Mike Weaver never set out to be a rock star. His ambitions were a bit more humble. He simply wanted to help people worship. But there were other plans in store for Weaver, and now, as part of the band Big Daddy Weave, he’s leading the Hope Restored Tour.
“We never wanted to be those people who were chasing the big dream,” he said, “but sometime during our third year together, we realized we played 180 dates that year without making a single outgoing phone call, and we thought maybe this is what we’re supposed to do.”
All five of the band members—Weave, Jeff, Jay, Joe, and Jeremy—were attending the University of Mobile in 1998 when they began helping people worship around campus and at churches.
“As people began to hear about us, they would invite us to play at their church,” Weave said. “And it just hasn’t stopped for 12 years. We’re still doing it.”
The group has produced five albums including their latest, What Life Would Be Like, which the band considers to be the culmination of its first decade together. The opening track, “You Found Me,” features the band’s trademark goodtime guitars and Weaver’s breathy vocals layered over thumping drums and driving bass. The title track will be unmistakably Big Daddy Weave to the band’s fans, but veers into emotionally charged lyrical territory about expectations and ripping them up to get to a new place in life. The album also includes a cover of the Phil Collins classic “Another Day in Paradise.”
Weaver, who writes many of the band’s lyrics, said inspiration comes from his faith, family, and life that happens around him. He takes those everyday situations and creates stories that listeners can relate to, while the band adds the magic.
Their work has paid off. Last year, they won a Dove award for Christmas album of the year. Weaver is humble about his band’s win, however, and is quick to shift the focus to another Hope Restored tour performer, Aaron Shust.
“He won three Dove awards in one year, so when he writes a good one, he really writes a big one,” Weaver said.
Big Daddy Weave joined the Hope Restored Tour to support Bible translation efforts at OneVerse.org. But it was also about joining Shust (of whom Weaver has been a fan) and Andy Kirk (whom Weaver called a friend and gifted worship leader). And, of course, it’s also about bringing hope to as many people as his band can reach.
“You can feel it in the room, the stress on people and having to deal with everyday stress,” he said. “For us, there is a peace that comes from God that we haven’t been able to find any place else, and that’s what we want to share with people—that they can have that.”
Having that sense of peace comes in handy these days for the Big Daddy Weave band members, trying to balance their home lives, their lives on the road, and their commitment to spreading their message. These days, the guys are more about their home life than touring.
“We’re dads and we’re husbands, and honestly we’re more excited to talk about those things,” Weave said. “It’s like, ‘Yeah, we’re putting out another record, sure, but guess what my son did this morning.”
You’ll never guess what Arts Editor Shelly Cone did this morning. Contact her at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 16-23, 2010.