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After over a decade of critical acclaim, relentless touring, and a deal at a major Christian label, Caedmon's Call decided it was time for a change. You could say the group found itself a new wardrobe: They stopped the heavy traveling, they let their record contract expire, and they shifted their focus to family life. As a result, the members are loving this new period in their career, which they consider "below an occupation, but not quite a hobby." All married with children now, the slower pace and added creative freedom is exactly what they needed to release Overdressed (INO), a return to form for the band that also marks the return of original member Derek Webb. Lead singer Cliff Young and guitarist/vocalist Andrew Osenga give us the scoop on where Caedmon's Call stands today.

Caedmon's Call

Fact or rumor: Did you have a tour last year called The Emancipation Tour?

Cliff Young Yes. It was partially because we were free and clear again as a band [from contractual obligations]. We loved those guys [at Essential Records] when we first started, but the thing is, it wasn't the original label we signed with ten years ago. The other company got bought out, everything changed … it was just different.

So you left a big company and now you signed with INO Records, another big company. Isn't that like going back to square one?

Andrew Osenga The cool thing with INO is that they're sort of an independent label that just has a really big roster. They have the ability to do everything large-scale, yet we still produced the record ourselves. We recorded things in my basement. We put whatever songs we wanted to on the record. We did it the way we wanted. That was the most important thing for us. We like the infrastructure of having sellers, radio people, and a marketing department, while we still just make the record that we wanted to make.

So you didn't have anyone breathing down your neck checking up on you as you created this new music.

Young We definitely didn't have anything even close to that. That's the great thing about INO. They pride themselves in not doing that.

The other big news with this album is that Derek Webb is back with the band after five years. How did that come about?

Young We kinda just started talking about it with Jeff Moseley, president of INO, [which is also the record label Derek is signed to as a solo artist]. Derek didn't leave Caedmon's because of a big fight or anything like that. So we talked as a band and we said, "Yeah, let him in again!" That's how it kinda started. Then Derek and I started talking about the record and the different ideas and that's how it happened. The rest is history.

What's the dynamic within the band like now?

Young First of all, we wouldn't have even known Andy if it wasn't for Derek [leaving], which is kinda funny. If anything, we thought, "This is great." You can see that for sure in everything—the versatility of the band, each person, and the record as a whole. It all works together. The band has always worked with people coming in and out—it's never been a normal kind of a band in that way.

Do these changes mean the band is back to doing some of those old songs, those that people recognized to be "Derek's hits," so to speak?

Young There's one old Derek song that we've been playing, but mainly it's been songs that Derek and I used to sing together that we've been doing again. Danielle is also now back in the group for the tour, so she's also singing songs that she used to sing with him. [One of the hallmarks] of the Caedmon's Call sound has always been known for Derek sharing vocals with someone else. That's definitely come back to our sound.

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