When Pillar arrived on the national music scene back in 2000, rock bands were forming and folding in what seemed to be one sweeping motion. Lead singer Rob Beckley recalls two of his favorite outfits—Pax217 and Earthsuit (which later partially reformed as Mute Math)—hitting the scene about the same time, only to disband a few short years later.

That reality makes Pillar’s longevity seem that much more surreal and nonetheless appreciated. “There’s only a handful that survived the filtration process. The way that the industry’s gone, I’m surprised that there’s even room for us,” Beckley candidly admits. “So many new bands pop up, you wonder what you have to do to keep the excitement going.”

Beckley has drawn inspiration from some of the other bands that have stood the test of time. “You look at Jars of Clay—they’ve been doing it for even longer and they’re still putting out great records and writing good music,” Beckley says. “With us, I feel like we keep continually writing the best stuff we’ve ever done. It’s cool that we can still feel the excitement.”

But there was a time in recent history when that excitement had waned. After flirtations with the mainstream did not quite pan out—due to what Beckley describes as the lack of “a solidified vision”—Pillar’s collective members weren’t enjoying life on the road like they once did. It was a far cry from their humble beginnings as a band at Fort Hays Community College in Kansas, where a call from an independent record label or that first experience in the studio was enough to light a blazing fire.

Beckley struggled with the emotional and physical hardships of demanding travel schedules and the lack of self-imposed spiritual accountability. But his biggest challenge can be summed up in one word: “Christians,” Beckley says. “I went through a really rough spell for about two years. I didn’t trust Christians. I didn’t want to be around Christians. I couldn’t believe I was part of something I felt was so fake. To call it like it was, I was the person that I hated; I was being the same way. We got a lot of judgment thrown our way, and it was really hard to deal with.”

When the band formed in 1998, Beckley (Pillar’s sole original member) had only been a Christian a couple months. He found himself careening down a steep learning curve. However, thanks to an intervention orchestrated by his wife and his pastor, Beckley took a major step back in the right direction, and has since rekindled his passion for making music and speaking into the lives of Pillar’s loyal fan base.