More of this Feature • Part 1: The Event • Part 2: Audio Adrenaline Interview • Part 3: Newsboys Interview • Part 4: Skillet Interview

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Kim: How are things in the world of Bleach?

Dave: It's been kind of crazy the last little bit. A couple of our guys brother, Milam and Jared, our drummer and guitar player, their brother was in Iraq and about three and a half weeks ago, he was killed. So it's been a crazy time for us.

Kim: They have definitely been in my prayers, as have the rest of you.

Dave: Thank you very much. I think they've been in a lot of people's prayers. A couple of guys were able to see them last night and they're actually doing pretty good. As good as they can be doing.

Kim:I wanted to know how they are doing, but I didn't want to seem like I was exploiting their loss. I know from experience that some people want to talk about it to try to figure out the why, but others want to heal and grieve in private.

Dave: Yeah, people just heal differently. Some people it helps to talk about it. For them, it helps them to know that so many people are praying for them. Since they're so far away, and they don't actually see these people face to face, they've been getting a lot of phone calls and answering the same questions. After you hear the same things a few times and say the same thing over and over, it gets old. It's pretty amazing, those guys wanted to do interviews. They actually called Shack (their manager) because more than anything, they wanted the legacy of their brother to be heard. He was an amazing dude. Just an amazing Christian guy who loved his country and loved his family. He was the type of guy who lit up a room when he walked in. We went to where he lived and his whole street was affected in some way. That's just the way he was, he affected everybody.

Kim: It's truly awesome when you know someone who can leave that kind of a legacy behind and you know that they've touched that many people.

Dave: Yeah, he definitely was amazing. An amazing dude.

Kim:So where are you guys heading today?

Dave: Little Rock. Or somewhere right outside of Little Rock, pretty close. We've got a show tonight.

Kim: I understand that ya'll are going to be in Orlando at Rock the Universe next month.

Dave: Yep, we've played around the Orlando area, but we've never played Rock the Universe. That is actually going to be the first show where Milam and Jared are back with us, so we're pretty excited about it.

Kim: Are you going to take the time to hang out after the show?

Dave: Heck yeah! We'll take a little time to do that for sure. It's been fun man. We've played a lot of amusement parks this year, more than ever, and it's always fun. We all love amusement parks and riding rides.

Kim:You guys do around 150 shows a year.

Dave:Yeah, this year we will have done more than that by the time it's all said and done. We've got a 60 city tour coming up with Five Iron Frenzy so by the time it's over we will have probably done closer to 200.

Kim: Being on the road as much as you are, away from home and family, is hard. What would you say is the best part of being on the road?

Dave:The best thing is ... well, there's a lot of great things about the road. I love the road. I feel really lucky to be in a band and play music, do something that I love and have an impact on people. To me, seeing how are music actually affected somebody, in a way where they're loyal to your band, and they sometimes believe in you more than you believe in yourself, that's something I couldn't create on my own. It's a real humbling thing. To be able to do something that you love and to see it actually make a difference ... man. You get to see a lot of great sites. We're all best friends, pretty much like brothers. To be with your best friends and doing that is great. But the other side of it that you deal with is that it's hard being away from home and my wife. I wish that she could be out here experiencing the same things that I am. It's the greatest joy and one of the greatest sorrows too. I try not to complain to much. I think it's better than working at McDonalds for the rest of my life.

Kim: It's always a blessing to be able to do something that you love rather than getting up every morning thinking "oh man, not another day of this".

Dave: Exactly. My wife is the same way. She has a job that she loves. She does merchandising and stuff, selling stuff to bands. It's almost unfair to see someone who is doing something else. Like when we're in the studio recording and we see people out there who are risking their lives, like Josh, who are doing a job that gives us the freedom to do what we love. It doesn't feel fair. But you feel really blessed.

Kim: I know that most of the interviews that you do are Q & A's, but I'd like to do something different. You're living your life and know what is important to you right now, what's coming up, etc. So what do you want to talk about next?

Dave: The big thing for us right now is the tour with Five Iron Frenzy. It's their farewell tour and another band, called Holland, is going to be on it with us. It kicks off in the middle of September and ends in November and covers 60 cities.

Kim:If you are going to be playing anywhere near me, I'll have to come and check you out live.

Dave: Heck yeah. That would be awesome. We could talk again and we'd definitely hook you up! It would be good to meet you in person. It would be cool.

Kim:You are a group of "normal" guys. You worked really hard to get where you are. How was it when you went from being a group of guys who were struggling to play music and do what you felt like God called you to do, to being out there everywhere?

Dave:It's kind of freaky. I remember the first time I heard one of our songs on the radio, it was weird. You know that movie "That Thing That You Do", it was kind of like that. I was excited and couldn't believe that it was our song and that we were on the radio. I think you realize that you're blessed and it's awesome. We're still regular people and we still deal with the same things as everyone else. We haven't achieved some kind of higher status. I think that there's some people who think "oh my gosh, look who I am. I've worked for this and I deserve it". I still don't see how I even got here. I'm just grateful that I am. For us, we want to be real with people. Sure we might have put out records or done videos, played in front of this many people, you know, whatever, but we're still just people. I think that is the biggest thing you have to keep yourself in check with. In the Bible, when it talks about Lucifer before the fall, it says that he was the most beautiful angel. His appearance was that of God. He was awesome looking and a great musician. God actually created pipes within him so his whole being was to worship God in music. Basically, he was like the first rock star, then pride came. It went to his head. It can do that now, go to your head. You've always got to remember that you're just a person. It's sad when you see a band that isn't that way. They want to just stay there all day on the bus and not talk to anybody. You just want to call them out on it. (laughs) I don't know where that came from. I sound like a jaded old man.

Kim: I think that no matter what someone does for a living, they need to remember that their talents are all gifts from God. You guys, by getting to play music like you do, are actually living a gift from God. We all do that every day through, because our very existence is a gift. But as a society, we've become jaded and sometimes we tend to forget that and look at people like you, someone who is living out your dream, as someone who is getting "better treatment".

Dave: I almost think that if someone isn't playing Christian music, and isn't Christian, they don't have to hold themselves to the values of Christianity. Christianity itself is not about being first, but being last. If you're about breaking down walls, and talking about deeper things why would you put one up and say "Hey look at me. I'm a star, and I'm above you". Why wouldn't you just say "You know what, I'm just lucky that I'm here. I deal with the same things that you do". I think that is one of the biggest things that hit me about Josh. You just realize that life is fragile. You can be the biggest star and appear to have everything figured out with all of the money, or be the biggest politician, the President, anyone who appears to have everything figured out and their life in order, and you really don't. You never do. You're not in control. There's certain things that are uncertain. Tragedies and things can hit your life that are beyond your control. In those moments you realize that there is only one person in control and it's not you. Another thing that hit me with that was this ... you see how he lived his life and you see how important it is to live your life in a way that makes an impact. It makes you want to make an impact on people in a positive way. To be a person who has good character and good morals. Someone who lives their life for a purpose and a reason. Not just for yourself, but for others. Not for things that are going to fade in the end, that don't count, like fame and fortune, but for something that will last forever. I think it was evident in his life that he had an impact on every person that he was around. Not only the people that were under him in command ... he had 200 people in his command who would have taken a bullet for him. That's how much they loved him. But also the people above him, the officers that were above him. They respected his character, his opinions and his views. Even though he was in charge of 200 men, there were times when he was making plans for up to 1200. In every aspect he was an amazing character. He made you think you should live your life in a way that if that is the last time that someone sees you, it would be in a good light.

Kim: Tell me about the new CD, Astronomy, which will be in stores in October and how it's different from your last release.

Dave: I think that the approach is the same. We just wrote it from what was on our heart. Lyrically it's kinda similar, but musically it's a little different. It's not a slow record, but there are some slow moments, where it's more laid back. One song, Patience, doesn't have any guitar in it at all. For us that's a first. But there are some songs that are more rock than the last release. We were in the studio for a month and 90% of the lyrics and melodies were written in the studio. It was hectic and stressful at points, but I think that out of that fire, a lot of great things came out of it. Just listening to it after all the stuff that happened with Josh was weird. Before it happened we were asking ourselves "What's this record about?", but after the fact we see that a lot of the songs were about what Milam and Jared were dealing with and what we were dealing with after loosing a friend. That record ministered to me more than most others. Looking back, I can see God's hand in it. It's not something that we planned out or created on our own. We just wrote what we knew.

Kim: I'll definitely be looking forward to the release of that. I know that you have a pretty hectic schedule right now and I appreciate you taking out the time to talk to me.

Dave: No - thank you. I appreciate you doing it.

Kim: Is there anything you'd like to say in closing? Maybe give us a sneak preview of what radio single we should be looking for from Astronomy?

Dave:I think it will be either be a song called Get Up or a song called December. Thank you so much for this and for praying for us. It means a ton. It's definitely been needed.

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