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Kansas-born Mark Schultz is one of the most versatile songwriter/performers on the Christian music scene today. He is equally at home with storytelling as he is with bizarre songs like "Running Just to Catch Myself" from his album Stories & Songs_ On April 30, Schultz performed in Toronto, Canada.

In one moment Schultz was doing impersonations of REO Speedwagon, and the next, he was leading his fans in worship with tender songs like "You are a Child of Mine" and "Remember Me." Both tunes remind us that Schultz is not only a good songwriter but an excellent composer.

Schultz appears as equally talented on the keyboards as he is on the guitar. Versatile during the concert, he played a fast-paced R&B/soul tune on the keyboards and later, thoughtfully strummed the guitar.

In introducing the song, "Letters From War" from the album Stories & Songs, Schultz told the story of a general from the Pentagon who, upon hearing the song on the radio, got in touch with Schultz and requested that a video be recorded in the Pentagon courtyard to help encourage the troops. Schultz also shared with the audience the inspiration behind the song. He was inspired by reading the entries his grandmother penned during World War II concerning her three sons who were serving in the military.

Schultz writes from deep within his soul, and his genuine love for people in his life is evident in songs such as "When You Come Home," written about his mother. It is also evident when he recounts the friends he has lost to cancer during the past year--how it has impacted his own life and songs that appear on his most recent album. As one sits and chats with him, the love for his girlfriend and respect for the work her mother does with inner-city children is undeniable. These people and emotions have contributed to a songwriting style that has propelled Schultz to the forefront of the Christian music scene today.

For all his success, Mark Schultz appears untarnished. Unlike other performers who turn the house lights down and the stage lights up he prefers the house lights to be on so he can interact more easily with his fans, read the expressions on their faces and their body language. He wants to know if the connection is there--because if it isn't, he wants the ability to switch gears.

Schultz also performed songs from his albums Stories & Songs, as well as Song Cinema. He took time to try out two still-to-be-finished songs on the audience. They will be featured on his new live album scheduled for release in the fall.

For those who had not heard "Running Just to Catch Myself" from Stories & Songs, it was a reminder of our sometimes hectic lives, whether we are a harried, stay-at-home mom or commuting to work daily. The crowd laughed heartily to words like:

Myself
I am driving
I am late for work
Spilling coffee down my whitest shirt
While I'm flossing and I'm changing lanes
Oh Yeah

Now I'm driving
Through the parking lot
Doing eighty, hey what the heck why not
Watch it lady, 'cuz you're in my spot
Once again, it's early to work
And here's a surprise, I got a
McMuffin for just 99 cents today
I think they ran a special

By Joe Montague, exclusive rights reserved

This material may not be redistributed without prior written permission from Joe Montague.

Joe Montague is a freelance Christian journalist / photographer who has been published in a variety of community, daily and Christian newspapers coast to coast in Canada and the United States. Joe Montague's ministry of journalism is dedicated to the memory of his late son Kent David Montague who went to heaven far too early at the age of 18.