Spotlight Series:: Bryan Vanderhill!

Hey you guys! My Dad did a thing! 


Well, to be accurate, he has been doing his thing since.. well perhaps it was a life time in the making! 

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​​It began as a kid when he was growing up in Wooster, Ohio. Bryan had an interest in music from a young age. From his mom's old records to the singles his father used to bring home. Although he recalled it was his cousins that really influenced his musical tastes. "I would listen to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones with them," he recalls. But it was those influences that encouraged him to purse the guitar. "I wanted to be in a band," Bryan said.

Well, that dream did not leave him ever. Bryan began writing songs of his own. One of his very first was 'Psychiatrist In Disguise.' While that song didn't go far, his song-writing and creating did begin. Since then he has written many amazing songs. Songs that have gone far! Songs that have reached many different people, and songs that have had more of an impact that I would bet he ever would have imagined. 

This made me wonder, how does he come up with these songs?  "It can be a lot of different things," he explained, "a lot of times it is a theme or title from a sermon or something I read from the Bible that just sticks with me. It hits a nerve and from there I begin brainstorming. There are certain points I want to cover specifically, then the rest seems to work itself out."

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Now, my dad is a bit of an introvert. He has admitted that himself. So, what on earth made him decide to join a praise team? Well, I was too young to fully remember, so I was intrigued to hear that it was actually another couple that helped him find his footing. At the time the church was looking for a praise team, and this particular couple helped Bryan with chords and made him feel comfortable and part of a team. Interestingly enough, when he was first asked to join the team, Bryan said no. It wasn't until later he agreed because he felt the Lord was drawing him to it. At the time it was just harmonizing.

And the Lord works in the craziest of ways, because now Bryan -my dad!- he leads the worship team! And Bryan has written several songs that have been used many a time in services or coffee houses. 

At this point he has become more comfortable, but it was not always that way. I wanted to know how it felt singing the first song he wrote for the first time. "I was nervous for sure," he said, "I went to our pastor first, to read over the lyrics to see it covered what was important. Of course the positive feedback made me more confident, but the negative feedback helped me learn."

​This worship team my dad leads is called Promise. Why promise? Well it is because of all of God's promises. I honestly can't really remember when my dad wasn't leading Promise. And one memory that sticks out to me is after one song everyone clapped. My dad was taken aback and for me, I felt so proud and happy for him. It was just a moment where it felt like something so special was happening. Which begged me to ask what was his favorite moment. "Just being able to be a blessing to others," he said, "certainly there have been some fun experiences. I enjoy playing at coffee houses, I enjoy the feedback I get from people -how the music has touched their lives, that's always wonderful to hear. Another fun experience was recording our last CD. It was such a great experience. From the actual recording and how the recording came out to a music video that captured the record making process. The whole experience was a joy."  

The Lord does work in the most mysterious of ways. My dad -Bryan- had a love for music and wanted to play in a band. Well, here he is leading a band for the last 20 years! He is making cds!  He is writing some of the most amazing songs!  His latest venture is launching his own website; www.bryanvanderhill.com, where he releases a song of the month that you can buy/download. You an find his music on Google Play, Spotify, Itunes, Deezer, Amazon, and Youtube! ​

​I would highly recommend checking them out! I know I'm a bit biased but he is truly talented! Not only is he talented, but seeing my Dad make these bold moves inspired me to make bold moves, like starting my blog! 

I'm eager to see where Bryan's music takes him. The sky is the limit! I hope you enjoy this post as much as I enjoyed creating it! I hope you check out my Dad's music and are moved by it! 


www.bryanvanderhill.com