Inside
the Music Box with Tim Neufeld of Starfield
By Amy Hammond Hagberg
Canadian worship band, Starfield, is best known for their well loved songs “Filled With Your Glory” and “Revolution” from their 2004 self titled release. The follow up to that critically acclaimed project, Beauty in the Broken, was released in May 2006.
CE: For the record, tell me who you are and what part you play in the band.
TN: I’m Tim Neufeld, I’m the lead singer and I play guitar as well and primary songwriter.
CE: How did you come up with the name Starfield?
TN: We got it from a Bruce Cockburn song. Bruce, for those who don’t know, is an old school Canadian folk star. He’s been around since the late 70’s. At the time he was kind of flirting with Christianity he wrote the song, “Lord of the Starfields” from which we take our name… It was just a cool name for a band and it had some spiritual application as well - the “Starfield” the vast expanse of God’s creation.
CE: Your latest recording is, Beauty in the Broken – why did you title the album that?
TN: We thought it was descriptive of the journey that the album kind of took the listener on. We wanted to write a worship record that didn’t just kind of sing songs about running through the fields of daisies with Jesus, the mountain top experiences, but one that was a little more true to our lives. When I come into a worship experience, it’s usually only after I’ve been able to kind of acknowledge the state that I’m usually somewhat removed from that place of real intimacy with God. It’s like Dr. Phil said, you can’t fix or change what you don’t acknowledge. And the album really is about seeking beauty from the brokenness that we kind of come to God with in our lives.
CE: You’re right, being a Christian isn’t all about running through a field of daisies, it’s much harder than that.
TN: It is; it totally is. And there’s a lot of broken moments and there’s a lot of broken pieces that we try to fit together and make something real. But the only real peace and lasting joy in our lives is going to be our relationship with God and the beauty that comes out of that brokenness that only He can bring.
CE: The things you are singing about on this recording are really very deep. What was your goal in writing some of these songs?
TN: The primary goal for this record was to write a record that was really worship-directed. For us, the worship genre kind of breaks down into two categories, either it… is written for people to sing in church and catch on to rather quickly, and make its way onto the charts where it’s a popular song that everybody would kind of know and sing along to. The other is just a real God-directed kind of vertical song that is a little more personal in its nature. So the melody might be a little more complex or the subject matter might not be as singable but it’s still drawing on those worship teams and really asking questions and pulling people towards intimacy with God. That’s what we set out to do, write a record that’s kind of combining those two types of songs… The themes are really everywhere along that “brokenness to beauty” spectrum, songs about feeling beat up by the years. I turned 30 this year and I kind of did a lot of looking back over my life and read through some journal entries that I had done five years ago and I was still struggling with the same things. Some of the lyrics really kind of tend to talk about that struggle and that journey growing up and wishing I was farther along that I actually was.
CE: I remember what it was like when I turned 30 and it was a time of reflection. Like a big milestone. You get a chance to look back where you’ve been and see where you need to go.
TN: It’s been a good milestone - I guess I’m coming through it okay. I bought a puppy to deal with my angst.
CE: What did you get?
TN: A little beagle. She’s always just sniffing down some lead, she’s an escape artist because she’s always following something.
CE: Are you single?
TN: I’m not, I’ve been married for two years.
CE: So this is your first child then!
TN: Essentially. I wasn’t sure, you know you always hear that puppies are a great first step, but it really is. I mean having to be there for that puppy and making sure that you’re feeding it, and so they can get out to relieve themselves and all the fun stuff that goes along with it.
CE: So what can a fan expect from one of your concerts?
TN: Well, it’s a worship concert. 90% of our concerts, unless we do the odd show in a more secular environment, for the most part our heart is just to lead the church in worship. I guess you could expect to meet with God. If you don’t meet with God and you aren’t in a place of singing to God, just getting introspective and communicating with your Creator, then you’re probably not at a Starfield show. If that happens then we’re not doing the job that we’ve kind of set up to do.
CE: Who are your main musical influences with regard to your sound?
TN: We’re really influenced by British music, probably 90% of our playlist is up and coming British rock/pop bands like David Gray and Keane and Muse, Radiohead and Coldplay and U2, just those kind of artists… But we’re also very influenced by worship writers like Delirious and Tim Hughes.
CE: Do you think it’s important for bands like yours to be involved with local churches?
TN: I can speak from experience and just the lack of that. We’ve lived in Nashville for a few years and we’ve struggled to find a home that feels like home, that we fit in and we can feel like we’re not just a visiting band. And to be honest with you, we haven’t found it and it’s probably the biggest hole in our lives right now. We’re really in a season of prayer to find a home, because we definitely feel the void without it. There’s just a lack of foundation and there’s no place to really anchor so you kind of feel like you’re a rogue agent without anybody getting your back or coming up behind you and telling you “You’re doing alright” or “You’re not doing alright” just that kind of accountability… It’s just so important to have people that are wiser than you, that have gone before you in life and in ministry and can steer you in the right direction.
CE: I noticed that you are involved with WorldVision. What have you been doing through them?
TN: We are one of their artist associates and we’ve been very vocal about their child sponsorship program that they have… Early on we wanted to do a little bit more than just lead the church in worship. We really feel like there’s only so far that worship in a congregation can go and I think it’s a mandate that God’s put on us as His church, His children to not let worship stop at the doors of the church but to go out into the community. And not just the communities that we live around, but those on the other side of the world that are kind of lost and forgotten. And World Vision’s done a great job of bringing a voice and a face to the extreme poverty and disease and different epidemics that are wiping out millions of people on the other side of the world.
CE: Do you sponsor a child yourself?
TN: My wife and I, we sponsor two. We’ve had a girl named Kafelo from Congo in Africa for a few years. We just actually visited El Salvador about four months ago with World Vision Canada and got to spend some time with different projects that they’ve been working on in that country. We met a little guy named Carlos who wasn’t sponsored at the time and just fell in love with him. He comes from a horribly poor area of El Salvador and he lives in a little mud hut… We just kind of fell in love with him and realized he wasn’t sponsored and worked to set up a sponsorship for him.
CE: I noticed on your tour schedule that you are going to be on the Dare 2 Share Conference Tour. What is Dare 2 Share?
TN: It is an organization that exists to mobilize young people to share their faith in their schools and communities. It’s been going on for about 15 years… It’s in I think 11 cities this coming year, about 5,000-10,000 kids show up to the event… It’s just an amazing time of really intense kind of discipleship and equipping and then practically living that out. It’s been a real pleasure.
CE: Who are your favorite authors?
TN: Probably my favorite is Philip Yancey, I’ve read pretty much everything he’s written two or three times. He’s just got a real perspective on the Christian faith, the light and the dark, just the joy and the sorrow that encompass everyone’s lives - but not everyone is willing to talk about it. I love the honesty he writes with.
CE: Who are your heroes in life?
TN: I’m a huge fan of Martin Smith; he’s the lead singer of delirious. Bono is another hero of mine, because he’s using his influence and the voice that he has to his maximum capacity to change the world. I respect his selflessness in that so much, I just aspire to be that selfless and generous with my time and use the gifts and opportunity that God has given me to help improve other people’s lives and bring justice to the world.
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