Waterdeep: A review & conversation
by Jeremy Keillor

Priorities are important, especially for young college students who have to balance school, work, and friendships; that's why I rushed out to purchase Everyone's Beautiful the day after it was released. This is Waterdeep's debut with Squint Entertainment after two independent projects that gave the band a substantial following.

As a band, Waterdeep has been constantly changing, resulting in a sound that is difficult to define. Musically, Everyone's Beautiful draws from a broad palette. There are elements of modern rock, especially noticeable in the loud electric guitars on songs like 'Confessions of a Broken Down Man' and 'Wicked Web.' This earthly energy is balanced by the airy tones of songs like 'Go Find John.' Various acoustic, folk/rock songs like 'Hush' and 'Sweet River Roll' complete the mix.

Lyrically, the band's message can be summarized, "Life sucks, enter God," or as Don Chaffer sings in the chorus of the title track, "Still they were beautiful/ Everyone's beautiful/All of us crawling on hands and knees in need of you." Overall, Waterdeep avoids the lyrical pitfalls both of offering easy words of comfort, or of falling into an overwhelming despair.

In many ways, it is misleading to think of Everyone's Beautiful as a debut album. Although the album is Waterdeep's first national release, they reveal a lyrical maturity and musical depth on a level with most of the established bands in the industry.

As good as the album is though, to truly appreciate Waterdeep, a trip to one of their live shows is a must. In concert they perform with a musical intensity that is often compared to such bands as Phish, and as a result of their extensive touring have developed a devoted following of fans much like the following developed by the Grateful Dead.

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I recently had the opportunity to talk with Don Chaffer, guitarist, vocalist, and co-founder of Waterdeep. The band was in town as a result of their national tour, and when would I get a better chance to catch them for an interview? After an excellent show and a beautiful mess of misunderstandings, I was finally interviewing Don Chaffer over the phone. No matter that it was 2:30 a.m., the college student and the touring musician only dream of sleep anyway.

Since the band had only recently signed with Squint Entertainment, home of pop sensation Sixpence None the Richer, I was wondering if Waterdeep would soon follow Sixpence's lead with a secular radio hit. Don confirmed that yes, 'Go Find John' would be released as a single, and there was some talk of possibly touring with some secular jam bands.

"[We] have a heart for people outside the church," said Don, "and it's our sincere desire to find a way to reach them. Figuring out a realistic way to do it, while preserving focus on worship and Christian themes, is the hard part."

While at the concert, I noticed that worship is becoming more important to Waterdeep. After nearly an hour playing their "regular" music, they moved into a worship set. Although they only played two or three songs during this period, it developed into nearly forty minutes of free, heartfelt worship. Curious about the switch between roles of entertainer and worshiper I asked Don what he felt of the transition.

"I do think there is a difference between entertainment and worship, [but] the music we do has a strong sense of God in it...[so] it feels natural to move to worship." He went on to say that he feels a growing hunger in people for true worship, even in unbelievers.

With this talk of worship the relationship between the Church and professional artist came up. I asked Don what role he felt the Church ought to play in professional Christian music. "I believe that the church has regrettably stepped out of the arts, and that God wants her to step back into them... there are a number of people who are doing just that."

"I think patronizing the arts [for the Church] is more than just a financial thing. It works on several levels, financial, pastoral, prayer, practical, and creative encouragement. I think that [creative encouragement] aspect is just encouraging the artist to feel free in their pursuit of inspiration and obedience to the creative inclinations that God has given them. I think the creative aspect of an artist's life needs to be seen as a part of the body of Christ."

So I guess the last question is what lies in the future for Waterdeep? Can a band dedicated to intimate worship and almost painful honesty survive in a culture of rampant cynicism? Who knows what the future holds, but judging by their following, people need to hear what they have to say.