A Very Merry Christmas Interview starring Jason Gray!

I like to interview somebody every Christmas and ask all Christmas related questions! I think it's fun :) And who better to interview this year than the man who just made a Christmas album?!! IT'S JASON GRAY! He released "Christmas Stories: Repeat the Sounding Joy" in October of this year. One you want to add to your Christmas music collection! Also makes a great gift! Much thanks to Jason Gray for your time and answers. Alrighty guys, enjoy our festive chat with Mr. Gray and have a safe and merry Christmas!



1. Christmas tradition?
> Christmas Adam! It's the night before Christmas Eve, and we share our
> family gifts, eat something fun, watch a Christmas movie, and then
> sleep in front of the tree.
>
>> 2.Christmas treat?
> Egg Nog Lattes
>
>> 3.Christmas song?
> Joy To The World
>
>> 4.Christmas movie?
> Elf is our go to for fun, but if we're going for meaningful we've
> loved the new Christmas Carol in recent years.
>
>> 5. What inspired the decision to do a Christmas album?
> I've always wanted to do one! Christmas is my favorite time of year,
> full of joy, wonder, and innocence. But for many it can also be a very
> painful time of year. It's fertile ground, as a writer, for writing
> songs that you hope can help people experience Immanuel-God with us-in
> both the highs and the lows of it. There's something about the season
> that brings people's hearts to the surface, and I wanted to brings songs to that.
>
>> 6. A lot of musicians have crazy stories about how they brought in
>> fake snow in June while recording their Christmas albums, do you have
>> a favorite memory that came out of your recording time for the CD?
> It was when my youngest son Gus came to sing his solo on "Christmas
> For Jesus.” He's his own kid and you never know what he's going to do.
> We weren't sure until the very end if he'd even sing it at all! But he
> knocked it out of the park. The same day my older boys sang and
> clapped on "Christmas Is Coming.” It was a great day and a memory I'll always cherish.
>
>> 7. Did you write any of the holiday tunes on your CD, or is it all
>> traditional Christmas music?
> It is mostly originals-10 of them! My approach was to write songs for
> each of the characters in the Christmas narrative. Interspersed
> throughout are some traditional songs that help advance the story and
> also mark it as a Christmas project.
>
>> 8. Do you play your own Christmas CD during the holidays?
> Ha! Confession time! Actually, no. In fact, if I come up in the
> Christmas shuffle mix, I usually skip it. It's too weird hearing me in there...