The Other Side of the Coin - Worship Leader
Ed Cash had never produced an album before. Having released three of his own CDs, he considered himself a Christian recording artist. But he also had an interest in recording equipment and everything it took to get the job done, so when the prices of equipment started to drop into the "somewhat reasonable" bracket, he bought some gear. Then, he and a friend, who was also an artist, began talking about recording some music on their terms, and they decided to take a crack at it. Independent of any record labels, the album they put together went on to sell 30,000 units-a pretty astounding feat. His friend, Bebo Norman, is continuing his highly successful career as a Christian recording artist, and Cash, who has since produced all but one of Norman's CDs and worked with other artists such as Caedmon's Call, Chris Tomlin, Bethany Dillon is now one of the most sought-after producers in the Christian music industry.
So from the beginning, working mostly with independent artists to now, working with established artists, we asked him what has changed. "I think my involvement with songs has gotten more intense," was his response. "I'm such a lover of melodies and rhythms, that before I don't think I was very sensitive to what was being said. If the music felt right, I didn't really care. That's something that has totally, completely changed in my heart over the last five years. I've had much more of a turn towards the substance and the heart behind the songs. The music is still great, but the content and the spirit of the song is infinitely more important to me, now."
Stand By Your Song Cash confesses that there were times he was less concerned with the songs content, possibly because his role as a producer felt more like a support. "But the Holy Spirit began to really deal with my heart on the responsibility of being a producer," he says. "To take that seriously and to take Him seriously meant that if I'm joining forces with another person and standing behind, whether I'm part of the writing or not, it's important to me that it communicates truth and the heart of God and that it's excellent in doing so."
For most producers, the excellence they bring to an album is in the little touches that the typical listener may not notice right away, but is definitely aware of when they are missing. So, often the temptation is to find some outrageous and complex music in order to offer more creative insight. Simple is not always the most sought after. But Cash's shift to substance over flash has brought a new musical understanding to his work and helped create the last two Chris Tomlin albums which have been vastly unique worship offerings in that they have made as many waves in the Christian pop world as an album without the "worship" moniker.
"My wife is a total consumer, and she has no musical background knowledge whatsoever, but she has a real sensitivity toward to music that connects with the heart," says Cash. "Watching her respond to different things has really taught me a lot about how an average listener will hear things. And honestly, Christ Tomlin is so the kind of person that I would have, in the past, turned off my mind to immediately, just dismiss it as simple and not very musically in depth. But it's like the story of King David in the Bible. Samuel came looking for the next king and he said "Jesse, where are your sons?" All his big studly sons came out, and he didn't even think about bringing David. He hid him away in the field, but the anointing was on David. God does not care about flash and all that stuff, and I guess that's really what he's taught me.
"And Chris would be the first to say he's not the best singer in the world, and he's not the best guitar player in the world, but he's got a heart for God. I think because of that, God has chosen to use him and placed His anointing on him. He was vocalist of the year at the GMA music awards. That didn't happen because he was some exceptional vocal acrobatic freak of a singer. It happened because, thankfully, in our genre there's still a care about the heart of things. And I'm more attracted to that anointing than ever. That's what I look for now when I'm writing with somebody or working with an artist."
High Fidelity Of course quality is still a top priority with Cash. That is evident simply in the music that he has produced over the years. In fact, it is his high standard for quality that he challenges worship leaders and church music programs to also strive after. "This may sound harsh," says Cash, "but God's music should be the best music there is, it should be the tip-top. And the thing that's dangerous about everybody and their mother having access to recording equipment is that there has been this influx of some very B-grade productions. I think it tends to just accelerate the problem of people looking at Christians and thinking of what we do as sub-par, when we should be the most excellent.
"Now, I don't want to be the great judge that says ‘Well, if you're not of so-and-so's caliber then you shouldn't make a CD because the flip side of that is people on the local level can make a CD with a lower quality but the spirit of it's great. They can give it to their congregation and people will enjoy it. Which is a special thing. I think it gets dangerous when people hear themselves recorded and the whole idea gets them so excited that all of a sudden they think all that they want is to make a career of it. While it's definitely a calling of the heart, it's also a quality thing-where God calls He equips. We definitely want to see the king in our Davids, but we also need to be aware when we are the shepherd boy. It boils down to having loving people around you who will tell you the truth. Also keeping a humble heart before the Lord and not getting too big for your britches."
The Many Hats Ed Cash has had the opportunity to work with many of Christian music's leading artists. One reason he is a go-to producer is his ability to play many roles in the production process, from helping write the songs to finding music to actually putting the record together. "I enjoy the balance of it all. I like variety," says Cash. "For instance, on Chris Tomlin's
Arriving record, I didn't write the song "Indescribable," and neither did Chris. But we were pretty much through with the record, and I very much felt like we needed an opening kind of song. I had worked with Laura Story, so I brought up the idea of Chris doing this song. Of course he did, and now to go and see that song played in concert is such a tremendous joy. All of those roles to me are exciting. I just love excellence. I want music to be great. That's what I have prayed for years and I continue to pray, ‘Lord, I just want to be a part of the best songs that there are, and I ask you to pour ‘em out upon me. If that means I'm a part of writing them, great, if it's not, that's fine, too, but just bring them.' I constantly lay that before Him both by myself and with the artists I work with. We start a record and throughout the record we're praying ‘Lord, make this what you want it to be.' When you put your work in His hands it totally changes the perspective.
