Shawn McDonald: Digging Into Roots
03-31-2008
by Kevan Breitinger
My recent e-conversation with Shawn McDonald covered many of the facets of new album Roots.
CMCentral (Kevan Breitinger): Hey Shawn, I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed Roots. And thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions for our readers, I appreciate it.
First off, I loved the rootsy organic feel of the album; it kind of feels like a new blend of funk/folk to me. How intentional was this as you wrote and arranged these songs? Or was it more the happy result of experimentation?
Shawn McDonald: First of all thanks for the encouragement, I feel very honored you like it.
Making records is always a fun adventure. To some extent you don’t know how they will turn out and how the songs will 
speak. So there is always experimentation when it comes to making a record, but a lot of that is just allowing a song to kind of come alive. A good song should somewhat speak for itself, and the music you lay around it should kind of just blanket it and help it to speak louder.
I am a feeling writer of sorts. I don’t like to write music for the sake of writing music. I write because I feel I would be doing myself an injustice if I didn’t. Songs seem to just come out. And so that is what this record really is, a reflection of what God and life has taught me, a deeper look into the stirrings of my soul.
As far as musical influences, I kind a just take things I like from all types of music and throw them into one big heap of sorts, and then massage it into what you hear. Crossing genres, in my opinion, is one of the only ways to really make music that is fresh.
It seemed to me that a vein of gratitude runs through most of the tracks. Again, intentional or the organic outpouring of your life right now?
I would say that if there was a theme that I was trying to convey in this record it could be summed up in one word - rejoice. ‘Hallelujah’ says it perfectly at the end, “Rejoice for your reward is great”. And I guess the older I get the more I find my heart rejoicing in our beautiful maker.
I’ve always appreciated your poetic tendencies. On this particular album, would you say you were more focused on the music or lyrics? Is that something that changes on each project, or are you more oriented toward one or the other generally?
I really love great lyrics. I feel there is so much great music out there that says nothing. So, for a song to have great songwriting on top of its music is huge for me. I really tried very hard on this record to improve my songwriting. I do feel that the music is important but I kind of weigh it like this: if you have insane sounding songs but there is no substance within them it is like feeding yourself candy and nothing else. Without depth, life tends to be kind of boring.
It’s obvious from the potency of “Greed” that Africa made a big impression on you, as it does to most visitors. And I read a bit about your upcoming photography project. Tell us a bit about it, if you would?
Africa was an insane yet very hard trip for me. It was wonderful and beautiful and yet very dark all at the same time. The people there are so unbelievably beautiful, and I am not talking about physical beauty. They were so full of joy it was intoxicating. Yet the lack of simple things like medicines and water are wiping them out. This was so hard for me to swallow. Africa is a must see before you die kind of a place for me. It will change your way of life.
I loved the Scriptural focus on Roots. What moved you in this direction this time?
I tried really hard to write differently on this record, and taking from the scripture was definitely a new way for me. I just didn’t want to take stuff that you hear all the time. So I tried really hard to enter into new worlds as far as lyrics go. I think the scriptures are so powerful and if done right I think they speak so loud within a song. And what could speak louder than the Words of God.
I don’t know if you’re a reader, but if so, what books are on your bed-stand right now?
“Sex God”, Rob Bell; “Wide Open Spaces”, Jim Palmer; “It’s Not My Fault”, Henry Cloud & John Townsend; “The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus”, Brennan Manning.
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