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The guys in Smalltown Poets will tell you that life is marked by "defining moments." These events stop you dead in your tracks, no matter how fast you've been moving. They're moments that make you think about something important and make you realize, once again, how unimportant other so-called "big things" really are. …

"We were supposed to play at this fair in Kentucky," says Kevin Breuner, lead guitarist for the modern rock act. "So we set up our equipment on a flatbed trailer. Hardly anybody showed up; we really didn't think the show was gonna happen. We just wanted to leave."

But the Poets stayed, and, yes, they played—not very well, they admit. But, in the handful of people called "a crowd," there stood this 13-year-old girl. …

"We'd met her earlier in the day and learned she had leukemia," Kevin continues. "She was such a major fan of our music. She was also a very brave young lady. She told us, 'I've been through two-and-a-half years of radiation. I'm a cancer survivor.'

"She was such a sweet girl. Being there for her, that's what the show was all about.

"It was an instance where we made a young girl happy, brought some joy into her life," says Kevin. "It just meant so much to us."

And then there was the Poets' hurting friend. …

"This friend of ours lost a loved one about two years ago," says bassist Miguel DeJesus. "She told us our song, 'I'll Give,' has helped her through the hardest, saddest experience of her life. It's these sorts of things that mean a lot to us."

As the Poets reflect on such "defining moments," they will tell you their band's not about record sales—though their self-titled debut has sold more than 100,000 albums. It's not about a Grammy nomination or a Christian music Dove nomination—yet the band received nominations for both last spring. Or about cranking out another album—their current project will be in the stores by mid-October. And it's not about headlining their own tour—something they will do later this fall.

Granted, all those things are important to their music career. But reaching people takes first place.

"What we really want to do is share the love of Christ," explains frontman and rhythm guitarist Michael Johnston. "And this 'sharing' isn't just about talking or singing. It's about showing people that God loves them."

It's no accident the guys in Smalltown Poets come across as very down-to-earth. In fact, it's by design. The "Smalltown" part of the band's name is all about keeping a level head, a firm understanding of who they are and where they're from.

"Michael, Byron Goggin, our drummer, and I grew up in the small town of Tifton, Georgia," says keyboardist Danny Stephens. "We chose to call ourselves Smalltown Poets because we wanted a constant reminder that we're really just plain, simple guys from a small, country town. We're just some Christian guys who don't ever want to get too full of ourselves."

And while Kevin hails from California and Miguel grew up in Puerto Rico, they definitely share the three founding members' point of view.

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