It had the makings of a great assignment. Check out a fast-rising band as they shoot footage for a new video at some indoor locations in Nashville, then join them the following week on the streets of Los Angeles for some outdoor shoots in sunny Southern California. A day later we do a formal interview, and the next day marks the opening night of the dcTalk / AudioA "Jesus Freak Tour." Cool, eh?
Well, actually, it was more like cold. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Suffice it to say that, as always, the best laid plans of mice and men get tangled up somewhere in that cosmic control center where the perfect will of God meets Murphy's Law.
THE VIDEO
It started on a Friday, the day your intrepid reporter was scheduled to meet the band in downtown Nashville to see some indoor shots being captured in an elevator for Audio A's new video, "Never Gonna Be As Big As Jesus." Problem number one: a surprise snow storm hit Nashville the night before, messing up the roads so badly the radio traffic guys were calling the city "Smashville" by mid-morning.
As a result, I miss the shoot. I talk to the band's management, and all appears forgiven, with the benediction of "see you in the sunshine!"
I won't bore you with all the stupid problems with airlines and rental cars and holiday weekends, but yes I got to L.A., as did the band and film crew. We woke up the morning of the shoot to find... rain!
Not just a little, but a lot. Like, enough to make the national evening news, and threaten to spoil an outdoor video shoot for a great bunch of guys from Music City .But, not to worry, I hit the freeway It 6:45 a.m., fairly confident that I will meet up with the band at their hotel around 9:00 or so. Think again.
After spending two and three-quarter hours on the freeway, I announce myself at he hotel desk, only to find the band's headed out on the streets to shoot, and left a beeper number to locate them. No problem. I make a call from a hotel pay phone and wait for the return call. For a long time.
Three different pay phones later I am told that you can't receive incoming calls at pay phones in L.A. anymore; apparently, too many drug deals were getting made with the help of those pay phones and beepers.
Wet but undaunted, I realize it's almost noon and I've missed another shoot. My tongue is firmly in my cheek as I sing "I Love L.A. " to uninterested passers-by.
Lest you give up hope of reading an actual interview with Audio Adrenaline, I finally made the connection. A few minutes later, I arrive at the new location in the heart of downtown L.A., to find the boys (lead singer Mark Stuart, guitarist Barry Blair, bassist Will McGinniss, keyboardist Bob Herdman, and tour drummer Ben Cissell) standing outside a huge skyscraper, lip-synching the song in the cold wet weather, and everyone in the band and crew drenched to the bone. This is not good, especially for Bob, who is struggling with a nasty cold and cough.
Amazingly (and impressively), spirits are still high as AA's manager Scott Brickell says "We're trying to make the most of it, and turn lemons into lemonade."
After a quick break for fast food and a bathroom stop that allows the boys to wring out t-shirts and the like, we're off to the next location-the top of L.A.'s famous City Hall. We all wait expectantly for the helicopter for the aerial photography which is supposed to land soon.
It's 3:30, but the clouds are becoming darker and more threatening. The police- men and fire marshals are trying to figure out if a chopper can make it in this weather. Meanwhile video directors Jody Moore and Kerri Stuart (who is Mark's wife and dc Talk's Toby McKeehan's sister) are still smiling and keeping their cool.
Before we know it, we're told we have a half-hour or so to set up and shoot, but the chances are looking dicey for the 'copter pilot to make the scene. Two quick takes of the song on the roof and word comes that the helicopter is in view. The last shots are taken from the air, and everybody heads back to the hotel to warm up and dry out.
THE INTERVIEW
The next morning brought more rain, but the mood was definitely up as word came in that all the footage had been developed, and looked remarkably good considering the weather.
We headed to a local restaurant to eat and chat on the record. I begged for a quiet atmosphere so transcribing the interview wouldn't be any more of a nightmare than it already is when talking to an entire band munching and slurping. Hopefully, the right quotes will be ascribed to the right band members. If not, trust me, somebody in Audio A said these things. And if you ever hear that these guys are a pretty tight-knit bunch, believe it. By the time the order for food is taken, a total consensus had been reached-fish and chips for everybody.
We begin by talking about the video itself: and I ask who came up with the concept. "Probably me," says Mark. "I came up with the elevator idea. But Blonde Films (Kerri and Jody) took it and finished the idea. " At the risk of alienating the guy in the first five minutes of the interview, I wonder out loud if anyone else was considered to direct the video, seeing as how Kerri is like, married to the lead singer.
"Oh yeah, we had a lot of treatments submitted," says Will, "but most of them were pretty cheesy .One from a guy who did a Collective Soul video and some of Tom Petty's videos." Continues Mark, "I think we went with Blonde Films because we knew it would look cool, and, knowing them personally, we know that they have a desire for us to succeed that goes beyond just doing the video. They directed Johnny Q. Public's 'Body Be' video, and we worked with Kerri on the album cover too. But it's the biggest budget we've ever had for a video. We decided we'd take the amount we put into the three videos for the last album and put it all in this one, shoot it on 35mm film for the first time, and hopefully get it shown in some places that might not have run the earlier ones."
I ask how doing videos has affected the band, if it's changed them in any way. Barry speaks to this one." As far as our live show is concerned, it means we probably have to be more energetic visually, though we probably don't have to be as worried about it as, say, dcTalk."
At this point, the boys say they're flattered to still be called a "garage band," (Will's basement, actually) and don't really want things to get too sophisticated. But things are changing. The almost constant touring, first with dc Talk's Free at Last Tour, then with Newsboys, has had its effects, for better and for worse. "We're playing together better and better," says Will. "It wears us out though, emotionally and physically at times, but by and large it's still the most effective way to get yourself out there. This album is really the fruit of all that traveling and playing."
THE ALBUM
One listen to AA's new album bloOm underscores the validity of the above theory , and reveals Audio Adrenaline as a band that is blossoming. "This is really the first time we've recorded as a band, the first time we've recorded with live drums, for instance," says Barry ."The other records had lots of sampling and loops and stuff. This is us, and it's a record we look forward to playing live."
Lyrically, bloOm sports a bit of a new theme, with a number of the songs devoted to a sort of self-deprecating, demythologizing attempt to remind its fans who the real star is. "You know, that probably wasn't intentional, but just came out of discussions we were having," says Bob. "There have been times when everything has gone wrong in a show, and the power of God has been even more present in us than when things go right."
"We had this show last fall, " says Barry, "where Mark lost his voice. By the time we had done three songs, it was completely gone, he couldn't even talk or say anything to the crowd. So we just started 'Big House' and the audience sang the whole song for him." Will, who has been fairly quiet until now, joins in. "Basically, we love it when things like that happen, because we want the ground to be level between us and our fans. Maybe it's because of the glam-rock era we grew up with. We hate that, and just want to be regular guys."
"The fact is," Mark wraps up, "we had no intention to bring out that theme, but to just make a record about who we are right now. We're trying to make Audio Adrenaline 'bigger,' which is hard to do when you are trying to be small on a personal level so Christ can be big in you"
The other trend present in the lyrics of Audio Adrenaline is a classic gospel theme, borne out with songs about the hope of heaven, a better day coming, the end of suffering, and the grace of God in our everyday lives. Once again, I ask if this is intentional.
"I think it's because at least three of us come from a very churched back- ground," says Bob. "Gospel's in our blood." Barry continues, "I think it goes back to our desire to have a ministry and reach people with the simple message of the gospel."
Mark, who has been thinking, takes a deep breath and adds, "You know, this is really insightful. We've had a bunch of different kids tell us that they sang 'Big House' at the funeral of a friend...I'm specifically remembering a girl who told us about a friend who was videotaped singing the song at church. She was killed the next week, and they played the tape at the funeral. There was another girl who struggled for a long time with suicidal thoughts, and when we played 'Big House' one night, she said that for the first time in as long as she could remember, she felt joy and hope for her future."
At this point, the waiter comes around to check on us, and to pick up the scattered remains of six plates of fish and chips. Mark asks if he can get a chocolate milkshake and a couple of the others chime in with "me, too." This is a band in one mind and one accord, and all are in agreement that manager Scott should pick up the check.
THE CONCERT
The next day marks the kick-off date of the Jesus Freak Tour in the Bren Center at the University of California. It's a sell-out, and people are trying to scalp outside the box office. Nerves are close to the skin inside as the whistle is about to blow for what will undoubtedly be the show that will show off the bugs in the program.
That said, Audio A takes the stage, on a traditional flat stage set-up (except for Ben on a drum riser), in front of a giant backdrop reproduction of the new album cover, which looks great. The boys slam into their traditional opener, "We're A Band," and the place goes nuts. A mostly young audience jams the aisles, only to be shuffled back to their seats by the polite-but-firm fire marshals of Orange County.
But it's the next song that provides a moment of truth for the band. Barry launches into "Secret," the lead track off bloOm, and a great choice for a concert opener in general. Though the album was only released two days before and the crowd doesn't yet know the new material, "Secret's" insistent guitar and rhythm slam wins the crowd in a heartbeat, as do most of the new songs played during their 45-minute opening slot for dc Talk. Particularly encouraging is the response to "Never Gonna Be as Big as Jesus." "Big House" brings the big response of course, and the band leaves the stage with hearty support for an encore.
"You know, that was my first real show in front of a crowd like that," 20- year-old Ben says backstage. His beaming smile reminds me of the joys that are still there to be had playing live music for an appreciative audience.
I think about the myriad of times he and the others will repeat this show, in a variety of cities, and I wonder how a band does stay "small" when it's in the process of blowing up real big and playing 15,000 seat venues.
Says Bob, ."You've got to remember, this is still a Christian band. When I'm at home, it's real normal. I don't have a lot of money, I have an old car that breaks down too often, I live in an apartment with my wife and son. For me as a Christian musician, I stay pretty grounded and that's a good thing."
And the hoi polloi say, "Amen."
