Christian artist and longtime frontman of popular Christian rock band Spoken, Matt Baird, is venturing out on his own to create a solo record of worship songs he has been performing for the last several years. Baird took some time from his busy touring schedule to speak about his goals with a worship album, Kickstarter, and finding inspiration away from heavy rock.

Baird has been traveling around the mid-West for the last two years playing churches and living room shows with just an acoustic guitar. When he is not melting crowds with some ferocious screams and blaring guitars, Baird tones things down and praises God just like everyone else. Now, he feels it is time to capture some of that anointing on wax for everyone else to hear as well.

"When we were writing and recording Illusions [Spoken album], our producer was like 'Hey at least make a demo of every idea that comes in your head'. During that same timeframe, I had started doing some guest worship at churches on the road, and there were times Spoken would play a Saturday night and they would ask us if we can lead worship on Sunday morning, and I would do that, it's awesome," Baird said. "I had also been playing a lot of acoustic shows at coffee shops and private house shows, any situations where maybe it wouldn't work out for the band I would do an acoustic show because I'm not good with days off."

The frontman said he wants to use the most of his time and take every opportunity to play he could. It was that work ethic that also brings about some of his song ideas as well.

"I go to a church in Des Moines Iowa, and they had asked me to do a song for offering, and I'm like 'Yeah that would be awesome'. I did that and it kind of led to doing more songs for offering the last couple of years," he shared. "It really inspired me the last couple of years to finish writing these songs that I had ideas for. I just felt like God was bringing people into my life that were saying, 'You know you should actually record these songs. I really like the worship stuff, I think it's awesome'."

He continued, "It wasn't like it was a different way of people responding like 'Hey this song makes me feel this way'. With Spoken, people are very cool with telling me how certain songs affected them and how it made them feel. So in the same way, the songs that were more worshipful and straight up about Jesus, people were like, 'Hey man that's really encouraging'. And I'm like God is giving me the opportunity to play these churches and to be able to fill these dates and I felt like he was bringing songs my way."

Baird said he had never really given any thought to flipping some old songs of Spoken's to a more worshipful tone. Although, an easy comparison of some of the band's earlier music would be worship metal. Spoken's album, Echoes of the Spirit Still Dwell, is described as an album of prayers. These are songs that call out to God and beg for a Savior, and it is done as heavy as anything else the band has made.

"The message is already captured in that song and the emotion we were going for in those songs was captured. you know, people either love it when you do one of your original songs a little different, or they hate it. Luckily the Spoken songs that I do acoustic, it's a different take on the song and people enjoy it," said Baird. "I really haven't had anyone say, 'I really hated the version you did of that song'. Not yet anyway."

(Photo : (PHOTO: Spoken))
Spoken 'Illusion' album cover.

He explained Spoken's classic song "Falling Further" is about the doubting Thomas in all of us. "We see these things and still we question what God's doing and if He's even there and it's really not any different with these worship songs I've been writing," he explained. "Some of them have come from actual physical pain. You are just telling God, 'I need you. I need you but, you gotta do something right now.'"

It is through this time of worship discovery that Baird feels God has taught him more than ever, especially with how these new songs have come about.

"He wants us as believers to be desperate for Him at all times and all situations, and He will allow some things to kind of go on that make you desperate for Him. There are times it is a little more difficult than you hoped it would be but you know you come out stronger on the other side," said the singer. "The same way on Illusion, 'Through it All' it's about going through these things that we think we will never make it through and somehow we realize that thing that carries suit, when we realize that we kind of feel like man, 'I knew that the whole time, why didn't I embrace it?'"

"I think that everybody at some point in their lives, Christian or non-Christian, they realize 'Man if I'd only done this, I wouldn't have had to do this'. Luckily in my life it's my hope in Jesus that gets me through these situations."

As far as what the album will most likely sound like, Baird is going more the indie modern rock vibe. He is looking to emulate bands that are very good musically and also fill in a great vocal. "Hopefully it's going to be different than anything that is out there when it comes to the worship genre. I'm really into Coldplay right now, for King & Country, OneRepublic. I would really like for it musically to be along those lines but at the same time with some guitar driven stuff and loops and pads underneath and maybe some keys."

Baird believes the album will carry the uniqueness he is looking for along with that acoustic vocal singer/songwriter vibe that has raised in popularity the last couple of years. "I want to enhance it. If a song is better with just being guitars and vocal on this record, then by all means. I want to do what's best for conveying the message for the song," he said.

Baird's project can be funded at his Kickstarter account which can be viewed here. He is looking to raise $10,000 and is a little over the half way point with 21 days to go. Watch the trailer for the campaign below:

This is part one of our interview series with Baird. Stay tuned for part two of the interview tomorrow where he discusses being a family man on the road.