Relient K’s recent release Five Score and Seven Years Ago debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard charts and has spawned an infectious radio single. A few weeks back, we got the chance to talk to frontman Matt Thiessen about the album, songwriting and balancing a career as a crossover artist. Relevent: What has some of the older fans’ reaction been like to the new album? RK: It seems like people are into it—especially some people that have been with us for a while. You know it’s funny; I’ve heard some people say it’s a bit of a departure; I’ve heard other people say it feels kind of like a continuation, sort of picking up where we left off. […read more]

I’ve been reading C.S. Lewis’ The Pilgrim’s Regress, and it sheds much light on an issue I’ve thought a lot about. Like many who did not grow up Christian, I sometimes struggle with which parts of my previous way of life are incompatible with the Christian way. In high school I was a huge Pearl Jam fan, but after becoming a Christian, the realization of the band’s stand on abortion and other moral issues quickly dulled their luster. My convictions against many of their ideas, and those of many other bands I used to love, was much greater than my appreciation of the music. […read more]

Aaron Weiss eats out of trashcans. The man who fronts the band mewithoutYou is known for his seemingly strange behavior. mewithoutYou has seen a rise in popularity since the release of their last album, Catch for Us the Foxes, due in part to touring with bands like Coheed and Cambria, The Blood Brothers and playing spots in this year’s Warped Tour and Seattle’s Bumbershoot Festival. Their new album, Brother, Sister, is out on Tooth & Nail Records and features collaborations with Jeremy Enigk (Sunny Day Real Estate/The Fire Theft) and members of Anathallo and Psalters. The band has received serious attention from major press, and they just wrapped up a tour this fall with Say Anything and Piebald.

With all the attention the band is receiving, it’s doubtless that fans will see him rummaging through waste bins or get a whiff of his sweat-drenched body when he walks off stage. This will bring questions, and Weiss will lovingly oblige, as he did with me backstage. This interview, a combination of in-person conversation and e-mails, has answers for the pressing questions many will have for him. […read more]

Here’s part two of our interview with The Afters. RM: Is there a tension between marketing and advertising yourselves as a band? One night you might be playing in a church and the next you’re opening for Vertical Horizon. BW: We have two hats that we wear. The audience at (non-Christian) venues can be turned off so quickly by what you say. We have to let the songs speak for themselves and which songs we play. And in the same sense, these people go and buy our record, (which is) steeped in Christianity. Hopefully that will bring them closer to God as a result of that and not necessarily us preaching from the stage or the pulpit. […read more]

Lead singer Josh Havens and bassist Brad Wigg of The Afters recently took some time out with Curt Lamm to discuss life in the music industry—from their start in Texas to all the angels and demons that come with being one of the biggest buzz bands in 2006. Relevant Magazine: What’s so unique about the musical scene in Texas? Brad Wigg: For a while, it seemed like everybody was coming out of Texas. Great bands were popping up. There was a really cool club scene downtown and artistic community. But a lot of those clubs that have been there for years are shutting down. When we were coming up, there were tons of great bands to hear. […read more]

Rarely does Tooth and Nail Records produce an album that doesn’t fit in with what is popular in its current catalog. Sure, they’ve had Joy Electric for years now, but when punk was popular, it was a line-up of Value Pacs and Ghoti Hooks. The punk fallout has left us with the soft edges of pop-punk, emo and the farther reaches of hardcore. […read more]

David Bazan is quite the anomaly. From his music to his live performance, he personifies and embraces the self-depreciating tortured artist caricature all the way down to his diverted gaze, stumbled-over-words and plain black t-shirt and jeans. But when you get him on the phone and begin prodding about his latest work, Mr. Bazan becomes an open resource with very few areas off limits.

To catch you up to speed, Pedro the Lion was Bazan’s much acclaimed slowcore, narrative, social commentary and religious musing darling band of over a decade. Early in 2006, PTL, composed of Tim W. Walsh and Bazan, split ways and each continued making music under respectable solo careers; Bazan under his own name and Walsh as the Soft Drugs. Upon first listen, it is difficult to interpret these new songs outside the filter of the break up. […read more]

I have chosen to omit the witty/generic article intro and dive right to the high hopes of this opinion article. High hope 1: To inform and expose RELEVANTmagazine.com readers to new-ish music that might be a bit off the Best Buy beaten path. High hope 2: To give exposure to some excellent artists who have yet to find their golden ticket (or aren’t looking) to be on the next OC soundtrack. I don’t pretend to be an authority on good music, but these are artists have especially stood out as being groups or individuals doing something worth mentioning and, hopefully, listening to. [ …read more]

When I think of the Beatles, I don’t typically think about the gospel. Maybe it is my loathing for everything “hippie” that has clouded my view of the Beatles over the years. Of course, I know plenty of their songs, and no one can deny the phenomenon that was Beatlemania, but I have never considered myself a true fan of the Beatles. However, the recent book by Steve Turner The Gospel According to the Beatles (Westminster John Knox Press) showed me that judging a band by its shaggy, hipster image is never a good idea. [ …read more]

Recently I was ministering to a group of young people, and I witnessed the Lord breathing life into the souls of a generation through worship. This is a generation that has been holding their breath, waiting to experience and live something real. Whether they find that reality in the world or in Christ, we have encountered a generation that is only influenced and moved by reality; and I have reason to believe that there is a lack thereof within our own four walls on Sunday mornings. […read more]