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SPECIAL FEATURE SECTIONS REVIEWS INTERVIEWS
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Discover the Passions That is Behind
CONTEMPORARY
CHRISTIAN MUSIC SCENE KOTI HU: As anything else, there is a lot of good and some bad there. I think there a lots and lots of artists and labels who are making a difference. But, I think there is too much separatism between the Secular and Vernacular in the US. I want to see more and more artists crossing over and back and over again. I don’t believe in holding artists to one label or identity just for the sake of labels. Christians buy the world’s music just as much, if not more than they buy CCM (Contemporary Christian Music). Though I realize there are different goals and intent involved with the two types, it still remains in my mind that there is too much of a gap between them. My desire is to engage in relationship and conversation with the world through my music. There are some songs I write mainly for the Church, and there are other songs that I write to the world. There are still other songs that I write to everyone. And still there are songs I wrote for no one but God. US ASIANS: Which “CCM” (Contemporary Christian Music) artists are your favorites? KOTI HU: Aaron Spiro is high on the list, mainly because he let me play with his band and drive his tour van. Stacie Oricco, Delerious, Matt Redman are all people I enjoy listening to and reading about. US ASIANS: What is your perspective on artists such as Winans, DC Talk, Yolanda Adams, Crystal Lewis, Michael W. Smith, CeCe Winans, Third Day, Delirious, etc.? KOTI HU: That’s a lot of artists. I’m not familiar with all of them, but generally, I think they each bring a lot of unique talent to the table. US ASIANS: What is your opinion on pioneering APA Christian artists such as Oden Fong (Marantha Music!’s Mustard Seed Faith), Junko, Jyro (Crystal Lewis’s music producer), Gary V. (Filipino superstar who became a Christian and has worked with Michael Chang on outreaches throughout Asia), Max Hsu (of “Church of Rhythm” and SuperChick fame), Katinas (Samoan version of the Winans and featured in two Amy Grant/Michael W. Smith/CeCe Winans nationwide tours) and P.O.D.? KOTI HU: I think they are all awesome. To accept that role is certainly difficult but I think all the folks you mentioned (that I know of) are doing an excellent job of pioneering. I really believe God is using them.
MUSIC CAREER DECISIONS KOTI HU: I desire to be seen as a music artist who is a Christian. It’s funny, though. When I play in a church, I’m seen as a Christian artist. When I play the same songs in a bar, I’m seen as an artist who is a Christian. Go figure. US ASIANS: What incident made you realize your passion to pursue a career in music as a means of fulfilling your purpose in life? KOTI HU: I was in the lobby of my dorm at Seattle Pacific University, where I was attending, finals week of the first quarter. That night my friend Matt asked me a question that got my mind and heart going. He asked me why I was there. I had no answer, and by dawn I had decided to put school on hold. That took a lot of prayer. US ASIANS: When you are performing, do you have a regular band? If so, who are they? KOTI HU: Yes. Dave Rand is our drummer. Gabe Rodriguez is our bass player. Jeff Neuenschwander plays keyboards with us sometimes. We all met through friends and have played together between 3 to 6 years. US ASIANS: Would you contemplate singing gospel music, in light of your music training? KOTI HU: Sure. I love gospel. I have had a lot of experience in many different styles other that rock and pop. I want to incorporate more as I go along.
MISSION STATEMENT KOTI HU: It is simply that I decided when I left school that I would not end up at the age of 45 realizing that I had wasted my life and talent. I constantly have to come to God in prayer and ask Him if I am still following Him. That’s difficult, but I am preparing myself to accept whatever life brings my way. If God asked me to give up music entirely, it would be hard but I would have to. My life is not music’s, it is God’s. US ASIANS: Could you share the circumstances and motivating factors that were/are integral in developing your “Mission Statement” that states the following: KOTI HU: "I want to tell the whole story with my music. Not just the joys and successes but also the sorrows and tragedies as well as everything that is in between. My lyrics express my experiences, emotions and understanding of this life. Our lives are nothing more than a breath compared to the whole of eternity, and I believe wholeheartedly in seeking out what is right, what is true and good in order to fulfill the plan for our lives.
I know that I make mistakes constantly, and that I should never stop learning from those mistakes. I need constant growth and change in each season of my life in order for me to become who I want to be. I do believe in love and forgiveness. I don't believe in hate or vengeance. They destroy our hearts. I believe that everyday is a gift to be enjoyed and each minute is to be spent carefully, wisely and in its entirety. Most of all, I desire to direct people to the spiritual journey which we all must travel, and to humbly ask God to use me in an extraordinary way to reveal to others the purpose, abundant life and truth He brings to us, in the short time I have here." For a long time I have wrestled with the whole the fact that it seems you cannot share certain things in Christian music. This is my opinion, of course, but I have often felt that I cannot be really honest about struggles or failures, when I think that those are some of the most important things to share with others. I believe that honesty breeds honesty and though I’m not too good at it, it’s easier when it’s in a song to tell others how you really feel, or who you really are. I’m a liar by nature. I don’t want people to see me as weak and unable. I always want to be right, I never want to be wrong. I always want to be approved of, not rejected. On and on and on goes the story. I struggled with a lot of different things over the years and I feel that God is teaching me and changing me constantly. I’m sick of lying to myself and others about the true condition of my life, my mind, my heart and who I am. Whatever God wants me to do, I want to do, no matter how difficult. I’ve lived a strange life. Some of it pretty average. Other parts have been not so average. I have made a lot of mistakes which in the long run have just made me feel older than I am. I want to be real.
WEBSITE
AND THE INTERNET KOTI HU: My website is there to let people find out about me. It’s a fairly convenient and cheap way to keep people up to date on where I am going. US ASIANS: What do you hope that people will find at your website? KOTI HU: Music that will really encourage them. US ASIANS: Do you feel that the Internet has been a positive or negative aspect of letting people know about artists such as yourself? KOTI
HU: Positive all the way. There’s no quicker
or easier way to get your music far and wide.
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