high again! I think I ended up in the long run putting more on myself than anyone else did."
Yet upon listening to the new album, it’s apparent that Jennifer has no need to be apprehensive.
Lay It Down is clearly not just an extension of
Kansas, but the solid songwriting and powerful vocals that fans have come to expect are still at the forefront of her music. In addition, she co-produced the album with Audio Adrenaline’s Mark Stuart (who also produced
Kansas).
Stylistically, however, this album is more diverse, which really highlights the fact that Jennifer hasn’t been in the music business all her life. "I still feel like I’m getting my feet under me," she admits. "I still don’t feel too nailed down [to a particular musical style] . . . I haven’t been a songwriter for long. I’ve been doing this kind of thing for about five years."
And during those five years, she’s been filed under her share of different musical headings. The GMA (Gospel Music Association) classifies her as rock, and she seems satisfied with "acoustic-folk-pop." But in the end, she’s really not terribly concerned with labels. "In the end, if you like it, I don’t really care [what you call it]!"
Jennifer’s "Lay It Down" tour (with Third Day) begins March 2
nd in Austin, Texas. She’ll be co-headlining, with both artists getting at least an hour set. Still being a fairly "new" artist, Jennifer did not initially feel prepared to tour in a "lead-spot," but many people encouraged her to do so. Among those, some of the biggest supporters were her fans.
I even found myself complaining that though I’d seen her in concert three times, I’ve never really seen her do a full set (which, I, of course, blamed on DC Talk and the W’s). Her reaction to my lament? "That’s so crazy! . . . . I can spend that much time on the road, and there are still people that have paid a ticket to see us and still haven’t seen the whole show! Blows my mind! My work is never done," she says, giving us both a laugh.
Though when I talked to her, Jennifer hadn’t finalized her set list for the tour, she says that she intends to do about a fifty-fifty split between
Lay It Down and
Kansas material. She really wants fans to enjoy the show and wants to be sure that "the crowd knows that I’m interested," having attended concerts herself where artists play none of the songs that created their fan base. So, yes, she will be playing the crowd-pleasers!
While we’re on the subject of touring, I ask her how she got hooked up with the Lilith Fair tour. She explained that the people at Network Records heard
Kansas and liked it, and eventually hooked her up with the tour, as well as with promoting Tommy Hilfiger (who "put their money where their mouth is"). Her initial thought was, "Do they know this is a Christian record?"
"I figured once these people realized that we were singing about God, they would high-tail it out of there." But all of her stereotypes of how she would be treated as a Christian artist on that tour were contradicted.
With the Lilith Tour being a festival environment, Jennifer wasn’t able to dialogue with the crowd as much as she would in a more intimate setting. But she explains, "You take the opportunity that you get and you use it wisely and well . . . . [You] explain the songs [then] let the songs speak for themselves . . . . We were honored [to be involved] . . . . I believe God honored that."
And as for the people she had the opportunity to tour with at Lilith (including Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow, and Sinead Lohan), she says, "I’m gonna tell my grandkids about that! ‘Yeah kids, one day you’ll believe that one day Grandma really did touch a famous person!’"
All this talk of touring and just the constant busyness of her schedule makes me think, man, it must be difficult to find time to spend any true, quality time with Jesus. Yet Jennifer refuses that as acceptable. "I think I’d like to make an excuse about it, but it doesn’t really work that way. It’s part of our responsibility as believers, period. I don’t really feel like I get any slack on it. To me, it comes down to discipline and accountability."
Again, I try to make an excuse for her saying that the way that her schedule is set up, even lined out for her hour by hour, a "quiet time" must be hard to come by. But she just uses my excuse to further emphasize her point. "At the same time [while the schedule is busy], you have it lined out, so you know how to respond. I don’t expect to be held any less responsible as a believer."
And with responsibility comes pressure and expectation. I mention to Jennifer that I had just read an interview with actress Angelina Jolie in which she describes how weird (and at times, difficult) it can be to be in a position of celebrity. People have read things about you and things you’ve said, and they assume that they know you, automatically placing expectations on you.
Though Jennifer is quick to say, "I don’t in any way consider myself famous in the true sense of fame," she acknowledges the fact that people’s reactions are "very much not a normal thing." I even mention the fact that I met her in a bathroom and took a picture with her, but looking back on that, I realize how odd it must be for a complete stranger to want to take pictures with you (especially in a bathroom!). But instead of complaining about fan reactions, she simply says, "I just have to convince myself at the time that it’s normal."
She does bring out the point that there are even more expectations put upon her because of the fact that she is a Christian. "I don’t necessarily—as a Christian—get the luxury of having a bad day." Even on Jennifer’s web site (
www.jenniferknapp.com), I’ve read comments from fans complaining that Jennifer did not go out of her way to talk to them after a concert. Yet how often do we, as Christians, neglect to speak to every person around us?
But Jennifer is very gracious and definitely isn’t complaining. She admits that she did not ask God for "celebrity," but she is committed to what He has provided for her. "I don’t feel any obligations to maintain a lie or to pretend that I’m somebody that I’m not . . . . It’s a discipline [adjusting to this lifestyle]."
In addition to all of this touring, writing, recording, etc., Jennifer has also visited other countries, giving her an opportunity to do hands-on ministry in a place where her celebrity is a non-issue. She’s been to places such as Estonia and the Dominican Republic and describes these experiences as "a little bit more realistic . . . something that doesn’t require a performance."
Yet even in what we might think of as very foreign countries, Jennifer is not always able to be an anonymous face in the crowd. Even as this causes some changes in her ministry, Jennifer is quick to emphasize God’s faithfulness in using the changes. She’s been learning to take the platform that God has given her and make it useful. Her comment: "Use your name for something good. Habitat for Humanity calls it ‘cultural capital’—your face is worth something, your time is worth something. Make it useful and spend it well."
With her ministry reaching out in so many different directions (from the Christian community, to the Lilith fans, to those who don’t know Christ in other countries), I ask if she sees her ministry as being primarily directed at the church or to unbelievers. And as it turns out, she knows that God is calling her to minister in both of these areas.
"I believe in the gifts that I have. I believe they do edify the church, not because of me, but because of the Spirit of God . . . . We also [as Christians] have a call . . . to go out."
Though this is quite a Scriptural viewpoint, she admits to receiving mixed reactions from fellow believers. When she became involved with Lilith Fair, she remembers people’s comments like, "‘Oh, she’s crossing over, she’s leaving the church.’ It was precisely the opposite . . . . We [Jennifer and her co-workers at her ministry team, Alabaster Arts] believe, whatever you do, do your heartiest to the Lord . . . . Take those things and be able to infiltrate society . . . doing that with [a] passion for holiness."
After all of this "heavy" conversation, I realize that we hadn’t even talked that much about music! Though she claims she doesn’t keep up with all the latest releases, she acknowledges that she’s a big fan of female singer/songwriters such as Margaret Becker, Tracy Chapman, and Shawn Colvin. Lay It Down actually features a track written by Colvin ("Diamond in the Rough"), though Jennifer’s version is quite different than Shawn’s original. "I hope Shawn Colvin doesn’t call me going, ‘Ahhh . . .!’"
Jennifer also had the opportunity to work with Margaret Becker on one of the new songs ("When Nothing Satisfies You"). Jennifer is clearly a huge Margaret Becker fan. "She just really inspires me as a songwriter . . . I’m always afraid to say stuff ‘cause I don’t want her to think I’m stalking her," she admits with a laugh.
Jennifer actually wrote the song "A Little More" (on the new album as well as on the "Listen Louder" compilation) with Becker in mind, but things didn’t work out for collaboration on that song. So, Jen sent Margaret some demos from the new album to see if any of them caught her attention, and Becker latched on to "When Nothing Satisfies You." "It was definitely a moment for me, to be able to share the song with her."
Jennifer got to spend even more time with Becker during the recording of the Heaven & Earth: A Tapestry of Worship album (featuring Jen, Margaret, Michelle Tumes, Nichole Nordeman, and Rebecca St. James). Jennifer also enjoyed chatting with Nordeman—"I’ve become a big fan of her writing." And since she doesn’t get to hang out with girls much in the studio or on the road, the Heaven & Earth experience was "really exciting."
That album is a rarity, in that Jennifer wrote neither of the two songs that she sings on the album. But even though she was performing songs she didn’t write, Jennifer was still affected by the music. About the song "Whisper My Name," she recalls that "it really moved me a lot, and to be honest, I didn’t expect it to . . . . I had no idea that I would get in the studio to ‘work’ then all of a sudden be fighting off tears . . . just loving what the song means to me . . . . I couldn’t have written anything like that . . . [so] there are advantages to singing other people’s music."
Heaven & Earth is very much a worship album, and Jennifer notes that with Lay It Down, "I wanted to worship more when I sang . . . . [I] wanted to make an effort [in] identifying the qualities of God . . . . A lot of people consider Kansas to be worshipful . . . for me, it was more of a searching out of my faith, and a fear and trembling kind of experience."
And with that brief comparison, I finally run out of questions (after all, there’s already been about an hour of conversation). Expecting a twenty-minute interview and ending up with over an hour of tape, I’m quick to apologize for rambling and boring her!
To which the ever-gracious Jennifer replies, "Really, I usually bore myself before you bore me!"
