Post by moritz on Feb 12, 2009 12:56:46 GMT -8
For those of you who don’t already know him, I’d like to recommend you Brad Corrigan a.k.a. Braddigan (he was a member of the former band Dispatch). He is really talented and his music is pretty laid back and mellow. He is also very much in love with your lord and almost every song includes Christian motives. Moreover he deserves support, because he engages very much in social projects and bringing light to other people. So if you haven’t already, you might want to check him out. Below you’ll find an excerpt from an interview he gave to an internet music magazine I work for. I selected two passages that might be of interest for you, don’t know.
braddigan.com/
Sonic-Reducer: You are a very
religious person. Was this
always that way, or did it
evolve over time? How much
does it influence your songwriting?
Brad: Man, I just love Jesus. He‘s
the most amazing and compelling
figure in history, and he‘s made
himself real in my life. And the way
he lived his life, even 2000+ years
ago? I‘ve never found a better
set of footsteps to follow. It‘s just
never what you do in life but the
heart with which you do it. My
family raised me up believing in
god as our father and always told
me that god made me to follow my
dreams. So they encouraged me to
step into sports and music, and
just gave me freedom to be who
I am. When I was 18 or 19, I sort
of thought faith was like inherited
clothing and wondered if it was
really mine? And so I asked god
to make himself real to me when
I got out of college, or else I was
going to have nothing to do with
him, and flat out he answered me.
I know the lord is real as much as
I know I have air in my lungs and
love in my heart. Can‘t touch air
or love, but still know it‘s there
100%. And real love requires
action and a fight, so that tension
inspires my songs for sure. The
trash dump community where I
work in Nicaragua has shown me
a literal hell where I see heaven
more clearly than ever before. It‘s
a love that requires action, that‘s
what I feel in my chest when I‘m
walking with kids and families that
have nothing. And that‘s exactly
where Jesus lived his life, walking
with the poor and the sick. And
wild enough men, they are the
wealthiest people on earth for sure
in terms of their contentment and
joy. Just crazy to walk with the
physically rich in our country and
see how spiritually poor we are in
that we never have enough and so
are rarely happy or content with all
that we have. Don‘t get me going
here. I could go on and on... But
yeah, god is real, his love for us is
real and he wants us to be free. I
like that!
I also know when I look at the
beauty in the world that there is
an artist behind it. There‘s just too
much perfection and joy in it. Like
a painting when you see it, you
know someone made it and you
can see the brushstrokes. I feel like
every sunset, wave, laugh, sneeze,
tear, and hug in life is evidence of
god‘s grace and handiwork. Man
there‘s just more than meets the
eye in every place and situation in
life, and I think all that ultimately
matters is how well you love those
around you as you live and how
well you love the one who made
you.
Sonic-Reducer: One of the
projects you are very involved
in is ‚Love, Light & Melody‘.
Please tell our readers what’s
behind the idea and why
everyone should go and check
out lovelightandmelody.org?
Brad: Love Light & Melody is
my response to the community
I alluded to earlier. It‘s a nonprofit
organization that I founded
with a few friends that have been
to Nicaragua with me to visit a
community of 1500 or so people
who live and work in a trash dump.
Some of the most beautiful people
I have ever met live in that burning
toxic hell, and it made me so angry
to know that they‘ve been swept
under the rug in so many ways.
They‘re a community without a
voice and I feel like God opened a
door for me to go there and meet
them so that I could learn from
them, love them, and become a part
of their world. Giving voice to the
voiceless is a powerful thing man.
I used to go into the dump and
stay in the car, taking pictures was
about all I could do. And after ten
trips over the course of a year, a
little girl named Ileana grabbed my
hand and pulled me out of the car
and into the real world of life in
the dump. It became so real to me
through her eyes and smile. Later I
found out that she had aids from
being forced into child prostitution
at age 9, that she was addicted to
glue sniffing, and that her world
was falling apart despite the light
in her smile. So Ileana is the one
that really pulled me into this
world and I am forever grateful.
She‘s now 15 years old and we‘ve
been working with her family for
the last three years trying to help
them find a new life built on hope.
The idea of love is that we can meet
immediate physical needs meaning
food, medicine, homes, etc... Light
is the idea that we can shine a light
into the darkest corners of this
community and bring awareness
to the various addictions and social
issues lurking in the shadows of
poverty. Once the issues are in the
light, like the child prostitution ring
that exists there, then we can attack
them and try to affect change. And
melody is bringing the arts and
sports into the community for the
kids to escape their surroundings
and find joy in expression and
their imaginations. We‘ve already
brought a huge concert into the
dump and next we‘re hoping to do
a Lacrosse camp for the boys and a
dance camp for the girls led by a few
pro players and NFL cheerleaders
that are friends of mine.. check out
www.lovelightandmelody.org and
you‘ll see through the photography
and video footage what is going
on there... And please spread the
word on this story and any other
like it! Seriously we can make a
difference in the way that we live
and the stories that we carry with
us.
braddigan.com/
Sonic-Reducer: You are a very
religious person. Was this
always that way, or did it
evolve over time? How much
does it influence your songwriting?
Brad: Man, I just love Jesus. He‘s
the most amazing and compelling
figure in history, and he‘s made
himself real in my life. And the way
he lived his life, even 2000+ years
ago? I‘ve never found a better
set of footsteps to follow. It‘s just
never what you do in life but the
heart with which you do it. My
family raised me up believing in
god as our father and always told
me that god made me to follow my
dreams. So they encouraged me to
step into sports and music, and
just gave me freedom to be who
I am. When I was 18 or 19, I sort
of thought faith was like inherited
clothing and wondered if it was
really mine? And so I asked god
to make himself real to me when
I got out of college, or else I was
going to have nothing to do with
him, and flat out he answered me.
I know the lord is real as much as
I know I have air in my lungs and
love in my heart. Can‘t touch air
or love, but still know it‘s there
100%. And real love requires
action and a fight, so that tension
inspires my songs for sure. The
trash dump community where I
work in Nicaragua has shown me
a literal hell where I see heaven
more clearly than ever before. It‘s
a love that requires action, that‘s
what I feel in my chest when I‘m
walking with kids and families that
have nothing. And that‘s exactly
where Jesus lived his life, walking
with the poor and the sick. And
wild enough men, they are the
wealthiest people on earth for sure
in terms of their contentment and
joy. Just crazy to walk with the
physically rich in our country and
see how spiritually poor we are in
that we never have enough and so
are rarely happy or content with all
that we have. Don‘t get me going
here. I could go on and on... But
yeah, god is real, his love for us is
real and he wants us to be free. I
like that!
I also know when I look at the
beauty in the world that there is
an artist behind it. There‘s just too
much perfection and joy in it. Like
a painting when you see it, you
know someone made it and you
can see the brushstrokes. I feel like
every sunset, wave, laugh, sneeze,
tear, and hug in life is evidence of
god‘s grace and handiwork. Man
there‘s just more than meets the
eye in every place and situation in
life, and I think all that ultimately
matters is how well you love those
around you as you live and how
well you love the one who made
you.
Sonic-Reducer: One of the
projects you are very involved
in is ‚Love, Light & Melody‘.
Please tell our readers what’s
behind the idea and why
everyone should go and check
out lovelightandmelody.org?
Brad: Love Light & Melody is
my response to the community
I alluded to earlier. It‘s a nonprofit
organization that I founded
with a few friends that have been
to Nicaragua with me to visit a
community of 1500 or so people
who live and work in a trash dump.
Some of the most beautiful people
I have ever met live in that burning
toxic hell, and it made me so angry
to know that they‘ve been swept
under the rug in so many ways.
They‘re a community without a
voice and I feel like God opened a
door for me to go there and meet
them so that I could learn from
them, love them, and become a part
of their world. Giving voice to the
voiceless is a powerful thing man.
I used to go into the dump and
stay in the car, taking pictures was
about all I could do. And after ten
trips over the course of a year, a
little girl named Ileana grabbed my
hand and pulled me out of the car
and into the real world of life in
the dump. It became so real to me
through her eyes and smile. Later I
found out that she had aids from
being forced into child prostitution
at age 9, that she was addicted to
glue sniffing, and that her world
was falling apart despite the light
in her smile. So Ileana is the one
that really pulled me into this
world and I am forever grateful.
She‘s now 15 years old and we‘ve
been working with her family for
the last three years trying to help
them find a new life built on hope.
The idea of love is that we can meet
immediate physical needs meaning
food, medicine, homes, etc... Light
is the idea that we can shine a light
into the darkest corners of this
community and bring awareness
to the various addictions and social
issues lurking in the shadows of
poverty. Once the issues are in the
light, like the child prostitution ring
that exists there, then we can attack
them and try to affect change. And
melody is bringing the arts and
sports into the community for the
kids to escape their surroundings
and find joy in expression and
their imaginations. We‘ve already
brought a huge concert into the
dump and next we‘re hoping to do
a Lacrosse camp for the boys and a
dance camp for the girls led by a few
pro players and NFL cheerleaders
that are friends of mine.. check out
www.lovelightandmelody.org and
you‘ll see through the photography
and video footage what is going
on there... And please spread the
word on this story and any other
like it! Seriously we can make a
difference in the way that we live
and the stories that we carry with
us.