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MercyMe

Ten years ago the world was scared of the coming effects of Y2K. A new regime was preparing to take hold of the White House. And a rising band from Texas wrote the song that would change their destiny for all time. Of course, the band was MercyMe and the song was “I Can Only Imagine.”

With the release of the band’s latest project, 10, which celebrates the anniversary of “Imagine,” we sat down with guitarist Barry Graul to discuss the song’s lasting impact, the band’s legacy, and shifts within the music industry.

Soul-Audio: With the release of 10 essentially celebrating the success and/or anniversary of “Imagine,” how has that time frame changed the song for you guys? Has it changed the impact after singing it for so long?

Barry Graul: You know, it really does. The band actually started, I’m not an original member, I came on in 2003, but the song first was recorded on an independent project before they even had a record deal and they were asked to do it at a conference, probably at a camp or something like that…

SA: Yeah, I think it was something with Mark Matlock. I was a youth pastor back in those days and was actually at one of the conferences they played at…

Barry: Oh yeah! I think they ran backstage and learned it really quick and came out and played it and it went over huge and we’ve been playing it ever since. I came on when it went to mainstream; it started really going nuts. So I came on in the middle of all that and got to experience that. And that was amazing! I mean, every show was just ridiculous when we got to that song, and people knew we were gonna play it! [Laughs]

But for us the song, it’s not the most musically inspiring song to play, it’s really simple, but it’s because of the tugging at the heart and what the song does for people that makes it special for us every night. Man, you can just look out at the audience and see pockets of people hugging each other, individuals just crying. And everybody experiences that song in their own way. Some just sit, really, and you can tell that they’re in solitude and they’re thinking about maybe a lost loved one or friend.

So we experience that every night, and to different degrees. I mean, we could play the song blindfolded, crossways, upside down, whatever. But it’s the experience that we share with the audience every night that makes it special. So it really doesn’t get old; it’s funny to say that but it doesn’t. It’s just pretty amazing.

SA: Yeah, those were my follow up’s there, whether or not the audience reaction has changed over the years or whether you do get sick of playing it? Like, again?!

Barry: Well, you know, we find within our instrumentation little ways of keeping it fresh, just for us individually. And honestly, I would say that it doesn’t have as much, I don’t want to say impact…Well, I can’t. When people are sitting down, they stand up when we play that song. So I guess it does carry the same impact that it used to. It’s just that I’m thinking of other songs that we have out now that people are excited about, which is cool to see. But what a great song…

SA: In keeping with talking about the song and the new release, didn’t you guys get to travel to Abbey Road to record with the London Symphony?

Barry: Well the band didn’t actually go, just Bart. We didn’t even play it; it’s all orchestra.

SA: Well that’s no fair…

Barry: Oh no, it’s amazing! I don’t know if you’ve heard it but to me it sounds like a movie soundtrack.

SA: Yeah, it definitely does.

Barry: For a long time I hadn’t heard it and, I guess we heard it for the first time a couple months ago and man, I was floored! I was like, this is amazing! It’s kind of standard through most of the song but it starts to build about halfway through and man, I was like, this is like Star Wars! [Laughs] It was huge. So I’m pretty excited about it.

We’ve been to Abbey Road because we’ve had strings done on the past three records so we’ve gone over before and watched the strings being cut for our songs, which is amazing. A lot of people never get to actually go in Abbey Road. Just the experience of being there. It would have been nice to be there for “Imagine” but it just wasn’t cost effective. If we weren’t playing, we didn’t need to go watch.

SA: Now, ten years is a pretty solid foundation and quite a milestone in an industry that’s littered with one hit wonders and one, maybe two album bands that you never hear from again. Do you guys ever talk about or think about, now that you’ve last this long, about what you want your legacy to be?

Barry: We don’t really sit down and talk about that but I think it’s just an unspoken thing that we continue the band with integrity and that we always make Christ the center of attention in whatever we do. And that goes from the one side which is business to the other side which is full-on ministry.

So it’s not like we sit around and talk about goals or “are we doing this the exact same way we wanted to?” Every once in a while something like that may come up in conversation but I just think if we continue with integrity the band’s going to leave a great legacy and that are concerts were worshipful. And stuff like that. That’s really all I can think of as far as that.

It’s just kind of funny what we do. [Laughs] Sometimes you sit around wondering, “What am I going to be doing in ten years?” and “What are people going to think about the band?” at that point, when we’re not doing this anymore. So hopefully we’re leaving a great history.

SA: So given that history in the industry, what are some of the more notable changes that you’ve seen in the industry, particularly the CCM side, for good or bad? Are there any things that stick out?

Barry: I can’t really pinpoint anything within the Christian industry; the music business has gotten really bad. [Laughs]

SA: You mean more in terms of sales and the shift to online purchasing? Stuff like that?

Barry: Yeah, it’s crazy! It’s affecting everybody and we’re having to do things a little different as far as figuring out smartly how to tour and market ourselves a little bit outside of what our record company can do. The tour that we’re on right now is a ten dollar ticket. Because we thought, man, we’re selling a free gospel at a premium price which just really shouldn’t be.

And sometimes we have a little control over what promoters charge; we suggest and do what we can but ultimately they’re going to charge whatever ticket prices they want to. So we’re doing this ten dollar ticket, no advance seating, no advance tickets, just ten dollars at the door and we’re packing out arenas. It’s unbelievable. And just talking to families, they’re like, “This is cheaper than going to the movies.” [Laughs]

If you think about it, a family of five, if you had to pay a forty dollar ticket, that’s pretty expensive. So I think we have to stay current and change with the times and just the way the industry goes. You know, our blog is huge, with what we do on our blog to just generate traffic on a daily basis to just stay in touch with our fans.

So there are a lot of changes within the industry like that that we have to stay up on and that’s the biggest change that I’ve seen over the years. Gosh, I don’t even know if people go to the store and buy CDs anymore. [Laughs] I mean, I guess they do because they still buy our CD’s but I know I haven’t bought a tangible CD in quite some time.

SA: Given some of those shifts, there are some bands that have taken advantage of technology and harnessing the power of the Internet to get music to their fans quicker via EP’s and like. Any plans for you guys to try some of those routes in the future?

Barry: No, that’s not on our list, at all. We’re actually getting ready to record a full record; should be out probably in the spring. Spring 2010. I think we’re going in the studio in the fall. So, yeah, no, uh-uh. No EP plans. [Laughs]

SA: Any idea how the new material will compare sonically?

Barry: Man, we honestly haven’t even talked about it. We’ll probably start writing for it toward the end of the summer. No, we’re so busy with this tour right now it’s taking all of our time.