In 1989, while playing Poison’s “Fallen Angel” to a packed crowd of screaming teenagers, I felt God tap me on the shoulder. We were driving home the last few songs of our set, the energy was building, and as I took in the moment, peering through the smoke and the lights, caught in the audience’s joyful response, it seemed like I heard God quietly say, “I want you to do this.”
A few years later; 1993, still before the age of the Internet, email, cell phones, Chris Tomlin, Delirious, or Third Day… I began the adventure of my life, visiting youth groups, camps, and Sunday services with just a batch of original songs, a trunk of cassette tapes, and my acoustic guitar. I was on a brand new road to where music was going in church, and logging 100s of 1,000s of lonely miles up and down California, at odd hours of the day and night, joining the rushing current of 18 wheelers, I realized I had finally got my wish…
I was a TRUCK DRIVER!
It’s been 15 years since those formative days, and I’ve loved (almost) every mile. I’ve kept up the pace of over 130 concerts a year, every year…crisscrossing America and nine other countries. The nine CDs I’ve produced, and concert DVD, have sold over 35,000 units to date.
I have amazing parents, four crazy kids, and an incredible wife of 15 years. God’s used a lot of other people in my life, too; like Stan Arthur at Young American Showcase who taped my feet to the floor and taught me how to deliver a song…Bob Kilpatrick who showed me how to balance family, art, and work…with style, and the friends who booked me first and have continued to encourage my gifting, like Bill Funk, Rob Rhoden, Dean Curry, Karl Hus, Jeff Devoll, Troy Singleterry, Mark Batterson, Wayne Clark, Lynette Janzen, and Greg Wendschlag.
My band has been a constant sounding board and support network, too – our “small group” barreling down the interstate in a van. Our latest release; the concert DVD Justin Fox Band {LIVE} would not be what it is without Pete, Joe, and John. It took us two years to make, and you can see and hear their huge hearts and impeccable musicianship on every song!
To encounter quality art presented by an artist who’s dedicated his life to the craft, full-time, for a decade or more, people usually have to go to a theater, concert hall, club, or museum.and buy a ticket. The popularity of these venues makes it obvious; art connects…and artistic expression is a powerful tool that God uses to draw people toward Himself. People connect with God in powerful, profound ways through art, and I’ve had the privilege of providing that opportunity, right in the middle of a church gathering! It’s been a welcomed surprise.
…and the mission all these years still seems to be hugging the turns; to present my songs and stories to people, with the purpose of inspiring them, believers and skeptics, in an artistic way, with a fresh realization of God's love and a new passion for creatively honoring Him in obedience. My love for a rock beat, lyrics and melodies with muscle, and a chance to uniquely share God’s goodness…that’s what drives me! We all have a story to tell. I pray I’m able to pave a way for others to share their stories along the way…
I’ve been lost in Bangkok and found at a summer camp, been arrested for trespassing and married the love of my life, spent the night in a Greyhound station in Seattle and a VIP lounge in Hong Kong, sailed a record company president’s yacht and had to run from a burning tour bus, experienced great heartache and intense joy, heard the voice of God and the silence of doubt, felt the crush of singing to 20,000 people and the passion for singing to 20, slid down the massive face of a Honolua Bay set wave and tried to open a can of beans at midnight by the side of the freeway with a pocket-knife.
I can’t image what’s in store next, but I’m ready, excited, and keeping my eyes on the road…
As David Wilcox says it;
Really it's driving long distance
Dialing in the gear
Studying the balance
Quieting the fear
All the hard landings
Teach you how to fall
But what do you get
For getting through it all?
You can't keep it in a camera
Not a trophy on a shelf
Not a tale to tell the children
Not a way to prove yourself
It's much bigger than we are
Can't claim it as your own
But you've got to climb that mountain
To find your way back home
…and that's how you make it look easy
10-4,
Justin
