Music Quotient: Re:Zound

MQ: I know there is a lot out now about different styles of worship - even reading where like two turntables and a microphone may become the standard for some worship styles. I was just curious. How do you feel about corporate worship, music, the styles changing but in a way the Message still remaining the same. Any positives, negatives?

Jeff: I think the positive is that for so long we were stuck into, "Worship has to sound a certain way."

Jason: That was exactly what I was thinking.

Jeff: You know that's worship music - it has to sound like that. Well, only a certain percentage of people really even like that music.

Jason: "Don't play them drums in church - can't have drums! God's against the drums!"

Jeff: I don't know how many years I'd play guitar in church that I'm sure nobody heard me because the church sound person turned me down. It's well known - if you're a church sound person, turn the guitar off.

Jason: "He's playing that distortion isn't he?" *click* "That's off!"

Jeff: "Yeah, you sound great!" (laugh) But as a spiritually mature person you get to a place where you realize it doesn't matter if I like the style of music or not, you worship. Like in our church, each week we have a different style of worship music. There's rock with Re:Zound one week, there's R & B gospel week, there's mainstream CCM week. It's different. You should get to a place maturity wise in your walk where it doesn't matter. You just worship. It's about worshipping and not the kind of music. But to the average person it does matter and you need to have something that they can relate to. And so, if it is two turntables and a DJ spinning and rapping to it - if that is what helps somebody worship, then let's do it!

Jason: Yeah, let's do it. Absolutely. Give me a turntable, I'll do it.

MQ: What do you think music's role is in society now?

Jason: Of course, music was created before we even existed. While God was creating the world, the angels were singing as it says in the book of Isaiah. So, music's intention - its purpose is to worship God. Now it can be used as tools for many others things that are all good. I love dancing with my wife to a romantic song. I have nothing against that. But, the role of music specifically was created by God to worship. It's a way that we can worship God. In that, I think it's really beneficial for Christian bands to be in the secular side - in the mainstream side. I think it's a great light. I'm not for compromising - never have been. We love what Switchfoot and P.O.D. are doing... Jeff had a good point earlier today, he mentioned that the world doesn't necessarily understand spiritual things the way we understand them. Jesus even talked about that. But at the same time we offer them direction leading them to God, you know. I love what SwitchFoot and P.O.D. are doing - out there in the mainstream. I think that it's great. I know that they catch a lot of flack a lot of times for being out in the mainstream market like they're "selling out" or something. But you know, maybe they're not selling out. Maybe they're just honestly being a light in a very dark world - and I think that that is good!

Jeff: There's millions of kids buying an album with a Christian message on it that would have never done it otherwise.

Jason: It certainly seems like a good thing to me. And one of the roles that music plays to me is that King Jehoshaphat would put his musicians in front of the army. We can experience success through our praise and worship of God in our lives... and overcome battles and defeat in our life by worshipping God.

MQ: Have you ever gotten a reaction from one of your songs that just seems more than the music and instruments? Something that sort of takes you a back, like a 'divinely inspired' moment?

Jeff: Probably about once a week I like to go online and do a search for our band name just to see where we're showing up on the Internet. And one day I came across this teenage girl's weblog. I didn't know what I was reading at first. I was just trying to figure it out. I was looking down the page and it had her saying "I had this really terrible day today, things just weren't going well, but this song by this band I found really ministered to me and helped me get through it." She had listened to one of our songs Always. It had her mood today and it listed one of our songs right there. That ministered to me to know that, "Okay, this is a tool that we've put out there" - that God has given us to do... that there is this some kid out in the middle of ... I don't know where it was... that we'll probably never see, that our song ministered to her. The words that we put out there or the words that God gave us were able to minister to her and help her through a situation.

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Re:Zound interview continued...