With wacky humour, a full tilt gospel message and now a sci-fi edge, Australian pop rockers NEWSBOYS recently made the US pop charts. Tony Cummings reports.

Newsboys

Anyone who saw their truly stunning live appearance at Greenbelt '95 would know that Newsboys were even more thrilling live than their infectiously engaging CDs had led us Brits to expect. Now with the release of Take Me To Your Leader' the band -John James (lead vocals), Peter Furler (drums, lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jody Davis (guitar), Duncan Phillips (percussion), Jeff Frankenstein (keyboards) and Philip Urry (bass, lead vocals) - make sure their new CD reflects the band's on-stage capabilities. Where previously albums had utilised session musicians, on TMTYL' all the parts are played by the band themselves. It also is far more guitar-based than the band's previously highly successful 'Not Ashamed' (1993) and 'Going Public' (1994).

Again co-produced by band member Peter Furler and artist-in-his-own-right Steve Taylor, on Take Me To Your Leader' the Boys create a sound that Peter describes as the result of "The Clash and Abba having children". The album zips with the feel-good pop of the first single "Reality", zaps with the laconic wit of "Breakfast", rocks with the guitar-wailing "Lost The Plot" and sighs with the acoustic benediction "Breathe". Recently, some US journalists got the Aussie/US six-some around a mike. The result proved that picking any topic Newsboys will wax lyrical.

THE FIRST-EVER NEWSBOYS BAND RECORD
Peter: "In the studio, a band can come off very sterile. We've fought with it for a long time because we're a very dynamic band live. But once you get into the studio and see that red light go on, straightway something jumps up inside and disturbs you."
Jeff: "Most of us have never recorded anything on this scale. We were a bit freaked out but we set up the gear and started jamming."
Jody: "We started writing in January and pretty much worked on it all year. We blocked out about three months at The Sanctuary (a Nashville studio) and left our gear there and worked every day. Basically, the songs got arranged on the spot but we might go back and change or add things. That helped keep more of a live feel." Peter: "When we worked with studio musicians, we had to explain what we wanted from them. These guys didn't need direction because they know what the band sound like."

SEQUENCERS AND KEYBOARDS
Peter: "On this album we didn't use any sequencers or loops or anything. I didn't want to rely on a computer to make it sound good. I was sick of keyboards. I'd just had enough, and I didn't really find any inspiration from the keyboard with this record. With the last two records, I really hadn't found any inspiration on guitar. But with this one I did. I would sit down at the drum kit and record a drum groove for about three or four minutes, then I'd pick up the guitar and come up with a riff. That's really how it came about; it was just a new love for the guitar that came back on me. I don't know how long it'll last; I may do it for another couple records and then go back to keys!"

IN THE STUDIO
Jeff: "A lot of the things on this album didn't come out until we were three quarters through recording it. Pete would come in and say, 'I've got this line for a song,' and everything would build on top of it." Peter: "It came out better than what I could have got any guys to play. These guys are great players and everyone came to the party and took over their section of the band. It really brought out individuality. You don't just hear one guy's head making a record. You get to hear Phil playing bass like a fresh instrument. Jody likes to take a track home and really work on his part. Jeff, the same thing."
Jody: "We used so many different amps, so many different guitars. Just everything we could get our hands on to try. Did a lot of unusual things, too, like we ran bass and keyboards through guitar amps. Because we had more time, we could be more experimental."

DESCRIBING THEIR ALBUMM
John: Tempo-wise, this album definitely rocks a lot harder. We wanted to take a lot of the energy we have on stage and capture it on the record."
Duncan: "On this album, there's some danceable stuff but there are heavier songs like 'Lost The Plot' that are not danceable at all."
John: "I think spiritually and message-wise it's a lot more mature."
Jody: "Lyrically, I think it's super-strong. It's touching on some solid issues. I'd say it's the most serious and strongest album that we've done."
Peter: "We just try to be who we are on a record. We don't want to be someone we're not because then you have to live with that."

IN PRAISE OF STILLWATER, OK, OTTUMWA, IA AND MILWAUKEE, Wl
(Where concert-goers participated in impromptu recording sessions) Jody: "We already had the gear out on the road and Steve Taylor was opening for us and Russ Long was his sound guy (and chief recording engineer for the album). Since we were doing the tongue-in-cheek 'Breakfast' and it already had whistling, we decided to add a big sing-along. At the end of the show, we announced that everyone who wanted to sing on our album should stay afterward. Everybody pretty much stayed. They set up a couple of mikes, taught the audience, and played the tracks. We did that at three different shows and took the best one. They all sang surprisingly well."

EARLY ALBUMS
Peter: "We're really a band who has let our mistakes come out in the recording. Some bands come out with a smash first record but we've left all our dirty laundry out in the yard. We've made some bad records - it's kind of embarrassing - but at the same time, people have gotten to see the growth of a band."

TRENDLESS LOVE
Peter: "When grunge was popular, our lead singer was in a silver suit - the total opposite. A lot of alternative bands come off as sort of dark and we're not that at all. We're pretty happy people. Because of Christ, there's always a glimmer of hope even though life is not always a bed of roses."

FANS
Peter: "I really like to talk to fans and read their letters because they really don't live the same life that we do."
Jeff: "Fans go, 'I wish that I could be like them' and here we are on the bus wishing we could live a normal life like everyone else."
Peter: "Staying in touch with the people who listen to our music is pretty important because I like to see what makes them tick in the same way that they like to read our interviews. For us, being with the crowd is very important because they're the ones you want to serve."
Jeff: "When a band gets bigger, it's harder to keep in connection with the fans. We really appreciate our fans because they're some of the most psycho (an Aussie compliment), greatest fans a band could ever want."

MIX AND MINGLE
Peter: "Mingling with fans keeps us within the bounds of reality. The other night John and Phil were walking through a crowd of about 1,500 handing out Vegemite (a famed Australian food-stuff). People don't expect the lead singer and bass player to be out there with them. Doing show after show, I can lose reality of what it's like to see a band you're excited about. We like to whack on a baseball cap and go out and listen to what people are saying as they're walking in. It's something we really need to do. And people need to realise that we can be a turkey just like they can be. We have to be normal to stay normal."

THE MILLI VANILLI RUMOUR
John: "We played with tracks for a while and got to rest in that. And if anything, it held us back as a band."
Jeff: "We started playing everything live on the Steven Curtis Chapman tour and we bonded musically and started growing leaps and bounds."
Duncan: "We've always been mates but playing live has caused us to become a lot closer. You come off stage and know you did it."
Jeff: "And laugh at each other and at the mistakes we made."
John: "We're one of those bands that people like to slam. They accuse us of lip-syncing. Just the other day, someone was slamming
Jody, saying that he wasn't playing guitar, that he was just miming. What can you do? We just laugh and take it as a compliment."

THE LYRIC ABOUT 'SHOVELLING ELEPHANT DUNG'?
Phil: "It's a lot better than some words we could've put on there."
John (with false sincerity): "I think it's definitely a breakthrough. (Sincere sincerity) I think it was appropriate. It summed up what we were saying about the guy in the song ("Reality")."
Jeff: "And it rhymed too."
John: "We spent a lot of time really trying to lock in on what we wanted to say. On some songs, there were three sets of lyrics written. Since the last album, we've all grown as people and there was more we wanted to say."
Jeff: "We've always been really straightforward with our message but I think on this album we've gone for a more personal approach - more than just stories." John: "We looked at circumstances that turned our lives around and talked about how, if God can touch our lives, he can touch anyone's life. We talk on the bus till sometimes three or four o'clock in the morning about good times, bad times, things the fans told us at the last show. Since the last album, we were ready to write because so much has happened."

LEARNING TO "BREATHE" AGAIN
Jeff: "We've all been through a lot of changes spiritually. It's really hard being on the road and trying to keep yourself spiritually fresh. The song 'Breathe' was written about that. It's so easy to get bitter and go through the motions on stage. Especially in the last few months, we've been going through a kind of mini-spiritual revival."
John: "Peter's father, who is a missionary, has been on the road with us really challenging the band to be real and always be mindful of why we're doing what we do and never take it for granted."

GETTING STEVE TAYLOR IN ON LYRIC WRITING
Peter: "When we got to the lyrics, I knew our weakness. I had written most of the music for 'Not Ashamed' and recorded a lot of it. I had titles and choruses for most of the songs, but it was the verses I couldn't get. No one ever praises you for going out and finding a great lyricist. Most bands say, 'We can do it ourselves,' and then go and put out a crappy album. No one ever said, 'Hey, that was smart to get Steve Taylor, because he's what they needed in the lyrical department.'"

OVER 400 SHOWS IN TWO YEARS
John: "It's been really hard to make it through the end of this tour. You don't want to do a sort of set routine instead of letting people on the inside. Eventually it becomes a spiel and, although it was birthed from good intentions, because you're doing it so many times, you can find yourself getting really stale and really empty."
Jeff: "But people aren't stupid. They know when it's not real."
John: "As a guy who's a frontman and vocal up front, you've got to be mindful that God has given you an opportunity. I really in my heart try purposefully to say nothing I've said the night before."

WORK HARD, PLAY HARD
Phil: "I think that most of us are pretty much visionary-dreamer kind of people."
Jeff: "When the band thinks up something cool, we'll organise it, plan it, and get it done as fast as we can - no matter what it takes or what it costs."
John: "If we're gone for too long, we'll load the bikes (off-road motorcycles) in the truck so we can have adventures."
Jody: "We tour so much. When we do these adventures, they're usually so intense, you really can't think about anything else. It really releases you and gets you away from everything so you're able to have more endurance on the road. It's kind of a release for us."
Phil: "The same thing with the album premiere we're doing at NASA. Before someone could number-crunch it or reason us out of it, all the plans were started. Everyone was so excited and enthusiastic about it."

BACK TO THE FUTURE
John: "We're talking about getting back to what we used to do at the festivals, setting up in the dirt or on one of the side stages."
Jeff: "We did that a couple of times last year in Canada."
John: "On just a little side stage. No big pa, just a couple of amps, one microphone, a little speaker there. That's us. That's the Newsboys."

MARKETING HYPE
Peter: "People get tied up with the image and marketing but I've seen stuff go out about us that I'm pretty embarrassed about. I always think, 'What would the Lord Jesus think about this?' The bottom line is that Jesus came to serve, not sign autographs and act like a big star. I'm not saying we're Christ-like because we're far from it but that's our aim."

PARTING THOUGHTS
Peter: "I hope that we would be a band that becomes a lot of memories for people. It may not have been the biggest band in the world or sold a trillion records but it was the band that gave someone a great summer and it changed their lives to be somewhere that we played. That would be where I'd like it to finish because the day we stop doing that is the day we have to stop."