A Very Random Interview with Joel Auge
I recently caught up with Joel Auge, my Integrity Music featured artist for July. Fortunately, he was willing to put up with my amateur interviewing skills and respond to a handful of questions. I’m so not used to interviewing rock star musicians, so please have patience with me.
TONY: Tell us about yourself. (Pretty hard-hitting first question, eh?)
JOEL: I’m 29. Number 9 of 11 kids. 6 brothers/4 sisters. Raised roman catholic in the small (5,000 people) Canadian rural paper town of Espanola, Ontario. I’ve been doing music in some form or another for over 10 years. My wife (of 4 years in September) is the brains of this operation. You could call her my daily operations manager seeing as her role has become so crucial in both my personal life (“Hey Joel.. don’t forget your guitar!”) , and as a strong ballast and sounding board in my ministry as well.
We live in Hamilton, Ontario, just outside of Toronto. I’ve been an itinerant worship leader at The Meeting House family of churches for several years now. I met Michelle there where she was serving as the children’s director. We have a 1 and 1/2 year old yellow lab named Kaya. Trouble maker. I am also the owner (one of two) of HitGrab Inc. We develop facebook applications. Our MouseHunt facebook game is currently rated the most engaging facebook application out of 30,000 or so others. This has to have been one of the most exciting years of my life.
TONY: Dude, in case you haven’t heard, I committed Facebook suicide recently because of application developers like you. That aside, what’s the inspiration for this first album?
JOEL: To be honest, my wife and her impact on me has been behind much of the inspiration for the album. She (with God’s guidance I’m sure) pulled me out of the shadows and felt compelled to encourage me to write songs for the Church (big C). I had been in a worship band in the past, then a mainstream band.
A lot of the songs on “On The Blue” are romantic in nature. The idea that God romances his bride has always been an interesting concept to me. And now that I have a bride of my own, it allows me to explore this Godly romance from this new perspective. I liken our music in church to us bringing Jesus a bouquet of flowers. It’s just one element of our relationship, but it’s important that we let Him know how we feel about Him.
TONY: If you had to liken your musical style to an animal at the zoo, what would it be? (Does Rolling Stone ask questions like this?)
JOEL: I love the polar bears at the San Diego zoo… and I’m Canadian… and there’s a certain folksy canadiana to some of the songs… so I say Polar bear. Strange? Yeah. I know :)
TONY: What’s your favorite “polar bear-like” song on the album and why?
JOEL: I’m really loving Singing Halleluia these days. It’s got some nostalgic moments that have been ingrained into my mind and when I think of this project, I think of that song first.
TONY: OK, final question… When you grow up, what would you like to be?
JOEL: I highly doubt I’ll ever “grow up”, but if I had to… I’d love to be a giant pointer. A one-way sign to Jesus. Not a zealot. Not a judge. Not a hypocrite. Not religious. Not anything but a man who is reflective of the one He serves. A servant in the greatest potential movement for love the world has ever seen.
Listen to samples of Joel’s new album, On the Blue, and check out videos and photos by visiting Joel’s fancy E-card. More importantly, buy the album so other rock stars want to talk with me.
