A few months back, I had the good fortune of working with producers Brown Bannister and Ben Shive on a Christmas record for the Dove Award-winning and Grammy-nominated group MercyMe. These guys have been making music together for a long time and they continue to produce really interesting-sounding records. Their new album “MercyMe, It’s Christmas” is no exception and I was honored to be involved.

FAVORITE SONG
Sleigh Ride. I LOVE the arrangement of this song. Ben Shive killed the string arrangement. The drums are so interesting and fun. Brown Bannister (master vocal producer) and Bart Millard (master vocalist) nailed the vocals for this.

TAKEAWAYS
- Brown Bannister is the best vocal producer in Nashville. What a legend.
- Ben Shive’s presence on a record makes everything better — his creativity, talent, work ethic and humility. It lifts the whole thing.
- Bart Millard is a fantastic vocalist.
- Mike Scheuchzer is a great guitar player and has really impressive tone.
- Joe Pisapia’s studio (where we tracked strings and horns) might be my favorite studio in town. The vibe, the layout, all of his instruments. Everything is awesome and he’s the coolest.
- Keith Smith’s horn section and David Davidson’s string section are both fantastic. Great readers, great players.

I’m picky about Christmas records. My wife Kristin and I seem to spin the same few records every year — Dave Barnes’ “Very Merry Christmas” is a staple. Kristin grew up listening to Amy Grant’s Christmas album from 1983, so we listen to that. Brown Bannister produced them both. And I think MercyMe’s new Christmas record joins the ranks of one of my personal favorites.