Fireflight Interview: Strength Through Weakness
03-24-2008
by Kevan Breitinger
My conversation with Fireflight front woman Dawn Richardson turned often to power, also the theme of new album Unbreakable. Dawn is quick to recognize how often it is found through our weakness.
CMCentral (Kevan Breitinger): Hi Dawn, thanks for calling. First off, how are you feeling? How are your throat and your voice doing?
Fireflight (Lead vocalist Dawn Richardson): It’s been very good. We just got off a tour with Stellar Kart so we’ve been very busy, but my voice is holding up pretty well, thank you.
Wow, I thought this was your quiet time, leading up to the busy season.
Well, we were up until about three weeks ago. Since then it’s been go, go, go.
Sure, with the new album (Unbreakable) coming out, which I loved by the way. Your voice sounded strong on it to me.
Thank you very much. I actually began recording it three days after being diagnosed with vocal blisters. So we totally attribute the album’s strength to God. The whole album is a miracle in itself, just one aspect of the many miracles God has granted us. But I was diagnosed on Friday and we started recording on that Monday, and then I had to go into complete vocal rest after that. But God really came through for us, and even though I was in the worst vocal health of my life, I sang better than I ever had before.
We had been working so hard for so long, actually working straight for quite a while. We had about six months for 
development of the new album, but in reality it only came to about six and a half weeks to work on it. And this album is in a high range I haven’t sung in since high school choir. So with working on these new techniques I think that’s how it happened. I had gone to see a vocal coach just before we went into the studio and that’s when he told me he thought there might be a problem. He got me in the next day with a respected doctor, who immediately found the problem, and helped me to start treatment. With the new technique I learned from my vocal coach and with the regiment of vocal rest that they prescribed I’m singing the best I ever have in my career.
From what I read it seemed like the writing of this album took place under some pretty challenging circumstances, when you were all traveling and living in the van together. I know it helps me to be in a good place mentally when I’m trying to be creative.
(Laughs) We definitely were not in a good place mentally. We were touring full time, and we were lucky if we got four or five days home a month. It was a very tiring time and we were going through hard times in our personal lives. We had to turn to God and say, ‘Lord, you’ve got to make this happen because we can’t do it on our own.’ And He really came through for us. It seems to us like the most solid achievement of our music career and we’re so excited about it.
It’s ironic too, isn’t it, with the album’s message of empowerment. Like He says, when we’re weak He is strong in us. I appreciated the message of empowerment on the album.
Thank you. The main focus of this album is triumph, and basically that no matter what impossible situation you may be in, God is going to bring you through. He’s going to use the pain that you’ve experienced to turn it into power in your life. The first album dealt with a lot of heavy topics and this one does too. We just wanted to remind every one, and ourselves too, of the amazing power that is available to us through Christ.
Yeah, it doesn’t seem like we really know that. We sing the songs in church, we say all the right words, but it’s clear that many of us don’t know how to tap into that truth.
It’s one thing to know something in your head, but it’s another to know it with your heart. We say, ‘yes, I’m free, I’m redeemed, born again,’ all those things. But then we continue to live wrapped up in the pain of our past. That pain guides every decision we make, and ultimately leads us down more roads toward more pain. So we felt burdened to try to find victory in our own personal lives over those things and we wanted to channel it, if we could, to empower others to find the hope that they’re searching for but can’t seem to grab hold of.
That’s the only way to wring good out of all that hard stuff.
Definitely.
I haven’t seen the video for “Unbreakable” but I’ve heard about it. It sounds great, with plenty of car crashes. (Laughing)
It’s phenomenal, we’re so excited about it. There’s just no words to express our happy we are about the way it turned out. We can’t wait for everyone to see it, and we can’t wait to see it ourselves. It’s a very powerful video, dealing with people in horrible situations and finding hope in them.
That’s a message that we need to hear. Do you want to tell us a little bit about your writing process? Do you all write together?
Yeah, we write as a collective. We all provide our own parts. The two guitarists work together to provide the melody and structure, and then our drummer and bassist come together to provide the backbone, the rhythms, and then I’ll bring forth the melodies and lyrics I’ve been working on, and it all comes together.
Yeah, I heard a bit more of Justin Cox this time around, it was nice.
Yeah, we really like the blend of Justin’s guitar and the voices, we think it’s a cool contrast. We liked it a lot on the first album and were excited to see more of it on this new album.
And I liked your duet with him on “The Love We Had Before.”
Yeah, I think that really turned into something special. That happened in one day where it wasn’t going to be me singing it, but him singing, to put a new twist to it. I think that song kind of grew over time, evolved from its original concept and became something very powerful. Originally we were working toward commenting on church relationships, how people have such a hard time getting along. And it grew to include romantic relationships, which fits with the 50% divorce rate in this country. Even among Christians, it’s so hard for people to stay together these days. We wanted to focus on real love, and what it takes to stay together. Love endures all things and is willing to compromise, to put the other person first.
Yeah, that’s some tough stuff. Let me just ask you one more question, Dawn. What’s the best spiritual advice you’ve been given that has helped you deal with life on the road and the challenges you face in your music ministry?
We have a band pastor who helps us out a lot. He told me that whenever you have more than one person involved in a situation there will be conflict (laughing). He told our drummer at a time when he was struggling, ‘God doesn’t have problems, He has people.’ We’re all out there making decisions based on what we think is best. Unfortunately, we don’t always agree, and we can tend to butt heads, but every one of us is really out there doing the best that we can. It’s so important to look at each other through God’s eyes.
And the second thing I learned this year came from a wonderful organization called Porter’s Call in Nashville, a counseling organization that works with Christian bands and artists who are out there day after day on the road. It’s supported by the Christian labels so that artists can go and sit down and talk through their issues. We all had a group session and we had individual sessions as well. They asked us, and I thought it was really interesting, ‘what is your vision for so-and-so?’ God has a vision for you, but what is your vision for that person?
It was a big wake-up call to me to think about if I had this for others. Am I really looking not at what they are but what they can become? And how can I help them get there? If you start taking that perspective about the other people in your life, it’s a miracle how it will change your interaction and how you look at them.
Sounds like a great group, what a blessing to have that kind of support.
It’s a lot easier with it (laughing).
A lot less painful, I’m sure (laughing). Well, thanks for your time, Dawn.
Thanks so much for the opportunity and for supporting our ministry.
Visit the Fireflight's new online interactive Unbreakable community at www.iamunbreakable.com and share your own story of struggle and victory. You can also view the brand new Unbreakable music video there.
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