It was the song heard ’round the world — a bona fide, boundary-breaking mega hit that found heavy rotation on pop, country, AC, and Contemporary Christian radio. It climbed its way to the top of the charts and earned an armful of Dove Awards, including the prestigious Song of the Year honor in 2001. “I Can Only Imagine” by MercyMe was the validation that the band from Greenville, Texas so justly deserved after a decade of dues.

Since that single, MercyMe has been on the fast track — selling CDs in droves, and packing venues from coast to coast. MercyMe Keyboardist Jim Bryson spoke to RUG from his Texas home, as he and his bandmates were in sessions for a Christmas album (due out in late 2005). We were anxious to ask him about the Roland V-Synth in his current touring rig.

“I’d read about the V-Synth when it first came out,” Jim tells us. “I’d heard Roland’s original VariPhrase processor, and it was unreal. I knew it was really going to change things. So when I first tried the V-Synth, I was impressed with the sounds . . . just taking it to the nth degree and not necessarily playing it safe. Not too long after we went on tour with Michael W. Smith. Michael had a V-Synth in his keyboard rig. He used this vocal chant sound that really intrigued me. So I started dinking around with it on tour.

“At the time, I wanted to get a new keyboard before the next album project, Undone,” Jim continues, “so I checked out the V-Synth and three or four other keyboards along that vein. I decided to go with the V-Synth. It’s one of those instruments that’s so deep, you’d almost have to work at Roland to know how to squeeze every ounce out of it. It’s something I’ve messed with for quite a while, and the things you can do with the Time Trip pad and the D Beam are amazing. Anything you can stretch your brain to imagine, you can pretty much do with the V-Synth. Usually when technology comes out like this, it’s so bizarre, so out there, it scares your average public. But once they catch onto the idea and realize what it can do, it opens up so many different avenues.”

Jim features the V-Synth on songs such as “Here With Me.” “I use it on the choruses for an eerie, delayed vocal countermelody line with portamento on it,” he explains. “I have so many people come up to me after shows and say, ‘Hey man, that’s a cool part. What is it?’ I’ve got the V-Synth set up on my B-3 to the right of me, so they can’t see the back of it — only the sides and the keys. They’re always asking, ‘What is that thing?’ So I like to explain a little bit about it to them.”

Jim also relies on another Roland instrument for many of his sounds: a JV-1080 module. Plugged into his JV is his go-to expansion card: Roland’s Keyboards of the ‘60s and ‘70s. “It has some of the best keyboard sounds out there,” Jim enthuses. “I have a real Wurly, but any time in the studio when they don’t have a real one, or if ever I can’t take mine with me, I happily use that sound library.”

Up next for MercyMe is a Spring 2005 tour, followed by work on the next studio album later in the year. “We feel like we’re the luckiest guys in the world,” Jim concludes. “To be musicians and earn a living, to be able to take care of our families, and to be involved in the industry is a dream come true. To have recognition and an appreciation for what we do is icing on the cake.”

Stay informed at www.mercyme.org.