Ep 74: Charlie Peacock—Artist, Producer, and Writer

Ep 74 features an interview with Charlie Peacock, an artist with four decades of experience in the music industry as a songwriter and solo artist and a producer for renowned artists like Switchfoot, The Civil Wars, Audio Adrenaline, and Marc Martel. Our conversation ranges from his thoughts on fame, the state of the Christian music industry, and the wisdom he's gained from getting debilitatingly sick after years of pushing himself past his limits. His new album Lil' Willie is available on various streaming services, his recent autobiographical writings and podcasts done with his wife Andi can be found at https://thewriterthehusband.com/ and more info on what Peacock is currently working on can be found at https://www.charliepeacock.com/ Much of his recent music is available for free on Facebook, which you can find here: www.facebook.com/sound
Peacock is one of my life-long musical and artistic heroes, and it was a true honor to spend some time with him. Finally, those wishing to purchase his recent re-release of West Coast Diaries Vol 2 on vinyl can do so through Discogs.
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Music Related Podcast Episodes:
Episode 73: Phil Joel of Newsboys and Zealand

Episode 52: Fernando Ortega's The Crucifixion of Jesus

Episode 50: Stu G on the Beatitudes Project

Ep 55: Singer-songwriter Nathan Peterson

Ep 59: Jeremy Casella's New Album and Kickstarter Campaign

Ep 56: Andrew Osenga

Ep 53: The Mosleys—Husband and Wife Duo
Ep 67: Singer-songwriter John Van Deusen
Ep 70: Glenn Kaiser

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.