A Collision Reviews

With great success and momentum going before them, the David Crowder Band began the process of writing and recording their newest release, Illuminate. Having performed 251 concerts in 2002 (yet only missing 11 Sundays at University Baptist Church), Crowder says that the band was able to truly interact with its fans, consequently learning where the connections are: "We realized that, musically, their tastes were similar to ours. Just because a record is in a store doesn't mean they'll get it. Our music made sense to them. We were nervous about how the interaction would be. But, in between records, we kept getting reaffirmed that the fans really understood what we were about...that what we do is useful and significant in other people's lives. It helped us relax. It made us want to make music." David Crowder has never been a disciplined, let's-sit-down-and-write-now kind of songwriter. "Songs come in spurts," he explains. "I am an inspirational writer. The moment will hit and I know I better find a pen and paper. There is a lot of intentionality behind my songwriting." And so it happened with the songs of Illuminate. Back in Waco, a writing spurt began as Crowder was having conversations at church about the relationships between the physics of light and Scripture. "It was definitely a 'head to heart' kind of experience when the songs came out," he says. Who knew that science would inspire worship?