Left to right: Keith Miller (bass), Thom Daugherty (guitar, vocals), Owen Thomas (vocals, guitar), Chris Thomas (drums)

The Elms have come a long way from the days of playing local gigs in their small Indiana hometown, now performing with the likes of Jars of Clay and Peter Frampton. With two critically acclaimed rock albums under their belt, the bandmembers took a moment before a recent show to discuss the continued shaping of their songwriting, sound, and mission.

Explain the story behind this album. What does it look like from the band's point of view?

Keith: The songs on Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll were originally written to be played live. Because we meant for them to have this "live" sound, we played all of the songs on this album live before we recorded them in the studio.

Owen: We've been touring very heavily. We blazed through 250 shows in the year and half following the release of The Big Surprise.

We played in many different contexts over the course of the tour — it would be a club one night, a big festival the next day, and a church or a theater the next day. I think performing in front of many different audiences really helps a band hone its craft and hone in on what it's all about.

What are you especially pleased with on your sophomore project?

Owen: What I like about the new record is that I don't feel it's a sound our band "wants" to have. It's simply the sound that comes very naturally to us. The last album was developed during a time when we were listening to some Brit pop and other sounds, and I think that influenced us to create a disjointed project in a sense. I love the songs from The Big Surprise, but I look at Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll and I know that this is what our band actually is — this is what we really sound like.

We've come to the conclusion that we want to be a rock & roll band because we love those classic rock bands. These are the bands that have inspired us, and it turns out that sound is in our blood.

The new record as a whole hangs together very well. There are some moody tracks, some groovin' tracks, and some others. This works simply because we've perfomed this way over the last couple of years, while we were touring like freaks.

What have you learned specifically that's made you a better band?

Owen: I've learned that performing live is the best way for a band to focus and set themselves apart. A band should do this as often as they can, wherever and whenever they can.

The "live thing" has helped us hone our craft, our vision, and our communication skills. I don't walk on stage every night thinking about how I'm going to communicate; my objective is to relax and to put people in the moment with us. If I feel compelled to do or say something risky, I just go for it. (I'm not talking about gratuitous offense.) There's always the possibility that one person might be offended by it, but it might be the one thing this other guy needs to hear in order to break his heart toward spiritual issues.

We've also learned that we don't want to become like the bands who grow and grow and become quasi-industries of their own. Since the industry is such a big machine, they've let the business and logistics consume them. We don't want to lose the very essence of what being in a band is all about, which is just four guys getting in a room, having a great time together, and hopefully putting their audience right in the moment with them. That moment is about sharing, "Here's what I lived, and here's what I know to be truth after living it as a man who tries to walk with Christ."

Where does the progression of this album take the listener? How intentional was the song ordering?

Owen: We debated over the order of the songs with the A&R guy at the label because this is really important to us. We want the album to vibe just like a show — we want it to flow.

Thom: I appreciate the fact that, song by song, it sounds very versatile. There aren't any songs that sound derivative of another on the album. They all seem to have their own niche.

Owen: But it still sounds like an album — it's cohesive. It's like we sat down and played 12 songs, not like we pieced it together over a number of years.

What are some of the themes that drive these songs lyrically?

Owen: You would hope that if your album title is Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll, that people would listen to it and hear some truth, a little soul, and a little rock & roll. But truth, to us, is God's faithfulness. I tell our audiences from the stage that we've looked in a lot of different places for truth — from relationships to music — but the only truth we've ever known is God's faithfulness to us. That's a recurring theme throughout the course of the album.

Another theme is the church's role and effectiveness. We all agree that the church should be effective in culture, but I wonder if we're really speaking in love to the world or if we're just living in our little subculture. I wonder whether or not we're truly an outreach-oriented and kingdom-minded church. I question how many churches think that the worth of their respective body of believers is predicated upon what goes on inside the four walls of their church. So there are some songs that ask these types of questions.

I also think there are many helpful moments on the album. Songs like "Smile at Life Again" or "The First Day" are about the skeletons we all have in our past, and how the devil likes to "haunt" us with them. I believe that since God is redemptive, we should also be redemptive of ourselves and of others.

Learn more about The Elms at our artist page for the band, which includes past interviews and reviews, including The Big Surprise and Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll. You can pick up your own copy of their albums at Musicforce.com.

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