April Driggers         Where I Am

The Story of the Album

    Late in the fall of 2006, my Dad called me up and said, “April, I know that God is telling me that I need to financially provide a way for you to record a gospel album.  If I pay for it, will you do it?”  Well, I wasn’t sure at first, but decided that it could only be a win/win situation for me.  Getting to spend time some additional time in the studio and make my Dad happy couldn’t be a better situation for me. 

     So I started looking for a studio and producer in January of 2007.  I met with several studios and nice people, but nothing seemed to fit.  I finally gave up looking and decided that I should go with the lowest bidder.  But something was telling me that I needed to ask a friend for some advice. 

    I had known Randy Cline for some time now, but had never really gotten the chance to work with him.  I knew that he worked in the music industry so I decided to ask his opinion.  After we talked a bit about the project and what I was wanting, he asked me to give him a chance to put some numbers together.  I just knew that trying to go through his people in Dallas would be too much, but Randy wanted to help me out.  After agreeing that I would record with his company, Randy contacted IBC studios and set up a session to discuss the project.  IBC is a producer’s only studio, so I knew that this was going to be one of the best things I could have done.  I met with producer Jeff Taylor and musician Nick Jay to go over what songs we wanted to do and what style we were going for.  Jeff and Nick were awesome and I could not have been in more capable hands.  From that moment on, it just seemed like all of the pieces fell into place.  I didn’t have to say what I wanted, they just knew.  It was like we had worked together forever.

    When the project was first planned, I had started a song for my father.  I felt that it was appropriate to write a song for him on the album he was paying for.  It took me four months to write the first verse and one chorus.   I took it with me to the studio to see what Jeff and Nick thought.  We were sitting in a circle, both of them with their guitars on their knee, and I just sang what I had.  They started playing along and we wrote “What I’ve Learned” in about 30 minutes.   I knew at that exact moment that this was a divine appointment from God.  For the first time, I knew that I was doing the right thing and I had no doubt in my heart that I was where I was supposed to be.  After we finished “What I’ve Learned”, Jeff started playing something else.  I remember looking at him and asking what he was playing.  He said, “The music for the other original you are going to write.”  I just laughed at him.  I said, “It took four months to get a verse and chorus out of me and now you want me to write another song?”  He assured me that since I had the music it would be much easier.  I left the studio laughing that night thinking that he had lost his mind.  I headed home down I-30 listening to the music that he had just written.  And then, it was like a bolt of lightening hit me and I knew what I was supposed to say.  I pulled over on the side of the interstate and wrote “Where I Am”.  It remained untitled for the better part of the making of the album.  I couldn’t figure out where to go with it.  Finally, Randy said that he thought it should be called Where I Am because this is where I am right now in my career and I am ready at any time for God to come take me home.  Finally, no untitled song on the album!

    It seemed as if time flew so quickly over the course of those five months.  And there were several twists and turns along the way that were completely unexpected.  In June, my father was diagnosed with T-Cell Lymphoma.  I was devastated, but his positive attitude has helped my feelings immensely.  But I will always be thankful for my father’s faith and persistence.  He made me realize that I was running from God, but it was time for me to come home and use the gifts that he gave to me for His glory, not my own.  I hope that you are touched by this album and it ministers to you in a way that will change your life.  God Bless You!