Who are you?
My name is Joel Slater; I speak like I’m from Australia because I am. I moved to the United States in 2003 to pursue my passion to sing, write songs and play them for people.
Joel Singing for a Live Audience
Music?
My Mum walked into my room once when I was young, and she said “do you want to learn the piano?” I shrugged my shoulders and said “Sure”. So I started playing piano when I was eight or nine years old and never swayed from it. At times I entertained the thought of playing guitar, but it never stuck. I learned from two teachers growing up, stopping with the first because we moved out of the area. After a significant break (a couple of years) I started up again with a teacher from our church. I went to music college after high school and studied there three and half years before moving to the States.
Writing Music?
That’s a toughie! Writing music isn’t something that you’re automatically good at, it takes time and a lot of practice to get to a place where you can look at a song that you’ve written and say, “that ain’t half bad”. If I have any advantage when it comes to songwriting that would be my passion to write, if you have a passion then you’ll be led back to your instrument to write constantly.
Joel Rockin' it out on Stage
The first song I wrote that I liked was called ‘Standing in the Rain’. I wrote this song after my first girlfriend died of a heart attack. We’d broken up a week a two earlier, and we weren’t on speaking terms (that’s what happens when you’re 16) when she collapsed while playing air hockey with a friend. The premise behind the song was that I’d left her standing the rain when I broke up with her. the final chorus says, “You left me standing, standing in the rain”, a line that reflects the emotions I felt when she died.
‘Standing in the rain’ helped me know that song writing was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
God?
I grew up going to church; it feels so weird on the few Sundays in my life that I haven’t gone. When I can’t be at church I just sit there and think about what I would be doing if I were there. Both Mum and Dad really love the Lord, and they taught me to really value my faith. I began to really own my faith when my Dad died a day before my birthday in December 2000 after being in a coma for 6 months. My Dad was so bold for the Lord, and he knew that God was using him to further his kingdom; but he still wanted to do so much more. When he died I wanted to carry on his legacy with a passion of my own to reach the lost.
It’s strange to think that one of his purposes in his life was to instill a passion for Christ into his kids so they could carry on God’s work. If I can be half the man my Dad was, I think I’ll be doing pretty well…tough shoes to fill.
Future?
God only knows! I have a strong burden for the lost, but ultimately, I want to be available to wherever God leads.
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