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Phil Keaggy is considered one of the most revered guitar players of the past 30-plus years. Just don't call him a "Christian guitarist," because he doesn't like to be pigeonholed like that. From his early years in Glass Harp to going solo as Christian music first took shape, Keaggy has been influencing the masses and raising the standard of musicianship, regardless of the genre. In recent years, Keaggy's indie records have kept fans on their toes, switching back and forth between vocal and instrumental albums, tackling both acoustic and electric compositions. His latest, Jammed!, leans toward the latter, compiling plugged-in (but wordless) rock, blues and soul tunes with hints of jazz fusion. The living legend recently talked to us about that album, but even more, about his frustrations with the CCM industry's tendency to "pigeonhole" artists—not to mention what he calls a "selfish" business model taken from the secular world.

How would you describe Jammed!?

Phil Keaggy My real perspective on this album is kind of like an éclair. It's the filling, basically a desert or a kind of candy for guitar players, especially the ones who like electric stuff. You could call it electric ear candy. It took me two days to throw together.

What are the chances for a new vocal album?

Keaggy Inseparable was the last serious album I did on my own and that's been five years, so I'm certainly not flooding the market with my vocal music! Jammed! is providing the opportunity to be out there to help people stay awake on a long, late night drive.

I'm [releasing] a serious acoustic musical album that's got strings, woodwinds, drummers, percussion. It's a really good album that I'm proud of, but it won't be released for quite awhile. Then another's a vocal album coming and [Jammed!] is just kind of in the interim.

How are you able to switch up between so many playing styles?

Keaggy I deliberately took a long time to compose and write the project I started last fall. I worked hard for two months in between travel and really concentrated, focused and put everything I could into it. Inseparable was a very in-house thing, but I'm being creative and writing fairly a lot now. I'm positive about the future and I still love to play.

How do you find time to guest on other artist's albums?

Keaggy I've got to be kind of careful because I've had good advice: "Don't sell yourself too short." I have to not be too available to everything that comes along. I've always been a people pleaser and now I'm upping the ante in terms of price so I can be more selective. I really enjoyed working on three tracks on Sara Groves' [parenthood-focused] album Station Wagon. I love playing on those songs and I love the heart in that album.

I'm also thinking Neal Morse, another one of those Einstein musicians who's hip and extremely intelligent. On One we did a duet ["Cradle To the Grave"] which was a sweet experience. What a sweet guy, man, what a composer he is! I don't understand why nobody in this town [Nashville] gave that album a review. If this was the '70s it would've made headlines. The world we live in today has a bizarre genre called CCM.

Phil Keaggy

What frustrates you most about that label?

Keaggy I'm not sure it's contemporary and I'm not sure it's really Christian. I mean, what I was doing with Larry Norman and Randy Stonehill and 2nd Chapter of Acts [in the 1970s], that was pre-CCM. They had to put some sort of label on it, and I think that ultimately hurt us. It pigeonholed everybody.

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