There’s
a sense of immediacy in the rock & roll of Southern Weather that Gillespie
says is rooted in this self-imposed challenge: “I just felt like I had to do it
in that time frame. When I was writing, I decided I’d record the rest of them
the same way.”
But
Gillespie assures us, at this point, that this doesn’t mean a break in
Underoath, for musical differences or any other reason. “I’m very much
fulfilled musically and artistically by Underoath; I just really wanted to make
some songs that wouldn’t necessarily fit that format, which I think is a
healthy reason for a project like this.”
Musically,
he says, things were going to be more in the pop/rock vein—more melodies,
crunchy guitars, singing rather than screaming. And lyrically, “I wanted to
create a bunch of tunes you could listen to driving in your car and just make
your own. I wanted to make the lyrics and descriptions and titles of things big
enough that people could make into what they wanted it to be for themselves.”
Redmon,
formerly of Beloved and Dead Poetic, says of the songs, “The lyrics are so
transparent; Aaron’s pretty much put it out there. It’s definitely the most
spiritually straight-up thing I’ve been involved with.”
THE IMPACT OF REASON
For Gillespie, and the rest of his new
bandmates, that’s quite all right. There’s no sense in trying to be anything
other than a “Christian band,” since Underoath proudly carries that moniker,
and it falls naturally on The Almost.
“I’m
a Christian guy,” says Gillespie, “and I’m in a Christian band. That’s who I
am; I’m in a Christian rock & roll band. People ask if that’s pigeonholing
yourself. I’m not into compartmentalizing or alienating people, obviously, but
I think that God meant for us to be all things to all people and to tell people
who we are as Christians. I’m a Christian, and my life should always reflect
who I am, so why shouldn’t my music reflect that?”
Still,
Gillespie feels that the Christian music industry has grown insular, at risk of
putting our light under a bushel. For him, and for his bands, there has been an
honest attempt to be true to themselves as people of faith and yet tear a hole
in that glass ceiling.
“We
have such a chance to make an impact,” he says, expressing the desire for
Christians to share their art and voice with the world. “We have such great
talent, such great ideas. Everyone I’ve met in the Christian industry is
compassionate, and they’re great, yet we put ourselves in a small box. I don’t
often tour with Christian bands, because I don’t really believe in preaching to
the choir.”