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Aaron Benward
Biography
Aaron Benward
I love life," Aaron Benward confesses unapologetically. "I mean, I REALLY love life!" It is a confession that mirrors his profound appreciation for the important things in life - love of God, love of family, love of life itself. It is a love affair that permeates Aaron's eagerly awaited solo debut IMAGINE. Aaron co-wrote ten of IMAGINE's eleven songs, resulting in an album that is deeply personal, running the gambit from bright, pop-inflected praise tunes, to intensely introspective love songs. Set against a sonic soundscape that falls somewhere between Matchbox 20, Goo Goo Dolls and Michael W. Smith; IMAGINE passes seamlessly from crunchy, guitar rock, to keyboard-driven anthems. The title, according to Benward, says it all. The 26 year-old father of two explains, "Philippians 4:13; it's my life verse. 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me'. God wants to do so much more than we can fathom or imagine. He wants our dreams to come true. Those things that we strive for, those things that are deep down in our hearts - He put them there. He wants those exact things for us. It is a theme that runs through the album." Aaron's highly-anticipated solo project has been a long time coming. Three critically acclaimed albums as the 'Aaron' half of father/son duo Aaron Jeoffrey created a demand for more, more, more. But Aaron waited until the timing was right before launching out on his own. "The plan was for me to eventually be able to do my own thing, to chase my own dream. That was understood at the outset. It's time for me to focus on my generation, and the one following; to make my own decisions; to take my own risks. It's an exciting time," Aaron understates. IMAGINE is an album that almost didn't get finished. With just over half the songs recorded, Aaron was involved in a potentially fatal auto accident. Sitting alone with his wife, trying to process the accident, he found himself listening to the one song on the album he did not write, “God's Here.” "All of a sudden life took on new meaning," he says. "I realized that in an instant my wife, my kids, all of us could have been taken. And if it had been time for us to go, Jesus would have been there to usher us into the presence of God. But God has more that he wants me to do for Him here. All the little trivial things that mattered before the accident, material things, they don't matter anymore." What does matter is a new found focus on his ministry...his primary ministry. "I realize now that my primary ministry is not to the people who come to my concerts, or the people who buy my records," he explains. "My primary ministry is to my family. After the truck stopped flipping and came to rest on the passengers side - when I saw that my wife was okay, and then when I looked in the back and the kids were all right, it was like I took the deepest breath you could ever take. I realized that it's not about the car you drive, the house you live in or the kind of clothes you wear. It's about leading my family as a godly man." IMAGINE, like the man who sings it, is a dichotomy of sorts - at once intense and strong, yet vulnerable, sensitive, unafraid. It is a delicate balance that Aaron makes look easy on the anthemic love song, “Captured,” where he sings, ‘The moment You set me free was the moment You captured me.’ He displays flashes of brilliant, pop sensibilities on the evangelical “Let It Out,” and experiments with some gentle acoustic flavorings on “God's Here.” And his innate sense of fun bursts forth on “Famous and Alive.” Lyrically IMAGINE plumbs the depths of the Christian experience. The autobiographical, “Renaissance Love,” compares new life in Christ to the historical Renaissance, when the Dark Ages gave way to rebirth and renewal. “Salt” and “Let It Out” are straight-ahead songs of encouragement for believers to spread the good news of Christ. “He Believes” and “Make Your Mark” celebrate the high calling of God on our lives. "He created us in his image, but He created us uniquely," Aaron says. "He wants us to dream our own dreams. He wants us to succeed. He wants to be the God of our hearts. He is concerned with us. That is why He died for us." As Aaron prepares to launch his solo career he reflects back on things his father taught him; things that have now become a part of him. "He let me grow up and experience God in my own way," he says. "I discovered my Jesus instead of his. He taught me to stay focused, to stay true, to communicate and to make good decisions. And he taught me how to love people, because Christ came and died for people." "I made a mistake growing up," he muses. "I had a great opportunity, to use my faith to be salt and light at my high school. Instead I was really submerged in my youth group and only hung out with my friends from church. So although my classmates knew I was a believer I didn't know if I had any real impact on them. We as Christians have to get outside the arena of just surrounding ourselves with other Christians. That is a big conviction of mine." "The impact that I want to have with IMAGINE is to bring joy," Aaron insists. "I want people to walk away from listening to me with a renewed sense of joy in their lives. I want them to walk away encouraged. I want them to walk away having experienced a touch from God." IMAGINE-Song by Song CAPTURED - This is a love song to Jesus. He is the lover of our soul. The chorus says, 'The moment You set me free, was the moment You captured me.' And that is so true. God set me free of all the junk in my life when He came into my heart. At that moment He captured me. He astounded me the freedom to be who I am. He gave me all the grace and the mercy in my life. IMAGINE - My life verse is Philippians 4:13, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me'. This song sums up my life. God wants so much more than we can imagine. It is a theme that runs through the album. All those things that are deep down in our hearts, our dreams, hopes and prayers, He birthed them there. Because we are finite, we get a mindset that says, 'If I can just get to this point then I'll be satisfied'. But in our hearts we're saying, 'I want to get to the mountaintop!' God wants to push us on. He says the best is yet to come. LET IT OUT - When I was in high school, my grandfather was like the Henry Fonda character in “On Golden Pond” - a total pessimist, crass, outlandish. And one day, he looked at me and said, 'You know, if you really believed what you say you believe you would never shut up'. But that statement has stuck with me all these years. There's no way to keep it in...Let it out! GOD'S HERE - This was one of the first songs we cut, but it has taken on a whole new meaning. This summer I was driving back home after dropping my sister off at college in Kentucky. My wife was on the cell phone talking to her mom, the kids were asleep in the back seat, and a car in the next lane started moving over and he was going to hit me. I swerved to avoid him, and I remember thinking, 'it's out of control'. Everything was so surreal and so slow motion. The wheels dug into the concrete and the back end came up and we flipped four times. Thank the lord none of us were hurt. We were all strapped in. My wife and I both had a bunch of cuts, and she hit her head pretty hard on the glass. My little girl just had a little abrasion on her chin, and my son just had a seat belt mark on his belly. That was it. About a week later when my wife and I were processing everything, she said, 'Let's listen to your stuff'. “God's Here,” came on. And all of a sudden I realized that in an instant my wife, or myself, or my kids, or all of us could have been taken. And if it had been our time, Jesus would have been right there to usher us into the presence of God. It is a great assurance. I have a new security. A whole new wave of comfort and peace came over my wife and me as we talked about it. That's what the song talks about, that God is here in our lives. Forget all your doubts and just experience His presence. It takes away all pain, all shame, everything in your life. LOVE LIFE - This song sums up the attitude of the album. It sums up my life. A friend recently told me, 'Man, I really don't want to die, now. I mean, I know I am going to heaven, and I am secure in my faith, and I know that God loves me. But I really don't want to die, because I enjoy where I am in my life so much!' And I said, 'You know what? Me too!' I love life! I enjoy where I am at with my family and where God has taken me so much that I want to squeeze every moment I can out of it. SALT - “Salt” was birth from the book Roaring Lambs. All through high school I excelled in athletics and music and had every platform in my life to really speak my faith. People knew where I stood. They knew that I was a Christian. But did I actively pursue them? No, I didn't, and I regret that. When Roaring Lambs came my way, I began to wonder, 'How can we as Christian artists get into the world and be salt?' One thing about salt is that it puts a taste in people's mouths that only the living water of God can quench. And that's one of my goals. This song is really a prayer. I want to be salt of the earth, so God can rain down His living water and quench their thirst. RENAISSANCE LOVE - This is one of the most fun songs on the album. Renaissance is exactly how our life is in Christ. The Renaissance period was a time of rebirth and that is exactly what happens in us. The Bible says we are new creatures. The old things have passed away, all things have become new. FAMOUS - I'm going to love doing this song in concert. I was watching the news when Michael Jordan announced his retirement, and I thought, 'That guy is known all over the world.' And then I realized that I know someone who is even more famous. The person of Christ is famous, of course. Who else has time named after them? But His real fame comes when we show people His love through our lives. HE BELIEVES - This song probably means most to me from a heart perspective. When I decided to step out on my own, there were a lot of whispers in my ear from the enemy saying, 'You don't add up. You're inconsistent. You always fail here.' I got weighed down, and started thinking maybe I should just stay and do the things that were comfortable and secure. But then I realized that God wants the best for me. He wants my dreams and my desires. He wants me to be the best that I can be. When I grasped that concept, this song just came out. I think this song will really touch people, because I know people who feel like they don't add up. Satan loves to use that. It drains you. It makes you depressed. You lose your focus. If we can get past that as Christians our lives would be a lot easier. MAKE YOUR MARK - I wanted a praise song on the record, and this is it. It says, 'God I want you to make your mark on my heart so other people can see.' It also ties in with the ”Salt” thing. When God's mark is on us, if we don't cover it up people will see it, and it will have an impact on them. ALIVE - This is a happy, feel-good kind of song. The last line says, It's groovy just to be alive. It is true. I am just happy to be alive, happy to be able to do what I am doing. |
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