Sojourn Fare is dedicated to spreading God’s message though their music with a new, more mature sound. Their new sound will make an impact on critics who may had ruled them out in the past due to the “boy band” sound. Not anymore! Gaddis’ and Roe’s new song, "Fire from the Rain," was written and produced by the team. So far all of their success has come to them without a record label. The two got the chance to take creative charge and played their own instruments on the record, which was a welcomed change from their past recording experiences. We can be sure to expect great things from the two, “boy band” past aside.
Erin Coleman (erin@usmo.com) had the opportunity to speak with Jordan and Nathan recently about their new group, what they have been up to this past year, and what future plans they have.
Erin: Tell me about the formation of Sojourn Fare.
Jordan: After True Vibe, originally it was Nathan, Jason, and I, and we were doing some stuff together. Then we were just praying to see where God had us. It came down to Nathan and I being led to keep on going alone to get back to more of where our heart was. We both led worship and are worship leaders so we were just getting back in that mindset. First we got together and wrote a song and saw if God would give us enough grace to kind of step in and the song turned out really well. We started going after it just to see if it was something we were able to do, and it was. We both felt very strong about it, saying this is something we both need to chase after. It’s not some monstrous, huge story. It was just us two kind of really pressing in and saying, “Lord, if it is Your will to intertwine Nathan and I on this journey to minister more effectively." That’s basically how it started.
Nathan: We left True Vibe a year ago. We kind of hung out a few months just wondering what was going to happen. We didn’t know where we were going or really what we wanted to do. The more we waited, the more God just showed us what he wanted to do. His plan ended up a lot different than what we thought it was going to be.
Erin: How did you guys come up with the name for the group and what is the meaning behind it?
Jordan: I was sitting at work and thinking about some stuff and the term sojourn just came into my head. The first thing that came to me was that in the Old Testament when Abraham was going down to Egypt to sojourn there and he was going be a stranger in a foreign land, he was going there for a short while. I was like, I love that word. That is just so cool because it is the idea of us longing for a place God has prepared for us. So I kept thinking about what other word we could use. We had been searching for a name for forever! Sometimes you throw out so many names and it’s just not right. You get frustrated. We just kind of backed off. Then I came across the word fare. I was like what does that mean? Fare as in taxi cab? So, I looked up the definition and the actual old English definition was that in times of old, troubadours and minstrels would travel from region to region, and what the king would give them would be their fare. That is how they would survive. I was like wow, that’s really cool. Sojourn Fare. Then I came across the passage Hebrews 11:13-16. That is where it shows our forefathers realized that they were strangers and exiles on this earth. "Desiring a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, and He has prepared a city for them.” Sojourn Fare is basically that we are strangers in a foreign land, seeking our true "home" with the provision and sustenance given to us by our King.
Erin: What can people expect from the new group and from your music?
Nathan: I think what people can expect is a lot more depth. Lyrically we are trying to go to a place that we never really got to go to in True Vibe. I guess musically it’s going to be totally different, probably for obvious reasons. We loved being in True Vibe and we had a great time doing it, but at the same time it got to a point where that style of music really just wasn’t our passion. Right now we get to create music that comes solely from our hearts and souls and that makes the biggest difference; even when you hear it, for me anyway, I just hear our hearts more and I hear more of what has always longed to come out. It has just been kept up inside for a really long time. It’s going to be more acoustic. I hesitate to say rock because it’s kind of an acoustic rock but it’s not like “in your face, slam rock.” It’s more of just a pop/rock, that is what it would be considered as, but more on a worship level.
Jordan: We both come from worship backgrounds. Nathan led worships for camps and I’m on staff as a youth and worship leader here in Nashville, so that’s where our heart kind of comes through. We’ve done the pop thing for a good while and it was fun. God definitely blessed that but it’s kind of time to get back to what we know and kind of do the music that we love.
Nathan: I think what we are excited about is that we actually get to play the instruments. On the first song we did, we got to literally start from scratch, whereas with True Vibe we gave the songs to producers who made a track for it and then we came in and sang for it. On this we get to go in the studio and start from nothing and birth this song into the production that we feel it needs and we get to play on it. It’s a cool experience because we have never really done it like that.
Erin: Is there anything you would like to relay to the fans that continue to support you?
Jordan: Thank you so much for supporting us. I am so grateful because they are the ones we go out there to speak to. They help us so much.
Nathan: We have had some of the most faithful fans with True Vibe. We have seen fans go on this journey with us for two and a half years. We pray that all of you continue this journey with us. Thank you so much for your support and prayers and we will definitely being seeing you soon!
