To hear them talk, you'd never know they'd sold over a million records, had 12 #1 radio hits, won Dove awards, and oh, let's see, what else...been nominated for two Grammy awards? Their continuing penchant for creating musical blends of hope, joy and gut-wrenching honesty has long since established them as the youth ministry band of choice. And yet the five piece modern rock group still can't quite come to grips with its own success.
"We started the band ten years ago thinking it would be a cool summer ministry," says bass player Will McGinniss, "and we've been amazed at how things have fallen into place since then. Before we knew what was happening we found ourselves touring with acts like dc Talk and Steven Curtis Chapman. All along we've been thrown into things unexpectedly. We feel like we've been playing 'catch up' as we go."
"I know a lot of people won't understand what we're talking about when we say that we still feel like an 'underdog' band," adds vocalist Mark Stuart, "but we really struggle with our own perceived weaknesses and non-abilities. We're still scared to death sometimes to play a big festival or to go onstage after a band that we really admire. But God has chosen to shine through the very things we see as our weaknesses. Now we're in a position to encourage other people who feel weak or broken. That's where the whole underdog theme for this record comes from, and I think that's a big part of the connection that kids feel with Audio Adrenaline."
Audio A have found themselves onstage participating in a Billy Graham crusade, a Franklin Graham crusade, and multiple Harvest crusades. "When our music careers are over and we look back on them," Mark muses, "these crusades will probably be the best things we ever did. I've been standing on a stage and have watched 20,000 people come forward. To see kids streaming down from all over this huge stadium just weeping and giving their lives to God was the peak of our career. You feel so humble and out of place to even be on stage when God does something like that."
The band's humility and reluctance to make themselves at home in the spotlight sits well with the whole notion of being an "underdog"--of watching God's strength work powerfully through weaknesses and failures.
"In the song 'Underdog,' we used a line from the book The Jesus I Never Knew," Mark offers in summation. "It says, 'Although the world is tilted toward the rich and powerful, God is tilted toward the underdog.' That's a great message for kids. It gives them something to hope for in the fact that, though they might not be the best looking or the richest kid in school, or even a leader in their youth group, they are great in God's eyes and God can still use them in a powerful way."
Musical Style: Alternative Rock
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