“It came from a moment when I was not slow to judge a coworker of mine about his poor behavior at work.” Don Parsons explains the title of his album, “Twenty Years of Melodrama,” to ChristianMusic.com. “The Holy Spirit put the finger back in my face. The title sort of describes the 20 lost years between when I graduated high school at age 18 and when I finally began to get it...when I accepted Christ at age 38.”
Though Parsons did grow up a Christian, “Any real Biblical teaching didn’t happen,” he says. “We were a church-on-Christmas-and-Easter bunch.”
In fact, the guitar expertise that comes through on the album came at the expense of church, as he took lessons to get out of choir. “My first songs on the guitar were from a beginner book that went along with the album ‘Hot August Night’ by Neil Diamond. ‘Morning Side,’ ‘Song Sung Blue,’ you know.” Parsons played in bands in high school and continued successfully in and around Mansfield, Ohio, afterward, preferring the company of “the local metal heads” in his twenties.
“I came to Christ at the age of 38, during my second ‘marriage,’ after leaving my girlfriend--on her urging. There, in a very dark place, I broke. There was nothing left but Jesus,” Parsons confesses. “I'm happy to report that the same woman, having seen an indescribable change in me, came to Christ, too. She has now been my covenant wife for 6 years. On our way home and smiling along the way!
Parsons sums up a couple of decades with, “The Lord waited and watched. My denial, my self seeking, my rebellion, my depravity. He let me have my way and it broke me. Praise The Lord!”
Parsons led worship for awhile at Foundation Church, in Norwalk, Ohio. “I now spend most of the time after my ‘straight job’ -- driving a truck -- and family, working on BoTT Records,” he explains. “I’m very interested in developing and encouraging new Christian artists and, God willing, doing the label full-time soon.”
Working out of his in-house studio, Parsons recently co-produced Scott Brutsche’s debut album, “Inward Out,” besides producing his own album, “Twenty Years of Melodrama.”
“Although I considered the push of ‘Twenty Years’ to be mainly evangelistic, upon hearing the finished product, I think it may be equally apologetic,” reveals Parsons. “The real object is to examine my failings. I want to better understand humility and obedience. I would also like to help others begin to understand the awesome gift of His Son.”
Though that sounds sincere enough, Parsons adds, for emphasis, “I’ve always been a little pushy and obnoxious. I’d like to take lost people by their figurative shirt collars and wake them up and tell them that judgment is coming, but there is a way out!”
- Julie Carr and Nate Lee
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