Building on a Strong Foundation
It didn't take long for Building 429 to achieve unprecedented success with Christian radio—three weeks, to be exact. Lead singer Jason Roy discusses how they've kept on track with God's will amidst their rising popularity.
by Andy Argyrakis | posted 7/12/2004
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Not long ago, Building 429 was a little-known rock band from North Carolina, playing local churches and colleges like most new Christian acts. Then success met them head-on overnight. After signing with Word/Warner, the quartet released the band's first single, "Glory Defined," to radio, two months before the release of their debut EP with the same name. It rocketed to the top of Christian Radio Weekly's AC chart in only three weeks—the fastest climb ever for a song in that category. Similar success on the other radio charts fueled anticipation for Building 429's full-length album, Space In Between Us, which hits stores on July 27. Lead vocalist Jason Roy discusses how the ride so far has changed the members' lives, and how it's kept them on track with God's purpose for the band.
From left: Paul Bowden (guitar), MichaelAnderson (drums), Jason Roy (vocals,guitar), and Scotty Beshears (bass)
How has the runaway success of the single changed your life?
Jason RoyIt makes time management a lot more important and family time a lot harder to come by. You have to have your cell phone with you anywhere and can conduct business every minute, even when you're on a date with your wife! I want to give everyone the time they deserve, but I also need to reserve a special place for my family. I haven't quite figured out how to do that yet, and our perspectives have changed. There was a point when it was fun to go do concerts, not that it's not still now, but we used to go, set up anonymously, play, and then talk to people. It was so relaxed, we'd just sound check and no one knew who we were or cared. Now we have all sorts of interviews and appearances and people know our faces. It's exciting, but sometimes it's taxing. You really learn quickly that you don't only represent Christ on stage, but everywhere you go, with everything you speak. You have to be on your game all the time—24 hours a day.
What were your expectations with the song prior to it being released as a single?
RoyI think everybody dreams of their first song doing really well, but it's not an instantaneous thing. We were no different than so many other bands who started four years ago and dreamed of it taking off. What's really neat is we're not surprised that God would do this. God is God and can do whatever he wants with a song. We're surprised he would use us to do this, but it's one of those things that makes us really happy. It also helps us realize that this business has a lot of up flows and down flows, but we have to be faithful no matter what we're given.
What was the reaction when you heard "Glory Defined" make it to number one in record time?
RoyThey told us that and we all smiled real big at first, but then we just kind of forgot about it. That doesn't matter, it's not a big deal, and nothing to hang our hat on. Records and all numbers aside, the greatest thing we can hear is "I turned to Christ because of 'Glory Defined.'"
Why did you choose to release it in an EP format prior to it appearing on the debut full length?
RoyThe EP was kind of a label idea. At first we shot it down because we wanted to put out a full record, but they felt it was the best thing. It was actually a marketing tool for the record, because there was no marketing money other than to put the song on radio and the EP on store shelves. It's ingenious now, looking back, but we were really nervous at the time. We recorded the EP in two weeks and had it mixed and mastered within a month. We had to get the music out as fast as possible, and that happened with really smart people behind us working really hard.
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