Just Livin’ and Laughin’ with Anita Renfroe
She has been called the “Mother of all Comedians” and “this generation's Erma Bombeck”, but national recognized Christian comedian Anita Renfroe doesn’t mind the name calling. She’s been calling it like it is since her unexpected stardom on YouTube launched her career all the way to Good Morning America. This Mississippi College grad became a pastor’s wife when she married local boy, John Renfroe from Pearl. They now live in Atlanta with their three grown children and Anita is now being called, Grandma. But life doesn’t stop there, she is set to launch her latest DVD, “Big Ol’ Sweet Iced Tea” this month and taking the show on the road this fall. MCL caught up with “Grandmother of all Comedians” and learned a little about balance and a lot about laughing.
How do you divide quality family time with being on the road?
We’ve always operated on multiplication rather than division. We learned that when we had more than one child – the love doesn’t have to be split up to go around, it just multiplies. Although, time is finite we’ve learned that you can sure get a lot more done when you know you have to! Since our kids are all grown now we try to reconnect with anyone who can get to our table around Sundays and pray for more protracted times of holidays and vacations as we can.
Who in your family did you get your sense of humor from?
I don’t really know – there are a LOT of funny people in our family, but most of them are not intentionally funny.
How do you come up with new and fresh material?
Keep livin’, honey. Keep livin’. Stuff happens – and most of it is funny if you’re just paying any attention at all. Plus it’s always great to eat sketchy tacos and go to bed. You can dream up all kinds of stuff.
What have been the biggest ups and downs of being a successful entertainer and mother?
Biggest up: your kids being proud of you.
Biggest down: your kids being mortified by what you’ve just said.
How did you meet your husband and tell us about your children?
I met my husband at church (McLaurin Heights in Pearl). The church was having a dinner on the grounds (I truly miss those) – it was love at first bite (of food). And they were having an afternoon sangin’ (if you have to ask, you don’t know).
My kids are The. Greatest. Ever. They grew up to be the kind of people we want to hang out with and (most of the time) I think they feel the same way about us. They are bringing us beautiful grandbabies, and we are very excited about this.
What made you decide to put your act on YouTube?
My kids were the ones who said, “Mom, you DO realize that you are the ONLY comic who doesn’t have a clip on YouTube?” So they kinda shamed me into it. They also made me leave it up there by saying, “Mom (rolled eyes, exasperated sighs) you CAN’T take it down or it will never go viral.” But up until that point, anything in our household that went “viral” led to someone cleaning up with lots of Lysol. Needless to say, I was a YouTube newbie.
How do you balance work and your Christian life (prayer time, Bible study, church)?
Who balances anything? I mean really If anyone tells you they are succeeding at that you might need to check them for hidden unicorns. There is no such thing as “balance” (except maybe on your tires on your car) – it’s just someone’s opinion of how you should be dividing your time. I think everyone has their priorities – because we always vote with our time and our money to say what those truly are, but Paul tells us that Jesus is “pre-eminent” in all things, the first of the firsts, the center of the wheel, the spark from which all things are created. That just doesn’t strike me as something you can reduce to prioritization.
What do you hope women take away after going to your shows?
A healthy dose of laughter (because it is healthy for you!) and hope. And the feeling that, if we are all laughing at the same things we are more alike than we are different. Laughter is very unifying.
Tell us about your new DVD coming out July 20th.
It’s called “Big Ol’ Sweet Iced Tea” because I believe that is something us southerners are very passionate about. It’s got an hour-plus of new comedy and songs and a couple of pretty funny parody videos. We are also touring the “Big Ol’ Sweet Iced Tea” show across the country in the fall and spring and hope to make a stop in Mississippi so we can eat at Jerry’s Catfish as much as possible.
To learn more about Anita’s performance and order her new DVD out July 20th visit www.anitarenfroe.com
Just Jimmy
National Christian music recording artist, Jimmy Needham is not a big deal. Really, it’s not about him. What it is about is expressed in each song on his third album, Night Lights. He shares messages of humility, obedience, and hope through his unique soulful sound. The marriage of electric guitars, bold brass instruments, and soothing vocals fall into perfect harmony. In a recent interview, Needham explains why his newest album is less about him and more about the Lord he loves.
What inspired the creation of your third album, Night Lights?
It can be summed up in verse John 3:30 where John the Baptist is talking to the disciples about Jesus and says, “He must increase and I must decrease.” And for me that’s the heartbeat behind this record. It is this idea of what does it look like to be so about the promotion of Jesus that you really don’t care what happens to your notoriety, your fame, your press. It really comes to head as an artist who is on a stage promoting my music, but also for all of us as humans it’s a struggle of what does it look like to not be about us, but be about lifting up Christ.
In your song “Being Small”, the lyrics ring “if it’s you getting bigger, I don’t mind being small.” So how do you keep small while experiencing continued success?
My wife knows how not a big deal I am. She’s able to keep my head on pretty straight. Also, I live in Houston instead of a place like Nashville that is immersed in the Christian music scene. I have people in my life who don’t know anything about the business and it’s helpful to have them keep me grounded. They are terribly unimpressed with what I bring to the table.
What song do you feel most connected to?
I have different favorite songs. I really enjoy the song, “Moving to Zion” the first song on the record. I’m a big fan of allegory, so I tried my hand at an allegory of my own. I think as a writer it was one of those songs that I felt like I’m really communicating what I wanted to.
You sing, “Maybe success is measured best by nothing less than our obedience.” How have you been obedient to the Lord during your musical journey?
Any obedience I’ve brought to the table has been a direct relation to God being gracious to me because honestly I have many issues. It’s a wonder I haven’t fallen off the deep end. But because God has allowed me to have great community, because I’ve stayed in the word I’ve been able to make some tough decisions that have not necessarily been great career moves, but they’ve been God moves.
Describe the process of your song writing.
It’s really varied for me. I’m constantly thinking of lyrics while I’m walking or driving around and I’ll see things take place or reading the word and just a line, a phrase or a new way of thinking about something pops into my head. I’ve got my trusty iPhone with me all the time so I’ll just record that lyric on there. Eventually, once you get about two or three hundred of those you sit down and say what of those sound bites do I like and then flesh out the rest.
How do you face music industry challenges without compromising your individual sound and message?
When I got signed back in February of 2006, I just made decision along with the people who were helping me with this process, to know exactly what I wanted to accomplish and it helped me know what I would and wouldn’t compromise on. It was so relieving to really write out a list and say here are the things I value, things that I want to see happen in my music, in my lyrics that I don’t ever want to see changed. We’ve just stuck to my convictions and it’s been great. And it hasn’t necessarily brought the notoriety or the success you would want as an artist, but I think ten years from now I’ll look back at the records I’ve made and the choices I’ve made and be pleased that I honored God in those.
You have a unique sound that has a broad reach to many audiences, tell me how you’ve been sculpted that.
I grew up listening to the Motown, the oldies, Sam Cooke, Michael Jackson and it just becomes a part of who you are. So when I sit down to write songs, it’s not necessarily I want to write something bluesy, it’s that I can’t help but write that genre. It’s actually worked in my benefit and it’s kind of neat to have a niche that isn’t necessarily taped into by a lot of people right now in the Christian music industry.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
In kindergarten I had two jobs I wanted to do. One, I wanted to be a stand-up comedian, I don’t know why, I just thought that could be fun, I’ll just tell jokes. The other one, right along side stand-up comedian, I wanted to be a nuclear physicist. I think that’s the case because I was so proud of myself that I could say nuclear physicist as a kindergartner.
Outside of music, what are your hobbies?
I love to cook. I think if I didn’t do music I might look into something culinary. It’s creating, I create music and I create food on the grill.
How many instruments do you play?
I play the guitar and the harmonica. I dabble in everything else.
Who are you listening to on your iPod right now?
I’m a huge Michael Buble fan. I just think his voice is like butter! I also listen to Adele. In the Christian music genre I listen to more folky music, like Andrew Peterson. Really anyone who has great lyrics and has something to say I’ll listen to you.
Do you have advice for young musicians?
My advice for them comes from my own experience. What happened for me is I did what I did where I was and I tried to do it excellently. I was writing songs and playing in coffee shops and talking about Jesus on a very small scale and God did the rest. He elevated me and gave me a bigger platform. My advice to guys and girls who are thinking about getting in the music industry is actually something I heard someone say to me once and I’m so glad they did, “You concern yourself with the depth of your ministry and let God concern himself with the width of your ministry.” You focus on becoming a man or woman of God who knows the word, who can communicate it effectively in song, who prayers skillfully to the Lord, who learns their craft well, and then let God decide if you’re going to play for ten people or ten thousand. Then it takes all the pressure off of you. Some don’t like that advice, but I think it’s really relieving to do what I do and let God do the rest.
To read the interview in its entirety visit www.metrochritianliving.com
