I NEVER met RICH MULLINS. What I know is that I received a postcard from him – which implies to me that he is the most humble rockstar ever to roam the earth. Though only in a room with him once in my whole life, he has been one of the greatest influences in my life: musically, emotionally, spiritually. Through his lyrics & life, he has taught me greatly about living, about loving, about grace, about healing & most importantly, about a man named Jesus. Rich has influenced my life & even my personality in many ways: I prefer to be barefoot, I wear patchouli oil, I have a tattoo on my my foot that says “Be God’s!” in his handwriting, and my favorite color is green.
When I was 15, I EVEN MOVED TO NEW MEXICO (mostly because he had). Rich saw something there & sang about it so lovingly that I wanted to see for myself. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for exactly, but I certainly found it somewhere between “the earth’s shifted crust & the stars in the Milky Way.”
I like ARRANGING AND MEDLEYING music as opposed to writing it. I enjoy taking things that have been said 148 times & saying them for the 149th time–differently. “There’s nothing really new to say”… just older things said another way. It is my hope to make Rich’s words & music as fresh & alive for you as they still are for me. I wish to make the words of this “saint of old fall on souls that drought has dried.” Though he has been Home now since September 19th, 1997, Rich still gives me advice & new perspectives. He spoke & wrote about Christian life, often brashly & boldly. It is my desire to make Rich’s words, challenges & music especially relevant & alive to my generation today. ABOUT the “REMEMBERING RICH MULLINS” Volumes
Each year on RICH'S BIRTHDAY, October 21st, I try to release a few songs — just the “rough drafts” of a full-length tribute album slated for “someday.” My overall intentions are neither flashy vocals nor perfect piano playing. I simply with to hand you a cup of coffee & invite you to the couch in my southwestern-clad living room, so I may share a few songs from behind the piano that tell you about my friends Rich Mullins & Jesus Christ & what they have done in my life.
It is my prayer that the “peace of Christ will rain down from heaven” as you listen, that you may feel the comfort of the southwest, remember to simply “Be God’s,” that you might smile as you remember Rich, & above all, that you will be pointed to the One who loves all of us beat-up & bedraggled ragamuffins.
– RagamuffinA