When fans play Dierks Bentley's “American Girl” video online, they may find themselves a bit confused by the presence of a fluted instrument.
Why the hell, one might ask, are a bunch of country musicians covering Tom Petty in a church?
But it's actually a daily occurrence in Music City. As denominations across America consider the meaning of Good Friday and Easter this weekend, Nashville's music infrastructure has drummers, producers, marketers and label executives working on their secular product in old churches that have been resurrected for a different purpose. .
“I'm one who would never advocate tearing down an old building if we could find a way to save it and make it useful in this day and age,” says Ryman Auditorium Senior Events Manager Chrissy Hall. “If using it as a church isn't necessarily what it's needed for anymore, I think that's great. It's a great use of history.”
The Ryman is the most iconic example of a former place of worship turned modern Nashville music structure. Nicknamed the “Mother Church of Country Music,” it opened in 1892 as the Union Gospel Tabernacle, but in a short time it was adapted as a major meeting place. It gained particular attention as the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943-1974.
It was where Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn and Hank Williams made their Opry debuts. It stands as a kind of “temple-ate” for other conversions from a church to a music-related structure. Clementine Hall – the place where Bentley shot his video for “American Girl” – is an event space that was renovated by a Methodist church from Dragon Park. The company also converted an old Baptist retreat into the Ruby, a hall that hosted musical events for Don Henley, Jordan Davis and Dan Tyminski.
At least two studio labs – Ocean Way, owned by Belmont University. and Neon Cross, owned by producer Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Ashley McBryde) – are houses of worship that have been revamped. Marketing firm Ave East and management firm Q Prime South are also located in buildings that were once used for sermons.
“It's like Hogwarts meets a medieval church,” says MARB MKTG CEO Faith Dillman of local Q Prime. “I like working from there.”
MARB has just recently moved into its new office, conveniently located on Chapel Avenue. Dillman adapted Hobson Methodist Episcopal Church's original charter as a corporate promise to be a positive force in the community, “listening and learning from one another, treating each other with respect and dignity.” The company also keeps a handwritten set of “Humble and Kind” lyrics, signed by songwriter Lori McKenna, above the fireplace. Dillman has cultivated an atmosphere that values maturity and spirituality, qualities that come in handy as they work for clients as diverse as Dolly Parton and even Megadeth. They even try to maintain this atmosphere when the structure itself is collapsing.
“You don't move into a 150-year-old building and think this thing is going to work without problems,” Dillman says. “[It’s even] to little things like having to do custom window treatments. All our windows are arched and not standard sizes. Those were things I didn't consider when I moved to where I needed to be.”
The quirks of a renovated church can give the buildings being renovated some unique qualities. The interior of the old bell tower has become an elaborate fixture in the Q Prime office. The wooden pews at the Ryman are far less accommodating to concertgoers' backs than the old preacher's words were to the inside of the church. And the stained glass window in the main hall on Ocean Way creates an inspiring atmosphere.
“We've got good light from the street lights and everything, so it's already predetermined to have an otherworldly experience, whether it's day or night, just from the windows,” says Ocean Way studio director Joe Baldridge.
Joyce named the recording room Neon Cross Studio, paying homage to a blue illuminated symbol on the crown of the roof of the former Baptist church. Inside, Joyce first placed the soundboard at the front of the room. After a few years, he put the console in the center of the room.
“I felt a little weird speaking to the band from the altar,” says Joyce.
Not every old church date is fully appreciated at first. When Dragon Park owners Dan and Brenda Cook bought Clementine Hall from the Methodist Church in 2017, they had every intention of getting rid of the pipe organ. When it was announced that they planned to remove it, churches from Germany and Australia asked to buy it. Eventually, producer T Bone Burnett and Widespread Panic's JoJo Herman convinced the Cooks to keep it.
“We thought the instrument could be harmful for two reasons,” notes Dan. “First, it honestly takes up space. It can be seen as too churchy, I guess, in some elements and we want to appeal to the widest possible number of customers, like any business. And then, of course, it was the idea that if you kept it, you had to restore it and maintain it. There's an element of commitment to it.”
The instrument essentially heralds Clementine's previous incarnation, though its current use is often distinctly different from its original purpose. She's hosting a Big Loud party for Mason Ramsey. a showcase of Universal Music Group Nashville, Rhythm, Rebels, Revival. and a TV appearance by Brantley Gilbert. Despite these activities, the most popular reason to rent Clementine is to exchange vows. It dictates some of the rules of the property.
“We don't shoot here,” Cook says. “And it's not because of the history of the church, because we certainly allow alcohol. I just don't think that's a classy thing to do in a wedding.”
Despite their intellectual history, spaces generally place no restrictions on the creative work that takes place on the premises. Ocean Way's past client list includes 5 Seconds of Summer, Alice Cooper and Evanescence, acts that are more extreme than religious. Policies focus on maintaining facilities rather than regulating creativity.
“We have a policy where if you're not in control and don't respond to suggestions, you can waste your time,” says Baldridge. “But that's based on nothing but bad behavior — like if Phil Spector shot a gun at the ceiling, it'd probably be 'You're not coming back.' COMMON SENSE.”
It is appropriate that churches play a role in the natural landscape of the country music business, given the influence of gospel on the genre. Artists tended to receive early musical training in the church, and acts such as The Carter Family, The Statler Brothers, The Gatlins and Connie Smith took parts of their sound from Christian music.
For Good Friday and Easter weekend, it will be business as usual for the companies occupying Nashville's former churches. That includes the Ryman, which had an AJ Croce concert scheduled for March 29. Going to a show or recording a new song can be the most appropriate way to observe the holiday, given music's ability to connect with one's heart.
“It doesn't matter what your religious affiliation is,” says Hall. “Music can be very emotional in any way you need it to be, whether it's spiritual and brings you closer to God, you're having a bad day and it brightens your mood, or it expresses the sadness you feel over love or loss . Music is such a powerful emotional tool.”
“In my opinion, music is the language of God,” agrees Joyce. “I mean, when you think about it, everything is vibration. So we musicians and people who make music are more like the High Priests than some Billy Graham. Like, we actually use the word of God – I mean the music, the sound. It's 100% spiritual.”
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/country/old-churches-nashville-studios-venues-music-business-1235644976/