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Interview by Avril Savoie
Exclusive to Rockstar Weekly
Since the band formed in 2005, For Today has released 2 albums via Facedown Records, played over 700 shows and will have traveled to 6 countries by the end of 2009. The hardcore-influenced metal band is known for their non-stop touring, high energy live performance, and their unrelenting message. For Today will stop at nothing until the name of Christ is proclaimed to the entire world.
A Modern Metal Band that declares their faith in Christ is a unique situation. What drew you to metal?
It was the music that we grew-up listing to. Every member has their own list of band that they listened to when we were growing up. It was the kind of music that we wanted to play. I actually started out playing Folk band for about a year, and every time that went to play a show it was boring thing in the whole world. I loved the music but it was boring for the kids werent singing along or moving or anything. So when I can back to metal and joined For Today it was awesome, I love playing this music and energy the intensity that the whole scene carries, its just something that is really really special. Even regardless of our faith in Christ its just a cool opportunity to play the music that we love, for the people that we love, its a perfect outlet.
What draws you to Christ?
I could talk for hours and hours on this but to keep it direct, I always thought that I was made for more than getting straight As in high school, and thought that I was made for more than making money after college, thought that I was make for more than sports or more than getting a really pretty wife, made for more than having lots of friends and being really popular and for some reason, and with all that, I had thought about all those things and it didnt seem like enough and then when I started to read about this guy named Jesus and the things that he did, it seemed like he know who he was and what he was made for and called for, what he was suppose to do and in that he was raising the dead, walking on water, healing the sick, giving sight to the blind and everything in me just cried out, screaming I want that. I want that for me, everything that I lived for and now since then I have been systematically rejecting everything that I held onto and just wanted to be like Jesus, and know who I am as clearly has he did.
Would you describe For Today as a band on a mission?
Yes, I would. Even more basically then that there are 5 guys on a mission regardless of our band it just happens to be what we do but I can confidently say that if we were college students right now we would be doing the same thing, or if we were waiters at a restaurant right now we would be doing the same thing, or a mailman or paperboys or whatever. Just knowing God deeply and wanting to know God more deeply, for God is always going to require action, always want us to do something about it. So before we are a band on a mission we can be separated as 5 guys on a mission, and us being a band is just a byproduct of what we have been called to do in the world.
I read an interview with David calling out Satanic Bands. Are your friends with any bands fro the metal scene?
Ya, we are friends with a lot of bands like Holy Rosary Band are good friends of ours. Same with the band Catalist they are great guys, I think they are awesome and David and I were actually talking about that interview earlier today. What he said was actually taken out of context about the guys, what he was really saying was the other bands are awesome people and the other bands incredible people, good friends of ours we love them to death and so this whole thing of being a Satanic Band, hating Jesus, and hating Christian and whatever I dont think, but I cant speak for most bands that they dont live their lives that, this is what their band is like or what their band is about what they believe as individuals, that fine , especially with us, it hasnt been an issue really for our faith to divide us or cause any tension between us or any other band.
Do you think For Today is a better role model for kids than a band like Slayer?
Yes, I could beat around the bush and try to be politically correct, but whats the use I think everyone is doing too much of that and everyone is kind of tired of it. I do because as talented as those bands are and they could be really nice guys, but there is nothing to live for if youre not living for Jesus Christ. You know love, money and social status and comfort and whatever youre looking for its completely useless, but if we are talking about role models or people influencing out kids I definitely thing that the people who are seeking Jesus are the people that need to be holding the influence in the society.
What is a For Today concert like?
We just play our music and like to move. We were just talking last night about really challenging ourselves to take on the heart in which we wont even go on to the stage until the God fills us up with himself, because I think that I can speak for everyone in the band that we wont have anything to offer any of these kids if not Jesus and so if he doesnt fill us up with his spirit and send us onto the stage then it would be useless and everything we do would be empty. So as the vocalist I will share my heart a lot with things that God has been teaching me and things that God has been saying to me, let me sing over the crowd and I will declare the word of the Lord over them and also I think even more powerfully than that or more importantly than that is that Gods spirit comes and we expect the intense that his spirit comes and fills the room up go onto every single person individually.
Is there ever a time that you never went on stage?
No, not yet, but there have been times we have to get together before we play and one of us would be like my hearts not right today, Im not in the right mindset so I need you guys to just pray over me, and to just pray that God will full me up because I just cant go on stage like this.
Your albums covers are unique. Not anything like the other bands, but still suitable. Do you spend lots of time thinking about the imagery?
No. Dave Quiggle does all the artwork for Facedown Records and hes and artist that all of us grew-up admiring on band flyers, Shirts and CD covers so when we signed with Facedown we had the option of having him design our album artwork we were all jumping at the opportunity because his stuff is just great and all of us are fairly confident of what he would come-up with because he loves Jesus, like desperately and every time we explain the concepts behind our album we know he is like praying into what hes going to put out for the artwork and really seeking God on it. God give him divine insight and revelation into what the arts should look like and so its not really our idea at all its really up to Dave and then after that we will change little things here and there to make it suit our idea of it a little bit more, but genially speaking its completely Daves idea and I would think he would tell you that its completely Gods idea and hes just the one to put it together and put it on paper.
You guys have a myspace page and use many conventional tools. Do you embrace the internet?
Yes, its hard to get anything off the ground these days without the internet these days. So just like this interview is going to be available online. Everything we do is available online, our CD, our records, our shirts, our posters, everything we have you can get online.
Where did the bands name come from?
That was actually a long time before I joined the band, but generally speaking and I think its cool because it kind of changes with us the deeper we go with God, who give us new insight, new revelations of it that he is speaking through just the name For Today. Recently I really feel that God is telling us that this is the time for urgency, and its come to a point where if we dont step up and dont change things from where they are, and if revival and reformation dont come to the church and to the rest of the world today then we are all in a lot of trouble, Christian or Non-Christians and so I think that everything we do and everything that God is doing in the world is for today and if not then its not something that God is planning to do in the future , for Jesus didnt die so that someday thing would be okay after we are all dead or after the world ends. Jesus died so that things would be okay now. Jesus died so that we could have hope and power and piece and joy now and so I think that is how they got the name For Today, because everything he is doing for us and offering to us is for today and not someday in the future.
The new CD sounds a bit more polished and authorative than the first one. Describe the differences between them.
Lyrically, the difference is that the first one I didnt write any of the lyrics for this album at all, they were all written and recorded before I joined the band, then I went in and learned them all and recorded all my vocals. So I have been praying and daydreaming about being able to write the lyrics for this album for 2 years now and so now I had the opportunity, I was really excited to speak Gods word to a generation. Musically speaking, they Guys who write our music, our guitarist, bass player and drummer are just anointed man, and they are just blessed with a great ability to write and draw inspiration out of nothing, out of thin air. They have created really technical and catchy stuff. Its awesome, I am proud to be in a band like that.
Is there a central theme to Portraits?
Yes there is, actually there is two kinds. Then I went out to write the album, I wanted to write each one of the songs from the perspective of, like a Father of the faith. Some of the songs are of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Joel. One of the songs is from the perspective of Jesus as if he had the opportunity to speak to the world now through a song what would he say and so that is how I started writing the album. I realized after I wrote the whole thing was done and we were listening to it, and what had kind of happened and the things that God had put in my heart were all in regards to what is the identity of the true followers of Christ. A lot of people will say, that Jesus wants you to bless a certain way, talk a certain way, act a certain way, or go to a certain church or whatever, but the questions what I think the album is written to answer What does it mean to follow God?, What are the things that the world is going to see about you if you are an ambassador of Christ? That was a theme that I didnt plan writing about but it just kind of happened, thats okay, its cool. It was nice to see that God took control of the album and put his own fingerprint on the music.
How do you go about writing and recording?
I was actually in living in Alabama for two months, because I married a girl from down there so I was picking up tuxes, flowers and whatever getting ready for the wedding, and the band ended up write the album Iowa, so they would write the song and record it on our drummers webcam and send it to me and then I would write lyrics to it from the webcam version, I know its kind of weird and funny but it worked out, it was great and when we all got back together we all knew our parts, it was awesome. As far as recording, it was ridiculous of the amount of prayer that was behind this album, probably well over a year we were seeking God of what he wanted us to say on it and inviting him to fill us up and take the reins of the writing process and do something really special for it.
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