It is with great excitement that I am writing this in preparation to release my first original music CD in about 5 years. It is also with tremendous thanks to Steve Bell and the whole Signpost team, David Jennings of Incarnation Ministries and Roy Salmond from Whitewater Productions.

Almost 3 years ago I received a generous invitation to join a group of singer songwriters, theologians and music lovers at a retreat in Whistler, BC.  At that time in my musical life I was coming off a 10 year period of touring and was starting a new career as a pastor of worship and arts.  And for about 2 years , I barely wrote a single song.  It seemed I had very little to say through my music, and artistically… I was exhausted.

But that retreat was the catalyst to my returning to writing songs again.  Steve, Dave, Roy and a cast of wonderfully inspiring people and musical heroes were all there.  I returned home with 2 new songs co-written with Bob Bennett and Jacob Moon.

Originally our working title for the CD was ‘THERE’S A LIFE’, the song that was also the first single released to radio (by the way, if you want to hear it on the radio – contact your radio station!).  It was a great title for me because the song talks about enduring hope after having lived and understood some of life’s disappointments, challenges and personal pain.  My last original CD ‘BROKEN DRUM‘ was partly a processing of that kind of pain.  In contrast this new CD is a celebration of the hope that has endured.  But both CDs have me in my rock and roll roots.  So even though ‘THERE’S A LIFE’ communicated that sense of hope that I wanted to convey, ‘LIGHT UP THE SKY’ won out at the end of the day as a CD title, and I’ll explain why.

My producer Roy Salmond and I decided to make ‘a big rock album’.  And so we did.  There are lots of guitars – especially the electric kind, big drum sounds and all that good stuff.  Lots of energy really, and the ‘new’ title track fits right in with that.  My CD designer suggested using fireworks for the cover art.  Not actual fireworks because that wouldn’t be practical!  And not fireworks exploding because that would be predictable.  But photos of fireworks still in the packages.  And that got us all to thinking…when we go see fireworks it is always at a celebration, always a gathering of people, looking up, pointing…And that’s also what happens when we worship as a people that love God.  We are at a celebration, we are gathering, we are looking to Him.  My philosophy of ministry has been taken from John 12:32 – where Jesus explains that when He is lifted up, he will draw humanity to Him.  He was lifted up on the cross, He was lifted into heaven and He is lifted up in our praise.  That is our hope, and that’s what this new CD ‘LIGHT UP THE SKY’ is all about.

I sure hope you like it!  As weird as it may be to say, I know I do.  I’ve been listening to rough mixes now for quite awhile and I just want to get it out there for other folks to hear.

Now don’t be scared away by the rock and roll thing…there are songs for the modern church to sing corporately – like KINGDOM OF HEAVEN written with Jacob Moon. There are a couple that are very reflective – like BROKEN BEAUTY by Bob Bennett and I. I even had the pleasure of having my buddy Tim Neufeld from the band Starfield as well as the wonderful Carolyn Arends do guest vocals on a couple tunes.  I covered a favourite worship tune of mine called EVERYTHING and a blues tune by Johnny Lang called ONE PERSON AT A TIME.  Gord Johnson, and Robbie Mitchell graciously gifted me with the permission to record their songs HAVE MERCY and POWER IN A SONG.  And of course, I wrote a good chunk of them too.

Rock on!

Jonny B

• To view Jon Buller’s bio, discography and sample music click HERE