Artist Name:
Chris Renzema

Age:
23

Genre:
Folk Rock for Jesus

Hometown:
Grand Rapids, MI

Label:
(Centricity)

Hobbies/Interests Apart from Music:
Movies/Film, but really I’m just into more music.

Last Netflix Binge:
I watch a lot of Survivor but it’s not on Netflix.

Musical Influences:
Wilco, John Mark McMillan, Bruce Springsteen, Hillsong

Very First Musical Purchase:
My first CD was Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot which I stole out of my parents’ CD collection, my first memorable purchase was Day & Age by The Killers—I had to get my cousin to drive me to a Starbucks so I could get WiFi to download it.

Do you have a favorite song from your album I’ll Be The Branches? Why?
My favorite song on the album has changed a few times. Starting out I loved “God Be” mostly because I felt like it was the first really solid song I had ever written, and now I would probably say “I Don’t Wanna Go.” I feel like that song marries simplicity and complexity really well, the verses being thoughtful while the chorus acts as a summarizing declaration of what they are about.

If you could potentially tour with any other artist or band (that you haven’t already), who would you choose and why?
I’d love to tour with John Mark McMillan someday—I am still very inspired by how ambitious he has been as a songwriter for so many years.

What was the last song you listened to on your playlist or stereo?
“I’ll Be Your Mirror” by the Velvet Underground & Nico

What was the last book you read?
The Sound and the Fury by Faulkner

How important is your faith or spirituality within your music?
It’s what it’s all about. The most important thing in my life is my fait, and good writing, in my experience, has to be a reflection of what is most valuable in the writer’s soul. If my spirituality wasn’t important I wouldn’t write Christian music.

What message do you hope listeners will take away from your music, regardless of what they believe?
I hope that people can feel empathized with when they hear my music. Whatever the fine details of someone’s beliefs are, at some point we all need someone to reach out and make us feel like we are not alone in whatever we are working through. If some of my songs can do that, I’m not sure what else I could want.

Check out his latest single here:

Leave a Reply