“At a very early age, I knew I was going to be a musician; maybe it was sleeping with my trumpet as a ten-year-old!”

Thus began a musical journey that has taken Fletch Wiley literally around the world playing and producing with some of the world’s great players and giving him a heart for helping the local musician. Fusing his love of jazz, classical and world music with digital technology has made Fletch a sought-after producer, arranger, instrumentalist, and orchestrator. Since receiving a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Texas and a graduate fellowship to Yale University as a trumpet player, Fletch has built a career working with a diverse group of artists, ad agencies, theaters and record labels. Over the last four decades he has received multiple Grammy nominations: as arranger for “Take Me Back,” Andraé Crouch and the Disciples, 1974; and Best Recording for Children 1982, ’83, ’84; and Dove Awards in 1983, ’84, ’86,’88, ’91. Recordings include his own instrumental projects (five for Star Song Records, nine for Word Records, two independent jazz releases) and arranging and producing projects in classical, Christian, pop and rock idioms.

In the last five years, Fletch, with his wife, Kathryn, have started Heart+Art, a music missions ministry that has taken them to New Zealand, Turkey, Egypt, Albania, Nigeria, France, Germany, Spain, South Africa, Peru, Bulgaria, India, and England. Whether it’s street ministry, teaching in seminaries, playing in churches or opera houses, Fletch and Kathryn have a heart to minister the love of Jesus wherever they go. Hear for yourself how he can intertwine these abilities when you invite Fletch for a concert or to produce your next film score or artist project. “The depth of the musical experience never ceases to amaze me. Whether it’s playing in churches in America, jazz cafes in Istanbul or outdoor festivals in Norway; writing a film score; or producing a record or jingle, I am in awe of the creative powers God has given us.” -Fletch Wiley

Website:

http://www.fletchwiley.com

Email:

[email protected]

Welcome to 12-Minute Converse with Jesus Believers.

God chose first to have a conversation with us, His creation.

Our prayer is that this listening space brings growth and transforms your life forever.

Praise God for you, Fletch.

It's a great pleasure to connect with you, for those listening, what part of the world are you in today?

We are in Austin, Texas, in America.

We've lived kind of all over this country, but we've been here for about 16 years.

Seems as though you've found where you'll settle down, yeah?

Where I grew up is a place called Seattle, Washington, way up in the northwest part of the United States.

I came to Texas when I was 18 to study jazz music at, it's a very famous university here, University of North Texas, famous for music, but most especially jazz music, and they have big bands there.

And I did not know the Lord growing up.

I came to know the Lord after spending about five years using drugs and studying Eastern religions and not knowing anything about Jesus, but the Lord dramatically rescued me out of that lifestyle and set me free, set me in His kingdom and delivered me from drugs instantly, which was amazing to me.

Take me back to Washington.

How was that instrumental unintended to your ability to understand and arrange music?

When I was 10 years old, I got a trumpet and my life completely changed at that point.

I just fell in love with the trumpet and started playing a lot.

I seemed to take to it pretty easily.

And we had a big band in junior high and high school, and we read a lot of music and played a lot of jazz, and I was drawn to that for some reason.

So it seemed like by the time I was 10, I knew I was going to have something to do with music in my life and be a musician.

And through some week-long sessions that I went with the Stan Kenton band, amazingly back then, which was a very well-known big band.

I went to two of their clinics.

Everybody kept pointing to this direction of North Texas, University of North Texas in Texas.

Now that was a kind of a culture shock from a guy from Seattle, but Seattle was a good place to grow up in.

Quincy Jones went to high school there in Seattle.

Jimi Hendrix was there.

They needed a trumpet player to play with Stevie Wonder.

Actually, when I came back from college, I played with Stevie Wonder one time.

I was the only white guy in the band.

They needed a trumpet player who could read.

Also, there was a famous band way back in the 70s named Herman's Hermits from England.

So they needed a trumpet player then, and he opened for the Who in Seattle.

So, you know, when you study music and you can read music, it opens up lots of opportunities.

But then in 1965, I went down to Denton, Texas to study music.

Who bought that first instrument for you?

My parents bought me a trumpet.

It was called a Conn Constellation, probably when I was 13 or 14, and I began practicing on that.

I took a few lessons, of course, and that helped tremendously.

But my parents were very encouraging in studying music.

And, you know, looking back now, it was sort of easier to make a living back then in the 60s, 70s, and 80s in music than it is now.

It's kind of difficult in America and around the world to be a musician and make a living.

Where did the drug introduction come in?

Was it Washington or Texas?

It was the 60s.

It was kind of a revolution in all over the world, really, where music changed from, you know, Frank Sinatra and Count Basie to the Beatles and Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, and very much drugs was a part of the scene, unfortunately.

So I was sucked into that scene.

And not knowing Christ, you know, I had no reason not to be involved with that.

I thought all my peers are doing this, so maybe this is a good thing.

And I got heavily involved in drugs, smoking marijuana every day, all day, and taking psychedelic drugs, even heroin.

So that was in the 60s until I became a Christian in October of 1971.

When you think about your experience with Jesus and compare it to getting high, is it comparable or is there a point in time when you can say that one was better than the other?

When I got saved the evening, it was a kind of a dramatic event because the Lord had been kind of trying to get at me, but I was very stubborn.

I was very stubborn.

And, you know, I tell people, you know, even yet, even while I was a sinner, Christ died for me.

And that's reading that is like, that's exactly what happened because my wife and I have recently written a book called God Doesn't Play Fair and That's a Good Thing.

And by that, I mean, you know, He kept coming after me even when I didn't want Him.

Even when I was radically opposed to knowing Him, He was faithful and loving and came after me.

So there was a night we were playing a club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and all my bandmates had come to Jesus and they were wanting me to follow Him too.

And I was saying, no, I don't want anything to do with that.

You know, Satan appeals to us in our sensory.

He says, you'll never be able to play jazz if you become a Christian, which is not true.

And, you know, you'll never be able to use drugs.

Well, at that point, drugs were ruining my life.

We were recently married, my wife and I, for about a year and a half and had a baby boy, about six weeks old.

And I was really being convicted by my drug use.

So later that night, I didn't know really why I was doing this, but I got on my knees and I asked Jesus to become Lord of my life and forgive me of my sins.

The next day, one of my bandmates, Bill Maxwell, who would later become Andre Crouch's producer, produced the Winans and many other bands, Keith Green, incredible drummer.

He led me to Jesus and he said, well, do you want to become filled with the spirit and speak in tongues?

And well, I said, what's that?

I didn't know anything.

And by this time, my heart was completely open to the gospel.

And he said, well, it's kind of different, but you'll enjoy it.

So he laid hands on me and I began speaking in tongues.

And I had this sore on my toe that would not heal.

And he said, well, the Bible says that if you lay hands on the sick, you will be healed.

Do you want to get healed?

Of course I do.

So he laid hands on me and I immediately got healed.

And this pussy sore shrunk in about 30 seconds and formed a hard scab.

So that got my attention.

And later that morning, I flushed all my drug paraphernalia, which I had a lot, down the toilet and I was instantly delivered from drugs with no withdrawal.

So all this was happening.

So to answer your question, yes, I was, you know, I was kind of high on Jesus, you might say.

Well, that's what we said back then.

And it was a different kind of a high with no side effects.

I was so ecstatic and just, I finally could read the Bible and it made sense.

And I think that was the most amazing thing to me, how the Bible finally made sense.

And I loved reading it from that point on.

And I spoke in tongues, as Paul said, more than ye all.

You talked about having one child at the time.

That was six weeks before.

How many children did you have?

Or was that your only child?

We have three children.

We've been married 56 years now.

We have two boys and a girl.

And all of them at some point were involved in music.

Our oldest son is a nurse now, but he plays with the rock and roll band in the 80s.

And they still go out and play and played in a huge festival in Las Vegas last October.

His name is Gabriel.

Our daughter Tess Wiley is a very much a working musician.

She lives in Germany.

Our record label is called Fat Possum Records in Oxford, Mississippi.

And all together, we have seven grandchildren.

We're very blessed with the Lord.

Is Fletch a shortened version of Fletcher or was Fletch always your name?

Yes.

Fletcher Thomas Wiley is my given name.

Did you ever dive deep into the meaning of your name in comparison or even in alignment with who you actually became over time?

Absolutely.

It's funny that you asked that because my wife, she loves history.

She loves that.

So she looked up Fletcher and it means the person, the feather of the arrow.

And that means the person who puts the feathers on the end, you know, the tip is on one end and on the other end are these feathers that they put so that the arrow will fly straight and true.

That is a very important name, the Fletcher and what the Fletcher does to arrow makers.

So I love that meaning.

And she bought me a mug from England with that name on it from Oxford University, the Fletchers.

They're a troop of people that believe in the straight and narrow path.

Five years from today, I asked you back on to the podcast.

You don't remember what you said.

So you're listening to the conversation.

What's a message as a gift you'll give to yourself?

Encouraging myself in the Lord every day because life can be hard.

Life can be challenging.

So like David and his mighty men, it said David, you know, when he came home from a battle and his wives and children and everything was stolen and all his mighty men wanted to kill him.

The Bible says he encouraged himself in the Lord.

And I think that's really something we need to do every day to encourage ourselves through Bible reading, through prayer, through praying in the spirit, through talking to God and asking him to help us.

And that helps us in this walk, which is it's tough now being a Christian in some places.

So we need to encourage ourselves.

What an honor to have this conversation with you, Fletcher.

In closing, is there anything else you'd like to share?

Oh, just bless your audience.

Follow Jesus every day.

Get in a great church.

Encourage yourself in the Lord.

Love your family.

Let God use you in the way he wants you.

And he definitely will.

I treasure Fletch Wiley.

Thank you for being on What is Inspired by 12 Minute Confidence.