Jim Barnhart – For MBLV09

An mp3 of the Interview is available lower in this text and via ITunes.  Full text is below and selected portions are published in Mobile Beat Magazine – to subscribe go to https://members.mobilebeat.com.

Ryan Burger: This is Ryan Burger, the publisher of Mobile Beat magazine. As part of our ongoing series of finding out about the artists that DJs play at their weddings and other events they do, we’re here with an up-and-coming Christian artist, Jim Barnhart, who’s going to be joining us at the Mobile Beat Las Vegas show coming up in just a few weeks.Tell us a little bit about yourself, how you got into the business.

Jim Barnhart: Well, I started playing some guitar when I was about 16 or so, and from there — I never really thought about playing guitar and singing at the same time. It took me forever, or felt like, anyways, to start actually playing the guitar and being able to actually strum chords good. And then after a while, I just began to progress and progress, and then I began to write some songs, some different words down. So then I just put one and one together and got into doing this. It kind of just all happened.

Ryan Burger: Everything came to you as blessed by the gifts that you had, and you had to tell people about it; thoughts in my mind. Did you used to play other people’s music, then just started having a feeling in yourself that you wanted to create on your own? How did that come to you?

Jim Barnhart: Really, I started playing in church. My grandpa’s a pastor in Arkansas, and he allowed us to just jump right in there. And from the very beginning, as soon as I started playing, he just let my cousins or whoever jump up on stage, turn our guitars all the way off, and just act like we’re playing. And really, just kind from that. That’s what I learned, really, was just following other people; like following the other guitarists and stuff.

So really it just kind of went from there. Then I began writing my own stuff and playing my own stuff. Then I led worship for a while, and still do that now. But mainly, it really just all fell in place. I really feel that God has blessed me and called me to do this. It just kind of all fell into place when the time was right.

Ryan Burger: Well, obviously people can check you out on the Web. What’s your Web address, if you could just mention it for everybody so they can check you out a little bit in advance of seeing you at the show?

Jim Barnhart: It’s JimBarnhartMusic.com.

Ryan Burger: Very cool. And I was listening to the music myself, I’ve got a little bit of a vibe as to what your style’s like. But describe it for all the people that are out there, compared to some other artists, either in the mainstream or in the Christian realm, as to what your music is like, what your feeling is like, and what you’ve written and sang.

Jim Barnhart: I really can’t compare much. I don’t compare myself to anybody else. It’s kind of like an own style. It’s more acoustic stuff. I write all my stuff with my guitar. Like whenever I do shows, right now it’s all acoustic. So as far as like comparing it, though, to anybody else, I don’t really know who to compare it to. But I would just say it’s acoustic, felt stuff, like a lot of worship type. So it’s real intimate lyrics.

Ryan Burger: It just comes straight from the heart. There’s no doubt about that.

Jim Barnhart: Just from the heart, yeah.

Ryan Burger: How’s the word getting out about you? Are you getting out there to a bunch of different churches? I can’t even remember how we found out about you.

Jim Barnhart: Actually, the Internet’s been helping me a lot. I’m really still just getting started and just getting going. I’m learning this whole music business. Like, once I got into it, it just kind of all happened again, just like playing guitar and writing and everything; just happened with the music business and everything. Whenever I recorded my album, it just happened. So really I’m just starting to get out there.

I’ve been touring around. I live in Vegas now, so I’ve been going around to the churches around here, and then I’m planning some stuff back in Arkansas, where I’m originally from, for later on in March. So really, the Internet’s been helping me a lot, and then just word of mouth, really.

Ryan Burger: Wow. So the word is spreading. A question for you actually just popped into my head. I’ve heard a lot of people say that contemporary Christian music is God’s music. But at the same time, God created all music; it’s just what the message is about. How does that hit you, as the difference between what’s considered regular Top-40 music and your style and similar people that have extra meaning in their music?

Jim Barnhart: You know, I personally listen to all different kinds of music, because like you just said, music itself is of God, and it’s God’s music. It’s like a lot of the lyrics and a lot of the words that people have put to go with the music has actually just kind of turned and went away from the actual music. I personally enjoy all different types of music, and really I don’t condemn anybody for not listening to just Christian music or anything like that. It’s just like a personal preference, I feel.

Ryan Burger: Cool. Jim’s going to be joining us at the non-denominational Christian Fellowship coming up at the conference; just to try to get a bunch of Christians and non-Christians that want to hear a little bit more of your music and of God’s word. I assume you’ll be playing a couple songs for us at [inaudible], so I’m actually going to talk about it after this interview.

But you’ll just basically be sitting down with your guitar? As you said, you’re totally acoustic with everything and playing from your heart, right?

Jim Barnhart: That’s what I do. Whenever I play my music, it’s just sharing straight from my heart. And so whether I’m playing my guitar and singing or just speaking, it all comes directly from my heart. That’s why I do what I do, is because my heart is over-full of love and compassion.

Ryan Burger: Fantastic.

Jim Barnhart: It’s who I am, I guess. It’s just me.

Ryan Burger: And you’re able to express it through musical talents given to you by Him. Understood completely.

Well, if you want to find out more about Jim’s music, check out JimBarnhartMusic.com. And you’ll find out more information and hopefully a lot of people see you at the show and somewhere down the road. When you’re a superstar and everybody’s hearing your music, we’ll hopefully be talking some more then.

Jim Barnhart: That sounds good. I look forward to it very much.

Check out more information on the conference at http://www.mobilebeat.com/las-vegas-dj-show/ and Jim’s appearance on Thursday morning