From MLB player to gospel recording artist, Todd Dulaney’s journey has been filled with ups and downs, and he’s ready to share his story with the world. Dulaney’s latest project, The Journey, will take listeners on a ride, leading them through scriptures for hope, comfort, answers, instructions, and how to live according to the Bible.
Dulaney spoke with rolling out about The Journey and what it means to him.
What does the journey mean to you?
The journey, not just for me, but [for] everybody, is loaded. You go through ups and downs in your life, and the outlet for me is music, so of course, I titled the new project The Journey. I think in church, a lot of times, it’s hard to be transparent because people will judge you for being transparent. They come to the church saying we all need Jesus, but the moment you tell somebody why you need Him, they look at you crazy. I entitled this album The Journey because I’ve really been on one. I’ve taken [wrong] turns, and I’ve made some bad decisions, but I’m in my right mind now, and it feels good to be able to release music and speak freely about where I’ve been.
Why was now a good time for you to release this project?
I held on to this because I knew I wasn’t ready. We recorded this over a year ago, so we could have come out with it when we released it, but I wasn’t [prepared]. I was still going through my journey. I still had things in me that I was not ready to speak on behalf of Christ, so I had to deal with some things [before] I could get in front of people and start talking about what God had done for me. That’s the place that I’m in now. I’m in a place of freedom, [which] has allowed me to come forward with this record.
What goes into making a live album?
For a live album, we prepare the sequence of the songs beforehand, and then we record everything before people get in the room. That way, we never have to stop. The only thing that we need to capture at nighttime is my lead vocals. My lead vocal is completely live, but everybody else in the band has already recorded without people in the room, just in case they miss a hit or a drummer misses something; we can always take from earlier and [plug] in. The spiritual component of it is fasting and praying. You have to get your mind right, just like any athlete, when [it’s time] for a big game. I fast a lot of times for the whole day until after I sing because it just clears my mind.
