Review Fix Exclusive: Rick Stephenson Talks ‘Make It Real’ And More

Review Fix chats with singer/songwriter Rich Stephenson, who discusses his new single, “Make It Real,” as well as his creative process and goals for the future.

About Rick Stephenson:

Rick Stephenson is a Singer/Songwriter from Johnson Creek, WI who offers traveling worship ministries. However, there’s much more to Rick than can be simply put.  He has a passion for leading others in worship and has a creative way of expressing it through his music.  He has won awards from the Song Door International Competition, Great Lakes Songwriting Contest and Write About Jesus.  Rick has also had radio airplay of several of his songs including:  “Sanctuary of My Heart”, “You Gave”, “Christmas Is Here”, “God Himself”, “Christmas Is Jesus”, “Rebuild My Heart” and “Center of My Heart” on US and International stations as well as numerous Internet radio sites.

Review Fix: What inspired “Make It Real”?

Rick Stephenson: The song idea actually started from my thoughts about another song I put on my first CD “Sanctuary of My Heart” called “Hallelujah to The Great I AM.”  In that song I sing about a dream I had in which I was in God’s presence singing His praise with countless others.  The dream was so peaceful and satisfying that to wake up from it was very disappointing and I struggled with having to be back in this world dealing with it’s daily difficulties.  As I was thinking about this song and the dream, the idea for “Make It Real” hit me because I was thinking of how much I wanted to be back in God’s presence but it was as if God was saying to me I didn’t need to have the dream again to feel Him but rather to allow the dream to become real in my life right where I was at in the moment.  In other words we can make God’s presence real to us when we realize that he is always with us and we focus on praising him through it all.  I also thought the song could be inspiring to those who struggle with their faith as I have often done but yet we hold on to the thought that God is true to his word and will one day make his presence so real to us beyond any shadow of a doubt.  I don’t know about you but I look forward to that day!

Review Fix: How is this song different from other tracks on the album?

Stephenson: I think “Make It Real” is different from the other songs on the “My Everything” project since it can speak to so many people even if they don’t necessary believe in God because the song doesn’t directly come out and call upon God but rather addresses the fact that we all have dreams to be free of fear and worry and we all long to fulfill our potential and overcome the negative input of others.  It can provide hope and inspiration that there is a higher power at work both in and around us.

Review Fix: How has the reception been for the lyric video been thus far?

Stephenson: I admit that I have been overwhelmed by the response because through limited promotion of it and within only a short period of time it has been viewed nearly 10,000 times.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Stephenson: Well, I’m still strongly promoting the current CD “My Everything” and I would love to get out and about more to sing the songs for people to hear so that they might experience God in a fresh and meaningful way.  However, as I pursue that, I also like to stay busy, so I’m working on new project that I hope to release in mid to late 2017.

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?

Stephenson: I’d just like to say thanks for helping me spread the word about this wonderful song and fantastic project.  I certainly appreciate the fact that God is connecting us all in this greater effort to reach this world that is desperately in need of more hope and encouragement and I truly like being a little part of that.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13821 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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