Scott, IVM: Introductions. Give me a who’s-who of the band.
Jordan is our vocalist and he plays keys. Josh and James play guitar. Nick plays drums, he’s the new guy. I’m Joey and I play bass.
What’s the back-story of the band. How did everybody meet. General bio type of stuff.
This is a long one here haha. I went to high school with Josh, and I joined the band with him and a couple other guys. After high school we needed a guitar player and I knew James from junior high and we had played with his band a couple times. We kinda took a break for a while after a few shows here and there, but decided after a couple months to start trying to do the whole band thing seriously again. We found Jordan on Myspace and he fit instantly. That was about 2 and a half years ago, and thats when things starting to pick up. Just recently our drummer left and we knew Nick from playing shows together with his old band. He quit his old band and we took him out on tour as a fill in, but we loved him and decided he needed to be a permanent member. And now here we are.
What’s the story behind the band’s name?
The name is from Dumb and Dumber, when the blind kid is being interviewed about buying a dead bird. The interview was being done by the news show A Current Affair.
Christian band, Christians in a band, or other? Can you elaborate?
We have really labeled ourselves as a Christian band, but we are all Christians and we feel that it should be something that is transparent and shows on and off stage. A lot of the lyrics reflect our faith, and we make sure that every night we let people know that Jesus is the only reason that we are doing this.
How would you describe the band’s style of music?
The EP we put out is a little heavier, but the new stuff we have been writing and playing live would definitely be more straight up rock music.
What are some of the band’s influences?
We all have different influences. We have a hard time deciding what to listen to in the van. The biggest influences would definitely have to be The Wedding, Saosin, Story of the Year, and The Classic Crime. We have been listening to a ton of Kanye’s new cd though haha.
What are some of the band’s inspirations?
We feel that as Christians, you should show the love of God to as many people as you can. Music is something that everyone likes, and we want to use that for a greater purpose.
Let us in on a stand-out moment where you just thought, “Thank you, God.”
Oh man, um. I think the biggest one was when we won a battle of the bands to get into Spirit West Coast in Monterey, CA. That battle of the bands has led to everything we have done to this point. I mean, now we are up on the featured artist page next to bands like Fireflight, Project 86, Hawk Nelson, TobyMac. I think that was the biggest moment that kinda kicked everything off.
Fill us in on the direction that you believe God is taking you as a band.
Our goal has been to play to as many kids as we possibly can, Christian or not, and share our message with them. We are starting to play more shows where we are the only band talking about Jesus, or even the only band with Christians for that matter. That has been something that we have wanted to do from the beginning.
Share your heart for a moment. Why do you do what you do?
Our main purpose is to share Jesus with everyone we play to, and be examples of Him off stage as well as on stage. We were put in a position to talk to a large number of people, and we don’t feel that it was for nothing. It’s a big ministry opportunity, you know?
What do you hope a listener comes away with after listening to your cd?
For everyone its going to be different. If someone is searching for something, hopefully our lyrics can help them find that. If somebody could care less about God, I hope they enjoy the music.
What were the best and worst venues you’ve played? And why?
Oh man, we have had a lot of both. I think Visalia, CA, Vegas, NV, Twin Falls, ID, and Linden, WA are always good to us. We have great shows there at different venues and churches and stuff. The worst shows are usually when our equipment doesn’t work haha.
What was the most encouraging and/or humbling thing(s) to happen at a live show?
Any time I can hear the crowd singing over Jordan, its amazing. We used to do this thing where Josh would grab Jordan’s foot and flip him. It would always get the crowd pumped up during the last song. One time Josh’s hand was sweaty, and Jordans foot slipped and he didn’t complete the backflip all the way and hurt his knee pretty bad. That was funny, but humbling at the same time. That kind of stuff doesnt look cool haha.
In what ways do you feel that the band has grown and matured since it’s formation?
We understand that this can be taken away in an instant. We try our best not to be too proud about any of it, or take it for granted. We just let God open and close the doors that he wants and we just do our best to follow.
If you could say one thing to a young person struggling with purpose and direction in life, what would it be?
I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing, or what my purpose was. God will show you the right path if you ask him too.It won’t come right away sometimes, but He is faithful, and eventually He will show you. And you never know, you may get to live in a van and travel around and play music too!
Any last comments you would like to leave the readers with?
It’s early in the morning, and I hope all these answers make sense. We have a new EP we are working on right now, so be on the lookout for that like Spring or Summer 09. Thanks for reading, hope I didn’t bore you. I think thats it. Thanks!
There you have it… a glimpse into the world of A Current Affair.Stay tuned, there’s more to come.
Check out A Current Affair on Myspace