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The Waiting is made up of four regular guys who happen to rock with the best of 'em.

by Chris Lutes

The fans were yelling in our direction: "You guys are awesome! We love you guys!"

"They think we're Jars of Clay," deadpans Clark Leake, bassist for The Waiting. Then in case I missed the humor, he adds, "That's a joke."

The reality is, these fans definitely know the four guys I'm talking to make up The Waiting. They'd just heard the band perform a 30-minute set at a Christian music festival.

The crowd was definitely into the band's unique style of light rock, especially those who'd shoved their way to the front; these fans had no problem singing along, even with the band's newer songs.

I tell the guys I'm surprised the audience seemed so familiar with the tunes from their recently released album. Before I can apologize for how that sounded (like, I can't believe people really know your music), lead singer Brad Olson, says quickly, "I was surprised, too!"

"It's been crazy how people have been responding to us," says lead guitarist Todd Olson, Brad's older brother. "They really seem to like the new album."

And it's no wonder The Waiting has a strong following. There's something refreshing about this Georgia-based band. I mean, after two well-received albums, and several years of intense touring, these guys are still surprised by a crowd's positive response. In a business where it'd be easy to have an overblown ego, they seem rather unaffected by the rock-star attitude. They seem, well, normal. Even ordinary. And with the exception of Todd's short, bleached hair, there are few "outward signs" that these guys are rockers.

"Mom would kill Brad and me if we got earrings," says Todd with a mischievous smile.

"I grew my hair long once," says Clark, "and I looked in the mirror one day and thought, Uhhh, my hair looks kind of dumb. So I cut it. I just don't want to get into the 'rock look' thing."

As I talk with these guys, I realize they are very concerned about how they come across.

"I'm just terrified of coming off like snobby rock stars," admits Brad, "and I think I overcompensate sometimes. … Todd gets on me for putting myself down."

"It really concerns me when he puts himself down in front of an audience," adds Todd. "He'll do that and I'll have to talk to him about it. …

"We really do feel our music is special. We feel it's a gift God has given us. But we just don't want to look like we're letting our music go to our heads. We don't want to put ourselves above the audience."

"Our audience is important to us," adds Clark. "We don't want to ever treat them wrong. Or ignore them or not have time for them. … Actually, it's humbling that anybody would ever like anything we do. I pick up a guitar and start working on my craft, and people respond in positive ways. Hopefully, none of us will ever take that for granted."

As we talk, I wonder, Who wouldn't like these guys? There's a genuine friendliness that just seems to be a natural part of who they are. As a result, they can't help but make some new friends as they tour the country. Friends who, by the way, like to give them stuff.

"I've probably got a hundred T-shirts from camps and retreats where we play," says drummer Brandon Thompson, who finally gets into the conversation. (Brandon, who's on the shy side, says, "I want to be careful when I speak. I don't want to be misunderstood.")

"People are so generous and nice," continues Brandon. "I can't bear to get rid of any of those shirts!"

"For me," says Todd, "some of my favorite things are the pictures, letters and notes people have sent us. I especially appreciate the pictures. Just today some fans showed us pictures they took at a festival we played a few weeks ago. Remembering that time almost brought tears to my eyes."

Before Todd gets too misty-eyed, Clark offers a not-so-serious story: "I remember once when we'd cut down on eating sugar and some people brought us these great-smelling brownies. We just couldn't say we didn't want them, so we took them. And we couldn't just toss them out when we got a few miles down the road. That wouldn't be right. So we put them in the van and smelled them for hundreds of miles. We were all drooling!"

As we near the end of our conversation, I ask the guys to say something to their fans—offer a little encouragement, a bit of advice.

"You must not forget that God loves you, longs to be with you," says Clark. "As I read the Scriptures, I discover many, many passages where he really wants to be with us, where he longs for our company."

"I'd like to tell people that when they fall in their spiritual walk, they need to get right back up," says Brandon. "I'm speaking from my own personal experience here. It's all too easy for me to let my past shortcomings and my past sins keep me down. But I must fight that. I must confess my sin and get beyond it. I want to encourage everyone reading this to do the same."

"I would like to say, 'Don't think more highly of yourself than you ought to,'" says Brad. "Just realize that as Christians we're all in the same boat together. We all serve the same God together."

"God gives grace to the humble," adds Todd. "Maybe you're a star athlete, a popular cheerleader. Or maybe you're a member of a rock band. Those things don't impress the Lord. Now, it's OK to be any of those things, but don't let them go to your head. What impresses God is a humble heart. That's what moves God. That's what he's passionate about."

These three brand-new acts are Rockin' the New Year

by MadDog

Switchfoot:
Hey, what are friends for?

Let's say you have these three buddies who are really good musicians. And these three buddies land a recording contract and name their first album after you.

That's exactly what happened to Willis Chin—a friend of the three California surfers who make up the band Switchfoot.

"We called our album Legend of Chin out of respect for our friend back in San Diego," says drummer Chad Butler. "He's such a great guy. A real smiler, too. The kind of guy who always has his chin up!" (Pun intended.)

"Willis is definitely one of our heroes," says guitarist-songwriter Jon Foreman. "He's so real and so consistent in living out his faith. He's no fake. And that's what we hope our album is all about—about being real, no matter what the situation or circumstance."

"And we are trying to show people where true hope is found," says bassist Tim Foreman, Jon's younger brother. "And Willis knows exactly where his hope is found."

"Then there's our song, 'Ode to Chin,'" says Chad. "It's a tribute to Willis. It's about being accountable to someone like Willis. … This song is also about keeping your eyes on the Lord."

Of course, using Willis' last name isn't the only way the guys saluted their friend. The CD liner is packed with photos: Willis as a baby, Willis in a football uniform, Willis with his prom date …

"When Willis's mom saw the CD she couldn't figure it out," says Chad with a laugh. "She kept asking him, 'Why are all these pictures of you in here?' And Willis is like, 'I don't know, Mom!' Actually, both his mom and dad think it's all pretty funny. … All kidding aside, though, Willis just means a lot to us and that's why we did it."

Plumb's Tiffany Arbuckle: Just a "traditional girl"

"I sure wouldn't ask out a guy!" says Tiffany Arbuckle, lead singer and chief lyricist for the alternative rock band Plumb. Tiffany made her comment after reading this question on the cover of Campus Life: "Should girls ask guys out?"

Tiffany holds very traditional views about dating. (Yes, guys must do the asking, door-holding, etc.)

Her views on music, however, are anything but traditional. Her band's self-titled release is an aggressive and intense foray into very modern rock. Fans of such bands as Veruca Salt, No Doubt and Garbage will find some real ear-pleasing, guitar-driven sounds with Plumb. They'll also find something else.

"I'm in this to be salt and light to people who hear my music," says Tiffany. "I want my music and my life to show both Christians and non-Christians that God is a loving God. I hope they will see God's love through me and through my songs."

Reality Check's Chris Blaney: A cure for temptation

Question: So how do you handle all those temptations that get tossed your way every single day?

Answer: Prevention, says Chris Blaney, really is the best cure. Chris is one of the four singers in the new "funk-pop" group, Reality Check.

"We all get together and talk about how we feel about things, like marijuana," says Chris. "We talk about why people give into those kinds temptations. And we want to reaffirm the fact that we are committed to not getting into stuff like that.

"So for the past several weeks, we've been studying topics we all feel we need to think through. Like I said, we've recently been talking about marijuana. Before that, we studied the problems that could come with popularity. We talk through our feelings. And, of course, we look into the Scriptures for answers."

Are these guys paranoid?

"No, we just don't know what's going to be coming at us in the next couple of years," says Chris. "We don't really know what temptations will be there. So we want to have a clear understanding of what we believe about all kinds of issues.

"If you don't talk about this kind of stuff, if you don't think through your answers to hard questions, you won't have a basis for avoiding temptation. We want to have answers—and we want those answers to be based on principles from the Bible."

Hey, good advice for anybody—whether you're starting a rock band, or simply trying to keep your faith together for the rest of the school year.

dc Check? Yes, the four singers in Reality Check got their start at Liberty U, like dc Talk. Yes, some of their music incorporates a rap-rock style, like you-know-who. "But," stresses Chris Blaney, "we've also read articles that compare us to the Newsboys, Audio Adrenaline, PFR and even [the secular group] 311. We really aren't out to duplicate another band or group. We'll just do what we do, and let the audience decide who or what we sound like."

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 January/February 1998. Page 22

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