Building 429 and their call to action
03-16-2006
by Brenten Gilbert

Building 429 has experienced one of the quickest rises to popularity in the recent history of Christian music. Their single, "Glory Defined" shot to the #1 spot of eight different radio charts and was named last year's Christian Song of the Year by BMI. The group was also named 2005's New Artist of the Year by the Gospel Music Association.

CMCentral.com caught up with the group as they were on the verge of releasing Rise their sophomore album for Word Records. We talked about the new album, missions, movies and a call to action. Below is the transcript of that conversation:

CMCentral.com (brenten gilbert): Why don't we go ahead and start talking about your upcoming album since that is really what is exciting right now.

Jason Roy: Oh yeah, I hope so.

Well, I hope you guys are excited.

Yes, we are.

So it is releasing on the 14th, how are you guys preparing for the release?

Right now we are doing media stuff, like interviewing with you to prepare for our release. We've been all around the country doing radio interviews and playing shows just to go ahead and get the word out about the new record. Hopefully, we are going to be doing a whole media tour - three venues a day or something like that. So, that is kinda what we are doing right now.

Keeping you busy, at least.

Oh yeah.

I noticed on your myspace that you are running an interesting promotion, the journey through the album.

Yeah

You want to talk a little bit more about that?

Jesse Garcia:Well, every week, starting last week, the top video is a spotlight on one of us. Last week, there was a spotlight on Michael and this week is Scotty. And the bottom videos are talking about the explanations of the songs. So every week, you are going to hear about a particular song - for instance "Home" and "Searching for a Savior" - what it's about and such. Every week that changes to lead up to the release of the record.

Basically, it's an effort to get people familiar with what they will be hearing when the record comes out, so they aren't coming in cold and trying to figure out what stuff means. This way it's just kind of a turn-key operation, saying what the songs are about and they can connect to it early on.

Yeah. And it seemed like you guys had a lot of fun recording those little videos too

(laughs)

Yeah Michael's peace sign, I loved that.

Michael Anderson: I couldn't believe they put that in

I thought it was awesome. I really liked it.

I liked the stomach growl in the one of them

(laughs)

I had nothing to do with that, man.

A lot of that footage is just us on the road from the past year and it's me with a camera, hand held and just you know trying to capture as much footage as possible. Trying to give fans an inside look.

That's cool. So what else you got going on. You mention there were other promos going around.

We'll be running a promotion very soon that will run for the entire tour. Our tour is based off our record, so it's will be called the "Rise Tour" and it's going to be calling people to action. Basically, we're trying to remind everyone that they have a sphere of influence and that they can raise awareness about missions work where they are by using that influence. So, that being said, we thought it would be really cool to organize a mission trip. We're going to go to either Costa Rica or Africa - I don't know which one it'll be yet as we are still working on the details with World Vision. But you are going to be able to sign up, win a spot on a plane to go with us to do this missions trip in the summer. That is one of the exciting things that we are doing. Taking people out there and actually getting our hands and feet dirty.

That's really awesome.

Yeah.

How would you say Rise relates to Space Between Us?

Was that part of your decision to change producers on this, just to capture that different feel?

Yeah, I mean Jim [Cooper] did an awesome job on the first record and we were proud of what we accomplished there. But I definitely think that Monroe [Jones] brings, in every project he works on, this real organic type of feel and that is exactly what we wanted. We wanted it to be four guys in there hammering it out in a much more organic way. So, it made sense to use a guy like Monroe who has produced amazing records, all of which still felt like they were very real and tangible. That is why we wanted to go with him for this record.

You do seem to draw out a kind of raw, rocky sound on a lot of the songs, I've noticed. Sounds pretty good.

Thanks man we appreciate it.

No problem. So how did you guys decide on the name, I know a lot of the album is about rising up, but how did you narrow it down to the one word name?

Well, we had a song called "Rise" and it ended up being on the record, but it very quickly became a much bigger concept than just that song. As we started recording this record, we really started to feel like this was our opportunity to step up and say what we wanted to say. We had so much freedom and we began understanding that we carry a lot of influence. We decided that for the first time in our own lives, we weren't going to be afraid to stand up and say, in a humble, but confident way, that this is what we believe. We wanted to encourage other people to do the same and it just seemed like a challenge that needed to go out to the church in general. It is time for us to rise up. Hopefully, when you put that one word on there, that is what it comes to mind when people buy the record.

So it had nothing to do with the scene from Star Wars. . .

(laughs)

No, not really, that is a good effort though.

A for effort there.

That actually jumped into my head randomly the other day. . .

Scotty Beshears: That would be a pretty cool story though wouldn't it?

Maybe you can use it for your promos?

RISE, LORD VADER!

(laughs)

Anyway, the overall theme of the album seems to be overcoming some of the limitations you might feel in life and really being all that God wants you to be. So a logical question is, what is the hardest thing you've had to overcome in life?

Probably myself. For so long I wanted to control my own life, you know, just my own destiny, my own hands, make my own way in this life and I had to learn quickly that I need to lose my life to Jesus in order to have it. That is pretty much it. The hardest thing is letting go of control and letting Jesus have it.

And the current single is called, "Fearless." What can you tell me about that, maybe something that's not on the promo video?

Well I think when you see the music video, the point of the song will be driven home. Basically, we just want to make sure people understand that when they are having a horrible day and everything is going wrong, they don't have to let Satan have his victory there. There is a verse in the Bible that I quote a lot [Ephesians 6:19] that says, "Pray for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given to me, so that I may proclaim The Gospel for which I am an ambassador in Christ." Paul also says, "Pray for me that I will speak The Gospel fearlessly as I should." I didn't say it exactly right, but that is the idea. And I know for us that song is not necessarily about who we are, but who we should be. It's a reminder to us, and hopefully to anybody else out there who hears it, that the glory of God is all over and no man can come against that. We should stand strong and confidently, unafraid of the consequences, but speaking the truth in our lives. That's where the song comes from, and honestly it's going to be our battle cry for the next year and a half or so. Hopefully, it'll become a battle cry for others as well.

Sounds good. Definitely something that should be encouraged. You also have a cover of the Blessid Union of Souls song, "I Believe." Why did you decide to include that and what changes did you make to the song to make it your own? There are obviously some differences there.

Jason brought that to us when we were thinking about and writing for the record and it was a song that we forgot that we knew. I think everybody is familiar with that song, but they have just forgetten about it. So when he brought that to us, we listened to it and took a serious look at it. Honestly, we just loved what it said. We thought it fit right in with Rise and what we wanted to say. The whole record is about overcoming and being filled with hope and love and as that song states, we do believe that love is the answer. So that's why we wanted it. Obviously, we left out the third verse, but that is pretty much the only change that we made. We kind of explored it musically, but kept it true to the same form, at least similar to the original, but, again, we had to leave out the third verse for obvious reasons. So we just reiterated the first half of the first verse and honestly it said a little of what we wanted to say.

Yeah, the first time I listened to it I was like, "I've heard this song before."

I think everyone is like that, "Man, who sung this song before?"

It's the kind of song that everybody knows, but they don't remember that they know it. So when they hear it, they'll be like, "Oh wow! I'm not sure where that came from, but it is a powerful song." We were very excited to have the opportunity to record that song.

So what song on the new album are you most excited about?

I can tell you my favorite song. My favorite song on the record is "Home," which is track number three. I think it explores a different musical direction than we've normally gone in the past. It is a little fresh for us and I love the subject matter. "Home" was based off of an email that we got from a fan who was contemplating suicide. He had his note written and everything. Then his mom walked by his door and put our CD on his bed. After listening to it, he changed his mind and he wrote in to tell us about it as a testimony to how our music has touched his life. At that moment we realized, first of all, why we are doing the music and also that we have a purpose. Not only that, but God has a purpose for all of us. As long as we are living and breathing, we have a purpose. We are not home yet and we're not finished. God has a plan for everybody, and that is what "Home" is all about.

Plus, it's a good song to sing along with. . .

Yeah, that is one of my favorites man.

. . .only in the car though, with no one else around.

(laughs)

I'm the same way, man.

Just keep on man. We will stand behind you. In fact, do you want to be our lead singer?

Not today. I think you do a good enough job

Well I try.

You also worked on the Psalms project with Phillip LaRue and a number of other great artists. How did you guys come upon that project?

That was courtesy of our producer, Mr. Monroe Jones, who was also a co-producer on that record. When we were in the studio, I had started working on a piece of music, so I showed it to Scotty one day. His reaction to that song was better than for just about anything I had brought to him before.

So was the songwriting process different for that project than for writing for you own album?

No, it's pretty much the same. I do a lot of writing on my own and usually, if I like an idea, I'll bring it to the guys, sit down and show it to them. Depending on how they respond, maybe it's done, but then again, sometimes it's not. For instance I had this idea for the song "Alive" but when I walked in and played it for everybody, the chorus wasn't exactly what we wanted. So they wrote the chorus music and I wrote a whole new lyric. Then it was done. This record is a much more collaborative record than the last one, and I think it shows signs of strength because of that.

Interesting. So how about a couple of light questions?

that sounds great

What Winter Olympics event describes you best?

What's that downhill thing? Where they are going super fast and they are trying not to fall down? That is me right there. When you are going around the corners and you are just holding on for dear life.

I could have sworn it would have been ice dancing.

aw, thanks man

(laughs)

I know that mine would probably be that curling.

that totally makes sense. His life is precision, planned out, that is Michael.

My life is summed up by Olympic curling.

(laughs)

That is about the only sport I actually watched on the winter Olympics this year

Why is that always on?

well it's better than [other things]

Who do you look to musically as a mentor as a model? Maybe someone you just look at and say, "They've got it right."

Probably myself

(laughs)

I'll say, in the Christian music industry, I like Mac from Third Day. I like Third Day.

I'm a Switchfoot fan

yeah, Switchfoot does it right

I'm a Lifehouse fan

Yeah that's a good one. And the Blindside guys. And Rachel Lampa and Carman.

Big fan of Carman

I can see the influence

(laughs)

I used to dance for Carman actually

His stage name is "Twinkle Toes," but we'll just leave it at that.

So it really is ice dancing for him

(laughs)

Alright what are the last three movies you watched and what did you think of them?

What is the name of that new Harrison Ford movie? That just came out.

Firewall?

Firewall. Yeah, it was alright. . .

(laughs)

. . .but he needs to stop making movies

(laughs)

It's been a while. I guess the last one we saw was The Chronicles of Narnia and that was pretty good. Very good. Highly recommend that one.

We don't have time to go see movies.

Well it could be a DVD, too.

oh, DVDs. . .

We saw that movie Zathura. I thought Jumanji was better but, same thing I guess. It was pretty decent for a family movie.

The last movie I watched was School of Rock. . .on my video iPod.

Yeah, that was a funny movie

The last movie I saw was last night with my son. I watched Toy Story 2, which by the way I think is just as good as Toy Story 1.

Definitely. My boys love watching Woody and Buzz.

I love the intro to Toy Story 2, it looks like. . . and all of a sudden you are . . . I'm sorry. My son hopefully loves it too, but I enjoy it. It's pretty good.

(laughs)

Did you see the preview for that movie, Cars?

Yeah man, we are there. My son is all about seeing Cars. Oh, I know. The last movie I saw in the theatre was Chicken Little. It was really good too. That was my son's first movie. You all would like it.

(laughs)

A grown man would like it. They don't believe me.

(laughs)

I believe you.

Thank you I appreciate it.

(laughs)

So you have a tour coming up with Tait. That is pretty exciting.

That is pretty cool actually. It's going to be a small tour. It's probably going to be like ten dates. It's going to be small and compact. It's our first time as a headliner, so we wanted, not necessarily to test out the waters, but just to do it right. If that meant doing only ten dates, then that's what it meant and that's what we are going to do. Tait has graced us with his presence and we are also taking out a couple of guys called "Travel the Road" Tim [Scott] and Will [Decker]. They are adventure missionaries and man, do they have some good stories to tell, along with a lot of media footage. It's going to be a really good tour.

So where else can we catch up with you guys?

The internet, there's Building429.com and our MySpace page

And the festivals all summer long. We'll be playing just about everything there is to play all summer so . . . that's it.