ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 10, 1997 TAG: 9704100008
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG THE ROANOKE TIMES
The singer with an angelic voice gets inspiration from the Bible and life on Earth.
"Twila" is just a good, Southern name, Christian contemporary singer Twila Paris says. Now "Starla" - the name of her sister and backup singer - her parents made that one up.
``I remember way back when I started in Christian music, someone called my house and they said, `Can I speak to Twila?' And someone said, `Starla, go get Twila, someone wants her on the phone.' And the person [calling] said: `This family has the weirdest names.'''
If not weird, at least ethereal-sounding, which fits the lead singer with her pale skin, pale blue eyes and sweet voice.
She looks, at least in her press photos, positively angelic.
But the inspiration for many of her songs comes from this world.
She starts to hum while she's washing dishes. Sometimes she's inspired by something she heard in church on Sunday night or something she saw on the news. Sometimes it comes from the quiet of the morning.
And sometimes ``it seems to come out of nowhere. I think obviously that's the Lord saying, `Here, write this,''' said Paris, who stops tonight at the Salem Civic Center with Avalon, a band that also sings backup during this tour.
Paris has been in the music business for 15 years, traveling to arenas and studios by commuter flights from a small airport in her home city of Fayetteville, Ark.
``They're working on a new airport, and they tell us it's going to have jet service," Paris said in a telephone interview during a few days at home. "I'll believe it when I see it."
Paris and her husband, Jack Wright, moved to Nashville a few years ago, and stayed about 18 months before returning home. ``We didn't pray about it,'' Paris explained. ``We did it because it was the obvious practical thing and it seemed to make life simpler. But we began to get a sense of God saying, `I didn't send you here.' When we realized we made a mistake, we decided to go back home. We have long-term spiritual and family roots here. God was just saying, `It's not a time for you to be uprooting and put down new roots. It's time for you to work on the well-developed root systems you have.' It just feels right. We're planning to be here a long time.''
And she plans to keep singing for a long time. Her songs have become hits on Christian radio and hits in church, earning their place in hymnals.
Paris' great-grandparents were traveling preachers. Her cousin founded Youth With A Mission, an organization backed by members of her extensive family.
She also supports WorldVision, an international hunger relief organization, and recently visited Honduras where she met Helan, a 5-year-old boy she sponsors through that ministry.
"I've had missionary experience in the past, so I knew pretty much what to expect," she said. "But this particular family had quite a different story. The mom had five little boys and the husband had abandoned her. She worked full time and didn't have enough money to feed them. They lived in a teeny one-room house about as big as your bedroom."
Helan was shy when she first met him, she said, but by the end of the visit, he was tossing a Koosh ball back and forth with her. By the end of the visit, too, someone from her management company signed up to sponsor another child, and by the time she got home to her Sunday school class, the rest of the children had sponsors.
Along with her mission work, the Dove-award winning Paris has written a book, "In This Sanctuary, An Invitation To Worship The Savior," and is in the midst of a 27-city tour to promote her newest album, "Where I Stand."
The album features a duet with singer Steven Curtis Chapman.
``I first met Steven back in 1989,'' Paris said. ``He was just coming on the scene. Promoters used to book us at the same time. One summer we did all the fairs together, then the `Young Messiah' tour.''
They got to know each other's families, she said. Chapman's wife and children often accompany him on tour and Wright, Paris' husband, accompanied her before he got sick a few years ago, with hepatitis C. They became close friends and co-wrote and sang "Faithful Friend."
The song is about Christian fellowship and their feelings toward each other, but also says to the listener, "We'll be faithful friends to you," Paris said.
To hear Twila Paris and Steven Curtis Chapman sing "Faithful Friend," call InfoLine at 981-0100 in Roanoke and 382-0200 in the New River Valley. Enter category 7810.
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Twila Paris and Avalon play the Salem Civic Centerby CNBtonight at 7:30. Tickets are $12.50 and $10.50. 375-3004. color.