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GMA 2002 Photos
| 1. Birthday/age: March 8, 1978. So I'm age 24 at the
moment. 2. Hometown: Joplin, MO. Neosho specifically. 3. Musical influences: The Beatles, The Byrds, The Turtles, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. 4. What's currently in your CD player? I've been listening to a band called The Lolas a lot lately. Thanks to them, my penchant for Power Pop will be satisfied for awhile. And...I always have time for a Beatles album. |
 Thomas and Greg at GMA 2002 |
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| 5.
How did you get your start in
music? Around my 9th birthday, our church started a program on Wednesday nights to teach the youth of the church how to play instruments of their choosing, and I'd been dying to learn how to play the guitar after seeing the movie "Crossroads." I picked it up rather quickly, and that gave me a bit more leverage in going to my parents and begging begging begging for them to buy me my first guitar. *laughs* I Took lessons, played along with all of my favorite records, joined and quit several bands in high school, and eventually went on the road with Miss Angie to see what life on the road was like. Being a hired gun wasn't so bad, but I always felt like the road would be a little more tolerable if it was your music that you were playing every night, so I knew that I would eventually end up in a band as a full-on member, and not just as a hired gun. Fortunately, it worked out for me to join The Elms about a year and a half ago, which is great, as Owen and I have been great friends since the 4th grade, and had always hoped of playing music together. |
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| 6.
Who are some artists you admire? Paul Colman. He's managed by the same company that we are, Alabaster Arts, and so I've had the privilege of getting to know him recently. Anytime that man opens his mouth, pure goodness spills out. *laughs* No really...Paul is a great man, and I hope his thing really takes off soon, because I know he has a huge stock of great things to share with the body of Christ. He always has a word of encouragement or scripture to share with me that is pertinent to whatever I'm going through at the moment. |
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| 7.
Best concert you've
seen I don't know that I've really been to a show yet that totally blew me away on every front, but that doesn't really answer your question though does it? A few months ago, Glen Phillips, who used to sing lead and do much of the writing for Toad the Wet Sprocket, played a show up in Indianapolis. Just him, an acoustic guitar, and his songs. I gotta' say, I'm not much into the whole singer/songwriter acoustic vibe, because I prefer the energy of rock 'n' roll, with its loud guitars, big drums, and attitude to spare, but Glen was nothing short of captivating that night. He's a great singer, a great guitar player, an amazing songwriter, and a good storyteller. I've been a huge Toad fan since junior high, and Glen has always been one of my top 5 favorite songwriters, so it was great to finally get to see him in person, and even talk to him a bit after the show. I was so relieved that he was actually a very nice guy too! Very personable. |
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 The Big Surprise CD |
8.
Musician(s), alive or dead, you'd like to see
perform. If there were any way for John and George to come back from the dead and reunite The Beatles for one last go-around, that'd be nice. If there's anything that I hate about being in The Elms, it's that I'll never be able to see what we do from the audience's perspective. I know I'd absolutely love what our band does live. I've seen videotapes, and that's fine I guess, but it'd be so great if I could experience it while it was all happening. |
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| 9.
What do you think of the current status of rock music
in the U.S.? For the most part, I think it's all rubbish. Seems to me that music these days cannot stand up without the help of flashy production, whereas in times past, it was all about good songs, good performances, wit, charm, attitude, and vibe. However, there seem to be some rumblings in the mainstream of rock 'n' roll making a comeback, thanks to bands like The Strokes, Jimmy Eat World, Pete Yorn, and The White Stripes. My fingers are crossed. I don't know...there just seems to be something about what they do that feels quite a bit more real than everything else that is out right now. I really appreciate the blood, sweat, and tears of a band who guts it out for years and years and years before finally realizing their moment. The work ethic; I think it comes out in their music. It would be great to see Christian bands take on that kind of approach as well. |
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| 10.
So I'm guessing that you don't find many Christian
bands doing that very thing? Unfortunately, no. A lot of bands, be they Christian or secular, are really looking for the instant gratification, so if it doesn't take off for them immediately..well, then it's time for everyone to go their separate ways and join other projects, or else it's time for them to start pulling every heartstring, taking every easy road, to insure that it happens for them next go-around. And man...I guess that's fine if that's how they really want to do it. All I'm saying is that I would personally prefer to see a new crop of Christian bands who refuse to take "no" for an answer. Bands who have decided they are in this for the long haul, and are committed to offering people something of quality time and time again, because they care about God's reputation in the earth, and they know that what they do is one of the many ways in which God is represented to the outside world. It's kind of sad when you read issues of CCM, HM, or 7-Ball from about 5 years ago, and you realize how very little of those bands back then are still around today making music. I think there's something to be said for longevity. |
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| 11. You played a couple new songs during GMA week in Nashville,
what kind of response have you gotten? Everyone really seems to be raving to us about a new song called "Speaking in Tongues," which is very reaffirming as we'd collectively consider that to be our best work to date. They also seemed to like "Burn and Shine" and "All the While Having Fun." I'd say that people overall reacted very positive to the new stuff, which is a relief, as this new album will be our sophomore effort. You know what people usually say about a band's second record. *laughs* |
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12. Your band was nominated for 2
dove awards this year, was that a good experience? If nothing else, it was great to know that our peers within the industry had been taking note of what we were doing. The awards show wasn't really all that fun for me, because I just don't like having to sit in one place for 4 hours. *laughs* Our friends By The Tree took home both awards in the categories we were nominated in, so I was really excited for them, as they're some of my favorite people, and an example of a band who is actually out there and working hard like we discussed earlier. |
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| 13.
What can you tell us about the new CD you are working
on? (where recording, producer, tentative title, release date, etc.)
Man...it's been a total blast. We've been recording at a place in Nashville called Treasure Isle. Brent Milligan, who produced The Big Surprise, is also producing this one, and he's doing a fabulous job of really helping us cut the fat away from the songs, maximizing the hooks. We've been very privileged to have David Bianco engineering. Dave's worked with pretty much everybody whom we really admire musically. He doesn't have much experience in the Christian industry though, which is great, as he doesn't really know much about the whole "CCM Nashville Sound," but he does know plenty about the dirt and the grit that is rock 'n' roll, and gosh...the sounds he's been capturing to tape are nothing short of stellar. I'm really really excited to hear how this whole thing turns out once it's finished. At the moment, we kind of have our heart set on calling it, "Truth, Soul, Rock 'n' Roll," which are the three most important things to our band, in order of importance, and I think we're targeting a release date of October. |
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| 14.
How does the style compare to the past 2
CDs? I'd say the new stuff has a lot more muscle to it. Dirtier, sweatier, more punchy, etc. It's still all about the songs, great melodies, great lyrics, but we kind of let loose a bit more instrumentally this time around. About 90% of the songs have guitar solos. *laughs* Melodically, it's still very much in the vein of The Beatles, but the sounds are quite a bit more American and rootsy. I still love The Big Surprise. We're all still very proud of how it turned out, and are still excited about getting up and playing those songs night after night, but we really have a mind to go out there and blow it away with this new album. I guess that everyone hopes that what they do will always be on the up-and-up, that you'll always be progressing, maturing, etc. We did about 200 shows this past year, so we're playing together as a band better than ever. You know? I think the best way to put it would be to say that this album sounds like a BAND. It won't sound like a solo artist surrounded by a bunch of slick session players. It sounds like 4 guys who just love playing music together. |
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| 15. Any overall theme to the
album? It's definitely a call to people everywhere to really start thinking about what they're doing, and deciding then if they really think that they're doing all that they can. If you're someone who doesn't believe in Jesus, or have never decided to take that leap and follow him, then this album means realizing that spirituality applies to everyone, especially yourself. It's not something that is "good for some people, but might not necessarily be good for you." Truth is truth, whether you like it or not, and you are subject to it. You can't ignore it. It's time to face the music, as it were. And on the other hand, if you're someone in the church world, this album means examining your daily activities, and then thinking about whether or not you're really doing all that you can to reach out to the world, going outside the four walls of your church, outside the comfortable feeling you get every Sunday morning, outside the Christianese subculture that we've all kind of established for ourselves, and simply asking, "Is what I'm doing really making all that much of a difference in the real world? Is it down-to-earth enough to impact people who don't understand my Christianese?" We ask ourselves that very thing all the time, just wanting to make sure that we're doing all that we can as a band to really make a difference in the lives of people who aren't accustomed to Christian culture. For us, that's mostly translated so far into just pursuing excellence in our craft. Hopefully being a good enough band to garner the respect of people based on the merits of the music, which then gives us an in-road to tell them about the truth that we found in Jesus. Obviously not everyone who reads this is called to be a musician, but that's ok...because no matter what you do, whether it's music, or journalism, or teaching, or working in construction, or working at a restaurant, or being a good parent, whatever...you have a responsibility to pursue excellence in that field, because we should be doing all things as unto the Lord, and He deserves nothing less than our excellence. I think that if the world were to notice Christian peoples as being those who really pursued excellence, then they would begin to understand the passion that we have for our Lord, and would be more inclined to look into the Lord for themselves. |
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 Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll |
16.
What is your favorite song so far and why? Definitely "Burn and Shine," simply because I'm a huge fan of jangly guitar pop a la The Byrds. Stylistically, this song is right up my alley. And the message of the song is also about everything we just discussed. It's about how we want to live our lives "burning" and "shining" with real passion, even if it means taking us outside of our comfort zones and/or our immediate squares of influence, for the sake of impacting people who really haven't given this thing a chance. |
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| 17.
Anything else you want to talk
about? I'm sure there is, but at the fear of being someone who talks too much, maybe I'd do best to just shut up here and now. *laughs* Man...thanks a lot Greg. It's been fun hanging out with you and all, and I hope we're able to make our way up to Wisconsin soon to see you and meet some of the people there. I pray the Lord blesses everything you're doing with The Jesus Underground, as well as anything you take on in the future. |
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