Daniel Amos "Shotgun Angel" Part One
Rock and Religion Radio Show Oct. 23, 1977
Interviewed by Mary Neely
Announcer: This program brought to you in the public intrest.
Mary Neely: This is Rock & Religion and we're featuring today a new album called
Shotgun Angel by a group known as Daniel Amos. Daniel Amos has been a favorite on Rock & Religion, we featured thier first album 'Daniel Amos' several times on the show and we're glad to get this new album. What does
Shotgun Angel mean? ...is that based on a song?
Terry: It's a real truck driver song, uh... Bill Sprouse wrote it, um, well really long before the CB thing hit big. Bill was a real,
you know, CB'er way back and he wrote this song and way before 'Rubber Ducky' or whatever that song is called. (Laughter)
And uh, it's just kind of a different song. It tells the story of a truck driver who uh, is talking on his CB radio and uh, suddenly
he hears a voice and it's the voice of Jesus.
"
Shotgun Angel"
Announcer: "
Shotgun Angel" the title cut on Daniel Amos' newest on the Maranatha! label. This week and next Rock & Religion will present the entire album plus conversations with the group and interviewer Mary Neely.
Mary Neely: I noticed that sometimes in your performances you wear cowboy hats and just, you wear them a lot. Do you consider yourself
a western country band or what?
Terry: Well... no..
Jerry: Drugstore cowboys...
Mary Neely: LA cowboys...
Terry: Yeah, strictly, strictly LA.. strictly LA.. uh, no it's just a matter of dress. We, you know, we've... Our first album had a lot
of country things in it. And we're kind of exploring some new areas with this new album, course '
Shotgun Angel with a name like that it's got to be pretty country so thats one of the only country songs on the album there are a couple of other things but... we're, we're really getting into some other things, exploring some new areas.
Mary Neely: How long have you been together as this entity? What are your names and let's see you're Terry Taylor... I've been talking to Terry Taylor, Jerry say hi...
Jerry: Hi... (Laughter)
Mary Neely: This is Jerry, and then there's a couple more members of the group... Mark Cook and one more...
Jerry: Marty Dieckmeyer and Ed McTaggert.
Mary Neely: I see, and have you been together as these five for a period of time or?
Jerry: Yeah we've been together for about two years now and uh, we've had a few changes in personnel.
Mary Neely: As you've been together this long I'm sure there has been times that you wondered if you were going to go on, you know, as a group and now it seems like your really solidifying and is it like you feel like stronger than ever that what you're doing is what you're supposed to do?
Jerry: The Lord is really, it seems to be impressed upon us more as the ministry has grown uh, just what he wants us to do specifically and um, I think we're a little bit more sure. The Lord has taken us through several changes.. uh bringing us closer to himself and closer
to each other.
Terry: I think one of the heaviest things that I've experienced personally... I was in quite a few ministries, musical ministries,
music ministries before I got involved in Daniel Amos and every one of them, before God took me through a real heavy change in my life, was a self promotion type of thing. This is the first group that I have felt totally... that, that uh... we are becoming what God wants us to be. But the assurance of our calling from the very beginning... that it was something that uh, that God had done... that God had called us and uh, was going to use us.
Mary Neely: In other words you're not just making albums just because you want to make a living and... I mean you're speaking as though you're on some kind of mission... is that correct? As a group?
Terry: We are in a sense Missionaries, we're ministers uh...
Mary Neely: You're not just, you don't consider yourselves just
musicians?
Terry: Not at all.
Mary Neely: Isn't that different than other people that are in the
music business?
Terry: Well, for sure it is.
Jerry: Yeah...
Terry: Because the idea in secular music, and I was involved for a short time in that, is to become popular, is to become famous, is
to make bucks... um our desire is to share Christ, simple as that. Our desire is to tell people about Jesus Christ.
Mary Neely: Do you do that in your concerts? Terry: Oh yeah, all the time. Course we have, our ministry is to the Body of Christ and uh we have that responsibility of feeding the flock.
Meal
Mary Neely: This is Rock & Religion, I am talking with Terry Taylor and Jerry Chamberlain of the group Daniel Amos. We're highlighting
the album
Shotgun Angel and the song 'Father's...' what's the name of this song?
Terry: "
Father's Arms"
Jerry: "
Father's Arms"
Mary Neely: "
Father's Arms" What's this song about?
Terry: Well, it's a story of someone who's running from the Lord. And, you know, everyone in the group... all my brothers can, they can all identify with this song because there's one time in each one of our lives where we were running from the Lord and commom to every man's expierences and all our experiences is that we experienced during that time nothing but, kind of uh... dread, kind of confusion, a lot of emptiness. Um I think uh, well just, just a lot of uh heaviness I think because... like, just out of high school for me personally was a real heavy expierence of not knowing my identity or what I was going to do with my life or which direction I was going to take and was... even if I did take this direction what was life all about... is it just something we live we die, you know... and that sort of
thing and it's just telling the story of someone in this position. And then it talks about uh, how we can have uh... have all these kind of securities and build up in our life, but then there are those moments of reflection where we really see that we're just kind of children in the dark wandering around lost and empty and really not knowing what's going on. And it talks about that child falling into his Father's arms, uh security, rest, true rest, true security which is found in... Father refering to our Father God and to Christ. A place that we can come to as Christians of really resting, of really expierencing peace and, and uh his love and his guidance, his caring.
"
Father's Arms"
"(Finale Berashith Overture)"
Announcer: You're listening to Rock & Religion and our first program on
Shotgun Angel Daniel Amos' newest on the Maranatha! label. The interviewer, Mary Neely.
Mary Neely: What kind of musical changes have you been going through? Seems like most of the bands that I talk to they're always looking
to the future, they're wanting to add some instrament or... in this album
Shotgun Angel that we're featuring on this show, what have you done here that you didn't do in the last album that you're excited about musically?
Terry: Well the last album was really different we went as four people, two acoustic guitars, a bass and a lead guitar. So on the album we had
studio musicians playing drums, we had studio musicians playing um piano and that sort of thing. On this album I really feel we're a group going
in, we've added a keyboard player. God's given us a keyboard player in Mark. And uh, and a drummer with Ed, and so we're going as a complete
entity this time. And so it's different in that respect, um keyboards is a vast area, you know we can almost do anything with keyboards. So
uh, the sounds are going to be different because the group is... has... we went into the studio last time not having worked with a drummer,
not having worked you know, with a keyboardist. This time we've had the experience of working in that respect. And I think it's just going to
be an improvement musically over the last album.
Mary Neely: You've been doing a lot of concerts recently, I know you just came back from a tour that took you to colorado. Can you think of a concert
in the last few months that was really something special and can you tell me what happened or why... any specific one that stands out in your mind?
Terry: Yeah... the one the other night. The last one we did... (laughter)
Mary Neely: Where was that?
Terry: It was the shortest of uh, our history... really. (laughter)
The reason it was...
Mary Neely: Did you get booed off the stage?
Terry: No, no... we played at Disneyland and I got throat problems where my vocal was, I mean, really messed up and so we went to Raincross
Square which is in Riverside to do a big concert there and we got up and my voice got progressivly worse so the last song that we did it was
just a real, you know, really straining, you know, to get through the song and that was it, I mean that 20 minutes... 25 minutes and we were off
the stage and people were kind of looking around going 'man what's happening?' (laughter) But I think, more than that it was one of those
concerts where God was saying 'My grace is sufficiant for you' and 'you need to depend upon me'. And we really have to thank the Lord for those
kind of concerts where we're just getting by and we're going 'Lord, Lord...' you know, 'just help us to... give us your grace' and 'get us
through this concert, help us to minister.'
"
Black Gold Fever"
Mary Neely: This is Rock & Religion, I am talking with Terry Taylor and Jerry Chamberlain of the group Daniel Amos. As I've been talking with you
uh, for a period of time this evening I assume you're in your twenties... early twenties and the themes that you're talking about are extremely
heavy. You've been talking about the second side of this album which is on the rapture and this first side the themes are rather heavy...
do... why aren't you writing love songs? And why aren't you writing uh, you know, I mean it seems like you're awfully serious for your age
and in your conversations the words, 'The Lord, God' and all of this is... is this just so much your life that thats really all you're thinking
about and wanting to write about?
Terry: Well, our songs, there are songs on the album which are expressions of love. But our love is directed to the Lord, our first song on the album
"
Days and Nights" is a love song to our wives. So there are love songs on the album. But at the same time we're striking a serious note because we're
living in a perilous times, we're living in a time where people need to really wake up. You know, you can get so um, caught up in just uh,
frivolity and just going through life and living on the surface and not really facing the consequences of what life is all about, what death
is all about. These are serious things and we hope through a lot of the songs on the album, especially the second side to jolt people into really
loooking at their life and really seeing that what the Bible has to say is right now coming to pass, is right now hapening. And that's the intention
of this album, it's also, the first side is... there is some light things on it... uh there are love songs. There are all sorts of songs on the
album but they all point to the fact that we need Christ, that we all have a basic need, and Christ is the answer to that need.
"
Days and Nights"
Mary Neely: You're really a popular group especially in LA, and uh... why do you think you're so well received? You thought about that?
Terry: Lord knows...
Mary Neely: I Know because you're so charming and so good right?
Terry: Well... (laughter)
Mary Neely: No, I mean why do you think audiences are really going for your band?
Terry: Well I hope they're attracted to the Lord...
Jerry: He uses the foolish to confound the wise. (laughter)
Excerpts in medley form from:
"He's Gonna Do A Number On You"/"Lady Goodbye"/"Sail Me Away"/
"The Whistler"/"Better"/"Posse in the Sky"
Announcer: All sounds of Side Two as Rock & Religion will present the second part of our series on Daniel Amos and their new Maranatha!
LP Shotgun Angel. Join us next week, at this same time...
Announcer: This is Rock & Religion heard every week at this same
time any comunication as to the content of this program should be
directed to the attention of the station or to Rock & Religion 3132
Bradshaw, Sacramento, CA 95827. Thats Rock & Religion 3132 Bradshaw,
Sacramento, CA 95827.
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