ocu2fan
The Fly
This is very cool!
Tell us about your trips to China and Vietnam. It must have been an eye-opening experience for you.
Yeah, it was really a powerful trip. We had a chance to talk to some people that were being persecuted for their faith. It really... it certainly puts thing into priority and perspective. We talked to people that had been tortured, they had family members that have been killed or beaten, they had homes taken away simply because of what they believe. It's one thing to read about stories like that in a newspaper or in a magazine, it's another thing to sit across the table from these people and listen to them tell their story. They look at us here and know that there are people that know about this and are not going to let people just forget about you. And I think that that was really just an amazing trip because it just gave us a heart for these people. You know it could be anyone of us, it really could. Just to know that because of something that you believe or I believe, I could be tortured, be killed or have my family members taken away. It scares me a little bit and certainly, it brings it very close to home when you recognize that any of us are at risk potentially.
A few months ago, the band played a free concert to celebrate Amnesty International's 40th anniversary. How involved or concerned are you with social and humanitarian issues?
I think we're very concerned. As a Christian, I feel that I'm called to know about those things and try to battle those things. Amnesty, the way they've partnered with us, we're just saying we feel the kind of rights that Amnesty has stood up for, for the most part, that we'd agree with, at least in the sense that people are being taken away from their homes or beaten for a religious standpoint. We partner with them to say we need your help to give a voice to people who don't have one, that are basically under the heavy hand of a government or maybe a community leader that just won't allow them to believe in things that the leader doesn't believe in. Ya, so we're very concerned about those things. I think it's part of loving people well and sticking up for a weaker brother, to not let their injustice go unnoticed and more than that, to do anything in our power to bring justice to those injustices.
Are you inspired by R.E.M. and U2 who do a lot of charity work as well?
Yes, because we are given such a great opportunity. For some reason when you strap on a guitar or you sing in front of people, you automatically have a platform. You have an opportunity to change the world and I think it's a great opportunity and one that we need to look at as not just an opportunity but as our responsibility. So ya, definitely.
As a popular Christian band that's in the limelight, do you feel a pressure to be responsible citizens?
I do but not really because we are a Christian band. I do more just because personally those are the things that convict my heart. Those are the things that resonate with me. I just have a passion for wanting to see things not right in the world made right. And I know that that's a difficult battle to fight and it takes everybody to do their part.
On a lighter note, did it feel weird to go back to back to your old college, Greenville College, to receive honorary degrees?
It was a little strange (laughs). We had talked to them about what it would be like to get a degree and at one point, we had been making a lot of jokes. But once we got up there and saw how much work it actually took them to allow us to have those honorary degree and to the extent that they were really honoring us, it was really humbling. It was a little weird because we didn't really feel that deserving. We play music, we get up on stage and dance around, is that really worthy of a college degree?
You guys actually dropped out of Greenville College to pursue your music, right?
Yeah, we have to keep telling kids that that's not exactly the best route to go to get an education.
Was it a very difficult decision at that time?
It wasn't. Our story is interesting because we had won like a battle of the bands contest that gave us a lot of label interest. During our second college year, we went to Nashville and won this contest, went back to school and started getting phone calls from record companies so we basically said well, we'll go down and see if anything happens. If we get signed, great. If we don't, we'll go back to school the next year. So we left school not thinking anything would happen. But we went down and ended up signing a record contract in December that year. We were all just so excited to hear our music getting recognition. It was an exciting time and I don't think anything could have kept us pursuing that.
Did you ever expect to cross over to mainstream pop success?
I think we always hoped that it would be there mainly because we all come from a mentality that there really isn't a difference. A good song is a good song and a good band is a good band. There's so many different philosophies running around rock 'n' roll that we felt like there isn't need to have a separation between what is necessarily Christian and what is mainstream music. For us, it was just a natural progression to do both. We hope that Christians love our music and we hope that non-Christians love our music.
How does it feel to win Grammy awards?
It's great. It's very humbling to win an award like that because it really is voted upon and we know that not everybody gets to win a Grammy. There's people that really devote their career and a lot of their life in the hope of winning one. We've had the amazing honor of winning more than one, winning two. It really is quite an honor that we're really excited about, that people recognize us and know that we exist. That's humbling to us.
What can fans expect from the upcoming fourth album?
Well, we've been working on it now for about eight months, which is the longest we've spent on any record. It's probably a bit more of a rock record than anything we've ever done but at the same time, it has a good deal of elements that were present on our very first record, like the sample loops and electronic elements are there. We're really excited about the songs. I think U2 sort of paved the way for a season of music to come back where people could write songs about things they're passionate about. It seems that rock `n' roll had been going down this path where there's a bunch of people writing songs to show who can care about the least of everything. And U2 put out this record that's all about their passion. I think they opened the door for us to come back out and started making that kind of record again. They sort of blaze the path and we hope that we've created a record that people can get behind from a lot of different levels -- musically, emotionally and passionately.
When could we expect this album out in the stores?
I think in the U.S., they're expecting a February and March release. I'm not sure about whether that's gonna be worldwide. It may be.
http://www.mtvasia.com/Music/Interviews/20011002001/page2.html
Tell us about your trips to China and Vietnam. It must have been an eye-opening experience for you.
Yeah, it was really a powerful trip. We had a chance to talk to some people that were being persecuted for their faith. It really... it certainly puts thing into priority and perspective. We talked to people that had been tortured, they had family members that have been killed or beaten, they had homes taken away simply because of what they believe. It's one thing to read about stories like that in a newspaper or in a magazine, it's another thing to sit across the table from these people and listen to them tell their story. They look at us here and know that there are people that know about this and are not going to let people just forget about you. And I think that that was really just an amazing trip because it just gave us a heart for these people. You know it could be anyone of us, it really could. Just to know that because of something that you believe or I believe, I could be tortured, be killed or have my family members taken away. It scares me a little bit and certainly, it brings it very close to home when you recognize that any of us are at risk potentially.
A few months ago, the band played a free concert to celebrate Amnesty International's 40th anniversary. How involved or concerned are you with social and humanitarian issues?
I think we're very concerned. As a Christian, I feel that I'm called to know about those things and try to battle those things. Amnesty, the way they've partnered with us, we're just saying we feel the kind of rights that Amnesty has stood up for, for the most part, that we'd agree with, at least in the sense that people are being taken away from their homes or beaten for a religious standpoint. We partner with them to say we need your help to give a voice to people who don't have one, that are basically under the heavy hand of a government or maybe a community leader that just won't allow them to believe in things that the leader doesn't believe in. Ya, so we're very concerned about those things. I think it's part of loving people well and sticking up for a weaker brother, to not let their injustice go unnoticed and more than that, to do anything in our power to bring justice to those injustices.
Are you inspired by R.E.M. and U2 who do a lot of charity work as well?
Yes, because we are given such a great opportunity. For some reason when you strap on a guitar or you sing in front of people, you automatically have a platform. You have an opportunity to change the world and I think it's a great opportunity and one that we need to look at as not just an opportunity but as our responsibility. So ya, definitely.
As a popular Christian band that's in the limelight, do you feel a pressure to be responsible citizens?
I do but not really because we are a Christian band. I do more just because personally those are the things that convict my heart. Those are the things that resonate with me. I just have a passion for wanting to see things not right in the world made right. And I know that that's a difficult battle to fight and it takes everybody to do their part.
On a lighter note, did it feel weird to go back to back to your old college, Greenville College, to receive honorary degrees?
It was a little strange (laughs). We had talked to them about what it would be like to get a degree and at one point, we had been making a lot of jokes. But once we got up there and saw how much work it actually took them to allow us to have those honorary degree and to the extent that they were really honoring us, it was really humbling. It was a little weird because we didn't really feel that deserving. We play music, we get up on stage and dance around, is that really worthy of a college degree?
You guys actually dropped out of Greenville College to pursue your music, right?
Yeah, we have to keep telling kids that that's not exactly the best route to go to get an education.
Was it a very difficult decision at that time?
It wasn't. Our story is interesting because we had won like a battle of the bands contest that gave us a lot of label interest. During our second college year, we went to Nashville and won this contest, went back to school and started getting phone calls from record companies so we basically said well, we'll go down and see if anything happens. If we get signed, great. If we don't, we'll go back to school the next year. So we left school not thinking anything would happen. But we went down and ended up signing a record contract in December that year. We were all just so excited to hear our music getting recognition. It was an exciting time and I don't think anything could have kept us pursuing that.
Did you ever expect to cross over to mainstream pop success?
I think we always hoped that it would be there mainly because we all come from a mentality that there really isn't a difference. A good song is a good song and a good band is a good band. There's so many different philosophies running around rock 'n' roll that we felt like there isn't need to have a separation between what is necessarily Christian and what is mainstream music. For us, it was just a natural progression to do both. We hope that Christians love our music and we hope that non-Christians love our music.
How does it feel to win Grammy awards?
It's great. It's very humbling to win an award like that because it really is voted upon and we know that not everybody gets to win a Grammy. There's people that really devote their career and a lot of their life in the hope of winning one. We've had the amazing honor of winning more than one, winning two. It really is quite an honor that we're really excited about, that people recognize us and know that we exist. That's humbling to us.
What can fans expect from the upcoming fourth album?
Well, we've been working on it now for about eight months, which is the longest we've spent on any record. It's probably a bit more of a rock record than anything we've ever done but at the same time, it has a good deal of elements that were present on our very first record, like the sample loops and electronic elements are there. We're really excited about the songs. I think U2 sort of paved the way for a season of music to come back where people could write songs about things they're passionate about. It seems that rock `n' roll had been going down this path where there's a bunch of people writing songs to show who can care about the least of everything. And U2 put out this record that's all about their passion. I think they opened the door for us to come back out and started making that kind of record again. They sort of blaze the path and we hope that we've created a record that people can get behind from a lot of different levels -- musically, emotionally and passionately.
When could we expect this album out in the stores?
I think in the U.S., they're expecting a February and March release. I'm not sure about whether that's gonna be worldwide. It may be.
http://www.mtvasia.com/Music/Interviews/20011002001/page2.html
