Aaron Gillespie, is perhaps one of the busiest people in music. As the former drummer and singer of Underoath, current drummer of Paramore, and current frontman and guitarist of The Almost, he has managed to find time to record a solo worship album, Grace Through the Wandering, and be a worship pastor.

The rock and roll every-man managed to make some time in his busy schedule to chat with BREATHEcast and share a little bit his views as a worship leader, the new album, and talk a little bit about Underoath.

BREATHEcast: So you are gearing up to release your second worship album, Grace Through the Wandering. Does your focus or approach change when writing and performing worship as opposed to the rock stuff?

Aaron Gillespie: I don't know. I think it's kind of the same. It's emotionally from the same place. It's just lyrically you're kind of saying what you want to say as opposed to making it kind of vague or about a particular subject. I think every kind of music to me is worship. It's whether I make it blatantly that or starkly that.

BC: How have you been able to find your own Grace Through the Wandering, and do these songs convey the searching period of it or are they looking back on it?

AG: Yeah absolutely. I think it's different and it comes at different times for every person. It's just a matter of where you are in life when you find that. I think everyone takes a little wander about. I kind of just wanted to put a period on that, and talk about the search and the discovery of that. I think it's something that people need to hear and I need to sing about.

BC: What are the differences and similarities between being a rock frontman and a worship pastor? Also, do you think a drummer could lead worship?

I think there are similarities. If you're honest about what you do. There's this old saying that John Coltrane used to say, "If you're sincere you can play a shoe string." Your proximity to the front of the stage or the back of the stage and your style of music shouldn't affect the way that you do things. If you are forward with the people and forward with your God, then I think you're kind of going to get the same product in it's core depending on who you ask.

[On playing the drums for worship] I do it all the time, every weekend in different churches, and it works. What instrument you're playing shouldn't decide what and how you're doing something. It should just be from your heart and soul with whoever you are.

(Photo : MergePR)

BC: Have you been able to draw over some heavy into rock or non-Christian fans of Underoath to your worship music? What about the other way around? Do you think you'd be able to make some worship listeners Underoath or Almost fans. It might be a tall order.

AG: Yeah, for sure. I think people come from all walks of life to kind of check it out. If we trust God and we trust His presence to let people feel that whether they know what it is or looks like. I think people experience that.

I think some of them would, like the younger leaning ones. But people who only listen to worship music will never listen to Underoath, ever in a thousand years. That's what I actually think.

BC: Do you think God touches people in the same way through metal, hardcore, or any genre in the same way someone could enter into God's presence through worship?

AG: Absolutely. I think if you put a genre on God, He wouldn't be God. If we really believe God is sovereign and He's magnanimous, He's God. You have to believe He works with anything. It's interesting, modern churches are one of the only institutions that feel like they need certain things in order to worship. If you think about ancient times or Bible times when certain things were written. There was no worship music, delayed guitar, and Hillsong. It didn't exist. I think God can do anything, the Bible says that the rocks will cry out. That's my thing. I mean, do you really think if we played the lute and the harp on a Sunday morning people would be totally into it? Because that's what they were actually playing in the Bible. Even just cymbals by themselves. If we actually did that I don't think people would be intrigued.

BC: Do you think guys like you and Dustin Kensrue are helping worship be cool to a younger or non-worship interested audience?

AG: I love Dustin. I think he's doing a great job. I think people are becoming more open minded slowly. Different styles and genre or whatever. I think that's really helped because people are listening to different types of music.

This ends part one with Aaron Gillespie. Check back with BREATHEcast on Monday to hear his thoughts on an Underoath reunion in part two of our interview [UPDATE- READ IT HERE.]

Grace Through the Wandering comes out on February 3, and the first single "Praise Him" is already making waves with listeners.

Watch the lyric video put out by BEC Records below: