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[ revelation generation festival | frenchtown, nj | august 13, 2005 ]
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cMusicWeb.com: I am sure Another Journal Entry did not begin when it was time to write for a new album. When did it really begin?Alyssa: It was one of those things where everybody this year kept asking us, "How do you write your songs?" and "How do you write your music?" And we wrote from our journals. That is all we have ever done. We have opened up the pages of our journals and said if we have anything to offer, it is our personal walk. It is our personal lives and who God has been through all of we what we have gone through and ways we have struggled. So as we were thinking about the new album, it was the same thing that floated out of our journal entries. So the title [of the album] just came along with it. It was just one of those things that just kind of clicked.
cMW: Why was "Let Go" chosen as the first single?
All: Because we like it! And our label chose it.
Lauren: We love that song. I think it was definitely our choice, too. We pray about what single God wants. Like what does He have for this time, right now, for His kids. What words does He want to speak off of our album? And so we were leaning towards "Let Go" and that was His word about trusting.
cMW: There are so many issues that your generation faces. I am sure there are many journal entries that do not make it onto CD's. How do you decide what to make into a song?
Rebecca: We would just sit down and we would all discuss, "Ok what are the three of us struggling with? What are we going through?" And whatever was the top of our list that was something we were all dealing with that was what we decided to write a song about. And a lot of times the song never became anything and we only wrote a verse. But I think God's hand was on different topics. And he would just show us, "This is what I you to write about. This is what my children are struggling with. And I need you to write a song about this." So it is a mixture of the stuff we are struggling with and knowing what God had.
cMW: So a lot what you write is not necessarily things you struggle with, but things you see.
Lauren: We work off a lot of inspiration as well. There were songs on the last album like "She Walked Away" was for a friend. "Never Alone" was not only inspired by our struggles, but a friend's struggle as well. So other people inspire a lot of our stuff.
cMW: What song do you want most for your listeners to hear?Rebecca: For me, I hope that whatever people are dealing with, that the song that addresses that issue would touch their lives and change them in some way. Like if they are struggling with broken-heartedness, I would hope they listen to "Porcelain Heart" and find healing in that. If they are struggling with truly letting go and living their faith, I hope that they embrace "Let Go." But I know that God has a different song for every person. So I hope whoever it applies to, that they would just grab hold of it and use it in their life.
cMW: What have you learned between the first and second album about the recording process and the writing process?
Alyssa: Wow. We learned a lot. We did a lot lyrically as well as musically. We asked our producer and our label and the team we had around us to really push us [for] this album. We really wanted to be stretched a lot musically as well as lyrically. So we had a lot of rewrites and a lot of revisions and a lot of time in the studio. And [we had] our producer going, "Why don't you try this?" But we were not at the level to play that. So he would work with us and go, "Well let's get to that place where you girls can do it." There were a couple tears, we will admit. But coming out of it, I feel like a stronger musician. I am more confident on stage even. We are really thankful that they really pushed us through the album process.
cMW: Why is "Never Alone" on the new disc?
Lauren: Warner Brothers asked us to put it on the new album. (Warner Brothers is over us.) But also a lot of people were asking for an acoustic version of "Never Alone" and that is the biggest comment that we get. So we were going to put a regular version of "Never Alone" the way we always do it, but someone at the label came up with the idea to do an acoustic version. We were really excited because that is how we wrote it.
cMW: Are there any other CD's that you are looking forward to releasing this year?
Alyssa: I am looking forward to Bethany Dillon.
Lauren: Switchfoot is coming out with a new one.
Rebecca: Todd Agnew's new CD. And actually Kutless is going into the studio as we speak or in a day or two to record an album. So we are excited about that one, too, because they gave us a sample of their new stuff and it is awesome.
Lauren: I was excited about Joy Williams new CD, but it already came out and it is amazing.
cMW: I have heard a recommendation that band managers should not be members of the family. But your mom and dad work for you and it works well.
Rebecca: We worked with managers for a while, but we found that you basically hire managers to be your parents. They manage your schedule and do different things. And we just realized that who knows us better than our parents? And who would take care of us more than our parents? And God also put that on our hearts — that our parents should be our managers. We tried the other route and it just wasn't clicking. It was not working for us.
Alyssa: And, too, they keep us accountable on the road. And we really see it as a family ministry. Our mom and dad are such a huge part of who we are. I do not think it would be the same without them.Lauren: And most people get road pastors and have managers, but it is kind of all in one [with] our mom and dad. They do it all. They even run our merch table.
Alyssa: And our dad was a musician for many many years, so him being on the road has really gotten us out of so many tight spots. Like if things were not working or something is broken — he does not know a lot about the technical part, but he is able to come in and go, "Oh, this is what we are able to do here." And he really just helps us a lot!
cMW: If someone told you five years ago where you would be today, what would you have done?
Rebecca: Actually, five years ago people used to come up to me and be like, "I think God wants you to go into music, and I laughed in their face and I said I would never do that. But for all of us, just because we did not know God's vision for our life, we did not know and we would always say we would never do that.
Alyssa: And now we can't imagine doing anything else!
cMW: Where do you see yourself in five years?
Rebecca: I want to get married and be a mom.
Lauren: The funny thing is that, like five years ago we did not know where we would be in five years, but I want to be exactly where God wants us. If He still wants us in music, that is great. If He doesn't, that is great. I just want to be doing what He wants me to do because there is nothing more fulfilling than filling out the calling that God has in your life.
Alyssa: I think He has proven Himself so much in our lives. His plan is so much better than ours. There are different things we are always praying. "Put a dream in my heart. Where do you want me next? So we are just waiting for the next step. Until then I am so content doing music and maybe one day He will put a dream in my heart to go be a missionary somewhere. I am just excited to dream more for Him no matter where it takes me.
Rebecca: And he has put small seeds in our hearts. Like we really feel like we are supposed to be having a clothing line and different stuff like that. We do not know when the season is for that, but we are just putting that on hold and putting prayer into it. And knowing we want to start orphanages and take women out of brothels and build homes for all these women in Cambodia and different countries. That is our hearts. That is what we want to do. But we do not know when is God's time and how He is going to do this.
- Kim Flanders
September 2005
September 2005
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