Pigeon Spins Featurin an Interview with Brian Mullins

Brian Mullins - Love Came Down

"Love Came Down" is a slow country-Christian carol about the true meaning of Christmas - peaceful, inspiring, and uplifting for quiet holiday moments with the family.

Interview with Brian Mullins

“Love Came Down” combines Christian inspiration with country storytelling. How do you merge faith and musicality in your songs?

I have always loved country music and my faith is intertwined into every fiber of my being. I grew up in the church. Then I went to college and earned a BA in Christian Studies from Grand Canyon University, a Master of Ministry and Master of Arts in Biblical Studies from Temple Baptist Seminary, a Masters in Public Administration from Capella University and then a Doctorate of Ministry in Pastoral Counseling from Andersonville Theological Seminary. For music I have been singing and playing since 1986. I grew up with some of the best storytellers of our time such as George Jones, George Strait, Conway Twitty, Alabama, Bonjovi, Bryam Adams, etc. I have been in ministry since 2008 so my whole life has revolved around music and faith. For me it’s really easy to weave spiritual themes into melodies and create music that praises God and make faith accessible and deeply felt by the masses.

Your lyrics often explore personal life events. How do you decide which stories to turn into songs?

For me its like a light bulb turns on in my head. Often, it’s those life events that make you feel the deepest emotions. In other words, those heartaches that hurt you the most, for example my songs “My Forever Song” and “Why Didn’t You Want Me” or those memories that make you feel the happiest you ever had, for example my songs “Growing Up in Georgia” which comes out in March or “Hills of West Virginia,” my current release. Sometimes I’m inspired by a story someone tells me for example “Never Say Forever.”

How do you translate the intimate feel of your recordings into live performances?

The simplest and most honest answer is you can’t exactly. No artist can produce on stage the exact sound they can in a quiet, blocked off and accoustified room. However, with technology today, you can get close. I use Alberton Live and dozens of plug ins, audio processors, etc. to generate that intimate feel. Also, when I’m performing, I sing the song the same way I do as when I’m in the Studio or just driving down the road.

How does your musical upbringing, including influences like Conway Twitty and Bon Jovi, shape your current sound?

When I think of artists who influenced me and the sound I try to create with every song, I think back to my childhood and remember artists like Conway Twitty, Kenny Rodgers, George Strait, Bonjovi, Whitney Houston and George Jones. These artists shaped my thoughts and feelings on what music should sound like. What I mean by that is they all poured their souls into their music and made iconic songs. For example, think about the emotions in the following songs.

1. “I Will Always Love You”-Whitney Houston

2. “Hello Darlin”-Conway Twitty

3. “Always”-Bonjovi

4. “He Stopped Loving Her Today”-George Jones

5. “Lady”-Kenny Rodgers

6. “You Look So Good in Love”-George Strait

My goal, hope and prayer for every song I sing and write is to make people feel about that song, the way they still feel about these iconic songs nearly 45 years later.

For listeners unfamiliar with your music, how would you describe the essence and mission of Brian Mullins’ songs?

My mission for every song I write and sing is to weave true life stories into melodies that resonate with and captivate the heart and soul of my audience. I want them to feel hurt, happy, proud or whatever emotion I’m trying to ignite in them. I believe that’s the goal for every singer and songwriter or at least it should be. Many elements go into this step such as the mood, tempo, what key, the emotions to arise out of people, etc. Some things that help with this is first knowing the audience, you want to resonate with. Put yourself in their shoes. If you close your eyes and listen to the song, what do you feel? What memories come back? Would you buy this song? Is it memorable? Does it arise your desired emotion? All of these things will help you in your songwriting process.

How do you hope your music fosters reflection, family connection, and inspiration during the holiday season?

This is the probably the hardest question about my music that I have had to answer to date. Most of my songs have either a spiritual or personal reflection to it. For example, my song “Love Came Down” is about the true meaning of Christmas and I hope everyone reflects on that aspect of it during the holidays. My song “The Man in the Mirror” I hope inspires everyone to look inside themselves and ask “Am I proud of the Man or Woman I have become?” My songs “I Miss You Still” and “Just One More Talk” even though they seem as sad songs, I hope remind us to cherish the ones we love why they are still here. No one is promised tomorrow and we should cherish and make every effort possible to love, spend time with and connect with our families. My song “God is Good” should remind us that even though things seem tough now and I’ve had my share of them and then some, ultimately God is Good, All The time and we will prevail. We may not see the other side or even know what God is doing at the moment but it has been my experience over the last 51 years that God knows what’s best for us and will remove things from our lives that hinder us from serving his purpose or add things we need to fulfill those purposes.

Looking ahead, what new directions or themes will you explore in future albums?

Most of my songs up to now have been mostly traditional country or traditional Christian. The album that I’m working on now “Here I Am” will still have traditional country and Christian songs but will also include songs that explore the pop and soft rock side. For example, on this album will be a song called “Here I Am”, the album title, which will have a country, pop, soft rock feel to it. The song is about me growing up and most of my family and friends telling me that I would never make it in the music business because I didn’t have the looks, the money, the connections or even sound good enough but yet as the song says “Here I Am.”, The vocals on the song is kind of like Luke Combs meets Bonjovi.” It’s a totally awesome song I wrote and I hope it’s a hit with fans. Another song on the album that I’m excited for is called “Remembering the Good Times.” This song I was inspired to write after sitting on my front porch with some Gen X friends and talking about our lives back in the 80’s. The song is all about growing up as a teenager in the 80’s. It has more of a Country/ Pop feel and is like Backstreet Boys meets Dan and Shay Vocals. It’s a really great song that I think will be popular among fans especially Generation X.

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check out Brian Mullins on the Pigeon Spins Playlist