On the brink of their eagerly anticipated London concert, Mike Rimmer caught up with Atlanta rockers THIRD DAY in Nashville.
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Dave: Yeah. My son's two years old and man I tell you, every time we get in the car he says.and he says it funny.he says, "Cum'oh bash to me, cum'oh bash to me".like that. It's awesome! So we get in there and put it in and he starts rockin' out. Now he starts to dance to it.like this.well.you can't see it on paper!
Mike: What's the heart of Wire? You've gone back to the rock and roll, it's not a worship album, so thematically what are you trying to achieve with it?
Mac: That's a good question. I think we're just trying to tell people to be encouraged to take those steps of faith in whatever it is they're doing. If you're a DJ or if you're a rock band, or if you're a plumber, or a teacher, or a stay-at-home mom, don't be afraid to take chances, don't be afraid to take those steps of faith. There are people that surround us and sometimes people are there to watch us fall for the sheer excitement of it, the extremeness of it but there are people that are there to catch us when we do fall. So don't be afraid to take those steps. It's very autobiographical I believe. Especially right now in what we're trying to do, in the sense of trying to reach outside the church doors and trying to share our music with people in the world. It's really nothing new, it's something that we've always done but just coming to grips with what we're all called to do as believers; to not stay in our comfort zones and to step outside of those boxes and to try to share this positive message that we have with other people.
Mike: So are Third Day trying to crossover?
Dave: It's such a dangerous term. I mean we've talked about that subject a lot. Our whole intention right now as a band is to just get our music out to as many people as we can, and not just so that we can become some big, huge band. We feel like we have a valid message, we have something that is important to say and why wouldn't you want to get as many people to hear it as you can? So we're not changing who we are as a band. We're not changing, really what we do as a band like albums and touring. But man, if there's a way to get more people to hear it, we're open to it!
Mike: So does that mean playing in clubs instead of playing in churches, that kind of thing?
Mac: Well we don't really play churches anymore, which is the case. Tai our bass player made a good point the other day, we are a mainstream band in the sense that we play mainstream venues, we play small arenas and theatres, things like that. Our music is in retail stores, not just Christian bookstores. So the only difference is the radio aspect as we're not really on mainstream radio stations. That's the only missing element. Like I said, this album is not at all a vast departure from records that we've made in the past. We always try to write in a way where there will be some songs that encourage the church and also songs that hopefully can encourage people no matter where they stand in their relationship with God. So we've done that with this record and hopefully made a record that is more mature.as we are getting more mature of course! So our hope is that more people will hear that music of course. Any artist, no matter what they do, whether they paint, or do photography, or write poems; you want more people to see or hear your 'art'. So that's what we want to do. Like David said, we're not going to change anything about it. If more people are open to hearing and are educated about Third Day's music then great, that's awesome! If not, we have a great life and a great 'calling' and love what we do.
The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.