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Performing couples struggle to maintain a balance between
artistry and family. In their single, “So We Never Got to
Paris,” Scott and Christine Dente’ displayed a snippet of
marriage’s rocky road and devotion’s power to conquer all
obstacles.
The couple met as students at Boston’s Berklee College
of Music. Scott, a native of River Vale, New Jersey, enrolled at
the school after a stint loading trucks in a Manhattan warehouse.
Despite a period of less than diligent application, Dente’
devoted his energies to mastering guitar and songwriting.
“My guitar teacher confronted me,” he admitted. “It
was obvious I hadn’t been practicing. He said, ‘Scott, you
have to decide right now if you want to be a guitar owner or a
guitar player. His words hit me hard, and I actually started to
get my act together.”
Originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Christine studied
classical voice at Carnegie-Mellon University before trekking to
Boston to focus on contemporary pop styles. After dating
Scott’s roommate for a short time, she and Dente’ began
drinking coffee together, and the relationship blossomed.
However,
Christine’s strong Christian faith prevented the couple from
developing a serious tone since Scott embraced Buddhism and New
Age thought. But Christine’s persistence and an introduction to
the Bible, Amy Grant, and C. S. Lewis directed him to
Christianity’s truth. As their faith and love deepened, the
couple married in 1987 and moved to Nashville the following year
to embark upon their musical careers.
“God redeemed a
potentially bad situation and used it to his glory,” Scott
explained. “Neither Christine or I would recommend dating a
non-Christian. We were just very fortunate everything turned out
like it did.”
After waiting
tables for several years, Sparrow Records signed the pair to a
recording contract, and the duo debuted Out
of the Grey in 1991. Christine chose the phrase for their
musical partnership after finding it in Scott’s lyric notebook.
“It never became
a song,” she said. “It was wanting to be – it never did.
It’s slightly a grey phrase in itself, but it alludes to the
obvious – the black and white – the truth in a world of
relativism.”
Four more albums
followed on the Sparrow label, and the husband-wife team garnered
10 number-one singles and four Dove Awards along the way. One of
their more unique songs, “So We Never Got to Paris,”
drew its
inspiration from a video shoot for “All We Need,” a single
from their third album, Diamond
Days.
Steve
Taylor, the
director, wanted to film the footage in Paris to achieve a
special lighting effect. However, Christine was pregnant with the
couple’s middle child at the time. Although neither had visited
the City of Lights previously, the shooting schedule required her
and Scott to leave for Paris shortly after Carina’s birth.
Despite the disappointment, they decided the journey could wait
and produced the video in Nashville instead.
Christine penned
the song that appeared on Out of the Grey’s fourth CD,
Gravity, shortly after the video shoot. The composition deals
with the tension and drama of life’s priorities and
responsibilities, and the melody creates the sound and feel of a
French bistro.
“You take some of
your dreams, you weigh them with where you’re at right now, and
you say, ‘This one can go.’” she said. “So we never got
to Paris. Big deal! There are only so many things that you can do
or accomplish in a given year or even a given lifetime.”
Following a
three-year layoff, Out of the Grey produced its sixth studio
recording, 6.1, in 2001. A label switch to Rocketown Records reinvigorated the
husband-wife singing/songwriting team.
“In 1999, we
wondered if the Out of the Grey chapter was closing for us,”
Scott revealed. “Our friends, family and fans encouraged us to
start again and after much prayer and many late night
conversations, we felt the desire to jump back in.”
As in their
previous works, 6.1
incorporates the essence of interpersonal relationships
with both God and family. “Truth Breaks Through”
reminds listeners actions teach better than words, and the songs
“Brave,” “Shine Like Crazy,” and “Grace, Mercy and
Peace” demonstrate love provides strength, joy, and blessing.
“In our songs, we
don’t always have the answers or the solutions,” Christine
said. “Sometimes we’re still trying to figure those things
out ourselves, and songwriting allows you the freedom to express
that. If more Christians could admit some of those struggles,
even Christian artists, we would be so much better off.”
Fernando
Ortega's one of those guys you could sit and chat with all
day if time warranted. His warm sense of humor and
straight-shooting personality are enough to make him a personal
friend in a matter of minutes.
For those who haven't had the chance to talk with Ortega, you
can get to know him through the personal lyrics on his latest CD,
Storm. Fernando recently phoned from his California home
to share a bit of his quirky personality to talk about his
Storm, and to offer some additional tid-bits you might not
have known about this modern-day troubadour.
Q: How would you describe
your songwriting process throughout the years?
Fernando: The cycle
works differently for everyone. Some people are able to write
songs all year long and even sit in the back of their bus while
they're touring and keep doing it. I have to sit down and focus
on songwriting. Sometimes it's a real sweat for me to write a
song, and I can't say I enjoy it because I have mental battles
over it. But once the lyrics start to come, I'm able to come up
for air.
Q: What are the specific
themes found on Storm?
Fernando: In my mind I
didn't stick to a specific theme, but I'd say a lot of it has to
do with going through difficult personal storms and coming out on
the other side. After September 11, so many people who normally
wouldn't consider themselves people of faith started calling out
to God. Going through a raging storm can make you desperate for
faith. And if you're already grounded in what you believe, it's a
time to reach out for that extra measure of faith.
Q: I'd imagine many of
those storms were personal as well. Was there any one in
particular that's been a real challenge to get through?
Fernando: My father's
ailing health has been the main thing for quite some time. He had
a heart attack in 1996, and his declining health has been very
discouraging to our whole family. I begged God endlessly to
change the situation, and all the while things seemed to grow
worse. For a long time I thought my prayers were going
unanswered.
It wasn't until my nephew's birth last year that things began
to change for my father. God used this little boy's entrance into
the world to put joy back into my father and to erase his
depression. Through that whole situation, I learned my prayer was
answered in a more profound way than I'd originally thought or
hoped — and it was answered on God's timetable.
Q: When situations like
that hit so close to home, does that ever make you rethink your
role in the music industry?
Fernando: I've realized
over the years that a lot of what the music industry focuses on
is vain. At age 45 I look back at my accomplishments and feel
like some of those so-called career milestones don't have any
lasting significance.
Q:
What do you think about the fact that the Christian music
industry often elevates musicians to celebrity status?
Fernando:
There's no precedence in Scripture for that sort of thing. This
idea of doing concerts and selling tickets is relatively new.
Sometimes people expect the same from musicians as they do from a
pastor or teacher, which can be very confusing. What makes the
problem even more interesting is the fact that image is a very
big part of the Christian music package. These days, even
Christian musicians are made to appear sexy.
(See
Fernando Ortega in concert on September 6 with Amy Grant at Mt.
Pisgah United Methodist Church. Go to the
Concertline
for details) |
