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<\/a>Farris says that he found God, and he found a new home as a gospel singer, which brought success and accolades (he took home the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Roots Gospel Album for Shine for the People<\/i>).<\/p>\n
\u201cNow we\u2019re moving away from where we\u2019ve been,\u201d says Farris, \u201cwhich has been the gospel world for the past ten years\u2014kind of living in that old black spiritual well for the last decade. After we won the Grammy, I felt like it was a good point to pivot. It\u2019s kind of what I\u2019ve done for my whole career. I delved into a certain style of music, and now it\u2019s time to start on a new adventure. The new record, Silver & Stone<\/i>, is really the first installment of this new world I\u2019m entering into.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now that the storm has calmed, Farris says that life has stabilized, but he admits that it can be tough to find enthusiasm on a day-to-day basis. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou know, as far as enthusiasm for life in general, for me it\u2019s a daily grind sometimes,\u201d says Farris. \u201cI\u2019m a recovering drug addict, an alcoholic, I suffer from depression\u2026 I was actually diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Finding enthusiasm in life, especially in sobriety, can be a challenge, because I spent all of those years medicating when I lacked enthusiasm. There is no self-medicating now, so I have to face it, and I find that this journey is way more rewarding. There has been so much positive stuff come into my life because of my sobriety. It is a difficult challenge, but life is difficult. I\u2019m making the best music that I\u2019ve ever made in my career. You know, when things like that continue to happen in sobriety, I tend to get pretty enthusiastic about it. I can\u2019t help but be happy about my direction. It\u2019s vindication. It just lets me know that this is the right path.\u201d<\/p>\n Farris says some things have changed, and as a musician he has had to evolve in order to maintain his health and sobriety. For example, he doesn\u2019t live on the road anymore.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t go out for months at a time,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s not quality life. I\u2019ve done that years ago. The way we tour now is to go out and play maybe 10 shows at a time. We don\u2019t take breaks. If we have 10 shows on the books, we play 10 shows in a row, and then we come home. Luckily, my voice holds out. I sing hard, but it holds out. I couldn\u2019t do that when I was using. It\u2019s kind of like a weekend thing. A lot of musicians are doing that these days. It\u2019s more oriented to quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n The relaxed pace allows Farris to bring an incredible amount of energy to the stage, and he says locals should expect a great show when the band rolls into Victoria.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we take a break and we come back, we are fresher,\u201d he says. \u201cWe don\u2019t get worn out. We get to come home and charge the batteries. We are always ready when we hit the stage. The band is sounding incredible right now. There\u2019s a lot of good stuff going on.\u201d<\/p>\n