Interview: Lovelite

Andrew Polfer of Lovelite talks about the band's new album, it's sci-fi cover art, & more... 

How did Lovelite get started?

My wife and I have always enjoyed making music together. We used to do a coffee shop singer/songwriter style but we found that writing worship songs was so much more fulfilling for us personally.  Several opportunities opened up at the college I was attending (Azusa pacific). Some of our songs were being used in the chapel services.  That encouraged us to keep writing at which point several of our friends joined our band and we formed lovelite.    

Where did the name Lovelite come from?

The name comes from Ephesians 5 "for we were one children of darkness and now we are children on light". So, in other words we used to love-dark now we love-lite. The spelling is "lite" for a stylistic preference.

How did the band get hooked up with Come&Live!?

Well, that's an interesting story. As we were getting ready to release our CD all color I received an email from Chad Johnson. He still worked as an a&r guy for toothandnail and we thought that he was going to talk to us about joining that label. But instead he offered us to join in a incredible call to a new type of Christian label, one that offers free music and more importantly offers the opprotunity to "live simply and give generously"

What were some of the musical and lyrical influences for your latest release, Nearness?

Musically speaking we really enjoy Doves, Elbow, sleeping at last, and peter Gabriel.
Lyrically we love the poetry in old hymns and that usually challenges us. Almost as a lofty hope of creating new liturgy.

What inspired the title-track, “Nearness?”

Nearness sums up a spiritual season that my wife and I went through. It's based on the idea that often we feel as if God is far from us.  It may make us feel dry and possibly feel like were living without purpose. But the reality is that God remains close and is willing to re spark the passion if we ask for it. It often takes a journey of spiritual dryness in order to realize where we are most satisfied.

Who came up with the album artwork for Nearness and how does it relate to the album’s overarching theme of drawing nearer to God?

The artwork was created by a great friend named Matt sheean.  We wanted something that was more than digital Photoshop style artwork. So we chose to go with a watercolor feel.
We got together with the artist before he developed it and we came up with the idea together.

As far as the science fiction theme; The final track on the album is called "perihelion". It refers to when the time of year that the earth is closest to the sun. We thought that was quite poignant in regards to being "near" to God.

We enjoyed the idea of the journey of a space traveler. It seemed to be a great allegory for our own personal journey through spiritual dryness.  There's  a comic inside the physical copy. Also, how often does a worship band have sci fi art for their music.

What’s the songwriting process like for Lovelite?

My wife and I are both involved in the writing process. I usually start the songs with a melody or a lyrical idea. It's usually very raw and unrealized. I then talk to to Jen and she helps craft it into a completed and understandable song. Every song is a collaboration between the two of us. Recently we've begun to write with the guy who produced our album, Tyler Chester as well as our guitar player, Adam Taylor.

Several months ago, Lovelite posted a video tutorial for “There You Are.” Do you plan on posting tutorials for any other songs in the future?

Haha. Yeah those are a lot of fun for us to do. We plan to do more. You might not be able to tell by the end result but it takes quite a bit of time for me to do those.

Are there any social justice or philanthropic organizations that the band’s really passionate about?

We are passionate about homelessness   We have been involved with the San Diego rescue mission for some of their events and we would love to continue to serve in that way.

I noticed that all of your upcoming shows are in your home state, California. Does Lovelite only do one-off dates? Or do you go on full tours around the country as well?

For most of our musical lives we've been mostly in California. We've recently started working with a new booking agent named mark mattingly at paradigm booking. We are hoping to play out more with this new relationship

Does Lovelite have any plans (tours, music videos, etc.) for 2011 yet?

Well we hope to participate next year in a lot the festivals as well as pursuing some touring. A music video is possibly in the works with a great filmmaker named Andy Reale. He works with come&live and he is incredible.  We also are working on more music. We love the writing and recording process


Get Lovelite's Nearness for FREE at comeandlive.com

For more info on Lovelite visit http://www.myspace.com/lovelite

Interview: Disciple

Check out my interview with Kevin Young of Disciple- http://www.cmaddict.com/interview_page.php?interview_id=5

Interview: Haydon Spenceley

Haydon Spenceley shares about his new album, favorite bands, & songwriting...

When did you first get involved in music?

I think music has been a part of me from the earliest bits of my life. My mum's musical, as is my dad (although he won't admit it) so I was always around music growing up. I started learning drums and piano at nine, as well as singing in Choirs at Church and at school. Given my disability (I have Cerebral Palsy and use a manual wheelchair) and the diagnosis I'd been given as a small child, it was always seen as pretty unlikely I'd be able to play any instruments, but I loved them so much I just kept going and going with them. When I was about fourteen I started writing songs, all the way along encouraged by amazing teachers and friends, and then eventually, in 2003, made a CD called Project Freedom with help from a charity over here called Whizz Kidz. From there it kinda spiralled, so that, by 2007 we (Freeslave) had released four or five CDs, including a full length, and done pretty well nationally here. From there my own life unravelled a bit, and I went solo, almost while God was doing works of healing and reconciliation in my life, and now here I am, with a second solo album, and a big passion to share what God has done in my life and is doing, and is offering to all, whereas in the old days I was more interested in being cool and liked, if you get what I mean. 




What bands did you listen to growing up?

Delirious? were a big influence on me growing up. I remember being a kid and watching them chart back in 1997 and being almost obsessed with them. I've since found out that this isn't really healthy, and also that they're thoroughly decent chaps, rather than big shot rock stars, but that's hard to process when you're 12! I also loved Oasis, Blur, Pulp, British bands like that from the Britpop era. Later on bands like Matthew (amazing band, everyone should buy their one album) and a lot of Christian bands from the UK like Kato and Quench, that I've since had the pleasure of touring with.


You used to be a member of a band called Freeslave? Why did you decide to go solo?  

I think I sort of answered that already. Basically, the band would have carried on and worked, and probably still been going, if I'd handled it better, and been easier to be in a band with, and we'd communicated better as a bunch of guys, but sadly I lacked maturity and common sense, and acted like an idiot at various points, and something which could have been  really great came to an end just when we were at the point of achieving something special. That's a big regret of mine. Now though, as my life and circumstances have changed, with working for a Church, and also as I find the travelling you need to do for touring pretty arduous, it's quite nice to be doing things solo on my own terms.


What were some of the musical and lyrical influences for your latest release, Heart Strings?

I love bands like Mutemath, Aqualung, Stateless and Telefon Tel Aviv. If I could scratch the surface of their songwriting skill and inherent creativity I'd be pretty happy. Lyrically I wanted to write a hopeful record, and give a picture of who I've been as a person and an artist, and the person I am now, and shine an expectant light on the life that is to come, if we choose to accept the offer that God makes to us in Jesus.

 
Do you have a favorite song from the new record?

I have two. Crying, and Masterplan. Crying, I wrote on September 12th 2001, after praying around 9/11 and seeking God for His voice and heart about what was going on there. The idea that human violence one to another, in whatever form, breaks the heart of God is, I think, valid and important for us to grasp as it was then and has been throughout time. Masterplan is very personal, as it deals with the issue of beauty and self-worth. As a bloke, I'm not supposed to think of myself as beautiful really, not very manly that, but God delights in me and rejoices over me with singing (Zeph 3:14-17). Throughout my life I've struggled with self worth and self image, because of being disabled, feeling less than a man, and not thinking that I stand comparison with other people, because of that and who I've been, but God loved me so much He sent Jesus to die for me so that I could know Him, love Him, and be made like Him, and through Him, I am made beautiful. If we're made in the image of God (Gen 1:27) and God is love and beauty, how can we not be a little bit like that, even in our fallen state? Once we accept Christ as Saviour and friend, we are restored, reconciled, made new in Him, beautiful. When I started to write this record, every show we were playing I seemed to meet people who struggled along similar lines to me, and it seemed like it is God's heart for this generation that we, in humility, know who we are in Christ, how beautiful we are, that we are hidden in the palm of God's hand, that He covets us, that He loves us, and rejoices over us. I think if we, as a Church really got this, it would revolutionize our lives, and the ministry we exercise in the world.


What was the inspiration for “Lost My Heart?”

I wanted to write a song about putting God above and before every other part of my life. Singing "Take it all from me, all the treasure of this life to which I cling, till you are the only thing I adore" every time you go on stage is a humbling thing to do, and also a dangerous prayer. I long for many people to join with me in singing that, and seeking ways for our lives to reflect it.


What do you hope listeners take away from the album?

I hope people meet, get to know, fall in love with, and commit their lives to Jesus, and if my album plays some part in that then there could be nothing better than that for me.


Where do you draw inspiration for your songwriting?

All over really. More often than that experiences trigger a desire to write, and then I bunk down for a while and get on with it. I have large swathes of time when I don't write a note, and then it all happens at once. This year I've found writing very difficult, because a lot of the joy, and drive and determination, which drove me on in the past, has disappeared. I've had a few industry-related disappointments, and felt let down a few times, as well as feeling like I've let people down a fair bit too, but I'm emerging blinking into the songwriting sunlight once again right now, getting ready for my next project.


Do you have any songwriting tips for amateur songwriters?

Write what you love. If you love it, others will. If you hate it, they probably will too. Don't force it, it'll come, and if you write about or to or for God, keep it that way. Don't get swayed by a desire to sell units or for radio or whatever else. He delights in you, He is your audience, your fanbase. If you offer, truly offer something to Him, for His use, don't be surprised if He takes it and uses it in ways you've never dreamed of. Oh, and always love on your band, be friends with them, and stay friends with them whatever happens. I didn't do this well, a few times in my life, and I regret the loss of people from my life much more than I enjoy listening to the records I've made. You'll be friends much longer than you'll have good hair.


Any plans for music videos or tours?

The record's out on November 22nd, digitally all over the world. Please buy it, share it, love it, and tell your friends about it. All sorts of things could happen after that but for now I'll try and remain content and carry on serving at home, and just see what God has in store.

       

Interview: Showbread

Showbread discusses signing to Come&Live!, their upcoming album, and tour plans for 2011 (free concerts!!!)

Showbread recently signed to Come&Live!. Can you describe how that label operates differently from other labels and why you decided to sign with them?

Josh Dies: Our friend Chad Johnson started Come&Live!. He was our A&R when we were on Tooth & Nail Records. And he left right before we did our last record on Tooth & Nail, and was like, “I’m gonna try to start a record label for ministry oriented bands, where they can give their music away for free and help facilitate that.” And we said, “That sounds awesome; when we finish our contract we might be a part of it.” So we were talking to him for a long time; we finished our last album with Tooth & Nail. It’s just a really high deal for a band like Showbread, that doesn’t care about any of the business aspect side of things or all the like stupid like, “How many records can we sell to make sure that we get on this tour,” or “to make sure that this store is gonna stock us” and all that crap. Instead, we could just say, “Let’s find a way to fund this thing, and then we can give it away.” And that’s what he wanted to do, and what we wanted to do. Right now, Come&Live! is still pretty new, but definitely here and now, on the verge of some really big breakthroughs. Essentially, all they want to do is facilitate bands like us to be able to tour full time and make music, give it away, and still be able to eat and go and play shows. So it’s definitely a groundbreaking approach to the industry.

Showbread had a fundraiser for its upcoming album, Who Can Know It. How did that go?

Josh: It went really well. We set out to raise $13,000 in 90 days. We raised the $13,000 in like 6 days. By the end of it we had raised $33,000, which is way more money than we would have been given on the huge record label that we were on. And we retain full rights of our music, and we can make the record we want to make, and give it away for free. And we have no traditional record label, so I’d say it went fantastically well.

Has the band begun production for the album yet?

Josh: No, it’s actually- in two weeks we leave to start recording. We’re recording through September and October.

What can fans expect with the new album?

Josh: Showbread.

Garret Holmes: They won’t know what to expect.

Josh: It doesn’t have anything in common with any album that we’ve made before, except for the band has the same name.

Garret: But it’s still gonna be good.

Josh: Oh yeah, and that it’s good. [To Garret] You should have been correcting me more on that!

Josh, I hear you’re working on a Showbread memoir? What’s the status on that?

Josh: I finished the first draft; right now the editor is working on it. It’s called The Joke We Play On The World. And it’s a pretty funny book- there’s a lot of really weird things in it that are true, but I think people will think that we’re not normal people after they read it. But maybe they’ll laugh, or maybe they’ll just be disgusted… I don’t know.

Showbread has it’s own video production company (In The Boat Productions). What projects have you guys been working on lately?

Josh: We just directed a video for The Ember Days, which is another band on Come&Live!, and it came out really good. We’ve been doing music videos and we make short films for fun. But it would be nice one day… we write screenplays and things like that. Who knows… knock on table.

For those who have never seen Showbread live, what should they expect at a Showbread concert?

Josh: It’s weird, it’s loud, and sometimes we throw things, and then that’s entertaining. You know, if nothing else is. You see a guy throw a guitar into a keyboard and everything falls down; that’s pretty cool. So, at the very least maybe something will break. There’s something in that for everyone, I think.

Any tour plans for the fall?

Josh: No, we’re gonna spend the rest of the year recording and then releasing the album, and then we might do some CD release shows for it. But at the beginning of 2011, we’re gonna do a long, national tour to support the record, and it’s gonna be completely free- the way the record is. So, all free shows and a free album. Can’t beat that.

Interview: The Ember Days

At Revelation Generation Festival 2010, I had the opportunity to speak with Jason & Janell Belcher of The Ember Days about how the band got started, "signing" to Come&Live!, their new EP, and upcoming tour plans...

How did The Ember Days get started?

Janell Belcher: It started with Jason coming to America and meeting me. We met at Cornerstone Festival, and we got married at the end of that year. Then we moved to New Zealand and Jason had always wanted to start this band. And he basically just started it, he was like, "We’re gonna go to New Zealand; we’re gonna find the members; and start it." So that’s pretty much how it got started… through different friends- we have different friends who played with us; we went through a few members and stuff.

How did you come up with the name, The Ember Days?

Janell: It was paper, scissors, rock between The Ember Days and this other name at our first show- that’s how we came up with it. An old guitarist that we had discovered the name and really liked The Ember Days. So we had that one and the other one. It was just like, Okay, we’ll go with The Ember Days, since that one won.

What are some of you musical influences?

Janell: Dustin Kensrue is one of them, who we watched yesterday. Sigur Ros is one of our band’s musical influences, and Jimmy Eat World. Who else would you say?

Jason Belcher: I don’t know who this band is, but they’re awesome [referring to the music playing in the background].

Nicole (a friend of The Ember Days): It’s Fiona Apple.

Jason: It’s awesome.

Janell: I like listening to a lot of jazz, that’s only been in the last couple of years, like Etta James and stuff. And that’s really, definitely influenced me vocally. What else would you say? Explosions In The Sky?

Jason: I think there’s wide and ranging influences. From old jazz and Sigur Ros right through to a lot of hipper stuff, like Jordan really loves Advent and underOath- some of those real hard bands; I love them as well.

Janell: MuteMath.

Jason: Yeah, and the artsy bands like MuteMath, Thrice, and Coldplay. I love a lot of mainstream stuff as well. We listen to a lot of pop in our car because our CD player doesn’t work, and we don’t have an iPod adapter, so we listen to the radio. I listen to a lot of Katy Perry [laughs]…

Janell: That’s not our influences though.

Jason: Well if you listen to it obviously it’s gonna come out somewhere…

Janell: … eventually, in our next album [laughs]

Jason: Yeah maybe I’m gonna talk about my “Teenage Dream.” [laughs] No, but from all sorts of pop right through to everything, and lots of instrumental music. I listen to classical music a lot on the radio.

How did The Ember Days get signed to Come&Live!?

Jason: We broke into Chad [Johnson]’s house at gunpoint and said, "We’re gonna steal all your money unless you sign us." No, but the true story is actually we came over here when Chad was still working with Tooth & Nail. And different friends of ours were putting in good words with Chad like, "Oh, you should check out The Ember Days," from different Tooth & Nail bands. I think he was a little bit curious already, you know, to check us out. So we were doing this show in Albuquerque, New Mexico with The Glorious Unseen and us, and man, it was awesome. It was at this hardcore show; lots of kids came to know Jesus. This girl’s leg got healed; it was all backwards when she was born, and it just healed up. It was pretty cool because Chad was like, "I dig these guys," and we dig what Chad was doing and The Glorious Unseen. So it was like, We’re all about the same thing; this is totally gonna work. Chad was just thinking about starting Come&Live! back then. He was still at Tooth & Nail, and he was like, "I’m gonna be starting this new thing soon, I really want you guys to be involved with it." And so, with Come&Live! you don’t actually sign a contract. So we’re not actually signed; although, we are on Come&Live!. It’s not really a record label, but they do help you raise finances, and they do support you and your ministry, and they really try to equip you in whatever you do. What you do sign is what they call the “artist’s creed.” And the artist’s creed is pretty much just saying, and I’m summarizing, "I’m taking my faith and my art seriously, and I’m gonna devote myself and my art to the glory of God;" and it’s got a whole number of practical ways to do that. And you sign that you’re gonna be a good steward of what God’s given you. Because Chad got really sick of… he was promoting bands that weren’t promoting Jesus, and that got really old for him. So that’s why Come&Live! got started, because he wants bands to be passionate about Jesus, which the bands he picks are.

The Ember Days recently released Finger Painting EP. Can you tell us a little bit about the recording process?

Jason: Initially, we were gonna do a massive double-disc. It was gonna be epic- an instrumental CD and this huge full-length as well. But there’s developments happening with Come&Live! right now, so we decided to not release everything right now. So we packaged an EP of a chunk of songs that we play live all the time, that work really well together. The whole EP flows and that’s what happens live, so it just made sense. It’s kind of a cool thing; those songs, although they sound a little different, they fit together really well. So, it’s sweet as a standalone EP. But we wrote this and our upcoming record, which will be out next year, last year. We did pre-production in Nashville in…

Janell: …August, in that hot church.

Jason: Over a year ago in August/September [laughs] Yeah, it was horrible. There was no air-conditioning, in Nashville summer heat. Inside, we were like in our underpants just about…

Janell: …except me…

Jason: …just sweating, guitars dripping wet from your sweat, and trying to concentrate on writing and being creative in that environment.

Janell: We’d do a one-hour sesh, and then we’d go take a break because there was air-conditioning in the basement.

Jason: Yeah, it was so hard to concentrate. And then we started tracking it with Kevin Bruchert in late November and early December. And then we did more tracking January, and more tracking February, and more tracking in March.

Janell: It was like a whole winter-long project. We were planning on dropping quite a few of songs, because we had so many; we had 16 songs that we were recording.

Jason: It started off with 25 or 24, and we axed 6.

Janell: Yeah, before we even got into the studio we axed 6. And then we had 16 and we thought, Okay, we’ll just work with these and see what happens with them, and the ones we don’t like as much, we’ll just drop those. But once we finished, we saw all the songs through to the end. We loved all of them, and we’re like, Okay, now we have 16 songs. So that’s when we decided to do the double-disc. But then eventually it ended up being an EP and a full-length. So our full-length is not already mixed yet, but we’ve already recorded it, so we have something to release next year.

What do you hope listeners take away from this EP?

Jason: I hope they have an experience with God; that’s all I really care about- something of the beauty of God in the music, something of the heart of God in the music. I just hope they are filled with the fruit of the Spirit when they listen to it- joy, peace, all that good stuff. I mean, we find that’s what people seem to experience from our music anyway. Even last night, we talked to this lady who was saying she would just put our music on, and she would immediately feel peace. And it’s just like the fruit of the Spirit, you know? That’s good; that’s what I want people to experience, is God. Music is cool too, but God is way better.

Janell: With this specific EP though (obviously experiencing something of God like Jason said, which is how we want all our music to be), but I think with this EP I really feel that God’s gonna do lots of healing in people’s hearts through it. So that’s my prayer, I guess for it. It’s kind of a little journey. Even the order that it’s in and its track titles and stuff; it wasn’t really thought out; it just kind of fit together. But it starts with hope and then goes to “It Is Well” (all about going through a lot of crappy times, but finding peace), and then there’s “Rest,” and “Finger Painting,” and “Simple Song”(it’s just this awesome praise song). I pray that God brings hope to people, and healing and restoration, so that after experiencing the goodness of God by the end of the CD they’re ready to give back and worship. And then our next album is gonna be like a ton of worship and prayer; it’s totally different.

Jason: The next record is gonna be a lot different, a lot more intense. This EP is like you could just curl up in a corner and go to sleep. The next record is gonna be like [smacks his hands together].

Janell: [laughs] Yeah, they’re definitely different vibes, but it worked out great.

The Ember Days recently shot a music video with the guys from Showbread (In The Boat Productions). How did that go?

Janell: [laughs]

Jason: We’ve seen one edit; we made a few changes, so I haven’t seen that come back yet.

Janell: It was fun.

Jason: They’ve been playing some shows, so they’re still in the editing process. But yeah, it was an amazing process. It was really fun. We love those guys; they’re so solid, such an amazing group of guys and girls.

What song is the video for?

Jason: The video is for “It Is Well.”

Any tour plans for the fall?

Jason: Yup, we’re in fall now, right? We’re touring from here to California, and everything in between on the way. After that, we’re going to New Zealand at the end of this month. We’re doing a welcome home tour in New Zealand. And then we’re doing a tour with a hardcore band called Saving Grace at the end of November in New Zealand. And then December we have off, do a little bit more writing, go down to the beach and write some songs. Then next year we’re gonna do a Come&Live! tour in New Zealand in January; it’s gonna be great.

To learn more about The Ember Days visit http://www.myspace.com/theemberdays

Also, check out their latest EP, Finger Painting at http://www.comeandlive.com/

Relevant Worship Interview

Last year (2009) at Creation NE Fest, I had the opportunity to interview one of my favorite worship bands, Relevant Worship. Unfortunately, there was a lot of background noise on the recording so it never made it onto ChristianMusicReview.org. So here it is in print form...

How did Relevant Worship come together and what is the purpose of Relevant Worship?

Jeremy: Youth groups, a lot of youth groups. I’ve known some of these guys since I was like 14 years old so we’re all from churches in the area [Buffalo, NY]. We’re not all from the same church; we’re all spread out from different bands, music family. That’s how we met.

Anthony: [The purpose of Relevant Worship] is to show unity in churches and instill within our community the local church and how that fits into our daily lives.

Why did you choose the name Relevant Worship?

Jeremy: I think it was a term that was getting flung around a lot, a couple of years ago. It just kind of caught on, like “Are we really relevant?” The term relevant, relevant, relevant was just flying around. When we were trying to come up with a name, it was as simple as this is what has been on our hearts. We were doing college ministry and worship at the time so we needed a name, so we’re like let’s call it Relevant Worship. It’s been cool because it’s really challenged us to live up to it.

Relevant Worship pretty involved in outreach in its community. What are some of your recent outreach experiences?

Chris: Playing with kids, hanging out with kids; we do a lot of different types of stuff. During Thanksgiving, we went out and did this thing called Operation Thankful People. We put a scripture verse in a little bag with like 5 pennies and went out into the heart of Buffalo to bouncers and people that were hanging around and said the night before Thanksgiving, “Do you have five things that you’re thankful for, besides beer?” You get a lot of cool responses. We met someone that night whose wife just dropped him off on the corner at the city mission, which is a place for homeless people. I felt like God was speaking to me to talk to him right away. So I went over and he said, “Be praying for me right now because me and my wife just had dinner about getting back together. I really want to get my life back together.” You could tell the guy didn’t used to be homeless, at least he hadn’t been for a long time, he used to work for a record label. We just want to show people that God’s love exists in a place that you would least expect it. I think sometimes the church gets over-fed, we’re not actually doing anything about it. To actually go out on the streets and live the life, not just saying it, it really challenges your faith, it challenges your prayer life, it challenges all those things, to take it to a deeper level. Last week at our outreach some kid, part of our group, who saw a kid who had a bunch of tubes that were taped to his head and he said he just felt compelled from God to go pray for him and say only Jesus can heal you. There’s that term that say’s you have to fail to succeed, sometimes you have to challenge your faith in order for it to succeed. You don’t always succeed the first, second, third try, but I think God honors it. So we do various outreaches and things, we could go on for days about it. We’ve done prayer walks, concert events bringing kids together. We’re doing this thing on Thursday nights right now where we get three or four of the kids that are off the streets and we give them a salvation message, we have pizza, we have games for them, just give them hope. We have a canvas where kids come in and there’s a prayer time when kids can come in and write their prayer request on the canvas and actually get prayer. So when we come back the next week we get to see how these things are progressing. The word said faith is alive and active and we really want to see it be alive and active. Sometimes we don’t see it so much in the church because of our culture, because of our skepticism. We’re trying to get back to the roots of that.

You released “Anthem of the Redeemed” in 2008. Is this your first full-length album?

Anthony: Yeah, we have one other one that wasn’t really released. It was more for just friends.

What’s the meaning of the song “Ocean’s Wide?”

Anthony: I was on vacation in the Outer Banks and I was up early one morning and we were staying at a beach house that was really nice. This isn’t gonna be like a dramatic I wrote this when I was strung-out. *laughs* I was just on vacation and woke up early one morning, had my guitar sitting out on this deck that overlooked the beach and the water and it was really pretty. The sun came up and as I was doing my devotions the sun was reflecting off of the water, it sparked some ideas in my mind how God is bigger than the ocean. The second line is “let Your light reflect off my life.” The Bible says the sun was reflecting off the water and we want that as a prayer in our life. We want to reflect the best that we can, this big God that we serve.

Are you planning on going on tour this fall (2009)?

Anthony: No, we’re really committed to our local churches. Actually, all of us play or work or lead in a church at home. We will do some traveling but not really that much. Our commitment is to be home in the local church. Quite honestly, we’re not making a whole lot of money when we’re gone. We like to be in our backyards. We like to play and take the vision we have back home out on the road and do what we can. We play Saturday night on the main stage and then as soon as we’re done hopping in our cars because we gotta be home to lead at our churches Sunday morning. Touring is cool, but it’s a lot of work and it’s not for everybody.

Jeremy: We’re very about our community and our area. God’s placed us there. It’s like what can seven guys do? When we go out on the road it’s like a two-fold ministry. We want to encourage people to get out of the church and do stuff. That a lot happens in our area, we go out and it’s like it’s about giving back in our community and spreading those ideas around.

Anthony: That’s where most of the songs come from too. It’s kind of like our well. Although we don’t mind playing; we’ll go.

Jeremy: To make it work, it’s not the typical format. We’ll go out for weekends and be home on Sundays.