Tony Cummings reports on PETER FURLER, the ex-lead singer and composer for CCM hitmakers the Newsboys

Peter Furler

The re-emergence of Peter Furler onto the scene will delight large numbers of Christian music fans. For years he received accolades as the voice of one of CCM's big hitters and there are plenty of fans who would suggest that his sojourn as the Newsboys vocalist puts him up there with John James whom he replaced in 1997 after being the founding member drummer of the pop rockers from Mooloolaba, Australia from 1985 to 1997. With Furler at their helm the Newsboys made such great albums as 1998's 'Step Up To The Microphone', 2002's 'Adoration' (containing the worship classic "He Reigns"), 2006's 'Go' and 2009's 'In The Hands Of God'.

When it was announced in March 2009 that Peter was leaving the Newsboys to be replaced by the one-time dc Talk star Michael Tait it was explained that Peter would continue to work with the band "as songwriter and producer". Said Peter in a press release, "I'm looking forward to focusing on the band's studio career and spending time in my own bed after many years in a tour bus and hundreds of thousands of miles on the road." In view of such a statement it was rather surprising that the first Michael Tait-led Newsboys album 'Born Again' contained no Furler songs and was in fact produced by Juan Otero and Seth Mosley, otherwise known as The Write Bros. And it was equally surprising when it was announced that Peter was returning to the CD racks with a solo album. 'On Fire' (released in the UK on 20th June) contains some intriguing music including one track on which the pop rock veteran is joined by the Newsboys' long-time producer and lyricist Steve Taylor. Peter told Christian Retailing magazine about his decision to leave the Newsboys.

"I felt the Lord tell me it was time to let the ground rest, even though I wasn't actually tired the last couple years I headed the band, which were the best years really. I thought we were at the top of the game and things were great, but at the same time, I was getting this sense to let the ground rest. I didn't know what it meant because I wasn't tired or burnt out, none of the things that usually happen, but I knew I had to follow the little checks I was getting. . . I didn't know what I was going to do, but I kind of liked that. I'd had 20-odd years of knowing exactly what was happening pretty much a year in advance, but then the music itch came back.

Not that thoughts of recording a solo album came instantly. "My first year or so leaving the band I was helping the band make the transition. That was a big task, and that kept me busy. That was a great task, and one that I enjoyed. It was kind of like handing over a church. You want it to do well. You want the lads to move on, and go to bigger and greater things. For me, that was a full time job. Then, once that was done, I found myself in a place of okay what am I going to do with the rest of my life? I actually just enjoyed not knowing. Which for some people might be horrifying, but for me it was thrilling. For me, my schedule was always planned out back at that time. I really just relished in not knowing what the future held. But, in that time I did a bit of painting and some creative things. After that year, I began to get back to writing songs. I am also working on a project with Steve Taylor at the moment. So, that's where I began to realise this is what you do. Just because you made a shift of how you do it artistically, doesn't mean you stop doing it. I think it's when I began to look at other options and ask, 'What do you do? Do I get a nine to five job, or do I buy a business and run that?' All these things begin to run through your head. As you run to them, you know that this is what God has called you to do, to be a songwriter and musician. So, that was good clarity for me. It doesn't matter what level it is on, because you don't do it for certain levels or achievements. You do it for the love of creating something out of nothing. Obviously things that encourage people to a) search out for Jesus; b) to know him better or just to encourage people in that walk with him."

In the Louder Than The Music website Peter spoke about his particular technique in songwriting. "I usually start with a guitar or keyboard, loops or sounds. Other times, a melody or thought pops into my head, and I begin the process of turning what I have into a song. Sometimes that process is a matter of minutes, sometimes a matter of years. I don't listen to much music so when I sit down to write, I write what I would like to hear."

What, in Peter's opinion, makes the perfect song? "One sung from the heart, through lips, to God's ears."

Peter began working in the studio with Me In Motion frontman Seth Mosely, long time Newsboys collaborator Steve Taylor and former Newsboys bassist Phil Joel on new material. The first single from what was to be the 'On Fire' album was "Reach". With its pop techno sound the song was co-written by Seth Moseley and featured a devotional lyric: "You reach for me/with a love quiets all my fears/You reach for me/like a Father wipes away the tears/so many people in this world/but I hear You calling out my name/You reach for me/now I'm never gonna be the same."

Peter told Christian Retailing magazine about the message of "Reach". "To me, it's become more evident that God is everywhere, which we know from Scripture. The greatest example of him reaching out to us is through Jesus and him coming to earth. That's the greatest example, but also at the same time we can sometimes feel like we're forgotten as people and we're just caught up in this big world. But God cares for us individually."

The song "All In Your Head" talks of getting a "kick of love". Is it a motivational song? Christian Retailing asked. "It is, and it's really just a thing of not letting life pass you by. I think for my wife and I, in the last couple years I was with the band, probably even a few before that, we had another inkling, another stirring to simplify. My wife and I bought an RV, so instead of riding in the tour bus and getting driven to shows, I drove myself and her and her little dog. We drove to every show, performed the concert, then I'd get in and drive again. It was just such a thrill. We'd stop at the KOA campgrounds and sleep at the Wal-Mart Supercenters, which was kind of strange. You'd play a show for 10,000 people in Minneapolis, and that night you're sleeping in the Wal-Mart Supercenter. It was definitely an eye-opening experience. We sold the house we had and bought a smaller one. We got rid of things, got rid of furniture. We're kind of still in that process, in a way. It was a really great time for us to do that and to live the adventure - to step out and take some chances and to not just settle. I think even in our life as Christians, to really get on mission trips and to step out a bit, or do something in your local community or local church. Any time someone's depressed, my first advice is to say go on a mission trip - to get out there. That was the song, again stirring up folks to not settle."

One song on 'On Fire', "Closer", features a guest appearance from Steve Taylor while another, "Greater Is He", features guest vocals from Phil Joel and Bill Furler (Peter's brother). Ending 'On Fire' on an upbeat, yet somewhat soothing note, "Greater Is He" reminds the listener that even through the tough trials in life, God in us is greater than anything we face on this earth.

Possibly the most radical track on 'On Fire' is a techno interpretation of Psalm 23. Did he want to write a song based around a Bible verse or chapter in this case, or did this song kind of come about spontaneously? Responded Furler, "It was really a little bit of both. I have had it in my head for a few years. I feel one of my gifts is the gift of melody and song. The Bible talks about singing to each other songs, hymns and spiritual songs. I have sung a lot of spiritual songs; I have sung some hymns in my life. This was more of a psalm. Over the years with melody and even growing up in church, so many Scriptures were put to melody. They were the ones you always seem to remember. When you go and play a concert, isn't it amazing how the whole crowd can sing the words of a song. But, sadly, if you said to somebody, 'Can you recite Psalm 23?' that's a tough gig. You know, can you quote a section of Isaiah? Those things take an effort. But, when you put them to melody, all of a sudden they become easier. I felt to do that as a songwriter a few years back. This was the first of hopefully a few. But, it also did happen in a spontaneous way. I sat down and it really just came. It wasn't something that I worked on. It came very quick, which is usually how some of the best songs come. Yes, it is one that I am really proud of, and then again I didn't have a plan for this record two years ago. Not even a year ago. As a songwriter, you just keep writing songs. I don't know what the future holds as a soloist, or as whatever, but as a songwriter as long as I am alive, that is my gift. So I just continue to stir that up. These songs on this record, and songs like 'Psalm 23' were just the continuation of my life as a songwriter."

Asked by Louder Than The Music to describe the album, Peter said, "These songs echo my joy, peace, freedom and faith. When we're born again, our spirit is free to join with God's Spirit. Then, if and when we begin reading... and doing what Jesus said, and following the promptings of the Spirit of God, this leads our hearts and minds to live without being bound, trapped... or led by emotions, anxiety or the material. To be 'on fire' is to live the full life of Christ. These songs echo joy... peace... freedom and faith."

Furler was asked whether he felt under any pressure in recording a solo album. "I think the pressure is really within yourself as a songwriter. Somebody asked me the other day, 'What are your expectations?' To be honest, they have already been met. So from here on out, it's all good. But, the pressure that really came was just as a songwriter and as an artist. You always want to write, but you don't want to regurgitate what you've done before. But, at the same time, you don't want to leave behind and make a conscious decision to put aside the good things of the past. It really came down to making sure the songs that were on it were up to par, if not better than what my previous work had been. It wasn't a pressure of commercialism, but it was more of a pressure of why put it out if it's not stronger, or deeper than what you have done before."

Peter's first major solo concert was at Easterfest on 23rd April 2011. Did he have any nerves or anxiety in playing a concert without the Newsboys? "You know, I did. I had moments, but I kind of put them aside too. It was an adventure, and I love adventures. I love the unknown. I would definitely be lying if I said I didn't. I had some moments, but they weren't lasting moments. They were ones that I had to keep putting aside; I had to keep putting them into another part of my mind. So I had moments of oh my goodness, I am heading out here. I don't have the lads with me. I had a great team with me. I had Seth Mosley, Brian Dexter and Tim Wilson from Me In Motion, who are great players. I also had my wife, Summer, playing keyboards, which was brilliant. The band was brilliant. When I listen back to it - one of the road crew recorded it - I think I was the one that made more mistakes [laughing]. Nervous, I don't know, just maybe had to blow a few cobwebs out. A lot of it came back too. It was my first full show in two years. But when you do it for 22 years, there was stuff that just came back automatic. It didn't happen until I was actually on the stage. But, it ended up great. The fans were brilliant, and the crowd was very welcoming. It ended up being superb and a great night."

On the christianrock123.blogspot.com website Furler gave his thoughts about Christian rock as a whole and whether he believed God uses Christian rock to win people for the Kingdom. "Well, I think it is through the words, that is the difference. We are the one genre that is defined by our words. It is not really about the sound. I believe God gives gifts to all men, we know that as Christians. I actually think there are two types of music. The Bible talks about the tongue and how it has the power of life and death. Whenever we have gossiped or bagged somebody, afterwards if we have a good conscience or a normal conscience, we can feel just as if we have eaten something bad. Yet, when we praise people and speak good into their life, we feel energized. We are kind of eating the fruit of that. So, really there are two types of music. One is full of life, and one that is full of death. One is full of truth, and one is full of lies. Sometimes I have heard, quote unquote, Christian music, and I was like, 'Well I am not sure about that.' Yet, it is under a certain format, or a certain record label. Then other times, you hear something that is not made necessarily by someone who is openly Christian, but yet you hear and you go, 'That's just truth.' That's why we do have to be careful what we listen to. What we listen to we are sort of eating it in a sense. The Bible talks about that, to be careful to what you put in front of your eyes and ears. So, I think that is the difference. To answer your second question first, that's really what it is. It is something that there is power in. It is in the words, and when there is truth in it. When it is the truth of God's word, then that's what it does. It has an effect on people; it has an effect on hearts and minds and emotions. That is what music is about, you know. It does have an effect on those things of a human being. So, it is important what is being said, that it is truth. You know, everyone has different levels of what type of music they like, stylistically and lyrically. Then there is something there for everybody.

"I think as far as the industry, I am not a real spokesman for the industry. I don't feel like I am one of the gatekeepers. But for me, the thing that I do notice is, being in it for quite awhile, technologically speaking we are at a time now, which is a great thing for Christian artists. Most Christian artists are operating on a budget, probably on about one-tenth of what a mainstream act could operate on. But, for the first time in history, and you would understand this being in radio, we can actually record stuff for one-tenth of what it would cost to make a record. It still costs a lot to mix one, to get that done right. But, as far as cutting tracks, you can buy a Mac laptop now. It comes with a free programme. GarageBand, that's what I write with most of the time. GarageBand has as much stuff as we made 'Step Up To The Microphone' with. Yet, if I was to go and buy all the gear we used for 'Step Up To The Microphone', it could have been two or three hundred thousand dollars. That's where things have changed. That's why you can listen to Christian radio and for the first time sonically it is competing with the others. In the old days, it would take a week to get a kick drum sound. Now, you can knock one up in a couple of hours."