Getting to Know the Band Caedmon’s Call

Rock Band Caedmon’s Call is in Houston to perform a one-time concert at Fellowship of The Woodlands this Sunday, March 30th, and band member Garrett Buell took time out of his busy schedule to talk with Woodlands Online Entertainment Editor.

WOL: How long has your band been together?
GB: Caedmon’s has been a band for around 14 years now.

WOL: Where did you get the name Caedmon’s Call?
GB: The name references the poet/monk Caedmon. He lived at Whitby Abbey (657-680) and was given the gift of prose and song through a dream. In the dream an angel appeared to him and asked him to write a song about creation. He refused the first time, but then he created a song while he slept and still remembered it the next morning. The importance of Caedmon to us was that his poetic talents were a gift from God. Before his dream, he was uneducated and had no musical or artistic abilities. He started out a herdsman at Whitby Abbey and then became a monk and as some assert, a Saint through his art. We view our ability to create in the same manner and as the band is concerned, everything we have done has been out of our control. We did not start the band intentionally and to this day, with all of our diverse characters and backgrounds, it is by God that we are able to work together in the way we do. So, the name is very fitting to us.

WOL: How did you end up with 8 band members, was it this way from the start?
GB: We have always been a large band. We started with about 6; at least that was the count when I joined the band.  We have had some member changes over the years in bass and keys, but we are pretty much the same group as we were in the beginning.  When Derek Webb left to pursue a solo direction, we added Andrew Osenga to fill the void. Now, Derek is back recording and performing with us as well as continuing his solo recordings, which are incredible.  Now we have 4 singers and 3 guitar players, so we are bigger than ever.  This has given us so many more options musically and Andrew Osenga is a great writer as well, so we are better for it.

WOL: Can you give me a little bit of history on the members of your band?
GB: Well, we are all very different. 

Derek Webb – Derek and I grew up in the same town in North Houston. We knew each other in high school and were acquaintances and slowly we became friends. He was the cool guitar player in the area and I guess I was the “drummer” or at least he thought I was good. Ha! Anyway, he used to be in 80’s hair bands and played a hot pink electric guitar better than anyone I have ever heard. He still can play some amazing parts.  I met Derek again while in college and he was playing with Caedmons. We reunited and then he asked me to sit in with the band for a couple of shows and I’ve been with them ever since. So, Derek is an important part of my involvement with Caedmons.

Cliff Young – Cliff is the founder and visionary of the band. He is also married to Danielle, who sings in Caedmon. Cliff is a pastor and the son of Dr. Ed Young at Second Baptist in Houston. He grew up in the church but always loved music. He is the one that started the whole thing and still to this day rallies everyone together to keep it moving. I’ll call him Father Cliff for this interview…fitting. He would tell you he’s a fisherman before he would ever call himself a musician. The thing is though; he really is a great musician. He’s a solid guitar player and a great visionary. He used to take a lot of our original songs and arrange them before the band would get a hold of them. He has a unique ability to place a hook, whether it be melodic or lyrical, he really has an ear and a unique love for different musical genres. He’s also an amazing fisherman.

Danielle Young – Danielle is a sweetheart, she has an irreplaceable and amazing singing voice. She is also a great literary writer; she used to do a fair amount of short stories in her free time. She co-wrote one of the songs on our Long Line of Leavers record, Piece of Glass. She has been the only girl in the band and put up with all of us for years on end while we spent almost everyday of the year on a tour bus together. She is now a hardworking mother of 4 and still manages to find time to make it to the studio and to our shows. We are always in awe of her and Cliff as well and all they have to manage; from their home life to Caedmons, but they do it and we are grateful! Danielle is a quiet element that is probably the most irreplaceable of any in the band. We have had to do several shows in the past without her when she was pregnant and we all realized that it is just not the same, just her presence is so integral to all of us.

Andrew Osenga – Andrew is a great songwriter and a great guitar player. He was in a band, the front man in the Normals. They opened for us on one of our tours and we all became good friends. When the Normals called it quits, Andrew was looking for something to be involved in and it was just about that time that Derek was looking to do some solo writing and recording, so we asked Andrew to fill in on electric and acoustic guitar, and eventually he became a permanent member. He is married and has two kids, his family is really sweet. He spends most of his time writing and recording his own material as well as producing other bands and artists around Nashville.

Todd Bragg – Todd is our drummer and also one of the original band members. Todd is my best friend and like a brother to me. We all love him dearly and he is a great commodity to the group. Besides being an incredible drummer, he is also a very able craftsman. He does furniture building and some odd contract jobs for friends and takes care of his little boy, Elliot during the home time. Todd is married to our manager, Christie, who has worked so hard for the whole time I’ve known her to keep the band operating. It’s all in the family here and we are blessed to have it be that way and workout.

Jeff Miller – Jeff and I go way back. We were friends in High School in Spring, Texas and he was the bass player for the first band I was ever in. I’m glad he could step in and cover the bass when our original player, Aric Nitzberg had to stop touring. Jeff lives in Austin, Texas now and is married to another friend of mine from high school and they have a little boy.  Jeff also works on the down time, well, all the time actually for a company, doing computer programming, websites etc. He is kind of a one man IT department, and he loves football and basketball and long walks on the beach.

Josh Moore – Josh plays keys and various other instruments (whatever he can get his hands on without any one of us stopping him!...really he can play anything!) Josh replaced our original Hammond player, Randy Holsapple about the time that Jeff came on. He was 16 when we pulled him out on the road. We actually had to home school him on the road while we were touring and back then, we were touring year round practically. We even had to get him his P.E. credit so we would throw the Frisbee for him and make him run all over to catch it…we figured that counted. It was fun. He lives in Houston and works as a Producer for artists from all over, currently he is heavily involved in rap and hip hop music on the Houston scene. Josh is newly married to a great woman, who occasionally comes out to do monitors or engineers for us in the studio.  He is amazingly talented and has brought SO much to the group since his start.

Garett Buell (speaking) – Well, what can I say, I’m the greatest and best looking of the group! Kidding. I play percussion and sometimes get to play drums if Todd will let me. I have been in the group for about 13 years now and have been incredibly fortunate to find a group of musicians that are family. In my off time, I teach privately, play a few sessions here and there and even tour with other artists occasionally.  I am currently in the process of getting involved in composing music for film and/or for TV/Commercials. I am also married to an incredible woman, whom I met in Ecuador on a Compassion International trip (no she is not Ecuadorian, but from East TN). She is an artist as well and was in a band called Alathea when I met her. She now works for our management company.  She also likes to paint and does photography in her spare time.

WOL:  Do you consider yourselves strictly a Christian Rock band?
GB:  Although we are all Christians, Caedmon’s has never considered itself a Christian band.  Before our involvement with the Christian industry, we were regarded as an independent folk/rock band or an Indi college band.  We would play colleges all over the U.S. and in secular venues and have fans that were Christian, and fans that were not. We never wanted to use the Christian staple as a label to separate us from other artists or the people who would hear our music. We used to have non believers in the audience who would comment to us that they loved our songs and didn’t care if we were Christians or not! The point is that if they had known that it was a “Christian” concert beforehand, they probably would not have come. We believe in writing good music for anyone, of any faith or background. God is too Great and His message too Great to contain under a label. To us, its so much more than that…also, think about it, ”Christian Music” is the only genre that exists defined by its religious label and that doesn’t make sense to us.

WOL: Who does most of the writing of your songs & music? 
GB: We have several songwriters in the band. Derek is one of our originals, and Andrew writes amazing songs; and Josh our Hammond and keyboard player writes as well. We have also performed and recorded songs from some of our peers as well…Sandra McCracken, Randall Goodgame, Laura Story. These people are all great writers who we consider family. Our group has always tried to be a proponent of community. In our community, we have been blessed with some amazing talents and we utilize all of that as much as we can.
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WOL: Who are your musical and non musical influences? 

GB: There’s probably too many to list and without the others here to contribute, I will try to list a couple that I know we all like together.  Musically - (Two of our largest musical influences are first) Indigo Girls, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Rich Mullins, Second Chapter of Acts, and The Story.  Non Musical - The Dalit people of India, Dalit Freedom Network, Operation Mobilization, Compassion International, numerous authors and artists from Sci-Fi to Spiritual as well as architectural.  Oh, and for a couple of the members (ahhemm, Jeff and Cliff), NFL and the NBA.  And of course for Cliff – any Fly Fishing guru, for Todd - anything with 4 wheels, for Danielle – any old classic movie, for Andy – KFC, for Derek white T-shirts and a razor, and for me…coffee.

WOL: Tell me about your new album – Overdressed – Explain the meaning behind the album’s title and the song choices for this album?

GB: Overdressed is a record that focuses on our lives. The band is largely made up of parents now and most of the songs focus on inspiration from growing into adulthood to becoming husbands, wives and parents. It deals with the changes, demands and challenges that affect our beliefs as we get older.   The title comes from the idea that we are all overdressed as believers. We are not necessarily who we are intended to be, but spend most of our time trying to cover it up or “dress” it up.  Many of the songs deal with the realities of everyday life, and we try to meet our listeners where they are at now. We are all grown up and most of our listeners and our long time fans are as well. We always try to give another perspective, and within that, a True, candid perspective.

WOL: The Band’s song “Ten Thousand Angels” was recently featured on Grey’s Anatomy how did this come to be? 
 
GB: One of our long time fans is a writer for Grey’s and he gave us the opportunity to accompany the end scene in an episode that he wrote. It was definitely fitting as the episode had many hints to God or a God and Faith.

WOL: What are the goals of the band moving forward?

GB: Well, ask any one of us individually and you will get a unique answer!  I think we’ll continue to do what we feel called to do. We will do our best to be honest and speak candidly about our lives and our Faith.  We have been changed by the Dalit people in India. Through recording our album “Share the Well,” we are on the ground level of something bigger than all of us. We hope to expand on what we started and dig our heels in deeper in an attempt to help and bring attention to their situation and all situations around the world where people are being forced to live in poverty and disgrace due to a political unbalance seeking wealth and power. We want to continue to be involved in that process and do whatever we can to provide help in any way. It is very gratifying to all of us to realize how little it takes to make a big difference. We also realize that our music is worth so much more than record sales or packed theaters, it is worth bringing change to people’s lives in ways that just aren’t that obvious.

WOL: Christian Rock is getting much more exposure today than ever before, what advice would you give to today’s young aspiring Christian rock musician?
  
GB: Be a true artist. Don’t second yourself to being a “Christian” artist.   Live a Christian life and be changed by it, but let it be big enough to let go.  God is so much more capable of taking our gifts and knowing how to use them to fulfill His Will than we are…in other words, don’t spoon feed.  We are to hone and craft those gifts to be the best, and that’s a great deal of work, but after that, open your heart to anyone and everyone.  Just produce great music and great songs or paintings, or art and let God use it. Pray that God would guide the passions of your heart and lead you where He wants you to be. Be convicted and produce your music or art with passion and conviction rather than seeking record sales or ticket sales. Most of the artists in “Christian” music want to be somebody, but forget the real message and the real integrity of art. Learn to market yourselves and get your music heard, but don’t covet a record deal, that’s not the goal.  The greats in history didn’t box themselves or their messages in, so why should we? If you write great music, then people will want to listen and want to know more, hear more, it really is that simple.