Interview with Dave Baysinger of Bleach, Matt Hammitt of Sanctus Real, and Josiah Holland of Holland

What has been your most embarrassing moment on stage?

DB: We were doing a show about six months ago and I had a friend up front who kept waving at me and doing all these crazy motions and I was like, “What the heck is he doing?” I thought he was just being silly or whatever and about halfway through the show he got the attention of our guitar player, Milam, and told him whatever he was trying to tell me. So Milam walks over to me – and I think by that time everybody knew what was going on – and he whispers in my ear, and everybody starts laughing and what he whispered in my ear was, “Your zipper’s down.”

What’s in your CD player right now?

MH: All of our favorite band in Sanctus Real is Weezer so I honestly listen to Weezer once or twice a week. I listen to more pop as well…artists like Dana Glover – I really like her CD and listen to it over and over. A new band called The Swift that’s out, and a lot of various rock artists; the Foo Fighters, Bleach – they blow my mind…
DB: I only listen to Holland and Sanctus Real…

Any lucky charms?

JH: I don’t believe in luck.
MH: I don’t either.
DB: Milam and Jared are brothers and they have another brother in the military and he got us all these little medals and I guess in the military you have to carry them everywhere you go, so we all carry them around. If a friend pulls it out and you don’t have yours, you have to buy them a meal or a drink or whatever, so don’t tell them but I don’t have mine with me. I’m unlucky right now.

If you could be any Wizard of Oz character, which one would you be?

MH: I’d probably be the lion, because he’s so carefree. If I was in that situation, I wouldn’t want to worry about anything. I have a tendency to worry, so…yeah. That’s why.
JH: I’d probably be Toto because he’s kind of just along for the ride. I’m a person who has a lot of responsibility, so I think it would be fun not to have a lot to do in Oz.
DB: Well, I was gonna be the lion, and then I was gonna be Toto, um…I don’t know. I guess I’d be Dorothy. She’s lost the whole time and I feel like in my life I walk around being lost.
MH: And Davey’s always wanted to be a woman.
DB: Oh yeah that too. Talk to ya later, bye.

Any conspiracy theories?

JH: I’m really anti-Mason. I think they have a lot to do…
DB: Josiah, don’t say this on tape! You’re gonna be in trouble. If somebody reads this, they’ll come after you!
JH: I’m not gonna talk about it anymore then.
MH: Hey, there’s a lot of conspiracy there…
JH: I think they have a lot to do with the Antichrist.
DB: Oh my gosh, he said it!
JH: I’m more talking about the end of the world, one world government, you know…
DB: I love all conspiracies. I like checking them out. On this A.M. radio show, Coast to Coast with Art Bell, they were talking about – did the US ever really land on the moon? I always thought that was stupid, like, oh yeah of course they did, but they have all these things like supposedly the door of the spacecraft that landed on the moon is too small for their backpacks to get out of, they can’t fit through it, and there’s no crater underneath and all this stuff.
MH: I’ve heard a lot of crazy conspiracy stuff with the Clintons. They had a lot going down like smugglers and drug networks and all kinds of shady business. There’s a lot going on, so I won’t say too much; the government might pick me off. Here’s another one for you…the Oklahoma City bombing. That’s a touchy subject, but why were all the government workers told not to go to work that day? Interesting…

(To Matt from Sanctus Real) Tell me about the contest you won that launched your band.

MH: It’s kind of funny because we’ve gotten a lot of media attention, but it was really just a thing in Ohio. Out of 75 independent bands, we came in number one. We dropped off our demo at the very last minute. They heard about us and said we should drop a CD by, and a week later they announced that we had won. We were one out of two Christian bands in the whole thing. We were really excited that if we could win a contest here for a clear channel station amongst that many non-Christian bands, why couldn’t we really make something of ourselves in the Christian industry, where we felt like we belonged.

This is the first night of the tour, right? Are you feeling good about it?

MH: I think it’ll be a good tour. I’m excited. Sanctus Real has wanted to tour with Bleach for a long time, and it’s fun to finally be doing it.
JH: We’re only on the first half of the tour. We hadn’t played a show with Sanctus Real until last night so it’s exciting. We toured with Bleach last fall and I had forgotten how much fun it was until…today.

Have you done a lot of touring or are you relatively new to it?

JH: We’ve never really toured except for last fall – that was our first tour.
DB: I’m ancient at it…we’ve been touring for probably six or seven years.
MH: Sanctus Real has been playing shows independently – probably over five to six hundred in five or six years – so we’ve done tons of shows. We’ve played a lot but last fall was our first nationally routed tour with any bigger acts. It was Festival con Dios.

Where is the craziest place you’ve played?

DB: We played a water park one time, which was weird because people were standing there in bathing suits just rockin’ out. We also played a place called the Surf Ballroom; it was the place where Buddy Holly and all those guys played their last show before their plane crashed.
MH: We played at a national night out against crime in Mississippi. They told us there would be thousands of people there and it would be crazy. It ended up raining buckets and it was ridiculous – this awful storm came in, so we had to set up in this little room just around the corner from where we were supposed to be playing outside. About four teenagers showed up the whole night. They had all these booths set up and it was this big ordeal; they had the fire and police departments set up a drunk driving reenactment, and only four kids came out. It was the weirdest thing we’ve ever done.
JH: We played at a Masonry hall in California…we found a bunch of their hats…just kidding. We did play at this skate park in California, and that was weird. It sounds cool, to play at a skate park and have people skating during our show, but it really wasn’t. We played right in front of the half-pipe and the crowd was so far away that it didn’t really feel like a concert. There were some kids in the pool. It was really weird.

What are your musical influences?

DB: Lyrically, there are a lot of great artists who really inspire me like Keith Green and Rich Mullins. Then musically, there are a lot of rock bands like the Beach Boys, Weezer, (I think all the bands love Weezer), and Johnny Cash is a big one right now…I listen to him all the time.
MH: My biggest Christian influences when I was younger were DC Talk – their Free at Last record was the biggest record of all time for me – and Audio A’s first tape that I got when I was young, that was huge. Lyrically, Al Denson is a huge influence on me. On the mainstream side of things, Sting’s solo stuff is some of my favorite of all time. I really dig Nichole Nordeman…she’s got amazing lyrics. I know Chris, our guitar player as well as Mark listen to a lot of older stuff like Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and a lot of older rock like Led Zeppelin.
JH: I’m really into singer/songwriters because they have a whole different way of writing music. It’s personal and from their heart more so than bands sometimes – not that bands don’t write from their heart – but there’s just something about Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen…those guys will just write what’s down in their soul and they’ll stand on the stage with a guitar and a harmonica and just play by themselves. I think that’s really cool. Rich Mullins would do that too. I like Bono from U2, I love U2 and the Beatles…I was raised on that kind of music so I like older stuff that’s real heartfelt lyrically and musically. Not that our music sounds like any of that, but it’s definitely been an influence to my musical scope.

What is your message as a band?

DB: For Bleach, I think our purpose is to give kids hope. I don’t think we’re about shoving anything down anybody’s throat, whether it be music or religion, but we do want to be up front and straightforward about what’s happened in our life and how God’s changed us. More than anything we want to give that to society…like when you’re walking down the street and see people who are dealing with junk, so we just want to share the hope that we’ve found in Jesus.
MH: Sanctus Real’s main goal is along the same lines as Bleach; we really feel like a lot of people haven’t really found true hope or a personal relationship with Christ, even people in the church a lot of the time. We’ve played at a lot of churches where students have told us they’ve been in church their whole lives and never heard a clear presentation of the gospel. That’s really confusing to me and it’s a ministry for us to convey that students can have a personal relationship. It’s not just religion, it’s not just Sunday morning church; it’s a day-to-day relationship. We also have a heart for people who have never been in church in their life, and we feel like we make music that reaches them as well.
JH: Holland’s basically along the same lines, and that’s why I’m so excited about this tour. When you go out with bands, if you share the same vision, it feels good to play shows together when you’re all on the same page. Also, I think a lot can be lost when you try to do something as a band, or even just as Christians you can get so involved in Christ or the Word or religion or whatever that you lose sight of what it’s all about. People can pick apart the Bible so much that they forget the whole theme is God’s compassion. I don’t want us to pick apart our lives so much that we forget what it’s all about. Definitely it’s all about love and encouraging kids to love and pray for each other…to know they can be who they are. They don’t have to be like everyone else; they can be themselves and be the person they want to be.

There’s not really a mold of what a Christian group is supposed to be anymore.

DB: I think it’s good because for too long there’s been a mold of how you’re supposed to be if you’re a Christian band. If you’re a Christian band you can only play at churches and don’t ever go out and play at clubs, you only do Christian events, and I think it’s awesome that it’s opening up, because if you’re a Christian, you’re called to share the gospel with people. I think there are different areas where that needs to be done. Some bands are called solely to Christian people…that’s where they fit in – to share hope with people who have been in church but haven’t experienced a personal relationship with God. And there are some bands that are called to go to the bars, you know? They never ever say a word about Jesus from the stage but live it with their lives and people see that and are attracted to it and they can share on a one-on-one basis. I’ve seen bands that have done that in amazing ways. To put a limit on it and say, “You’re a Christian band, this is what you have to do,” is kind of wrong.

Do you have any advice for younger people who are interested in pursuing music?

JH: My advice would be to go for it. Don’t let yourself or anyone else hold you back from pursuing your dreams. Sometimes you can second-guess yourself so much and that’s the problem, and if you have a dream, go for it. Obviously, there are a lot of things you need to do, like practice, write good songs…but yeah, just go for it!
MH: I think a lot of people try to find a formula but there is no formula. It’s different for every band and if people want to make it in music, they have to be willing to do it no matter what. We found this deal because we decided to be full-time musicians whether we had a record label or not. Whatever it took to get out and just do it – we found a manager and booking and all that before all this even came along. So like Josiah said, do it. Go for it with all your heart and God will make it happen if He wants you on a big label, small label, no label…making indie records, whatever. It doesn’t matter. If God calls you to do something, do it with all your heart.
DB: There comes a point in your life where you either say, “Okay, I’m going to do this to be safe. I’m going to work a job that I hate for the rest of my life because I know I can make money and have a house, it’s the safe thing to do.” Or you can say, “I’m going to do something that I know is not safe, it’s kind of scary, but it’s what I really really really want to do.” I think all three of us are living proof that it can happen, I mean, Bleach – we’re just a bunch of rednecks who like to play rock n’ roll. It’s worked out for us. I pretty much dropped out of college and started doing it. That’s a big step. I remember when I called my dad and said, “Yeah, I’m dropping out of school, and I’m going to do this rock n’ roll thing…” and he was like, “What?!?” But then he totally understood and supported it. You come to a point where you have to decide how to spend the rest of your life. I think it’s too short to be un-content. Ordinary people do huge and extraordinary things every day and I want to be a part of that instead of just working a job I hate.

What are the pro’s and con’s of being independent vs. being with a label?

MH: It’s just about how big of a fan base you build, having the money to market yourself or having someone else market you with the money they have. It can be either/or. I’ve known some independent artists who have made so much more money – and it’s not about money – because you need money to get by…I’ve seen artists who, independently, have reached less people but make a great income. There are other artists who can’t really make it on their own, but then they get on a label and are able to get by and can reach so many more people because the distribution is set up for them. There are definitely a lot of positives to being with a label – you get distributed all over the country, get a lot more shows…
JH: You play shows all over and kids know who you are; sing songs that you never could have gotten out on your own…
DB: I think it’s pretty cool that the Internet’s opening up for indie bands too. There’s more possibility for bands to get known.
MH: Everything’s changing! It’s so individual and unique to each band.
DB: Being indie there’s always a complete amount of freedom. I can do whatever I want, and no one’s going to come into the studio and say, “Hey you might want to change this part around a bit because I don’t know if people are gonna get it.” But at the same time, that can somewhat be positive because you can write a better song that way. I think it’s definitely give-and-take.

It probably depends on what label you go with…

MH: Yeah, we’ve gotten lucky. We have a label that lets us do basically whatever we want. So for us, it’s nice to know we can still do what we want, but they front the money for it. I have a feeling that some labels sign bands for what they can be and not for what they are…I think the best situation would be to sign with a big label that believed in who you are as a person and a songwriter and a musician, and not what you could be.

What is the best part of touring?

DB: I think the biggest thing is seeing people come out to your shows, and seeing how something like music can actually affect them in a positive way and share hope with people through a couple chords and a guitar. It’s amazing how kids drive from far away to come see a show…for me, it’s the best job ever. Nothing can compete with that.
MH: Meeting kids all over the country, getting a chance to share our lives and our music with people… When you’re on stage singing songs that relate to them, there’s a connection that happens. We travel all over and that’s the coolest thing. Sometimes kids will say, “I drove three, four hours to come to your show,” and it’s the best feeling that someone would think you’re cool enough to do that.
DB: It’s really amazing; I’m kind of impacted when they come up and say, “I was the first person in line!” I think a lot of bands take that for granted. They’d rather just sit in the bus and watch their nice TV’s and not have to deal with the kids. I think they forget that those kids are the ones who make it possible for them to be out doing what they love.
MH: It’s important to let people to know that you couldn’t be a successful band without them. You can’t forget about your friends, and your fans.
JH: Apart from all that, it’s been awesome to see the country. I’ve gotten to see a lot of really beautiful things, like Niagra Falls – people plan trips to do that kind of thing, but I wouldn’t normally be able to see the places I see on the road. It’s definitely fun to wake up in a different place every day.