Stellar Kart: Outta The Box
02-19-2008
by Kevan Breitinger
Stellar Kart frontman Adam Agee was enjoying some much deserved family time when I spoke to him about his upcoming new release, Expect The Impossible.
CMCentral (Kevan Breitinger): Hey Adam, how you doing?
Fine, I’ve been looking forward to speaking with you again.
Great. I’ve been listening to the new album all day. I know when we spoke about a year ago the thing that stuck out to me most was your heart for your audience, how it was all about the kids. In listening to these lyrics it seems like you’re still writing with the kids and their issues in mind.
Yeah, definitely, I think this record even more than the others has been a direct result of the kids and families we’ve been in contact with, and their stories. They share with us what they’re going through, what they’re dealing with and how they make it through. Some of the songs on this record are a direct result of that.
So I read that the theme of the record is about striving to achieve one’s best self in Christ.
Yes, it is.
Can I ask how that is going for you, in our own life?
I think we go through highs and lows and sometimes we’re pretty high, and sometimes we’re just getting by. I think being in a position of responsibility and being a role model forces me to stay on my toes, and keep up with being in the Word and live as good of a life as possible. I think it’s really easy for us to get lazy or just try to get by because we’re so busy, and it can be tough. But we’re definitely here to encourage people to enjoy a better life once you have all your priorities in the right place.
That’s gotta be hard for you to do, because I know you’re a hard-touring band. I know you were doing like 200 dates a year. Are you still keeping that up?
Yeah, we’re still doing that. It can be tough and a grind, but it’s where we’re supposed to be right now. Whenever we seek the Lord about what we’re to do with our lives, He makes it clear this is what we’re supposed to be doing right now. He reveals that to us bit by bit as we go along, and it is tough sometimes, but we try to stick together and build each other up. We’ve come a long way internally as a band. I think once we got ourselves squared away, we can now start thinking about helping out other people, making a difference in their lives.
I appreciate your honesty, and because you are so honest I’m gonna ask you: what’s the hardest part of all this for you?
The hardest part about touring is whenever I have to go more than a week without seeing my wife and daughter.
Oh wow, that would be hard.
Definitely that is the toughest part, because my daughter is now 13 months old. There were a couple of weeks when she was three months old that I had to be out for an extended time and it just about killed me. Fortunately, she’s been able to come out on the road a lot, and we never spend more than a week apart. That’s do-able. Once we go past that week point, it’s really hard. I don’t want to miss anything, and I don’t want to not be there for her.
Absolutely, and that’s such a great age, too.
Oh yeah, she is so much fun right now. She runs around like a nut (laughing); it’s just so great.
How are you feeling about the new album? I think my favorite was “Pray,” and I liked the closer too, “Letters.” There’s something a bit different about that track.
I dig both of those songs. I liked the way “Pray” turned out. From a musical standpoint it comes across real big, epic. I 
think the message is so simple, too. But a lot of times people get overwhelmed with life and they forget how simple it is to lay your burdens at the Lord’s feet with a few words. People get caught up in life and trying to do things on their own, but we need to take a step back and realize that we don’t have to do this by ourselves. So that song is a way of saying all that.
You’re right. We do tend to complicate everything.
Yeah, and another thing that tied into the title of the record (Expect The Impossible) was that we need to expect God to do great things. We should expect miracles in our lives and other people’s lives, and for Him to do what He says. It’s why we do what we do, because we expect God to pull through, as He has so many times for us when it seemed impossible.
I liked too the strong lyrical content. I know a big part of your audience is the youth group crowd, and these are messages they need to hear.
Yeah, we have a niche. We want everybody to appreciate our music, and have it be as universal as possible, but we also want the youth group kids to have a tool to reach their friends. We want them to have music that’s hip and cool and fun, but the lyrics are positive and uplifting.
And you were lucky again, working with Ian Eskelin. He’s such a wild man creatively.
Yeah, he’s a blast. He’s all over the place and spastic at times (laughing). He’s just so much fun, and I kind of bring him down to earth, and check all the details and it seems to work out great.
Funny, he said pretty much the same thing about you (laughing). It’s a good pairing. Anything else you want to say about the album while I have you here?
Yeah, I think Stellar Kart fans are gonna love this album. There’s plenty for them to enjoy and have fun with, but the second half of the album was also more of a progression for us. We went in a couple of different directions, kind of exploring musically and even lyrically what the future might hold for us.
That’s interesting to hear, as I noticed the difference between the two halves of the album.
Yeah, we thought we might as well try some things a bit out of the Stellar Kart box and see what people think. And so far the response has been great; people love the singable melodies and uplifting lyrics.
Well, don’t change what’s not broken, right? Listen, thanks for taking the time to talk with us, Adam, I enjoyed it.
OK, thank you so much.
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