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Adrenaline Rush!

The road to success hasn't been easy for Audio Adrenaline. But so far, it's been quite a ride.

by chris lutes

We sure didn't get successful overnight," says lead singer Mark Stuart with a soft smile. "Some bands get successful really quickly, but for us it's been kind of slow, you know what I mean?"

I'm sharing burgers with the Audio Adrenaline guys at Max & Erma's, a restaurant with a kind of a retro-'50s feel. We've been talking about the band's latest album, Some Kind of Zombie (ForeFront), and the 60-city "Zombie" tour. It was the first tour Audio Adrenaline had ever headlined.

Until the Zombie tour (which ended in May), Audio A seemed "doomed" to be the other band's "opening act." Not that being a warm-up act was all bad. After all, they've opened for some top artists, like dc Talk and Steven Curtis Chapman. Even so, the Audio A guys often wrestled with their "we're number two" status.

Then, after six years in the music biz, they finally got their big break—a break that came with a ton of hard work and struggle.

I asked the guys about their long road to success. Here's what they had to say about the past, the present and the future of Audio A …

Campus Life: Did you ever say, "This band thing is not going to get off the ground"?
Bob Herdman: When we first got our record deal, our record company [ForeFront] told us they thought we would be the next huge band. But sales on our first album weren't great, so I think the record people were like, "Oh, boy, why did we sign these guys?" I kind of thought it was over for us.

Will McGinniss: For a while, it seemed possible that our record company might drop us. But I didn't feel threatened by that. Musically, I knew we weren't the best band out there. But in our weakness, I believed God wanted do something great through us. I believed that if we were humble and faithful in little things, God would bless us with bigger things.

Mark: We had another big problem about the time our record company was thinking of dropping us. I caused a pretty bad accident in Illinois. I was pulling a 5,000-pound trailer behind our van when we crashed. I came to a stop sign, but the brakes wouldn't work, so I went right through the intersection and hit another car. I put some people in the emergency room because of that. They ended up being all right, but I felt so terrible. Legally, I still can't drive in the state of Illinois because of the accident.

Will: We've had our share of problems with vehicles over the years. We were in Canada when our fuel line froze up; we were stranded out in the middle of nowhere in minus-40 temperatures. Then there was the time we fixed up a semi-truck and trailer to use as a "tour bus." The exhaust system was bad and some of us almost died from carbon monoxide poisoning!

Are you serious?
Will: Oh, yes. We all ended up in a hospital emergency room. It was very serious.

Wow. You guys have been through a lot. Have there been other difficult times?
Mark: It was really tough when our former lead guitarist, Barry Blair, told us he was leaving the band. It was during the fall of '96, right before we began recording Zombie. Barry said he was leaving so he could become a record producer. I knew he'd been thinking about making a change, but I never really thought it would happen. He'd been with us since the beginning. But he felt God was leading him in another direction, and we supported him in his decision. It was a real hard time. After all, Barry was a big part of our guitar-rock sound. He was also a good friend.

Will: Barry also played a big part in our songwriting. Our record people were wondering if we could continue to write songs without Barry. But the rest of us got to work, and the result was Some Kind of Zombie.

Ben Cissel: There was also a time I thought we were going in a really bad direction that could only hurt our career. But I was totally wrong.

When was this?
Ben: I became the band's drummer just before we decided to tour with Steven Curtis Chapman in '97. I was like, "What are you guys doing?" I thought Steven's style and our style were a poor match. And I really felt we should be going out on our own tour—not touring as an opening act. As it turns out, the experience was very good. Our music was exposed to audiences that may have never heard it, and it was so great to be able to hang around Steven. He's such a godly man. I feel like we learned so much from him—not only about touring, but also about living our faith.

It just seems like God's plans and God's thoughts are so different from mine. If I don't watch it, I can really get in the way of what God wants to do with me.

Why's that?
Ben: Because I'm an idiot sometimes!

Bob: I really feel God has had a strong hand in what we've done. I do think there are times when we can get off track a little, make mistakes. But God has put people in our lives, like our families and our managers, who help point us back in the right direction.

Mark: I usually feel like we're in the will of God, but sometimes I'm scared. I sometimes wonder, Have we missed it? It's a question I ask myself a lot. Then good things happen, and I believe a miracle has occurred.

Take how the new album turned out. As I think about the songs on Zombie, I just feel they're a lot better—and spiritually deeper—than we could have done on our own. I mean, I really believe God helped us pull this album together. I believe his hand was definitely in it.

Will: I want to stress that anything good in our lives and our music is God's doing. As I've said before, I don't think we're that good, but God can do great things through us if we let him.

Do you really doubt your skills as musicians?
Will: I think Tyler Burkum [our new guitarist] is really talented. And I think Ben's good. I guess as a band we haven't felt that we're technically that great. There are a lot of other bands that are a lot better. Again, I believe God works in our weaknesses. But I know I mess up God's ability to work sometimes.

Who's the New "Kid"? If you've checked out the "list of players" on Audio A's Some Kind of Zombie, you've no doubt seen the name Tyler Burkum. While he hasn't been around long enough to be in too many of Audio A's photos, Tyler did play guitar on the new album. He also served as the band's lead guitarist during the "Zombie" tour. And he's touring with the band during the summer music fest season. (Tyler began filling in the guitar licks when Barry Blair left to pursue other interests.) Capturing the spot as Audio A's lead guitarist isn't a bad accomplishment for an 18-year-old. In fact, shortly after graduating from high school last spring, Tyler was playing with Audio A. Obviously the band feels very good about his abilities. Even so, the respect Audio A has for Tyler's skills hasn't kept the "old" band members from giving him a hard time—and a nickname. "They kind of tease me a lot," says Tyler, who grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. "And they call me 'kid.' I probably shouldn't admit this, 'cause everyone's going to start calling me that." All joking aside, Tyler is quick to point out he believes God is behind this incredible guitar gig. "My family's very musical," says Tyler, "and I always wanted to be a full-time musician. But I'm amazed at how quickly things have happened for me. … I believe playing for Audio Adrenaline is God's plan for me right now. "I'm having a good time, and I get to see God work through me and the band. What a great opportunity."

How's that?
Will: Just four nights ago, I was terribly down and discouraged. I found myself thinking stuff like, Our shows stink. We can't play. We should just quit. I was really tired; fatigued is a better word. And I feel I was letting Satan get to me. I believe he was really the reason for my discouragement. He wants me to get down and discouraged. He wants me to focus on my failures. He wants to destroy the good we can do as a band. That's why we must keep our eyes on God.

As you think about the future of Audio A, what are your concerns?
Bob: Just staying current and relevant to our listeners. I worry about a time when people won't like our music anymore.

Mark: I'm not concerned about whether or not fans will like our music. I just hope we'll have the wisdom to call it quits when we need to call it quits. When we are no longer effective at doing what we do, I hope we'll be quick to just stop being a band.

Now, I'm not saying we're ready to end Audio Adrenaline. I believe we are doing what God's called us to do. I just feel it's important that we keep ourselves in God's will. Keeping the band going or ending the band—it all needs to be in God's hands.

Bob: There is sacrifice in what we do. Every year, we tell ourselves we're going to slow down so we can spend more time at home. But with increased success comes a greater demand to give more time to Audio Adrenaline.

We need to be willing to keep at this, if this is what God is calling each of us to do.

What are some lessons you've learned over the years?
Mark: We've learned a lot about faith, and about what God can do—even when life seems at its worst. I also think God is trying to teach us to be confident in the abilities he's given us. Like Will, I still struggle with this. I can be pretty insecure. But right now I'm feeling pretty good about our skills as musicians, artists and performers. Yeah, I'm feeling pretty good.

Backstage Pass
A reader interviews Audio A
When Campus Life interviewed Audio Adrenaline, we brought along Derek Berner, a high school junior and a big Audio A fan. Derek spent several hours with the guys, including a rockin' concert in downtown Chicago. He also asked them a few questions …

Derek: How did Audio Adrenaline get started?
Bob: Will, Mark, Barry [our former guitarist] and I met while we were students at Kentucky Christian College. We decided to start a band. We recorded this song called "My God." Some people at ForeFront heard it and gave us a contract to do an album!

Derek: What songs do you really enjoy performing?
Mark: Right now, I'd say my favorite song to sing is "Chevette" [from Zombie]. It's a true story about my family's first new car. And it's really fun to sing.

Ben: My favorite song would have to be "Man of God" [from Bloom].

Will: I think I like "Man of God" too. I also like "Original Species" [from Zombie]. Musically, they are fun to play and the messages of both songs really touch me.

Tyler: I like "Original Species" and "Lighthouse."

Bob: I really like "Zombie" and "Chevette." But one of my all-time favorites will always be "We're a Band" [from Don't Censor Me].

Will (laughing): Actually, Bob likes any song he gets to play guitar on! Usually he's [stuck] behind the keyboards!

Derek: What are some Christian bands you admire?
Ben: I like The Supertones and Fold Zandura. Probably the artist I admire most is Steven Curtis Chapman. We did an 80-city tour with him and I grew to really appreciate him. He's just a great man.

Mark: There are tons of bands I admire. I think, though, one artist I really admired in college was Russ Taff. I thought his records were so cool. They gave me a lot of peace and encouragement when I needed it. I love his voice, too. I also think Amy Grant's Lead Me On is one of the most amazing albums ever.

Will: I like Lead Me On too.

Bob: I grew up listening to Petra. Their music is what made me want to be in Christian music.

Derek: How do you prepare spiritually before your concerts?
Bob: We get together and pray before every show. When we're on tour, we'll often bring along a ["road pastor"]. This person helps keep us accountable for our actions, and also leads us in devotions. … Praying is so important—it's something we must do before we even think about playing.

Copyright © 1998 by the author or Christianity Today International/Campus Life magazine. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or e-mail clmag@CampusLife.net.
July/August 1998, Vol. 57, No. 1, Page 22

Read more from 'Bands & Artists'

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