Hooks and heart. That’s what The Afters are all about…and they want to make sure no one is excluded from the message.
“We want people to know that our faith is the most important thing in the world to us,” says Josh. “We’re Christians, but we make music for everybody. We’re never ashamed of our faith. God has opened the door for us to be able to talk about that in all kinds of places, even MTV…”
“Beautiful Love” may have been where it all began, but The Afters are interested in more than just another smash single—they’re out to bring a message of transformation to the world. Let’s face it, they’re leaving OK in the dust.
Graduating with a degree in Journalism/Mass Communication from Samford University, Lindsay Williams is the managing editor for CCM Magazine and currently resides in Nashville.SIDEBAR: KEEPING ME ALIVE My first GMA Week, one of my most memorable interviews came from a little band of four guys from Dallas, Texas. It wasn’t necessarily unforgettable because they said something profound that went on to change the course of my life. But rather, it was the fact that they didn’t take themselves too seriously. In fact, they spent more time talking about coffee than they did Dove Awards, record deals or mainstream success. In short, my 30 minutes with them was a nice little break in a long week filled with back-to-back interviews with artists answering the same Q&As. They joked about how they could nab the cover of
CCM, and I (in good humor, of course) told them if they won “New Artist of the Year” at the Doves later that week, we would put them on the cover. As fate would have it, they walked away winners. And later, that summer of 2006, The Afters became my heroes. They saved my life…literally. Why don’t I let them tell you what happened:
“That show we played at Exit/In,” says Josh. “she almost was not going to come, but then, at the last minute she decided, ‘Well The Afters are in town, and they’re my favorite band…’”
“Of all time…” adds Matt.
“‘And I could get hit by a car tomorrow and die never having seen them live.’ So, she comes to the concert,” Josh continues. “Well, her neighbor was cleaning his shot gun, and it went off and put a hole in her wall, and she would have been sitting in her chair that she always sits in watching TV, and she would have been hit by the bullet…”
Each time the story gets told, my impending death looms closer, the gun gets a little bit bigger and the bullet hole grows by a couple feet. But these guys believe it. And just hearing them tell this story again makes me smile.
—L.W.