Mike Farris will be leading Blues Worship at Lake Forest Church on Sunday October 11. Don't know Mike Farris? You are in for a treat...
www.mikefarrismusic.net Check out Mike on YouTube.
“Mike Farris has enough heart, soul, and power to light up a city. He mixes up the elements and turns them into something new, beautiful, and uniquely his own.” - Buddy Miller
The Music -
In 2007, when Mike Farris debuted his critically acclaimed Salvation in Lights, people who’d never heard of the former Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelie’s frontman, music business people and retailers who thought they’d “heard it all and seen it all,” stood with mouths agape, eyes like saucers, aghast at how that sound, that soul, could come from such an unlikely source.
In the two years since Salvation In Lights, Farris’ live performances across the country, including Bonnaroo, SXSW, Austin City Limits Festival, and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, have left music novices, fans and seasoned artists with the same awe-struck response. His live shows, in no small part, led to this music veteran taking home the Americana Music Award in 2008 “New/Emerging Artist of the Year.” Peter Frampton, Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin, Ricky Skaggs, Bruce Hornsby, Jackson Browne, Marty Stuart and many other artists have taken note of Farris’
incomparable vocal performance.
Truth be told, that gift, that kind of soul bearing authenticity where the singer becomes one with the song, is the result of a hard-fought fi ght. Like many of Farris’ own musical heroes, from Son House, Pop Staples, and Mahalia Jackson to Coltrane, Cash and Cooke, to Jimmie Rodgers, Louis Armstrong and the brothers Vaughn (for whom Farris did a stint in Double Trouble) this southern-bred rock-n-soul’er has fought his share of personal demons, emerging from the shadows with a new song.
Only
this time around, the song itself is ancient. A marriage of traditional
black gospel, 70s Stax soul and southern blues, Farris is even stronger
than revealed on his 2003 solo debut, Goodnight Sun. His undeniable
voice, his skillful arrangements and perhaps most of all, the joy and
passion with which he delivers both, breathe new life into
long-forgotten spirituals and vintage-y originals, excavating priceless
treasures.
“It’s
music with dirt on its feet and sweat on its back,” says Farris.
“Weathered by the elements. Its flames have been calling to people for
ages now, way before I picked up on it. It’s in our genetic makeup. It
pumps through our veins. It’s simple and straightforward. That’s one
reason why, especially in times like these, we need it. This old music
draws us in and warms us up like nothing else.”
This
music, like Farris himself, is artistic resurrection personified. Full
on. Drenched in sweat, his soul afire, his back bent, his voice
patina’d by grit and grace. His fists punching in time with the rolling
bass. The McCrary sisters echoing back the joyful, mournful sounds of a
man working out his own salvation. Just like you and me.
The Journey -
"When I'm playing music, it's like prayer to me," Farris says. "I'm closer to God than I ever am, outside of my prayer. That's the best way I can portray what I'm feeling in my heart."
Nearly dead from an accidental overdose of pills and alcohol before he turned 21,Farris made a desperate cry out to God, and God responded. Farris says, "But as soon as God gave me the gift [of healing music and song], I went about destroying it." Thus began a 15 year journey to get back to God.
"If not for the grace of God I would surely be dead or wishing I were dead." Farris says. "My life is a testament that God has an unique and special place for everyone. God will use people no matter how tattered and torn. Just surrender to His love and trust in His grace."
Find Mike Farris on Amazon.com and Itunes.
