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Ricardo
We got to meet Ricardo at 2005 GMA week in Nashville. We learned about his background, his musical tastes, and his journey into the music industry...
MQ: Let's talk a little bit about where you're from. You're currently a worship leader, right?
Ricardo: I'm a worship leader and associate pastor of Scottsdale First Assembly. It's called the 'Dream Center' - Scottsdale First Assembly - Scottsdale Arizona. I got there in January of 2000. I felt it was time to stretch my wings. I'm still there. I'm still the associate pastor and worship leader and currently on tour with Salvador.
MQ: I read a little blurb about the album and it was called 'a celebration of praise and worship'. Can you tell us a little about the album - the song selection - and the whole feel for it...
Ricardo: Well, I've had a while to figure out the songs for the record. But basically, the songs are vertical. They're songs basically to God. Being a worship leader, that's just kind of the nature of my writing currently. God's brought me through a lot. He's blessed me in so many areas - with sons, and a family, and great friends and a music ministry, so to speak. So, the record is called 'Unmerited' and that comes out of Ephesians chapter 2 where the author is basically talking that we're saved by grace, but through faith. And 'unmerited', there are two scriptures: Eph 2:5, 8 where it talks about the fact that we're saved by grace. Grace defines unmerited favor and that is simply unearned and undeserved. So, the songs are dedicated to God in a celebration of God's greatness and His goodness. Track 2 is 'Celebrate'. Track 1 is 'God come down'...I want to spend more time with you - I need to see your face. And then some ballads - some deep worship unto God like 'I call Your name'...and God you reply every time.
MQ: What would you hope someone would take away from the album when they buy it and give it a listen?
Ricardo: Great question. A deeper revelation of who God is. I guess that's just a fancier Christian way of saying: recognizing that God is there. A deeper relationship with God for those that have been walking with the Lord - strengthen it if need be, bring it to a higher place or a higher level. The record was really cut for people that don't know God. In the credits, I basically said, "This record is for you. Yes! You. My hope is that you gain a deeper understanding of who God is and that there is a difference. There are many gods that people serve. Man, you know, Michael Jordan was a god. Bill Gates - to some people - is a god. But the Bible says that there is one true God and that Jesus is the Son of God. There is no way to enter Heaven than through Christ.
MQ: You mentioned some of the songs on the record, do you have any favorites...
Ricardo: Oh man! (laughing)
MQ: I know that's an impossible question. (laugh)
Ricardo: I think there are two songs. The first one is kind of the anthem of the record, and that's our first release off of the record and it's track #4 'I Call Your Name'. That's just a basic anthem to God. His faithfulness in crying out to God - and He responds. The Bible says that He hears the faintest cry and responds to it. I guess the one closest to my heart is 'Rescued Me'. It's just a real simplistic - piano, vocal - testimonial song and it was once again, "God You've come and You've rescued me - even though I am a sinner, even though I've sinned and fallen short of Your glory. You've come at the time when I've need You - always - and you've simply rescued. You put my feet upon a rock and put a song in my heart. You've given me life! So, 'Rescued Me' is probably, I think, just a hair over 'I Call Your Name' (laugh) - but both of those tunes I really enjoy.
MQ: In your songwriting, what inspires you?
Ricardo: You know what, being a pastor - obviously I'm in church every sunday - and sometimes my pastor - David Friend - at the Dream Center will have a quote and he'll say things and it'll just spark something within me. It'll relate to my life. It'll open up something of my thought process that I never even tried to ponder. He had made a comment about God being everything, and I was driving to a DiamondBack's game, which they lost by the way and that was before Randy Johnson went off to New York, so that is last year - and I was driving - man, I kid you not - down the 17 and all of a sudden 'Everything to Me' - I would hear. That just happened a few months ago, before the baseball season ended. In Spanish, 'everything to me' is 'es todo para me'. I'm like, "You've calmed the storm, you've calmed the sea, you're everything, e... todo para me." And then all of a sudden, "You're lovely, you're holy, you're holy you're everything to me." And this Spanish/English thing came out and I went to church that mid-week service and said, "Hey ya'll, I might stumble through this but I got this song from Pastor Dave and..." and he was like, "Wait a minute! You got that from me? There's no way!" So, it was one of those things that totally inspired me for that song. My kids are a great resource of inspiration. They're obviously a blast to play with, but I think as a father and as a mother, the most precious time is when they're asleep. I love just watching them sleep (laugh) (not like I'm some weird-o ). But I just love watching them sleep, because they're just so innocent and you know, as a father, I am called to protect that. I am called to leave an inheritance for that. So, that stirs up a lot within me. Talking to creative people that love God and have a passion for the things of God, really stirs me up! And talking with people that have different perspectives on life helps me to see things through different goggles at times, you know?
MQ: We're finding as we talk to different songwriters that inspiration seems to come when you least expect it - when you're driving in your car...
Ricardo: Absolutely.
MQ: And 'BAMMM' - and you have to call your voicemail and see a melody to it.
Ricardo: (laughing) That's exactly what I do!
MQ: It's awesome. It's like ... we're vessels. I have no reason or understanding sometimes how this stuff comes about.
Ricardo: Absolutely. It just happens.
MQ: You can't sit and force yourself to come up with stuff like this.
Ricardo: Yeah! I think some of the most attractive songs to just, common people in my church, are songs that come like within 30 seconds - you don't have time to try to rhyme exactly, you don't have time to contemplate everything - it just kind of happens. That's the coolest part. Yeah, I totally agree with that statement.
MQ: We were talking earlier about the Spanish/English mix even with the same song, how would you describe the sound?
Ricardo: I think the long version is that I grew up singing Mariachi music when I was five years old - with my dad, brother and sister. We'd play guitar and go to certain fiestas or church functions or city-wide parties or whatever, and my dad would write songs. We would sing to a Spanish rhythm and melody and my dad taught us how to sing in Spanish. So, that was always in my culture. I met the Lord when I was 17, so there was plenty of opportunity for me to be influenced by the Beatles, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Earth Wind and Fire, Stevie Wonder and all those things. I guess, when I started writing songs, all that was just in me. I met a guy named Israel Houghton, who's a big influence in my life - just brilliant as far as cross-cultural communication to the black gospel community, the CCM community, the Anglo church as well as the Hispanic church. I had an opportunity to serve him and work as one of his bass players, as a background singer for him - and watch what he does. He's literally changing the way people hear Christian music right now, along with many others. But I had a fortunate opportunity to be behind that. So, the record encompasses all of that eclectic-ism - is that a word?
MQ: It is now!
Ricardo: (laugh) Yeah, it is now. It's just a very eclectric range of styles and genres. But I think if someone were to say, "What kind of music is it?" - I would say it's kind of Pop with a Latino flair. And that it's vertical man, it's directed to Jesus.
MQ: You mentioned Israel - would you consider him a mentor?
Ricardo: Absolutely. Yeah. We were best men at each others' weddings. We were roommates. I was a youth pastor at a church in Scottsdale and he was the worship leader. We were the youngest guys on staff. He is just so talented. He's always been so encouraging to me in my music writing and my playing. Even though I wasn't the best bass player (laugh), he would take me aside and teach me and he was very kind that way. And through his career, I was able to meet guys that had been in the industry for years and I was able to see things without having any responsibility. He's probably been the biggest influence. My sister, who taught me first how to play guitar, is still an influence in my life. Who is now since born-again and works with me at the church. My father - a huge influence. Elvis Presley - (laugh) - a huge influence in my life.
MQ: I know it's just a matter of taste, but what is your preference in worship style - traditional, blended?
Ricardo: Nah. I think you hit it on the head. It's so relative to who you are communicating to. If you are communicating to someone who is new in God, it's been said that a hungry man will eat anything. And so, if someone is passionately in love with God for reckless abandon's sake, you know, they're going to eat anything. And so anything would be food to them. There's people in China that have one page of the Bible, and that's what they read everyday, and that's what they have and they're satisfied and they glorify God with it. I love music. And I know that's kind of a real staple for a lot of people, but I grew up singing since I was five. Music has always been in my home. Obviously, it's a part of my career at the church and my career in Christian music. You know, I think if I were to define my particular taste, I tell you I love the choir thing - I love all that. But if you just break it down to one guy on a piano, or a girl on a guitar - a guy like Kent Henry who has been an ispiration my life, and an influence from a distance. Man, just passion. Or Chris Tomlin - just cryin' out to God on guitar. I was able to see him on tour in Phoenix with Steven Curtis on the 'All Things New' tour - just breakin' things down - one man just singin' to God. I just love it! Whether it's an old hymn, or old Gospel, or a new modern rock tune. You know the 'guitar pull' we had yesterday, hearing Warren Barfield and Chris Rice - I'm just like, "Dude, I'd pay money to see you guys - I'd pay money now - let's take an offering!" (laugh) You know? I'm so blown away! I just love that, man! It's so sweet.
MQ: What do you love most about music in general? It seems like some people are more affected more by a Christian song than a sermon, you know what I mean? It's like they just can't sit still and hear it one way, but they hear it loud and clear another way.
Ricardo: I totally know what you're saying. I was talking on the phone with a friend and they were talking to me about the difference between Christian music and secular and "Why don't you go secular" and do these things. My thoughts on that are: secular music is temporal. The closest they get to eternity is when they begin to talk about love - but even when secularism begins to talk about love, it's always some sort of deformity of its true intent. Worship is eternal. It absolutely captivates me. I love the story part - whether it's a horizontal lyric meaning 'this is what is happening in my life and this is what I see in the lives of others' and then there are the vertical songs that are directly to God and just worship which seems to be the fad for the past few years - for the lack of a better word, you know, it's my opinion. It seems to be the thing that is really attracting people to the industry. Music obviously transcends culture and time. What Mozart was playing is still beautiful today. I just so love the story of music - what they're saying. Obviously, tone and musicianship is all relative. You can have someone up there that doesn't play a lick, but if they have a passion for what they're talking about - I'll listen. This cat has some time invested in this lyric because there's passion pouring out of him. So, I think that really captures me. I really like the story part of music.
MQ: We've heard from groups that when they sing these songs, they can actually see the physical change in people's expressions, them becoming at ease. Along that same line, do you have any favorite moments from the stage where you saw the moving of the Spirit or just realized, "Man, this is beyond me being here on stage."
Ricardo: Man, I'm so glad you said it that way because I think all of it is beyond me. I was struggling with even making a record thinking, "God, I don't want my face on the cover" or "I don't want people accusing me of making a record for selfish reasons" - "God, I don't want all this attention. What in the world, Lord? People are going to talk...church folk are church folk..." And I really felt the Lord speak to me and say, "What makes you think any of this has to do with you?" It just hit me between the eyes and I suddenly realized that God gives people certain things to glorify Him ... and that's it. So, when I first stepped on the stage in our opening date in Miami and those people were cheering, it was like "Uhhhh, Oh my Gosh! laugh You actually paid money to come see this and I'm supposed to open it up. I have to blow away the crowd. I'm the opener. I'm playing to tracks. I've got to impress certain people. And again I'm thinking of all these things that I have to do and I really felt the Lord saying, "It has nothing to do with you, Ricardo." And it was amazing. Once I cut all that out - cleared the mechanism to quote a phrase - I suddenly realized there was just a peace. And you know what? I simply think that if you're confident behind that microphone, people are at ease anyway. But if you're up there nervous and thinking about a thousand different things, people are going to be like, "Oh gosh! Poor fellow." I know what it's like sitting in the congregation when somebody does a special song and the track doesn't start right away. You're belly is like, "Oh gosh! Help him! I want to help him - let's take an offering and do something for him..." So, I think it's just confidence. I think one of the highlights of the tour is having the affordability to be able to play piano. I get away from my guitar and I get away from my tracks and I just sit behind that piano. And I just start worshiping. Some nights it's 'We exalt Thee' - some nights it's 'Here I am to Worship'. Some nights it's 'I Call Your Name'. But whatever it is, worship just really seems to put the people in a position of worship - of thinking vertically. In the regard of, "Hey, you know what? That's right. It's not about the hype of Salvador, By the Tree, or Ricardo - it's about the presence of Jesus. That's been the coolest part for me - to break away from what people expect. It's the third tune into it and I get to lead them, and they're like "Where are you going? Are you done? What in the world?!" So, I go to the piano which is a few steps away from center stage and say, "Everybody just close your eyes. We're just gonna worship. Do ya'll mind?" It sets them right into the mood. whether their hands are lifted, the posture of the people always changes at that moment.
MQ: When you sit and ponder God, what amazes you most about Him?
Ricardo: What amazes me most about God? (laugh) Man! I would think is ... grace, in the regard of the fact that He not only loves us when we confess, the Bible says He forgives. 1 John 1:9 says 'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrightousness.' But I think the mere fact that God in His awesomeness calls us sons and that we have just as much right - from my understanding and my theology background - just as much right to enter into His throne room and sit on His lap - as any Cardinal or Bishop in any denomination. A sinner that receives Christ in their heart for the very first time has just as much right as the 'all-power Ricardo' or 'all-power (you fill in the blank)'. And I think that just so brings me to the place of humility. I look in my own life, and despite where I go or where I've been, that people are people. And that's who we're called to minister to, man. I'm just blown away by God's grace in that regard. He's a gentleman. He loves you. He doesn't embarrass you. And He calls us sons ... and His friend.