By Christina Crook

Options caught up with Joel at Washington’s Gorge Amphitheatre earlier this year, and spoke about his music, his popular Facebook game and the responsibility to be real.

CC: It’s clear, listening to your music, that you are a songwriter first. Can you tell us a little bit about your creative process?

JA: Well, I’m really inspired by death metal like you hear in the background [Laughing] No, but seriously, I’m really inspired by any kind of human experience. I do love to write, and I’m a responsive writer. So if something’s going on in my life, I just respond through song. I’m a relatively prolific writer. I write a lot, it’s just the way I am. But you have to know that for every good song I write, there are 20 terrible ones. I believe authentic truth will resonate every time. We all share the human condition and for someone to write it down in a real way, it’s guaranteed to impact people. It’s our responsibility to be real.

Being a Canadian boy, do you feel like you have a bit of a unique take on this big music fest with so many American artists? Are you set apart a bit from the pack?  

I’m not sure I can tell [laughing] but I do feel like Canadian music has a different approach, a different mentality about music. We generally serve smaller communities and there is a real sense of community in our songs. We’re probably a bit more folk-influenced than American mainstream music, and in all of my favourite Canadian bands you can see of folk influences.

Yes, the folk music scene is well-loved in Canada! Speaking of folk, did you catch up with Phil Wickham earlier this weekend?

We didn’t get a chance but I saw him recently in Nashville and he sang one of his songs and I was just in tears. He is just an incredible songwriter and leader. I love Phil Wickham! Go buy his album! [Editor’s note: Go buy Joel’s too.]

You shared earlier about your road from criminal to Christian. Can you take us a bit through that journey?

I moved away from home when I was 18 and I basically lied to try get a great job, and ended up stealing computers and a bunch of other stuff. It was just a selfish time in my life. After a long road, I gave my life to Christ after experiencing radical forgiveness through a number of people, including my parents. Through their forgiveness I experienced God’s kindness and

that's what drew me in. Forgiveness like this is not human, it comes from God.

Has music always been a part of your life? It doesn’t sound like you were always dabbling on a guitar.

No I’ve taken guitar lessons since I was 12 or 13. So I’ve been musical all my life, singing and playing music, but it’s not my only interest.

Previous article Have You Ever Wondered if God is Calling You to. . . Full Time Ministry?	Next article It’s a Big World: Anna Vandas
Page 10	Page 11

On Facebook

I actually run a little internet marketing company and we have the second most active game on Facebook. It’s called MouseHunt  and it’s changing my world! Me and four other guys created it and now it’s exploding. We’ve had 120,000 people play the game, and 40,000 people play it every day. It’s just nutty.

What does your wife think about it? Does she play?

She does play! She's an avid MouseHunt player. As am I. We both are. We’re both kind of overwhelmed by it. I was just a Facebook conference in San Francisco and we just love it. It’s so cool because it’s another avenue for me to be creative. And I love anything that brings new ideas into existence.

What do you love about being Canadian?

I love that I’ve seen the whole of the nation seven times and it's never been anything but beautiful to me. I’ve travelled across the country, from coast to coast – literally from St. John’s, Newfoundland clear across in a truck to Vancouver, BC and on the Highway 17 and TransCanada – so much that I have real appreciation for how expansive and beautiful it is. And I highly recommend if anyone has the opportunity to see our nation from coast to coast, on the road, it’s something that every Canadian should do at least once. It gives you a new appreciation for our country as a whole. Also, we are very gifted on a resource level in Canada and I think that God has given us an opportunity to be good others, which is not an opportunity that a lot of people have, so we’re kind of set apart in that way.

What do you long to see or long to change or grow in terms of Canadian youth?

I’m one of those guys who depends wholeheartedly on Jesus and a real experience with him and I see that in our youth as a huge potential. I would love to see a desire for people to be truly gracious and giving to youth because I believe that God leads us to repentance through kindness and he’s here for everyone. So I guess my heart for youth would be that we would be authentic stewards of the love that God has given to us. My responsibility to any youth is letting them know that Jesus loves them wholeheartedly.

Facebook being a key part of youth culture, you obviously are a role model by default, even though you may not be creating music specifically for youth. You’re Canadian, you are 29, so you’re still young-ish. You are role model for youth in Canada where there aren’t a lot of really great role models in terms of living for Christ in the world. You’ve created a game for Facebook and make music  giving you a unique opportunity to speak to this generation. Great stuff Joel. Tell us what’s ahead for you?

I’m just here to serve. I hope to play a larger role in my church community at home, at The Meeting House, in Oakville, Ontario. Really, I hope to be anything and everything God has called me to be and to live out the truest and fullest potential that he’s set out for me.  

Options Winter 2009