This episode features a conversation with Rick Lee James, a singer-songwriter and recording artist from Ohio. In 2019 he was given the opportunity to record the Rich Mullins song "Thunder," which was written in the early part of his career and was later re-written by Lowell Alexander and Phil Naish. James put the song on his latest album, which he also named Thunder, a heartfelt collection of modern hymns and narrative songs. The interview goes into the meaning of the song, the recording process, the touching moment when he was first introduced to Mullins's music, and the influence he has had on his life. You can discover more of James's music at his website: https://www.rickleejames.com/ or purchase physical copies of it in his Bandcamp store: https://rickleejames.bandcamp.com/ His music is also available on all streaming platforms.
Rick is a prolific podcaster on his own, producing both Voices in My Head and Welcome to the Neighborhood, a Mister Rogers tribute podcast. You can listen to our interview here, or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts:
This episode also features Joe and Chris discussing a couple of Rich Mullins related news items. First, Joe was excited to announce that he's releasing a previously unheard Rich Mullins concert: "Live at the Bronco Bowl in Dallas Texas, March 14, 1992," which was a historic night in the history of the Ragamuffin Band. From the Archive:
4 members of the future Ragamuffin Band played on the bill for the very first time— Rick Elias opened the show with Mark Robertson playing bass in his band, while Rich Mullins & Jimmy Abegg played together during Rich's set. This also happens to be the night that Mark Robertson & Rich Mullins met each other for the first time.
This show was recorded by Rick Starr, who has donated the recording to Ragamuffin Archive. The cassette tape was digitized by Andrew Montonera. Special thanks to both Rick & Andrew for helping to make this concert available for the first time ever!
Next, Joe and Chris discuss the two episodes of the True Tunes podcast which features an unearthed Rich Mullins interview and more recent interviews with the Ragamuffins, Mitch McVicker, and Phil Madeira. John Joseph Thompson has put together a couple hours of great Mullins material, and the interview with him features some of the most candid moments we've ever heard:
Finally, we wanted to share with you the early version of "Thunder" you heard during the episode. It features Tom Weimer on vocals, who was in Mullins' band Zion:
This episode features two interviews with Mitch McVicker, one with him discussing the Kickstarter campaign for his new album A Shrugging of the Shoulders, and the other a kind of radio special that goes in-depth into his previous album The Acceptance of And. Please check out Mitchmcvicker.com for more of his music or to bring him out to your area some time this year for a concert. You also might be able to catch him doing one of his streaming concerts on his Facebook page if you follow him there.
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This episode features an interview with filmmaker Andrew Montonera about the new Rich Mullins documentary "The Work You Began: The Last Days of Rich Mullins." The film features new interviews with artists and friends, as well as the family he stayed with in the weeks before he died, and offers the stories surrounding the last concert he gave, the recording of Mitch McVicker's first album, and how the songs of the Jesus Record came together. It can be viewed at the Ragamuffin Archive Youtube page.
It's been a long time since our last episode and so we make sure to give at least a halfway decent explanation as to why that is during the episode. But other than the interview with Andrew, the episode features a discussion about the film, a brief preview of upcoming episodes (you heard that right!), vague hints of what Joe and Chris are up to regarding future projects in the Mullinsverse (TM 2021!), and some of the projects Chris has released over the years. Scroll down past the episode to view some pictures of where the Jesus Record Demos were recorded and for links to Chris' writing and music. You can listen to the previous episode that Andrew was a guest on here: An Inside Look at the Lost LeSEA Tapes.
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You can also view the film here:
The historic First Universalist Church of Elgin, IL, the location where Rich Mullins taped The Jesus Record demos on September 10, 1997. Photographs taken by Joe during a visit in 2016:
And the former location of Roswell East recording studios, where Rich and Mark Roberson produced Mitch’s first album.
In 2019 Chris wrote and published a book on the history and traditions of the 12 Days of Christmas (he's available for speaking engagements!). If you want an autographed copy you can email him at cmarch34@gmail.com, or go the normal routes:
A photo of Mullins the day he visited the KHAC studio. Chuck Harper is on the bottom middle.
To start the new year we have a very special bonus episode featuring a lost interview of Rich Mullins from 1992. A tape was recently discovered at KHAC radio (where Joe works) that contains an interview Mullins did with Chuck Harper (of Western Indian Ministries and Christ For Native Youth) a few years before Mullins moved out to the Navajo nation to do ministry work. In their conversation you can hear the seeds of the idea for moving to Window Rock as well as a brilliant observation from Mullins about the Window Rock itself as a metaphor for the love of God. The interview originally aired on KHAC but since then has not been heard except for a few snippets. On top of this, the episode features an interview with filmmaker Larry Handley of Little Brown Dog Productions who filmed and edited the concert film of the 20th Anniversary Window Rock Tribute Concert, which you can stream below or watch on Vimeo.
You can stream the episode above, or subscribe on itunesGoogle PlayTunein Radio or Stitcher. Please write us a brief review and give us a great rating!
Bassist, song-writer, and producer Mark Robertson is a legend as far as we are concerned here at Between the Songs. Not only was he a member of Rich Mullins' Ragamuffin Band and the lead singer of This Train, but he also recorded the Canticle of the Plains and Mitch McVickers' first solo album. Finally, we invite you to even try to keep up with all the various acts he has played with over the years (Legendary Shack Shakers, The Eskimo Brothers, Altar Boys, Derek Hoke, and more...). Robertson has just released an album with his new band Prayer Flags and so we decided to take the opportunity to talk about the new music, his long history in the music business, and his time with Mullins. Although today's bonus episode features some of his reflections on Mullins a majority of that section of our interview will air on future episode of Between the Songs. Prayer Flags Links: Purchase, download, or stream Prayer Flags' debut album Connect with the band on Facebook
This bonus episode features an interview with Matt Walden, the creator, maker, and perpetrator of St. Rich Beard Oil. Not only do we get into the beard oil origin story, but Matt also gives an extensive account of his weekend in Nashville where he attended the Andrew Peterson A Liturgy, A Legacy, & A Ragamuffin Band tribute concert, as well as a party with a number of Mullins' old friends. Finally, the episode features the full version of Chris' St. Rich Beard Oil advertisement. Essentially, Chris performs Matt Walden's story and explanation of this wonderful product he birthed into existence which you can now smother all over your face-tendrils. You can stream the episode below, but first here are some relevant links that came up in the episode:
Episode 3, released on the 20th Anniversary of Rich Mullins' death, features a Q&A recorded live at the Window Rock Tribute Concert (September 16, 2017), and features David Mullins, Mitch McVicker, Beth Snell Lutz, Andrew Osenga, and Chuck Harper. Though only a half hour long, Joe and Chris' discussion features a candid look at Mullins' life, especially from David and Mitch.
Then, we were so moved by David Mullins' talk during the concert we decided to include it as well. The tribute concert was a night of beauty, celebrating Rich Mullins' music and life, but his brother David's talk was a challenge to us all. Looking at the life of Jesus, Rich, and his own, David asked the question: "How do you live a life of impact?" It's a talk filled with unexpected twists and turns as well as acerbic humor. itunesGoogle PlayTunein Radio or Stitcher.
Our next bonus episode features an in depth interview with musician and pastor Eric Hauck that Joe did on KHAC radio. Eric toured with Mullins as part of the Ragamuffin Band and was also a member of the Kid Brothers of St. Frank. This episode also features an interview Joe did with Chris about the upcoming Window Rock Tribute Concert, at which Eric will also be performing and be taking part in a pre-concert recorded Q&A for the podcast. The interview goes into what it was like to be a Kid Brother of St. Frank as well as a beautiful story surrounding one of Mullins' final songs, the gorgeous "Madeline's Song."
We would also like to ask our podcast listeners to seriously consider making a financial contribution to the Window Rock event in order to help Joe cover costs. He is bringing in a number of performers, including Mullins' brother David, and with that come travel and hotel expenses. On top of that, there are lighting, sound, and other rental expenses. You can visit our GoFund Me page, or our "support" page:
Chris had the opportunity to attend UTR Media's 2017 Escape to the Lake music festival and retreat in Cedar Lake, Indiana. This bonus episode of Between the Songs features an exclusive interview with Andrew Greer, the author of the new book on Rich Mullins Winds of Heaven Stuff of Earth: Spiritual Conversation Inspired by the Life & Lyrics of Rich Mullins. Their talk goes in depth about how the book came together (which features numerous reflections from those who knew Mullins or were inspired by him) as well as about the Mullins tribute album Greer is going to start working on with UTR's Dave Trout, Andrew Osenga, Andrew Peterson, and Reed Arvin (yes, you read that last one correctly!). This bonus also features Chris' recap of Escape to the Lake, the wonderful Mullins tribute concert that took place there, and how he got to hang out with Jimmy Abegg, Ben Pearson, and The Mosleys.
You can pre-order the book (and receive some great extras) by visiting it's official website:
Finally, Joe and Chris were able to share more about the Window Rock tribute concert that will be taking place on September 16. We would love to see you all there. If you want more info on the event or would like to financially support it, please visit our page:
In case you missed some of the Rich Mullins focused websites we mentioned during our 2nd episode on the Zion album, we wanted to provide them for you now. Here is the Rich Mullins timeline: http://www.audiori.net/richmullins/
Here is Joe's interview with Aaron Smith (drummer of the Ragamuffin Band), where Joe gets to share his story of getting into radio and working for Western Indian Ministries: http://entertalkradio.com/intersect/joe-cook/
