Nate Winters In His Own Words Nate Winters has been piling up the frequent flier miles, enjoying a globe-trotting live schedule with popular CCM artist Jeff Deyo for the past several months. In 2004, the band traveled to Amsterdam to play the Winter Wonder Rock Festival, then to Dusseldorf where they performed at Christmas Rock Night, followed by appearances at the X-Treme Conferences back in Gatlinburg, TN. Not willing to gather any moss, these rolling stones were in Brisbane, Australia to play the Sonfest and record a live album early this year. They finished up at the Parachute Festival in New Zealand. Still, Nate found time to talk to us about what’s really important as a praise drummer as he readies himself for another tour.
	In His Own Words I’ve been playing drums in worship professionally for five years now, as you know, most recently with former SONICFLOOD lead vocalist Jeff Deyo. During that time, I’ve come to a totally different idea of what worship is and should be. And here’s the advice I have to offer your readers: What It is First of all, worship is not a song style - it's a lifestyle. You’ve got to worship God in everything you do on and off the stage. The Gospel tells us to love God and love people. These are both acts of worship. Be Real Your audience can tell the difference between real worship and something that’s less authentic. You can't be onstage one night singing praises about God and the next night living for the things of this world. Spend some personal time in prayer before you take the stage. Look at it this way: your stage presence should be a reflection of who you are in your quiet time. If you are playing for and hour and a half, spend thirty minutes in prayer first. Follow the Leader Watch the worship leader at all times. You are the one who is establishing the groove and flow of the song. If the worship leader is trying to quiet things down, you have to be looking at him for the signal. You should be able to play off of one another. You should complement what he or she is trying to do, not hinder. Get a Basic Mix Down If you are playing with a large band, it is not necessary to add everyone in you mix. Maybe add whoever is leading, plus guitar, bass and some piano. If you try to add everyone in, you will weave a spider web of sound. Before you know it, you can't really hear well. Then it’s difficult to keep the groove and keep time.
	And One More Thing Have fun. If it becomes a chore, you should probably take some time off and refocus. This should be a moment between you and God. You are playing for the audience of One. It is up to the people in the crowd to follow you. Hopefully this can help drummers out there who are currently in a worship band as well as those of you who want to be. I’m in kind of a transition
		right now, about to embark on a country music tour. I am going to allow God to use me in a totally different situation. Yes I am still going to worship God while playing country music. After all, He’s the one who created it all. Nate’s website is in the construction stages as this issue gets ready for cyberspace. Readers can e-mail him at Rockernate1@aol.com.
			Also in this issue: Keeping Focus: Nate Winters on What It Takes   The Other Met Drummer and Visionary Will Hunt The Shure Calendar     Product Spotlight: Drum Mic Kits Shure Notes™ Archive Change My Preferences    E-mail to a Friend     Privacy Policy