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Twila Paris

The pinnacle came in the mid-’90s, when “God Is In Control” won Song of the Year at the Dove Awards. But since the early ’80s, Twila Paris has been as influential of a figure in Christian music as nearly anyone else. Over 20 albums and over 30 #1 songs later, Twila is still promoting a new album, Small Sacrifices in 2009 – although she’s not on the road nearly as much.

That’s because at 50-years-of-age, Twila is busy with new things these days – including homeschooling her son, J.P. In this interview, she discusses handling her current schedule and looking back on a career that was surprising to begin with.

Soul-Audio: When you think of 30 years in the industry, how does that hit you? Do you ever reflect on your own career?

Twila Paris: As far as reflecting on the passing of time, other than the obvious ‘I can’t believe so much time has gone by,’ when I was just into my second or third album, around ‘85 or so, if you’d have asked me how long I picture myself recording, I would have said maybe five or 10 years at the most. I couldn’t imagine that people would still be interested in my music. It’s always been amazing to me to have that privilege to minister in this way and use this gift that I love so much and be able to combine those two things. So I would have said five or 10 years, but now I’m still talking to you in 2009 about a latest project.

SA: Do you find yourself wanting to write new things now that you were never concerned with before?

Twila: As far as what I’m wanting to write, I never have this overall broad intention of “the kind of thing I’m going to write.” I’m not one of those craft songwriters. Hopefully, I’ve gotten better at my craft, but I’ve always said that I am one of those writers who are dependent upon that inspiration that is divine. It does not come from me. And I’m glad that I can’t just sit down and brush off my brilliant palettes and write a hit song. That’s just not the way it works for me.

So I write about what God is speaking to me and what he’s doing in my heart and what’s going on in my life and what I see going on around me in society and the world through the prism of a Biblical worldview and what I believe God would be wanting to say to us. Really that’s what I believe that I’m called to do – to be listening and whatever I believe God is saying to me or doing in me, that it would come out in my writing and that it would be honest and transparent and reflect what’s going on in me.

Therefore, I don’t really have an agenda other than having moments where I want to focus an album toward something like corporate worship, where I’m focusing on writing songs like that. This latest project is a blend that could be used by groups in corporate worship songs and others that are more personal in nature. I think the music that I write is more worshipful. While it might not be a song you’d sing in church necessarily, it’s one that when you’re alone driving in your car or in your house, you can make it your own. That can become your prayer to the Lord or a way that God is speaking to you in your life.

SA: Is that the feedback you’ve gotten from others?

Twila: I’ve had a lot of people say to me that I’ve written certain songs for them. I’m sure it’s that way for other songwriters as well. But I love that, when it’s almost like I’m taken out of the equation and the song becomes theirs and I’ve helped to facilitate and their personal relationship with God. So it’s worshipful in that sense and I think the entire album is that way. But the language makes it hard to talk about things like this – trying to classify the music. But that’s the way that I’ve learned to say it. Some are geared toward corporate worship and others are about the prayerful listening experience.

Although I will say that every time I neatly categorize my songs into corporate worship or not, someone will use a song that I would have never thought could use used in a corporate setting. I’m like, ‘Really, you sing that song in church? Really, the verses, too?’ And they say they have the whole thing on Powerpoint and I just think, ‘Wow, that’s cool!’ For example, I never knew ‘How Beautiful’ was going to be a wedding song, never mind the verse about the radiant bride. [Laughs] I was singing about the church and the bride of Christ. I can be so tunnel-visioned. It never occurred to me that people would want it for a Christian wedding song. But you learn to just put things out there and God does with them what He will and people do with them what they will and it often makes me smile.

SA: Do you enjoy that time of creating the song most of all? How does that relate to touring for you?

Twila: When you’re a singer/songwriter, there are three main things you do in terms of your work. You write songs which you do alone at home. Sometimes you do that on the road and I’ve written things on the back of paper bags on an airplane, but mostly you do it alone while you’re at home. Then you record in a studio which you do with a small group around you. Then you perform on stage. The place of those three that I’m the most naturally at home is sitting at my piano and then in the studio with a small group that I know well. The place I am the least at home in terms of my personality is on stage. For some, they are the most at home there. It’s that mix of being an introvert or extrovert.

SA: Will Twila fans be surprised by the new album, Small Sacrifice?

Twila: Um, they might be a little bit. John Hartley produced it and I’ve worked with him once before, but it was on a lullaby album, so there are very different goals there. [Laughs] That one was about not waking the babies up and those were the parameters. One thing about writing songs over a period of 30 years is that styles change so much musically, so you have this challenge which is to stay true to who you are artistically and not be driven around by the latest trend and trying to sound like the latest, hottest group. There’s a point at which you turn 50-years-old, as I just turned last month, where it’s silly to try to sound like something you’re not. At the same time, when you cease to be informed by what’s going on musically, then it starts to become irrelevant musically pretty quickly.

So there’s that balance that I try not to be too aware of. As a songwriter, I just try to write what I like. And if I like it and it seems like it belongs in this decade, then hopefully other people will also like it. You don’t want to take people too far and shock them, but nowadays with the Internet and all the communication that we have, people keep up. Even older people keep up. The motto when I was approaching my birthday was ‘50 is the new 30.’ I think I said to a friend of mine who asked how it was on my birthday, ‘Well, 50 is the new 30 until it hits 8:00 at night, at which 50 becomes the new 60.’ [Laughs] That’s especially true when you have a seven-year-old and you’re homeschooling.

But to answer your question, I think there will be some surprises, but they will be gentle. I think the album feels current, but not like someone who is 50 trying to be 20. So people can judge for themselves.

SA: Do you still enjoy this as much as you ever have?

Twila: I really do. And I think that life is more balanced in terms of schedule, so I enjoy going out and singing more than I did in the ’90s because I don’t do it as much. I felt like I was always going. There was a time in my life when I just never seemed to unpack my suitcase, and I would talk to other singers who felt the exact same way. It would just sit on the floor and you just take some things out and place other things in. [Laughs] I don’t do that anymore, or if my suitcase is laying out, it’s my own fault because I never got to it.

I also love being a mother and I love homeschooling. I’m on a steering committee for a program in this area that started last year through the small Christian college where my brother is president called Ecclesia College. Well, we started a program for homeschoolers called Ecclesia Prep. It’s basically an elective for homeschoolers – things like choir, art, languages, even some creation science, high school biology, etc.

So in one way, my schedule is busier than I’ve ever been. In a given day, I wear about four hats and I have all of them at one point. In a way, I love that and thrive on that and it keeps life interesting. But I used to gear up when I went out to sing and now I gear down when I go out and sing. [Laughs] It’s slowing down from what I do at home, so if that gives you an idea. [Laughs]