Up To Bat With Paige Lewis

by Ken W.

Texan teenager Paige Lewis, debuts on Word Records this summer with her self titled CD, "Paige." This multi-talented teen has written all the lyrics and music for her first release, as well as playing the guitar on the project. Her lyrics are mature and relative to the struggles of her generation. Her style however is hard to describe because she bounces from pop rock to guitar rock and more. She does in such a way that each song continues to offer something new. Lyrically, her songs show a passion for God and the longing to praise God. Highly noteworthy are "Cry Holy" and "So Not About Me."

While recording her debut in the fall of 2000, Paige kept up with her high school studies by correspondence. She re-enrolled in the spring of 2001 and played high school softball for one last season. For her senior year, Paige will continue to do her classes through correspondence courses. I asked Paige how this past year affects relationships with her peers. Paige stated that it was a challenge because many couldn't see first hand what was going on in her life so they didn't understand. Paige commented, "I have a real strong foundation of friends, who basically remained unchanged, and have still been my good friends helping me to keep everything balanced." Paige does think about the things she may miss (like prom) by taking this road. "I am going to miss a lot, but I always think about it as what I am getting to do, and the reason I am sacrificing all of that for," said Paige.

With the June release of her debut, Paige will be full speed ahead with touring and promoting. She will be playing at the "Acquire the Fire" youth events, and other dates as they come up. When asked how she was preparing, Paige jokingly stated, "I have a big suitcase to pack all my stuff," and "I have a good cell phone plan." Honestly, her faith and spiritual growth is important to those around her. Her management company has set up an accountability group for her. Comprised of five people from her home church that she has to be in contact with when she is on the road. Paige also wants to make sure she gets her quiet time to do the things that could easily be neglected. Paige said, "God is the only consistency and without that my life would be out of control."

While on stage, Paige feels comfortable sharing her experiences and feelings with others, especially teens. Paige explains, "Being able to relate to them and not in anyway talk down to them, but just kind of show them what God has been doing in my life, and encourage them to look to Him as well."

Her musical influences range from Hanson to LaRue. She also mentioned liking Jennifer Knapp's style of writing. Much of what Paige writes is of deep substance similar to Knapp. Paige said that she spent a lot of time in her room with her guitar writing lyrics, but that isn't the only place she writes. Commenting on the song "Jonah", Paige said, "I wrote all of the words to that song one day in math class." It was only two and a half years ago when Paige decided she would start writing. Undoubtedly she has a spiritual gift for music. She explained that she didn't know she had the ability to write until she started seeking God's plan for her life. "I feel like God has definitely orchestrated it. I feel like God has given me this gift and it is His will for me to use it to glorify Him."

The next question that came to my mind was how would she stay grounded in the mist of all this popularity and success? "I think that whatever comes up that would charm all that, I am just going to really try to look back to where I have come from and realize that God has done this in my life," Paige stated.

Although she is competitive in sports, she does not let that crawl into this aspect of her life. She feels confident in what she is doing and she knows it's not about her, "it is all about God and what he is doing in people's ministries," said Paige. "I feel very confident in my songs and what I am doing and the future God has for me. So, I do not have to worry about competing with anyone because it is my own journey."

One thing for certain is that Paige is having fun. "I definitely think I have found what I love to do, and I plan to keep writing and seeing how successful I can be and how far God wants to take me," said Paige. Paige wants to communicate that God has been in control of this whole thing, "I just want to encourage everyone to look to God and see what he has for him or her, because his plans are so much better than our own."