Aaron Shust – Finding A Way

CCM: What was the impetus for a live release?
AS: Nothing flashy, really. I’ve had friends over the years ask me about making a live record, so it’s always been in the back of my mind, but I’ve never brought it to the table. This time, the label brought it to me and said, “For this next album, we think you should consider doing a live record.” I think because enough people over the years had said that I should, I didn’t fight them on it, even though I knew some of those insecurities I just described would pop up.

My life has been a series of stepping into the unknown or into where I’m insecure. One example I can think of was when I was a senior, I think, in college. It was a Christian school with chapel every day and we always sang two hymns before someone would preach. At that point, they decided to incorporate some praise choruses and arbitrarily they came to me as a vocal major with a piano minor and asked me to lead some worship songs. This wasn’t something that I did. I didn’t know worship songs and had never led worship, so I just said, “No thank you. I’m honored but that’s not what I do.”

They kept pushing me. I pushed back long enough until I felt convicted that I was supposed to step into this with zero experience or confidence. Then it became a part of my life and something that I love to do. So when I’m approached by something that I’m nervous about doing but enough people are encouraging me to do it, I’m willing to step into it with fear and trepidation. Stepping into this live album was a similar experience to me.

CCM: There are a number of new songs next to some older favorites on this album, right?
AS: I certainly did not want to make a live “best of” album. I wanted to make sure there was new material, since I’m always writing and there’s an excitement when playing new stuff. The excitement of new music is in the process of writing it. Just yesterday, I had the house to myself at home and I was playing songs I’ve written with other people just this year—songs that no one else has heard except the other writers and the publisher. It was such an intimate time of worship with just me and the Lord with a song that’s brand new. Who knows if it’s going to be successful? Who knows if it will ever be heard? There’s something very precious about that.

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