Phil Wickham
Phil Wickham
“I don’t ever want to leave the stage without giving people something to chew on, something to respond to. The most important question is ‘what are you going to do with Jesus?’ ”
Prologue:
Although still relatively new to the Contemporary Christian music scene, Phil Wickham, already is considered by many as sincere, honest, creative, and fresh in his songwriting that has been described as being caught in a tug-of-war of boring, cliché artistry. His songs, “Always and Forever”, “Shining”, “Jesus Lord of Heaven”, and “Eden” are staples in the industry today. The adjectives used for his songwriting are: “Mesmerizing. Atmospheric. Captivating. Stunning. Soaring. Lavish. Poetic.” His voice has been compared to that of Tom Chaplin of Keane and his style of music to that of the band, Coldplay. His story isn’t one filled with adversity, rebellion, or eye-opening landmarks. But that doesn’t make it any less valuable or worth looking into. He’s just a faithful servant of the Lord who has used his gifts for His glory. Here’s his story:
His Story:
Phil Wickham was born on April 5, 1984 in Orange County, California to the proud parents of Lisa and John Wickham. He was the second of three children. He grew up in a Christian home and his parents were both musicians. They were part of the band Parable, members of the Jesus Movement that took place in the late 1960s and early 1970s. His father, John, was also a worship leader for their church, which was Chuck Smith’s Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa.
During the middle of his tenure in junior high school he and his family moved to San Diego. Although the transition was difficult; Phil commented on the situation by saying that: “It was a good time of reflecting, writing songs, and playing guitar.” At the early age of 12, Phil began to follow his father’s footsteps and lead worship for his youth group. At was during this time that Phil began to make the Christian faith his own and not just attend church or accept Christianity because his parents did. He wanted what they had, a personal relationship with Christ. His parents encouraged him early on to write his own songs and that’s what he did. He reflected upon what God was teaching him in his growing faith and began his songwriting career.
Turning Point:
It wasn’t long before members of the church and his friends began asking him if he planned to release a CD. At first Phil was very resistant and in opposition to the idea. Then he began to grasp what worship was all about:
“Then the Lord just brought different people in my life to show me what it means to minister, what it means to lead worship—just the transparency of self and coming forward in faith and knowing that the Lord is there. There were awesome lessons that I was going to use the rest of my life. And when I finally had in the neighborhood of 20 songs, my Dad was like ‘You should record a CD.’”
He was also influenced from his older brother , Evan, as he served as a musician for their church. From a early age, Phil’s parents were encouraging him to learn popular praise songs and to also write his own. He attended a private high school, Calvary Christian, and graduated in 2002. The following year he began his music career by releasing his debut album, Give You My World, which was independent. He was very skeptical of the response and if music was truly his calling. Phil experienced anxiety and desperation to hear from the Lord about what do next. He recalls the experience:
“I felt like I needed to be in a place where I could just wait on Him, and He could just show me what to do. And it took some searching to get to that place—I pretty much spent a whole night on my knees because there were just so many things involved.”
After some soul-searching and long nights of prayer, Phil saw everything clearly. Leading worship and songwriting was what he was born to do. He attracted many record labels, but was drawn to MercyMe’s label company, INO Records, that was started by their lead singer, Bart Millard. Everything began to take shape shortly after.
His Story Part 2:
In 2006, he began to take off with his musical career by releasing a self-titled album. The very next year, he released his third album, Cannons. The title song, “Cannons” was inspired from C. S. Lewis’s book, “Voyage of the Dawn Treader”, and as he would describe it: “how the universe explodes with the glory of God and how we are compelled to join in its song.” His other hit song from the album, “Jesus Lord of Heaven” currently has been translated into seven different languages. During the fall of 2006, he opened for the “Coming Up to Breathe” tour with MercyMe and Audio Adrenaline.
His music was recognized as fresh and innovative for distinct melodies. The style of music was a mix of pop/rock and his passion for worship was felt throughout his songs and when he led worship. As he began to be more recognized as an emerging Christian artist, Phil began touring more and more around the country. In 2007, he toured with The David Crowder Band and The Myriad. Then he toured with Fee and Meredith Andrews in the fall of 2008. This was his first headlining tour. That fall also marked a new chapter in Phil’s life.
After several years of dating his long-time girlfriend, Mallory Plotnik, from his early days of junior high they married on November 2, 2008. They had been best friends for several years and finally decided to take the next step. During that same time period, Wickham released a live worship album, Singalong, which was recorded at Solid Rock Church in Portland, Oregon. This album was released as a free download and was a huge hit with fans. It received over 8,000 downloads within the first week of being released.
Phil’s fourth album, Heaven and Earth, showcased how far his artistic ability had grown over the years. His maturity in songwriting shinned through with a vast variety of emotions and styles of music. The entire album had a running theme about the longing and searching for Heaven to be with God in His presence. There is a starting point, “Eden”, a solution to problem, “Because of Your Love”, and the climatic finish, “Cielo” and “Heaven Song” that echo throughout the album. Wickham comments on the album this way:
“There is like a desire without a solution at the beginning of the album. Then in the middle it gives the solution out front: it’s Jesus on the cross! He became our solution for the problem. It kind of turns into a worship record from then on – talking about Heaven and anticipating the arrival of Jesus. There is a song called “In Your City”, also “Cielo” which is Spanish for “Heaven”, and then it ends with a tune called “Heaven Song.” It was one of the last songs to write for the new record. I wanted there to be a period or an exclamation point at the end of the sentence.”
In 2010, he released an extended version of Heaven and Earth, that included 3 new songs and a remix of “Eden.” He also co-headlined on tour with Leeland and Matt Maher. Right after the tour, he helped lead worship at Soul Survivor week C and at the Momentum Festival in the United Kingdom. In October his first Christmas album titled, “Songs for Christmas” was released. This album was only available through his website, http://www.philwickham.com. Just before Thanksgiving(2010), Phil announced that he was in the recording studio preparing his next album set to release sometime this year. You can get a sneak preview here: http://www.twitvid.com/N5WGL.
His Impact:
As Phil recently celebrated his 27th birthday, he already has made quite an impact in the leading worship music despite his very young age. He currently leads worship for churches all around the country from California to New York. His song, “Always and Forever” is one of the fastest growing worship songs in the nation today and sung in thousands of churches worldwide. Songs such as “True Love”, “Eden”, “Shining”, and “Jesus Lord of Heaven” are not only artistic and well-written, but also reveal a heart that’s on fire for Christ and what He’s done for us. His story is far from through and there are many words yet to be composed from his heart; but there’s no telling how far his ministry will take him and how many lives he will touch when it’s all said and done. For now, he’ll continue to worship God through the medium of music painting an image of a loving, magnificent God who is drawing us into a relationship with Him. Each song carries this story of love. As his song, “True Love”, so beautiful describes, “Come close listen to the story, about a love that’s more faithful than the morning…”
Lessons from His Legacy:
He may still be just growing into the man God meant for him to be, but there are already lessons that can be taken away from his short time on this earth. Although Phil’s life hasn’t been filled with tragedies or heartbreak; that doesn’t mean he hasn’t gone through difficult time periods. He had a period where he really doubted his calling into leading others in worship through music. Through 
prayer and time spent with the Lord, it became clear that this was what he was called to do. We too need to rely on the power of prayer to give us wisdom and insight on what God’s will is for our lives. Also just as Phil used his talents for God’s glory. His parents were blessed with musical talent and passed it on to him. Our talents and abilities often stem from our parents and grandparents. This is a good starting point to recognize what we’ve been blessed with and we need to use these gifts to serve, love, and further God’s kingdom. Finally, don’t be afraid to be original and creative. Phil could have conformed to what others were writing and took the easy path into the Christian music industry business. Instead he choose to write from his heart that corresponded with his love and passion for Christ. When you feel pressured to emulate what others are doing in reaching others for Christ–don’t given in to the urge. Instead use your own unique creativity and don’t be afraid to be different. (I found this picture of Phil on the web and thought you’d like to see a comical side of Phil Wickham!)
Trivia:
Phil Wickham’s Influences:
Jesus Christ, his parents, Jeff Beckley, C. S. Lewis, King David, Ryan Adams, Joseph Arthur, Magnet, U2, and Coldplay
What does Phil do in his spare time?:
- Relax and spend time with his wife, Mallory.
- Sleep in
- Take a run across the beach
- Spend a weekend at home–doing the simple things
- For exclusive videos, music content, news visit his website at: http://www.philwickham.com
Discography: 
2003: Give You My World, Label: Independent
2006: Phil Wickham, self-titled, Label: INO Records
2007: Cannons, Label: INO Records
2008: Singalong, live album, rereleased 2010 with Label: INO Records
2009: Heaven and Earth, Label: INO Records
2010: Songs for Christmas, available only on his website
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Wickham
http://philwickham.com/category/blog/
http://www.last.fm/music/Phil+Wickham/+wiki
http://www.1cubed.com/display.php?ID=306§ionID=26
http://artistwiki.com/phil-wickham/biography
http://www.myspace.com/philwickham
http://www.brickhouseentertainment.com/philwickham/index.htm
http://theblahblah.wordpress.com/2008/09/04/phil-wickham-is-a-really-nice-guy/
http://www.joycemeyer.org/events/BioPhil.aspx
