http://launch.producerhq.com/5386 At least a decade before releasing music independently was considered cool, Caedmon’s Call was recording its very own CDs (and even cassettes), literally selling them straight out of the tour van. Eventually the worshipful roots rockers earned major label attention, but after a period of national recognition as a result, the eclectic collective opted to be on its own once again come the new Raising Up the Dead. And as co-vocalist/guitarist/producer Derek Webb so warmly puts it in a chat with CCM, the band couldn’t feel more at home with one another, even after a decade and a half together thus far. CCM: What inspired the group to take a totally DIY approach to Raising Up the Dead? Webb: Necessity. Caedmon’s Call is a community of creative people who live in several states so we had to use technology to our advantage. Also, there are such diverse gifts within the band that it didn’t make sense to bring in outside people. It was simply a matter of looking around us and taking inventory of all of our resources, then focusing them towards this new project. This band absolutely has everything it needs in-house to conceptualize, write, record and distribute music. CCM: How did you guys come up with the title? Webb: It was a line from a song we wrote together during some initial writing sessions in Texas. It speaks to the nature of God. He isn’t interested in the things we’re interested in. He doesn’t want to improve our lives, answer our questions and make us comfortable. He wants to raise people from the dead. CCM: What types of goals were you hoping to achieve from a musical perspective on the collection? Webb: As a producer, I was interested in finding the classic and future sound—wanting to create in the awareness of where Caedmon’s has been and is comfortable, and then move from that place into the unknown. So there was a fair amount of experimentation to see what these new songs wanted. I think where we wound up is something that Caedmon’s fans will find initially familiar but ultimately new. CCM: Why is the idea of community so important to Caedmon’s Call? Webb: I think Caedmon’s Call was a community before community was cool. It’s become such a popular idea in the last 10 years, but when Caedmon’s started, the idea of community was more like being in a gang. We loved and sometimes hated each other. We ate all our meals together and lived together. We shoved each other. And we bounced off of each other in a way that helped form our personalities and identities. We’re six versions of the same person. I don’t even feel like we chose each other. It felt more like we were brought together. Real community is rarely something or someone you choose. Caedmon’s Call album: Raising Up the Dead Release Date: September 14, 2010 Your guide to the neweSt happeningS in ChriStian muSiC By andy argyrakis What’s NeW 12 CCM