The Rich Mullins 20th Anniversary Project is a Big Missed Opportunity

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Alternative title: 
Some Thoughts and Concerns on the Rich Mullins 20th Anniversary Project
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UPDATE: I have begun an podcast about Rich Mullins with Joe Cook of the Ragamuffin Archive. For our first episode we were even able to interview Jimmy Abegg about the Be God's Podcast. You can listen to the episode here or subscribe on itunes  Google Play  Tunein Radio  or  Stitcher

It has been an amazing past several years for the legacy of musician, writer, teacher, and walking human enigma Rich Mullins. 

Podcast Archive: David Leo Schultz on Directing Ragamuffin

This archive episode of the podcast features my February 2014 interview with director, actor, and writer David Leo Schultz. We discussed Ragamuffin, the biopic he made about the life of singer-songwriter Rich Mullins. It was officially the 4th episode of the podcast, made back in the unofficial days. You can read the text version of this interview here: David Leo Schultz on Directing the Rich Mullins Movie (text version) And you can listen to my more recent interview with David here: David Leo Schultz Director of Brennan.

David's been busy since we first talked. Along with directing the Brennan Manning biopic he also starred in a number of online shorts, started the Ragamuffin Retreats ministry, and is even in the development stages of doing a film about St. Francis. You can find out more info here: http://colorgreenfilms.com/



Subscribe to the podcast on itunes 
Check out the podcast page to subscribe on Stitcher, Tunein, and PocketCasts.

Related Podcasts and Articles:
Pam Destri—The EMT called to the accident that took the life of Rich Mullins
An Interview With Mitch McVicker
Caleb Kruse on Meeting Rich
Joe Cook of the Ragamuffin Archive
So...They Made a Movie About Rich Mullins...
Interview--Reed Arvin: Recording Rich Mullins' 
A Liturgy, A Legacy, and A Ragamuffin Band — Interview With Reed Arvin
Movie Review: Ragamuffin: The True Story of Rich Mullins
Take a look: The Vast Online Rich Mullins Music Library
Rich Mullins was weird, but he was also so good Christian radio had to play him

PCR Podcast Ep32: Pam Destri—The EMT called to the accident that took Rich Mullins' life and injured Mitch McVicker

Pam Destri was on call as a volunteer EMT the night Rich Mullins died and Mitch McVicker got seriously injured in a car accident. Many fans have wondered for years what happened on that night. While Pam doesn't have all the answers she does offer her experience, what she witnessed, some surprising revelations about what the EMT's found, and why she thinks God brought her there in those moments. Part of the episode features talks from me (Chris Marchand) and Pastor Mark Schoenhals (of Living Waters Lutheran Church) about Rich Mullins, a talk from Pam, and then an after-talk interview with Pam. You can read my full address from that night here: Rich Mullins, My Patron Saint


Subscribe to the podcast on itunes 
Check out the podcast page to subscribe on Stitcher, Tunein, and PocketCasts.

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Related Rich Mullins Podcast Episodes:
An Interview With Mitch McVicker

Caleb Kruse on Meeting Rich

Joe Cook of the Ragamuffin Archive

PCR Podcast Episode 19: Joe Cook of the Rich Mullins Ragamuffin Archive and Western Indian Ministries

Joe Cook is the station manager for three stations in the Western Indian Radio Network (http://www.westernindian.net/) in New Mexico and Arizona. He and his family moved out west a few years ago to do ministry among the Navajo nation and its people. Joe is also the operator of the Ragamuffin Archive, which features numerous Rich Mullins, interviews, live shows, and song rarities (https://www.youtube.com/user/theentrtnr or on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/ragamuffinarchive/?__mref=message_bubble). In our interview we chat about his ministry and the strange story of receiving a box (or boxes) full of all but unheard Rich Mullins material. You can find Joe's family's blog at: https://cookfamilywim.wordpress.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cookfamilymissions?__mref=message_bubble





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Rich Mullins Articles:
Take a look: The vast online Rich Mullins library
When Will the Christian Music Industry Get Its Act Together?
Rich Mullins and America As Promised Land
The Theology of Rich Mullins 
So...They Made a Movie About Rich Mullins
Reed Arvin and Liturgy Legacy & a Ragamuffin Band 20th Anniversary Interview

Rich Mullins Related Podcast Episodes:
Episode 09: Caleb J. Kruse on Meeting Rich Mullins
Episode 04: David Leo Schultz director of Ragamuffin the Rich Mullins Biopic

PCR Podcast Episode 10: David Leo Schultz director of Brennan

Director/actor/writer David Leo Schultz is our first repeat guest on the PCR podcast (and it's our 10th episode as well!). This time he is talking about his new film Brennan, which is an intimate character study of the author and speaker Brennan Manning (The Ragamuffin Gospel, Ruthless Trust). You can read my review of the film here: Brennan Film Review. We get into the frustrations of making films that are not 100% family friendly with American Christian culture, the difficulties of portraying someone as enigmatic as Brennan Manning, and how we are all pretty messed up and desperately in need of God's grace. For more info on Brennan, including show times and places, visit their website: http://www.brennanmanningmovie.com/.

Subscribe to the podcast on itunes You can financially support the film here: https://www.gofundme.com/brennanthemovie

Film Review: "Brennan" the new film about Brennan Manning

NOTE: follow this link for my interview with David Leo Schultz, Brennan's director.

The weekend I watched Brennan the new biopic about the life of author/speaker Brennan Manning from director/writer/actor David Leo Schultz, was the same weekend we read the "Prodigal Son" passage from Luke 15 in my church. Jesus' parable of the son who squandered his inheritance through sinful and reckless living is a messy story, that ultimately is not about us at all—it is about the vast, unquenchable, and perplexing love of God. As a film, Brennan, starring Hal Alpert in the titular role, is equally as messy, centering around two real life prodigals wandering in the midst of their own journey, sometimes towards and sometimes away from the love of God.

When Will the Christian Music Industry Get Its Act Together? (especially when there is money to be made)

The release of Steve Taylor's new album Goliath last week reminded me of something that has continued to irk me for a few years now.

As far as I see it Taylor's old record labels (Sparrow/Geffen/Warner Music) have missed a prime opportunity to:
1. Make a decent amount of money (which I assume they are interested in)
and
2. Introduce a whole of new group people to his music and give old fans a chance to reconnect with the music they have come to love.

Take a look: The Vast Online Rich Mullins LIbrary

When the Rich Mullins demos/rarities/bootleg album Here in America came out a decade or so ago I remember thinking "This is great, but surely there's more. Surely he's got more unreleased songs than this and surely there are more recordings of him playing live." It seemed to me this was a great start, the first release of many like recordings in the same vein as the Bob Dylan Bootleg Series. But of course we've heard nothing since—at least not in an official capacity...

Interview: David Leo Schultz on directing the Rich Mullins Movie (text version)

This is a big couple of weeks in both the Rich Mullins and Rich Mullins movie (Ragamuffin) camps. Last week Rich Mullins got inducted into the Gospel Music Associations' hall of fame (see below for the video) and this Tuesday, May 6 the Ragamuffin film is being released onto DVD and BLU-Ray exclusively at Wal-mart. In light of that (and in light of not being able to find someone to publish it!) I'm releasing a print version of the interview I did with David Leo Schultz, the film's director. My original interview was in podcast form and can be listened to here. You can also read my review of the film here. The interview has been shortened just a bit from the actual recording (you can't imagine how long it takes to type out an interview--oh the tedium!)

Chris Marchand: So the name of the film is Ragamuffin with the subtitle "the true story of Rich Mullins." Am I getting that right?...

Movie Review: Ragamuffin--The True Story of Rich Mullins

I distinctly remember the first time I was disappointed in Rich Mullins, the first time I realized he might not exactly fit the clean-cut image the world of Contemporary Christian Music tried to force its artists into.  It was during a performance at the 1997 Cornerstone Music Festival in Bushnell, Illinois of the musical he and Mitch McVicker had written about Saint Francis of Assisi called Canticle of the Plains, a quirky little work that sets Francis in the middle of the American Old West of the 1800's rather than the Italy of the Middles Ages.  There was a scene set in a saloon and Mullins played one of the extras, just a guy sitting at a table playing cards and smoking a big cigar...wait. What?  Rich Mullins smoking a cigar? Christians don't do that kind of thing. Or at least they shouldn't--and there he was just smoking right in front of everyone as if that was OK.  Then, a couple of times during the performance some of the characters used curse words. Ahhhh! He was breaking long-established Evangelical Christian codes. What was happening!? It was hard wrapping my mind around the fact that Rich Mullins would have approved of such language. Later, after he died, in a tribute CCM Magazine ran a tribute for him, his producer Reed Arvin talked about his funny side where he would run around the room acting like a hillbilly and cussing up a storm.

PostConsumer Reports Podcast Episode 04: David Leo Schultz--Director of Ragamuffin The Rich Mullins Movie

So on Sunday night February 23rd, Ragamuffin, the biopic about the life of Rich Mullins, came to Peoria, Illinois via Riverside Community Church.  About an hour before the screening began David Leo Schultz, the director and co-writer of the film, sat down with me for an interview.  What I love about podcasts is that there are not necessarily time constraints; there is no pressure to rush through a conversation.  Well, despite having only an hour before the movie started I think our time together was both relaxed and intense, as good conversations should be. I thoroughly enjoyed our talk together and was honored that he gave me his time.

So...They're Touring the Rich Mullins Movie Across the Country

This past summer I wrote a post about the Rich Mullins bio-pic they have made called Ragamuffin 
(http://ragamuffinthemovie.com/), and since that time I have wrote a number of Rich Mullins themed posts, not least of which is an interview with Mullins' record producer, Reed Arvin.  This January, the producers of the film had the world premiere of Ragamuffin in Wichita, Kansas and then started touring it around the country.  

You can go here to see if the movie found a screening venue in a place close to where you live: http://ragamuffinthemovie.com/tour/.  

You can also go here to purchase the movie on DVD/BLU-RAY, exclusively at Walmart.

In light of this Rich Mullins activity I thought it would be beneficial to gather links to all the articles I wrote about Mullins into one place, as an easy place for people to read them.  Also, some kind people have written short little reviews of the film in the comments on my blog and I wanted to share them as well, as I think they reveal some of the tensions involved in both making and seeing a movie about the life of Rich Mullins.

Here are the article links:
1. So...They Made a Movie About Rich Mullins...

2. Interview--Reed Arvin: Recording Rich Mullins' 
A Liturgy, A Legacy, and A Ragamuffin Band 
My interview with Reed Arvin was originally published in a shorter form on 
Christianity Today's website and can be found here:
The Legacy of Rich Mullins's Ragamuffin Band

3. Celebrating 20 Years of Rich Mullins' 
A Liturgy, A Legacy, & A Ragamuffin Band

4. The Theology of Rich Mullins

5. Movie Review: Ragamuffin: The True Story of Rich Mullins

6. Interview: David Leo Schultz on 
Directing the Rich Mullins Movie (text version)

7. Finally, Here is my interview with the film's director, David Leo Schwartz: (here's the Soundcloud link)

Interview--Reed Arvin: Recording Rich Mullins' A Liturgy, A Legacy, and A Ragamuffin Band

Rich Mullins' landmark album A Liturgy, A Legacy, & A Ragamuffin Band turn 20 years old this month.  This interview is part 2 of my celebration of this anniversary.  

NOTE: A condensed version of this interview first appeared on Christianity Today's website and can be found here. 

My previous reflections on A Liturgy, a Legacy, & a Ragamuffin Band can be found here. My essay on "The Theology of Rich Mullins" can be found here.  My article on the upcoming film about Mullins' life can be found here and my interview with the film's director can be found here.

Growing up listening to Rich Mullins' records there was always one name that kept standing out to me other than Mullins himself.  I was the kind of kid who poured through every word of the liner notes looking for hidden meanings and the fingerprints of everyone who made had made the album possible.  And so, every time I bought a Rich Mullins record I would inevitably read this: "Produced by: Reed Arvin."  Now I'm no fool--if Reed Arvin's name was constantly associated with my favorite music artist, then Mr. Arvin must be a high-quality upstanding individual himself.  As a budding musician I often dreamed of what it would be like to be Rich Mullins, but I also dreamed of what it would be like to work with Mullins and help him create his music.  There is only a hand full of people who would fall into that category: Beaker (David Strasser, Mullins' frequent co-writer), The Ragamuffin Band (Rick Elias, Jimmy Abegg, Mark Robertsons, and Aaron Smith), Mitch McVicker and the other Kid Brothers of St. Frank, and then Reed Arvin.


Over the years a number of questions began forming in my about how Mullins worked and how his albums came together. After a time I realized Mullins, even though he had long since passed, was probably not the best person to ask these questions to anyway, but that these were questions specifically for one person, Mullins' producer Reed Arvin.  So, I got up the nerve to contact Arvin with my questions and he was gracious enough to respond with his answers. (Arvin blogs regularly at http://notjusttalk.tumblr.com/)

Celebrating 20 Years of Rich Mullins' A Liturgy, A Legacy, & A Ragamuffin Band

For part one in my series on Rich Mullins, go here. 

For my article on the upcoming film about Mullins 

go here and for my interview with the films's director go here. 

For my interview with Mullins' producer Reed Arvin, go here.

I believe music can change the way we see, hear, and feel about the world.  This essay is a personal reflection on one such instance, an instance I want to celebrate and share with others.

I had just purchased a cassette of Rich Mullins' 1993 album A Liturgy, A Legacy, & A Ragamuffin Band at my local Christian book store.  I got into the car with my mom and grandma (my Granny), pulled it out of its squeaky cellophane wrapper, popped it into my yellow Sports Walkman, and listened to it in the car while my mom went through her round of afternoon errands.  I became transfixed.  I did not even care that we had to make a stop at the fabric store, a trip I usually loathed.  I just stayed in the car and listened.

The Theology of Rich Mullins

This month, October 2013 Rich Mullins' album A Liturgy, A Legacy, & A Ragamuffin Band turns 20 years old.  For the next few weeks I will be reflecting on Mullins' work and its impact on my life, culminating in an interview with someone who worked closely with him for years.  This week I am focusing on the first album that ever grabbed my attention as a child, Mullins' 1988 work Winds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. 




My interview with Mullins' producer Reed Arvin can be found on Christianity Today's website here. An extended version of that interview can be found on this blog here.

My reflections on A Liturgy, a Legacy, & a Ragamuffin Band can be found here. 
My article on the upcoming film about Mullins' life can be found here.

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Looking back I can say God used Rich Mullins to change my life irrevocably.

Anyone Want to Host The Rich Mullins Movie in Peoria, Illinois?

A couple of months ago I wrote a post about The new Rich Mullins movie that will be coming out sometime soon, wherein I shared some of my skepticism about the very idea of such a thing (surprisingly it has turned into my most read blog post).

Nonetheless, I totally want to see this movie.  I am so curious as to how they portrayed Mullins and what kind of story they are going to tell about him.  I also want to help promote the movie as much as possible if only to expose more and more people to his music.

So...They Made a Movie About Rich Mullins...

My favorite Rich Mullins picture (a cropped version of this
appears as the cover of A Liturgy, A Legacy, and A Ragamuffin Band 

Here you can find my interview with Mullins' producer Reed Arvin.

Here you can find my podcast where I interview the film's director, David Leo Schultz.

Here you can find my reflection on A Liturgy A Legacy And A Ragamuffin Band.

And here you can find my thoughts on "The Theology of Rich Mullins."

And here's my post on the Ragamuffin movie tour

Two years ago I read some strange news on Christianity Today's entertainment page.  Apparently somebody wanted to make a movie about the life of Rich Mullins--not a documentary but a biopic, much like Ray or Cash, or Ghandi, for that matter.  They had a Kickstarter campaign going with the hopes of funding the film, and they had made a great looking "teaser trailer" that contained a monologue from Brennan Manning himself, one of Mullins' mentors. The Kickstarter ultimately failed and I thought the film went the way of the buffalo, but apparently the film has been made and is in the process of getting released.

I was pretty skeptical about this idea right from the start and to be honest, the trailer for the film (now called Ragamuffin) has done nothing to assuage my doubts.  I mean no offense to the filmmakers but it all looks a little too "inspirational" if you catch my drift; perhaps with a little too much of "this was made by Christians" stamp of approval on it.  I don't know...trailers can be deceptive, so we will have to see.  The problem in making this film is the same problem anyone would have in trying to capture the life story of an iconic and iconoclastic personality: unless you get the right actor and great material to work from a project like this will be D.O.A.  Again, I mean no insult, but does anyone think the actor playing Mullins here will do him justice (see the link below)?

I certainly want to see this movie and I know the filmmakers went through all the right channels in their research (see the links below the the film's director's blog) but I just hope I will not have to cringe my way through the whole film.  The life and work of Rich Mullins has had more of an impact upon my faith than probably anyone excepting my mother's, so I just do not want them to have blown their chance to make a great movie.  With a film like this they have an opportunity to introduce new generations to Mullins' music and ideas, but if they have made a syrupy cheese-fest then the chances of them doing so are a lot less likely.

So, what I am going to do is let you, the humble and faithful blog reader assess it yourself. Take a look at the Ragamufin movie trailer and then spend some time watching Mullins himself--in concert, in interviews, and in doing some talks.  I have decided to entirely overwhelm you with choices.  Let us all be thankful with what the internet has made possible!

But first there's this:

I couldn't resist: a picture of me and Rich (strangely double exposed)
from the 1997 Cornerstone Festival.  That year I saw him sing with Derek
Webb and This Train and I got to see a performance of his musical
Canticle of the Plains.  No, we weren't best friends; we had just met after a sound
check and he was kind enough to take this picture with me.

Other Rich Mullins related writings of mine: 
Reed Arvin Interview
The Theology of Rich Mullins.
Celebrating 20 Year of A Liturgy, A Legacy, & A Ragamuffin Band
Rich Mullins and America As The Promised Land