Derek Webb Interview – 26 February 2005

G: I know when you and I talked a couple of years ago in Nashville, when there were a bunch of .net people there, one of the things everybody asked was, “Well, when Guild IV weekends comes, will you be there?” Now, it’s been two years, and that’s another story …

D: *laughs* It’s more like a Guild VI weekend than a Guild IV weekend at this point …

G: Oh yes, that’s true. That’s a bone of contention with a lot of people. And you said that you didn’t really want to do that, you wanted to give the band space and all that, but do you foresee, if something ever pops up, came up, an opportunity for you to play, you know, whether its you by yourself, or you and Sandra, and Paul, and Will, and Matt, and everybody in Caedmon’s and all that, is that something you would like to do? This is only theoretical, I’m not a booking agent with $50,000 saying I’m going to make this happen three weeks from now in Huntsville.

D: *laughing* If you had $50,000 though, I would be…

G: *laughing*

D: …but, that would be terrific. And then for DaveJac and them. But…I don’t make any secret of the fact that I’ve…Cliff and I have talked many times, about going out and doing a tour, the two of us. And he really was into it, really wanted to do it; and I went to him with the idea, and we’d just be fun, going out and playing old Caedmon’s song, taking requests, maybe me, him and Danielle, like I’m saying, we could play anything out of the Caedmon’s catalogue, just go out and have a good time playing music…just to do it, just for fun. I think it’d be fun just to hang out, it’d be fun just to see him. And we’ve been thinking about that for two years, and I don’t think it’s gonna happen. But I still have hopes that something like that might happen.

I’ve talked to Garett and Josh about coming out on the road and having them out and playing with me a little bit sometime, just for fun. And I’ve told the guys in the band that if they ever need an opener, man I’m there. You know, I’d love to come out and play, you know. I respect them as artists, and I love them as people, and I’d love to be involved with them.

And I think my hesitation about a Guild weekend is that its such an intimate time between the band and the community, that I didn’t want to draw away from the band’s time with the band’s people. And while we do share some people, we’re not the same thing anymore. And I want them, and I want Andy, I’m really sensitive…

I know it must be hard for Andy, having to be kind of in a role where there was somebody before, as opposed to him … because he is not replacing me in any way. He is a totally different kind of artist, he has such different gifts, he is tremendous. He is his own artist. He doesn’t need to try to be a replacement for me; he doesn’t need to be the next Derek Webb, he is the first Andy Osenga. And I want him to be that, and I don’t want him to have any insecurity about his role in the band’s story, which is solid now, he is part of where the band is going, what they’re doing. And I’m proud of what he’s doing, I’m a huge fan of Andy, he is great. He puts the rest of us to total shame. I mean, we were all sick of him in Nashville, because every time we get together all the rest of us are playing the songs we wrote two years ago, and he wrote two new ones last night that are the best songs I’ve ever heard. I mean, he freaks me out; I love he’s with them now and I was so excited when I heard he was gonna do it, I was excited for all of them.

It’s such a great partnership because he brings so much to it, and they have such a great history, and they’re great exposure for him. But I wouldn’t want to be there and, the line that should be in front of Andy be in front of me. I really want them to grow and to bond as a band, and with their community, and I’d love to be a part of that, in support of that, in any way that I can, which would mean musically, which would mean a lot of things. But I’m not in Caedmon’s Call anymore, and Andy is; and this isn’t just about Andy…they’re their own band, I wanna see them really grow, and I wouldn’t want in any way to be a hindrance to that. I’d love to see the Guild though, it’s not that at all. Like I said, some of that community is now part of my community too; and that’s great, we’ll have our own thing, maybe we’ll all go play somewhere together and we’ll all get together, there are ways to do that.

G: I actually need to talk with you about that off-tape.

D: Oh okay!