I will be including this interview on the interview page, but you can also find it below.
Exclusive interview with
Brad Avery for Brad Avery Fan Base
April
2020
Before
you were able to make a living out of your music career, you've probably had
other jobs. Which ones?
My parents always worked very hard to provide
for our family. My father was a pastor, but in order to pay all of the bills,
he and mom both had to work extra jobs. I think that is where my siblings and I
learned our work ethic. We all began to work at young ages to help out. My
first job was delivering papers as an elementary and middle schooler. Also, in
the summers in Illinois, I detasseled corn. In junior high and through my first
two years of high school, I had a business mowing yards. (My dad made a two
wheel cart with a wood deck that I would straddle our push mower on, and I
would attach it behind my bicycle seat and tow it around town. When I got my
driver’s license at 16 and purchased my first old car, I got a job as a
stockman at the local Kmart. I left there right before college and starting
waiting tables at a restaurant that served Italian food. During college, I took
a break and went on the road for a couple years with a band doing a variety
show in schools. That is where I cut my teeth and paid my musical dues. After
another year of college, I felt a calling to leave and pursue music full time.
So, I moved to Atlanta. I played music and lead worship with some friends, but
waited tables to pay the bills. Eventually, Third Day asked me to join the
band. I still waited tables for about 1½ years before we were so busy touring that I
had to quit. But, it still wasn’t paying the bills completely. So my wife Mindi
worked full time at home to help keep the dream alive while I was on the road.
She continued to support us for the first 4 years that I was in the band.
When did
you realize that your music career was getting serious and that you were able
to make a living out of it?
After
our very first headlining tour after our self-titled release on Reunion
Records, I realized that God intended to help provide for our families through
the band. Our career grew slowly but steadily and God indeed provided.
What is
the best advice you've ever received?
Psalm 37:5-6 New International
Version (NIV)
5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous reward shine like
the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.
What is
the most valuable lesson you've learned?
Unfortunately,
I have had to learn almost all of my lessons the hard way. Thank God for His
mercy, grace and patience.
What is
the highlight or your favorite part of your career?
Well,
I have done so many different things in life. If talking about music, I would
say the highlight is seeing God faithfully answer His promises to me.
What is
your favorite song ever recorded and why?
I
don’t really have any favorites. When I do listen to things recorded in the
past, I try to not pass judgement on them. I try to remember where I was at the
time and celebrate them for what they are.
Do you
still write songs and/or music?
I occasionally might sit down and write
something musically, but I don’t play guitar much anymore. When I do get the
privilege to lead worship on guitar, I try to make things my own. So, when
covering other artists songs, including covering important hooks and melodies,
I might also interpret things slightly differently or create my own unique
guitar parts.
If so,
how do you usually get inspiration for songs?
I draw inspiration from those who have gone
before me. I am a man of limited skills and abilities. So, what I do create, is
probably not really my own. It’s like Solomon said:
Ecclesiastes 1:9 New International Version
(NIV)
9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
What is
an opportunity in music that you were most excited about?
“Success” in music afforded me large chunks of
time home with my family. Many people look at being in a band as glamorous.
Being on the road can be extremely challenging and difficult. Especially, if a
band is not able to afford to come back home and must stay on the road
full-time to support themselves. I am grateful that The LORD allowed us to come
home often, and stay home more often.
What is
your favorite song, album, movie and book (besides the Bible) of all time?
I probably can’t say I have a favorite for any
of these. As I continue to grow, mature and age, I find appreciation for both
new and old. Familiar things I once enjoyed, may not inspire me anymore. I do
get nostalgic at times, but I like to be wowed with discovery also. With the
benefit of the internet, we have so much that we can absorb and learn. However,
I love it most when God surprises me with something new.
What is
your favorite Bible verse, story and character?
I think Jonathan was a man of noble character.
He supported and loved The LORD’s anointed at all cost.
Who is
your favorite or most inspiring musician?
My favorite musician is Sonny Lallerstedt. He
has been an inspiration, mentor, friend and support for me for 25 years. He has
the gift of encouragement. He daily walks with and trusts The ONE he worships.
He is gifted in so many ways, but his greatest asset is his generosity and
kindness.
What is
your favorite snack and food?
I eat eggs for breakfast nearly every morning.
What is
your favorite color?
I wear a lot of blue, black and grey. However,
I like the shade of colors afforded by the southern sun in autumn.
What is
another instrument you'd love to play?
I would love to be proficient on a lot of
different instruments. I am inspired by many who are uniquely gifted in their
musical craft.
What is
your favorite touring/concert memory?
I used to like to drive long distances. It
would be a time when I could pray and see God’s creation. It seemed new every
day and His special gift to me. Now, the roads are so busy that I don’t enjoy
driving as much. But, I have fond memories of communing with God from behind
the wheel.
What is
the hardest part about getting off the road?
It is hard to find a new normal when you have
done the same activity for so long. I think that is why so many men struggle
with retirement. They have to figure out a new way to live. Part of that is
grieving the loss of the familiar, routine or perceived calling. Men tend to
get wrapped up in purpose and provision. They are simultaneously wired to have
purpose while providing for their families. When He allows their calling, job,
and the “success" of both to help sustain their families, it’s hard not to
get them wrapped up in a tangled mess of confusion. That was my experience
coming off of the road. God has to undo and re-program us many times in our
lives. He is our calling, purpose and provider. His way is The Way.
What is
the most embarrassing thing that happened to you on stage?
I am and have always been very self-conscious.
My programming and wounding comes from a long line of perfectionism. Being a
man of extremely limited skills and prone to many mistakes, I suffer at the
hands of my harshest critic…me. So, all I had to do was play a wrong note (and
I have played many wrong notes) on stage, and I was humiliated.
What is
the best gift you ever received?
Grace — God’s unmerited favor for me (the
chiefest of sinners)
What is
your fondest memory?
Unfortunately, as I have aged, I have lost or
forgotten many memories. I enjoy when family and friends tell stories of old.
It reminds me of the goodness of God. He is faithful through the years to
complete the work He started until the day of Christ Jesus.
Name a
year you'd love to relive and why would you like to relive it?
I am not sure that there is a year I would want
to relive, but there are seasons of life that I have enjoyed more than others.
Those times when I have sensed The LORD’s presence and pleasure most in me are
the ones that have fueled my faith through the long drought and desert. He is
good, even when I don’t recognize His goodness.
Mark 9:23-25 New King James Version (NKJV)
23 Jesus said to him, “If[a] you can believe,
all things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately the father of the child cried
out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
What is
the best thing about getting older?
Every day, we are getting closer to His return.
Where do
you see yourself in 10 years?
I don’t know what He has planned. Whatever it
is, may I have my eyes fixed on Him and Him alone, and may I prove faithful and
ready for His return through the redemptive work of Jesus my Savior.
If you
wouldn't have been a musician, what do you think your job would've been?
At this stage in life, I have been fortunate to
do and experience so many different things. However, truth be told, one of my
dreams as a kid was to design golf courses and play golf professionally. I have
always enjoyed the beauty of landscaping and gardening, and that intertwined
with the challenge of golf is something that I cherish as a gift from The One
who fearfully and wonderfully made me.
Is there
any chance that you might someday release a solo project?
Again, only He knows His plans for me, so
anything is possible in Him. However, I don’t have anything musically to say at
this point in time. I am not passionate about playing music as I once was. My
fingers ache and my mind and body don’t work as they did when I was a young
man. But I believe that:
Acts 2:17 New International Version (NIV)
"'In the last days, God says, I will pour
out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young
men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”
May it be so! Come LORD Jesus come!
