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“ Is that a Christian tree?”

The Violet Burning

An interview with The Violet Burning on Saturday 18 August 2001 at the Flevo Totaal Festival in Liempde, The Netherlands. Their performances that night were the most beautiful performances I’ve ever seen. Their vulnerable lyrics and their special sound makes it this band one of my favourites.

I heard there’s going to be a new record. Is that true?

Michael Pritzl, lead vocals, guitars: “Sooner or later there will be one. We just brought one out in February. We’ll probably start working for another one for next year, in January, we’ll start recording it then, and we hope it will be out the first quarter of next year.

The one from February was a worshiprecord. How do you make such kind of songs?

Michael: “I think on each of our records there are worshipsongs, it’s part of who we are, you cant get away from it. For me, I love it, I don’t know how about you guys? – They’re like falling asleep-“

Melissa Barnett ,background vocals and additional vocals:“Yes, we love it. Just for myself personally, some of the songs off the new album we play, are some of my favourite songs. They just set a vibe on the stage and through the audience, just an atmosphere of worship and God really comes, so that’s really cool. So, we have fun with them.”

Has praying got something to do with the process of writing songs?

Michael “When I write songs, usually what I do is, I go to Andy’s house, and we have a big barbecue, and we just see what happens. We leave a tape player on, in case anything good happens. (Laughs)

For me personally, and I think this is a bigger question for all these guys to answer. Even in my little apartment, if I go to pray, I usually go to an instrument. It is very natural for me to go to meet God with a guitar, or at the piano, or at the drummachine. There are those moments where I get down on my knees in the shower and pray, but for the most part, I need to have that instrument near me. At other times if I’m worshipping, I just turn a taperecorder on, and just see what happens. And I just go back and listen to these casette-tapes that I have, I have many many of them, from front to back full of me, making noise, slobbering, crying, and the phone ringing, and everything else. I just kind of listen through stuff and try to find stuff that seems good and the notes become songs.”

In most of your songs, you use a kind of images. The see, light, a girl. Why is that?

“Because, as an artist, it is great to use many words, and to make people think, and dig their teeth into something, that’s real, because .. I don’t know.”

Herb Grimaud jr. bass: “It’s just something that people can identify with the artist, what he is trying to portray. Whether he is trying to portray a specific image or a specific feeling.. I think it is probably easier for someone to relate to it. It’s better that way. Everything can’t be obscure, sometimes people need to relate to it, and it’s a good link for the audience to relate to it.”

What’s your favourite image?

Herb: “I don’t write the lyrics. I can only say as far as I appreciate what Michael has written. I appreciate that there’s a lot of communion in his lyrics. And as I say communion, I mean that raw state that you’re in, just kind of reaching out to God, and wanting to be closer to Him.

You don’t want to be a part of the things that surround you, the background noises, the people, the phone, the TV. There’s a lot of yearning for that, that communion, in his lyrics. As a listener, that’s something I like, as far as the imagery. It’s that place I would rather be at then anywhere else. So, for me that’s my favourite image.”

Michael: “ For me, I love them all. I look at God’s creation and I see there is so much to draw from.An certainly, He made the Gospel a very simple truth, and yet in His creation, He didn’t write What Would Jesus Do across a tree-trunk or paint a fish-shape on one of the stars but the Bible says that the stars are saying when God created the universe. And I think.. That’s one place I wish I was.”

Melissa :“ I would agree with Michael, what he was saying about creation, that’s my first impulse. I think, most people even non-christians, you can’t help but admire the beauty of things So anytime it’s some sort of imagery about the ocean, the stars or whatever. God is the overall creator of everything and we are made in His image, we all have that creativity, and so that’s why it’s so beautiful and that people relate to that. Anytime, it’s that music. Sometimes for me it is not an image that’s my favourite, a bass-line that Herb plays or a keyboard that’s in a track, anything, a drumsolo. I think that’s what drives people and what people love. You can worship through anything and God can move through anything because He is so cool. You could be at a rock-concert, you could be at a Violet Burning show, you could be at a classical music hall, or anything, through all music, because it’s art, because it’s that creativity.”

Do you think you’ll ever write songs like on the first and the second record?

Michael: “Well, I think that as an artist, you can only write a song one time, and then you don’t re-write the same song, over and over, nor do you make the same record, over and over. The Bible is the standard for us. And in the Bible you have folksongs, a folksong would be like: Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands.” And all the songs where David says: “Lord, kill my enemies”, what’s so Christian about that? And it’s one of the Psalms.”

And there’s the Violet Underground, what’s that?

Michael: “The Violet Underground is our fanclub, it’s just a feature of our website, that just exists for them. “

But I read you could send art to it.

Michael: “We know that within our fanbase, there’s a number of artists and musicians, who are very gifted, and we want to make a platform for them as well.”

What has being an artist to do with being a Christian? Is there Christian art or something like that?

Michael: “People are either Christians or not Christians. I don’t think that bands are Christian or not Christian. It’s up to each one of us to decide what we do with Christ. I don’t believe that a Christian radiostation will be in heaven. I don’t believe in Christian radio, or a Christian magazine because I don’t think that a Christian magazine will be in haven. We are Christians, each of us, who believe in Jesus. And the rest of those things, Christian art, Christian Music, whatever you want to define that term, is an industry and a business.”

As a Christian, does your art always have to be clear, with crosses and doves etc. ?

Michael: “I haven’t seen any crosses out there.” Melissa: “ is that a Christian tree?” Michael:“ I think that’s the wonderful thing about art, that’s something we talked about earlier, God in his creativity is fathomless.”

Melissa : “ I think art is an expression of emotions and emotions, certainly, are not simple. I don’t think I’ve ever felt something and been certain “ Oh I feel this” because there’s so many things jumble that, so I think that.. I think if you’re a Christian artist there’s a piece of your love for Christ in it, and there’s probably a piece of you being pissed off about something, or excited about something or whatever that you’re feeling. It’s the same for believers or non-believers.

Sometimes people started making art for Jesus and later made art just because of the art, music because of the music. How are you going to avoid that?

Andy Prickett, guitars: “For this band, it’s always been the case there has been songs that could be interpreted as directly about our faith, and other songs that are not. It’s been there all-long. The way that we feel about that… Even if we’re expressing just about life or creating art itself, because we’re created beings by a great Creator, and being creative itself is an expression of creation, and representative of God. We trust in the fact that God is using us, even if we’re talking directly about Him or not,. Maybe there is someone who does not know God, and they’re attracted to the music, because of a song that meant something to them, and it wasn't directly about God, and then they also hear the other songs that are directly about God. And for us all the same. If we’re talking about our lives, what’s going on, that is as much an expression of our faith as saying “ My God, I worship You”. Just by doing what we’re doing, we’re doing that anyway, I feel.”

Michael :“ It’s also like that, God values each of us, in our life-experiences, in the things that we’re going through. And those things are important to write about. Again when we look in the Bible, as our example, we see the fullness of human emotions, love, loss, death. “A time for everything” the Proverbs say. And God wants to be close to us, like Bebo Norman was singing last night.. ( Friday night on Flevo) and there’s so much truth in that. God really cares about each of you, where ever you’re at. In the smallest things, He loves us, and wants to be close to us. That what it’s about.”

Melissa :“ Plus God loves to rock and have fun. He is not boring.”

Michael “ I think heaven is probably a gigantic rave. With a couple of the cherubs up there…” J

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