Between the Liner Notes
Damien Horne: The Saint of MuzikMafia
By Audra Smith
The 700 Club
CBN.com
– "I was the first one in my family to finish high school, and by this time, I had already lost a brother to the streets. I had two younger brothers headed in the same direction. I just didn’t want the same life for myself."
At an early age Damien Horne made a decision that would change the course of his life forever.
"I remember I was seven when I got saved," he tells The 700 Club. "I remember a change happening in me and being so excited about learning about Christ. My favorite verse is Jeremiah 29:11 -- 'For I know the plans I have for you, to prosper you, and give you a future, to give you hope, and an expected end.' That just kind of sums up my life.
"There has been a passion in my life to do music for as long as I can remember. At the age of 18, I moved to Hollywood, CA. Going out there, I was ill prepared. I was really young and naïve. I ended up homeless. I kind of felt like a failure.
"But I believe now looking back on that it was the best part of my life -- changing me as a person, allowing me to grow."
One day, Damien's band, Stellar Tree, flipped a coin to see where the band would be. It was between Austin, TX, and Nashville, TN. He recalls, "We flipped a coin, and it was Nashville."
For the next several weeks Damien and his band played for pocket change on Nashville’s famous Second Avenue. One particular night, Damien caught the attention of one of country’s biggest names, John Rich.
Rich was already an A-list country artist from the duo Big and Rich. At the time, he was in the process of forming a small group of musicians.
"Me and my band were sitting there, and John Rich happens to walk by with a few of his friends. He liked something he heard. 'Play something else.' He threw $20.00 into the guitar case, and he said, 'We’ve got this thing called MuzikMafia that we just started. I want you to hang with us and play.' This is how it got started for me.
"MuzikMafia stands for Musically Artistic Friends in Alliance. It’s a group of people that get together and create music -- music that they love. It can go from country, rock, and gospel," Damien explains. "I like to get the message across of faith, hope, and love. Sometimes in the mainstream business world of music it’s not looked upon as a good thing to have those morals and values in your music."
He continues, "I am all about groove. I come up with rhythms -- just something to make you tap your feet and move. That is exciting and positive stuff. I just like to be inspirational and not just to the Christian world. I want to send it world wide. Mainstream music is what I play, but those are the people that need the hope the most. I feel like that is where my call is."
After playing with the MuzikMafia, Damien felt a calling to go back to school. He started attending Free Will Baptist College. He says, "Being able to start and finish my time here really showed how God was with me throughout everything.
"My life has totally changed from where I used to be to where I am now. I am in the position with my music that I have a publishing deal, and I am also in the process of finishing my first album. I am able to be involved in so many different types of ministries. I play one huge show a month, and it goes to some type of charity whether that is at-risk youth or it could be to homeless -- kind of giving back in that aspect."
His album features a song called "Somebody’s Hero". That's exactly what Damien hopes to be.
"I want to inspire people to dream and go after their passions," he says. "God puts those things there for a reason. None of that is by chance. There is a purpose behind it. When you are obedient to his Word and you are following and walking in His Will, then He loves to pour these blessings upon you. I have just been experiencing that. I am overwhelmed by it, because I know I don’t deserve it."
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