This is it! This is where it allllllllllll started, back in 1995, singing and performing hits produced by Tony Jacobson of Woodinville WA. Tony produced 12 fantastic hits for me, and that pretty much launched my Christian rock and pop singing career, through the CD known as Servant.
In short order, I began to sing and perform, in particular, Carry Your Cross, Season In Season Out, t, and Judas at various concerts, school assemblies and chapels, I was even featured on several Seattle and Pacific NW Radio stations and got to open up for the likes of David Shelton (RIP) and Aaron∙Jeoffrey! It was nothing short of amazing.
Servant is a highly eclectic mix of songs that all stand out from one another. There's rock, there's Babyface pop, there's musical theater, there's goofy interludes, there's power ballads, there's toe-tapping songs you'll want to drive to, and more. To this day, I am SO grateful for Tony's leadership, incredible musical prowess, diversity of talent, and dedication. The only sad part is that looking back, I'm now painfully aware that I didn't pay him enough. Someday I hope we can reconnect and I can rectify that. He gave me a dream, and very sacrificially at that.
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All of them did, really. Servant marked the very beginning of the Seattle-area performance ministry that became Countenance Productions, and that was only because of Adam Behringer's prompting that I start performing some, at which point he helped me make and design a single for sale. I was mentored by some wonderful and upstanding folks from Overlake Christian Church, including my beloved second mom Jeanne Mooberry, who I still keep in touch with and cherish to this day. It also allowed a wonderful friendship to develop and bloom with my surrogate older brother, Paul Racey, now the producer of two of my most recent albums, Captive and now Legacy.
I am forever grateful, looking back, to have partnered with some powerhouse musicians and vocalists, such as Tony, Adam, Jeremy Christopherson, Mike Garcia, Sean Wolcott, Searan Salibian, David Shelton, Adrienne McGruder, and even Brett Williams of InReach. I was blown away. There were even spots for my fantastic friends Bill Keogh and Ron Taylor!
In those days, I was young and impulsive. I was chasing a dream, and I took a lot of people for granted. I don't know what to say. If you're one of those musicians or vocalists, please know from my heart how immeasurably grateful I am for your partnering with me in a dream. I owe you a huge debt of thanks.
Servant was re-released in April of 2023, with new artwork and some remixed songs, all on a limited run. I'm very excited.
With love and gratitude to all of you who played a part in setting my heart aflame and my feet a'dancin'. May God bless you richly for sowing in my life.
Purchase your copy here.
Sincerely,
Ryan Graves | Seattle Christian Rock Singer
