Episode 86: The Making of 'What Hope Says' with Scott Krippayne, Steve Siler, and Tony Wood Part 1

We are very excited to bring you this episode today with guests Scott Krippayne, Tony Wood, and our own Steve Siler as they discuss the creation and release of Music for the Soul's latest project, What Hope Says. The team talks about how What Hope Says was conceptualized, and that after years of discussion with therapists, the number one issue most people encounter or experience in their day to day lives is anxiety. Steve goes on to explain we live in a world of constant stressors and stimulation that often times has us feeling overwhelmed and anxious, but also creates a pendulum effect where we also begin to feel anxious when there is nothing going on in our lives.

 

Scott Krippayne and Tony Wood share how they worked on different songs for the project including Prayers for the Anxious, No Wonder (We're Losing Our Minds), You Are Not What Happened To You, Overwhelmed, and more. They also explain how they applied their own experiences of anxiety to each of these pieces and why this project is coming out at such a crucial moment for all of us.

 

In times where every direction we look seems to be filled with anxiety producing stories or tasks, we hope that you will take the time to check out this project and see What Hope Says. This is the first part of a two part series, so we highly encourage you to come back to listen to part two as well!

 

Who is Scott Krippayne?

 

Scott Krippayne is an Emmy Award winning songwriter & producer based in the Seattle area. With 16 #1's, 23 other Top 10 singles, and over 500 songs recorded, Scott has enjoyed a productive career with success in multiple genres. His songs have appeared on releases by Demi Lovato, Bebe Rexha, Jordin Sparks, Smash Mouth, Kool & The Gang, Kutless, and Joy Williams (of The Civil Wars) among others. In addition to having various songs used in films, Scott also penned the theme song for the Nick Jr. hit series Paw Patrol and has song placements on ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, Netflix, MTV, VH1, Disney, and more.

 

Who is Tony Wood?

Tony Wood is a Dove Award nominee for “Songwriter of the Year” and is a five time Dove Award winner. He is the writer of 30 #1 songs at Christian radio. He began writing songs in high school for friends to sing at various churches in the community. He continued writing for the local church while a student at Averett College. After graduation, Tony and his wife Terri moved to Nashville in order to pursue songwriting professionally. In 1991, he signed his first publishing deal with Michael Puryear at Lorenz Creative Services/BMG Music Publishing. He has since written for Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing and Essential Music Publishing.

To date, over 800 of Tony’s songs have been recorded and released in the Contemporary Christian Music Market.  Some of the artists who have given life to his lyrics include: Michael W. Smith, Francesca Battistelli, Matt Redman, Zach Williams, Mandisa, We Are Messengers, Big Daddy Weave, Jason Crabb, Sandi Patty, Gaither Vocal Band, Reba McEntire, Ricky Skaggs and many more. 

Resources:

Our listeners can check out the full project of "What Hope Says" on our website at the link here: https://www.musicforthesoul.org/resources/what-hope-says/