Artist Review - Christian Music

KPPR interviewed independent artist Koo Chung.  Koo had some great insight on his music.  He also gave some tips on breaking into the music industry.  Check it out below.

KPRR: How would you categorize your sound of Christian music?

KC: Acoustic Rock/Pop.

KPRR: Your song "Gullible Me" is hot!!! What's it about?

KC: This song is an echo of the man from Mark 9:24, who explains to Jesus, "I believe, but help my unbelief".  Oftentimes, Christians struggle with doubt and don't know what to do with it.  This man's honesty before Jesus resonates with me, and the song is my own way of asking God for faith when I lack it.

KPRR: How has God shaped the path of your music over the years?

KC: I started out my career with the mentality of doing my best with what I have.  Back then, I didn't have much, but I felt led to share my music and more importantly, my story and convictions with people.  I started out as lead singer for a band called "Broken For Good" in college, and went solo after I graduated from school.  Since then, God has been providing opportunity after opportunity to continue what I was doing, but to a larger scale.  He's helping me to think bigger, and I'm doing my best to be obedient to my call.

KPRR: What kind of rewards (spiritually) have you experienced  by making music for God?

KC: I've written songs during various seasons of my life.  Some were out of joy and others out of complete misery and brokenness.  Communicating with God through songwriting is extremely rewarding in that it feels much more intimate and passionate than prayer alone.  It is therapeutic and I feel closer to Him by spending time singing and writing for Him.  People are encouraged to pray in tongue because it edifies their spirits, and I've always had a difficult time grasping this concept.  If I look at music as another language though, it begins to make sense.  I'm thankful that music is another language I have that can convey what is on my heart when mere words simply can't cut it.

KPRR: Your gig schedule seems pretty full.  Is consistently touring important to a music career?

KC: Consistent touring is definitely a must for a music career.  If you look at it as a full time occupation and also a full time ministry, there's no reason to justify not putting in the hard work.  From a business viewpoint, marketing is needed in order to create awareness of the artist.  From a musical standpoint, live music is just as important (if not even more important) as recorded music so that listeners can better connect with the artist.  As far as ministry is concerned, meeting people and communicating with them is what it's all about.  Touring collectively helps in all of those areas.  As an artist develops a bigger following and grows in his career, it's easier to tour less frequently and have more of a balance for things such as personal time and growth, family, writing and practicing, etc.  But for most fledgling artists, we need to hit the road.  Often.

KPRR: Can you give some advice to someone who is trying to release an independent project and start their own label/distribution?

KC: My answer to the previous question is something I'd definitely share with someone starting out a career in music.  In addition though, I'd encourage them to really sit through and pray about it and consider how radically different of a lifestyle they will have to live if they are serious about it.  On the technical side though, I'd recommend keeping recording costs low for the first album or demo, but concentrate on musical excellence over quality.  The quality part will come in time as you're able to generate enough income to invest into better recordings.

Finding opportunities to play live shows is key.  Knowing the types of venues you'd want to perform at is also important, and once that is decided on, steps should be taken to try to set up a show at one of those venues.  Open mics are helpful, as well as getting opening spots for well known artists.

Starting a record label can be very involved, so it's good to know what you're getting yourself into with this.  Some start an indie label simply for the sake of having a name that they can do all business transactions under.  I started mine for that reason but also because I wanted to be involved in helping other musicians around me who might want to try out a career in music but didn't have resources or people to turn to (at least, locally).  Either way, if you don't walk into it with an entrepreneurial mindset, you might get overwhelmed and not know how to handle it, so do brace yourself for lots of work.

KPRR: How can people get to know more about you, your music and your upcoming gigs?

KC: For now, we have our trusty websites to rely on.  I'll list them below.  Otherwise people can feel free to send us emails with specific
questions:

E-mail:

koo@brokenforgood.com

kara@brokenforgood.com (management)

Websites:

www.koochung.com

www.brokenforgood.com (label)

Online stores where my music can be found:

www.independentbands.com

www.grassrootsmusic.com

Online journal:

www.xanga.com/koo_chung

KPRR: Koo, thank you so much for taking the time for this interview.  We've seen a glimpse of why God has chosen you to bring Christian music to His people.  The honesty and sincerity expressed in your songs is an encouragement to us all...in our walk with Him.  Thank you for your commitment to Jesus.