Andrew Peterson started out as an independent artist, then signed with Essential after extensive touring with Caedmon's Call, only to return to independence for another season before eventually joining the Centricity Music roster. But signed or unsigned, the singer/songwriter has remained consentient in his thoughtful folk/pop offerings, earning a loyal following that often draws comparisons to the late, great Rich Mullins. That remains true for his latest recording, Resurrection Letters, Volume II, an acclaimed collection of songs inspired by the hope we have through Christ's resurrection. Of course, Volume I hasn't even released yet—a concept album squarely focused on the Easter story—but Peterson has his reasons for the unconventional timing and titling.

So, Andrew, why release Volume II of Resurrection Letters before Volume I?

Andrew Peterson: It's pretty weird! We were already halfway through this record when the idea [for the Easter themed concept album] struck. If we had plenty of time and money, we could have stopped and made Volume 1, then finished Volume II and released a two CD set, but unfortunately, we didn't have that option.

What specific theme or message are you trying to convey with Volume II?

Peterson: A lot of this album ends up paying attention and opening eyes to the idea that just as Christ drew breath in the tomb, we will also bodily come back to life because of him. And that's not some ethereal Patrick Swayze in Ghost sort of a resurrection, but a physical bodily resurrection. The Bible says the earth will be renewed and made clean and that's where we'll live. Hopefully this record will encourage listeners with songs like

"Invisible God" and "Windows in the World," really getting to the heart of the resurrection story and the idea of things being made new again.

There's also the song "Don't Give Up on Me," which is a love song I wrote to my wife. The bridge windows a really hard season in our marriage where we had to "die again" to ourselves and really go through the fire to come out clean on the other side. There are a lot of references to seasons and the sacraments God has given us, like baptism and the idea of lowering ourselves into the water with the likeness of death, only to be raised again to a new life.

Do you have a vision of Volume I at this time?

Peterson: Volume 1 will be very specific about Christ. The initial idea is to have each day of Holy Week be represented—form Palm Sunday to Easter. It's kind of like the little kid watching Star Wars now. The big debate among fans is whether they should start with the originals (episodes 4 through 6) or the prequels (episodes 1 through 3). I think starting with the original and then going back to get the satisfaction of the back-story is the best way to do it.

Do you think there will be any synergy between this album and the Christmas record Behold the Lamb of God—even just in conceptual similarities?

Peterson: The Christmas record was the first intentional concept album I ever made. And I love that way of communicating—if I could make iTunes sell my music as "album only" downloads, I would! This is the ninth year I'm touring behind Behold the Lamb of God, and many times over those years people have asked me if I would write an Easter version of that album. I've always resisted it because it seemed opportunistic—"Well, you had a really successful Christmas CD, so let's go make one for Easter!" But I feel like Behold and Resurrection Letters are celebrating the same thing. You can't get away from the idea that Jesus died and rose again because Christmas wouldn't be Christmas if that didn't happen!

How do you hope to plug Resurrection Letters songs into your set list?

Peterson: Right now I'm on a release tour, and I know this sounds kinda hokey, but I've put together a PowerPoint presentation talking about the album as if were a book tour, showing all the scriptures that went into these songs. It's going really well and I'm doing a lot of talking and performing, so it's not like some random show, but a chance to perform the album from start to finish and paint a picture. [During more traditional shows], I'm going to perform the album in its entirety, and then if there's a strong contingent that knows my music, at the end of the show I'm going to say, "If you want to stick around, we'll play some old songs." For me, it's important to present this as a record first and then at the end come back and play whatever individual songs.

What was it like to shift from independent artistry to a record label, and then repeat all that again?

Peterson: I don't want to be negative towards record labels because I owe my career to Essential. The fact is, a lot of people would not know me and my music without them. It's cool and they're good people, but it was also really fun to be an indie again and be in complete control of everything right down to the artwork of the album cover. On my second [Essential] album, [Clear To Venus], the label wanted me to put my face on the album to brand an image. I thought about it and was like, "No, that would be disastrous." But they told me it would be a deal breaker if I didn't, so now I cringe every time I see that album cover because it has no sense of vibe to it. I had originally wanted that record to look like Aimee Mann's Lost In Space album. When it came to Behold the Lamb of God and The Far Country, I had full control over the whole package. I don't want to sound like a curmudgeon, but I loved the old school days when it was more about presentation than just the songs.

[The decision] to return to a label came from a late night drive when I was shuffling my iPod and one of the songs from The Far Country came on. I ended up putting on the whole album to see what it would sound like a year later, and at every turn I was proud of it. To my shock, there was nothing I would've changed. But I was also so grieved because while it did well for an indie album, I wondered if I did enough for those songs to really see the light of day. To my fans and the music community for which I play, I'm not necessarily [under the radar], but when I've been doing radio promo for this CD, people are like "I didn't realize you've been so busy these last six years." That was a little frustrating to hear.

How did you specifically get hooked up with Centricity and what made you decide they were the right match?

Peterson: [Singer/songwriter] Jason Gray is a good friend of mine, and I knew about Centricity through him. I had originally planned to release Resurrection Letters as an indie project, but sent it to Centricity at the last minute, just to see what they would think. To my shock, they liked it and got it from the start. It just felt right, like something God provided. I don't want to over spiritualize it, but because of that, I put the brakes on the indie release and Centricity started working on it.

I was never anti-label. I just wanted a label that answered all the questions right. Centricity's sense of patience with the process was important and I didn't want them to move on to the next band if there wasn't a big radio hit. So I talked about it with the Centricity guys, and they asked me "What do you want to do with your career?" and "Where do you see your music going?" I told them that I'm not interested in catching up on the whims of pop culture; I want to write excellent songs that will still matter in 25 or 30 years, like if you planted a tree and saw the roots grow over time.

To my shock, the label once again got it, which is very rare because labels are in the business of needing to make money. Of course, Centricity wants this album to be successful, but they also care about the long-term investment in my career. They want to help keep me doing this 25 years from now.

Any specific stylistic changes or intentions that you had with this project?

Peterson: Regardless of the instrumentation or the sounds we used, we ultimately want to focus on writing songs. I know this sounds silly, but we want to be able to share a song in someone's living room with an acoustic guitar or piano. I think that's one of the ways that you can tell if a song is timeless. I think of James Taylor as someone who writes songs that still matter because the acoustic guitar never goes out of style. I foresee Volume 1 will probably be a little more experimental sonically, but I still want to play the songs live too.

How does having fellow critically acclaimed artists like Ben Shive and Andy Gullahorn as band members and constant collaborators help refine your songwriting?

Peterson: We anticipate each other really well. When it comes to the songwriting arc, it's really important to have cheerleaders and critics. My wife is a cheerleader who loves whatever I do, but she's not a music expert—in fact, the only CD she's ever bought is the Titanic soundtrack. But on the other hand, Ben and Andy are people I really look up to as far as songwriting. So when I play a new song, I'm nervous about it and desperately want them to like it. On the new album, I was really proud of a verse I wrote for "I've Got News," but Andy said that I needed to rewrite it. It bugged me in a healthy way, and it came out better after I rewrote it. When they're around all the time, you can't help but grow as an artist.

What is your opinion of them each having success as solo artists?

Peterson: Well as long as they never sell more records than me I'm very happy for them (laughter). We're only ever happy to see each other success. There's no sense of competition between us. It's the same with all of us in the Square Peg Alliance—we just really want to see each other succeed.

To what degree do you really feel like a "square peg in a round hole" as the Alliance name suggests?

Peterson: Right now, worship music is a big seller in Christian music. I don't want to go down the road complaining, but I think what unifies those of us in the Square Peg Alliance is the desire to be excellent at our craft, regardless of what happens to be selling a lot at the time. That's not to say we're completely unconcerned with money—we all have mortgages to make! But it's not our primary driver to be in the music industry either.

Has being in the Square Peg Alliance helped gain you exposure outside of the Christian music scene?

Peterson: I honestly don't know. I would guess my music has a pretty small following, but I don't know about the other artists. In the beginning, the Alliance included a couple other singer/songwriters who were mainly in the mainstream—basically Christians who played clubs. But then Jill Phillips or I would bring them up in interviews, and when club owners would Google those names, they'd see the word "Christian" was associated with them and not book them as result. It was so unfortunate and we had some artists step down because it was hurting their work when the whole point was to help them. We're all still friends and it's totally fine. We just didn't want to shy away from the fact that we're Christians, which is part of why we're Square Pegs. We're "too Christian" for mainstream audiences and "too mainstream" for Christian audiences.

How did you develop your cultural website, The Rabbit Room?

Peterson: I went to Oxford, England a few years back and that was the name of the room in a pub where C.S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien used to sit, talk, and write. But as I understand it, it was actually a room where they mainly laughed and got together to share books and stories. After visiting, I realized the domain name was still available, so I reserved it, not knowing what I was going to do with it at the time. Then later, I decided to make an online version of the pub, inviting pastors and singers/songwriters to blog about interesting things. It's not always stuffy—sometimes it's pop culture based. We also have a store where if we a review a book, we try to get our hands on it to sell it.

You've already published two fiction books—what are your future plans for writing?

Peterson: Ideally what I'd like to do is spend a year or two writing a book and then a year or two doing music. Both scratch the same itch for me and give me a sense of satisfaction. What drives me is the connection with the audience. I'm finishing up the second book right now in The Wingfeather Saga series (which I think will be five books long) called North! Or Be Eaten—I absolutely love it! My goal right now is to sink into this Easter album and also finish a book that supplements those songs. Between that, touring, writing fiction books, writing children's songs, and writing normal songs, I don't think I'll ever stop!

For more about Andrew Peterson, visit our site's artist page. You can read our review of Resurrection Letter, Volume II by clicking here. Go to Christianbook.com to listen to song clips and purchase the music.

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