Tricia (center, blonde) and Melissa (center, brunette) with the members of Superchic[k]

When Superchic[k] released their first album and hit the road as a brand-new band, they heard all kinds of stories from teenagers who came to their shows. Many of those stories sparked the themes on their second record—stories of pain, of self-doubt, of broken relationships, typical teen struggles. By the time Superchic[k] was ready to record its third album, the recently released Beauty from Pain, it was their turn to vent. Every member of the band had gone through a difficult romantic break-up within the previous year—and wondered what God would make of their pain. They poured those emotions—and the hard lessons learned—into the new album. We chatted with lead singer Tricia Brock and her sister guitarist/vocalist Melissa about their own experiences with heartache—and the beauty that ultimately, and divinely, came from that pain.

What's behind the album title, Beauty from Pain?

Tricia Brock: This album is more personal than any we've done before. It's honest and vulnerable. The title track, which I co-wrote, is my story. I went through a break-up with someone I thought was the one. It seemed so perfect. And then I needed to give it up to God, not knowing if I would ever get that back again.

I became completely dependent on God during that time after the break-up, because it was such an emotional time. It's hard not to feel depressed, to feel frustrated with God, not understanding why it had happened. I went to the Bible, and for the first time in my life I understood what Job means when he said God's Word was like his daily bread, that he needed it and wanted it more than food.

I found a lot of verses to meditate on, and they got me through each day. They kept me in the mindset I needed to be in emotionally and spiritually so I could minister to people at a time when life didn't make sense to me. We were back on tour just two weeks after my break-up, and I didn't really want to be there. I would rather have been moping around feeling sorry for myself, asking, Why? Why? Why? But I couldn't do that, so I just had to ask God to make something good out of my brokenness.

Without the concert commitments, would you have stayed home and moped?

Tricia: I would have stayed home with Mom and Dad for a little while and just cried a lot longer, but I wasn't given that luxury. But I'm also the kind of person who, no matter what, I want to figure out Okay, how can I heal from this? And what is the best response for me? So I know I would have snapped out of it eventually.

One of the passages I found was Job 23, where Job says he felt like he couldn't find God. He says, "I go to the east and the west and the north and the south, and I cannot find God. I cannot see him. I can't catch a glimpse of him." And then he says, "But he knows the way that I take and when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold." That passage became very real to me then.

Where'd you go from there?

Tricia: I started praying and journaling, God, just make something good out of this, because if I have to go through this and in the end it doesn't make sense, then I am going to doubt you. I know that if you're letting me go through this, you're going to bring something good out of it. That's what I held onto. That's pretty much the song "Beauty from Pain." I think it became the title for the whole album because we all felt broken in different ways over the past year. We've all gone through things that were really hard, and I think the song summarized this time in our lives.

How long had you dated the guy?

Tricia: Only about six months. But I'm not a casual dater, and for me this was one of those situations that felt like what I hoped it would be some day—like this could be the guy I've dreamed of, but that I didn't really think was out there. We clicked from the beginning, and God was in the middle of the whole relationship. Our conversations about what we were learning and reading, and it was amazing.

Was this your biggest true love?

Tricia: Yeah. This was the first time I let all the walls down.

So why did you break up?

Tricia: He has a great family, really close. But his parents had kind of made him too dependent on them at his age, for a 25-year-old man. It's almost like his parents were jealous. It was this very unhealthy dependence, and he was trying to get away from that, but they didn't want that. They kept telling him, "We don't have peace about this. We don't think the timing is right." That put a lot of strain on the relationship, and he finally just said, "I can't do this any more. I need to get away and pray." And that was pretty much it.

I'm sorry. Gosh, that sounds like a situation that never would have gone away. If you guys had gotten married, it could have been a problem all along.

Tricia: Yeah. After a long time of praying, he never came back saying he had figured anything out or was ready. He wanted to do the friendship thing, and I said that really can't happen. So I just kind of ended it.

I think your pain comes through pretty clearly on the song.

Tricia: I think so too, and I think that emotion is going to hit people in a way that it couldn't if it wasn't real for me. I also think the song could mean many things for different people—whether it's loss or pain or just life getting hard, I think the song is going to be comforting to a lot of people. And that makes it all kind of worth it for me.

Melissa, what are your thoughts on the meaning behind Beauty from Pain?

Melissa Brock: I think we've all learned that pain isn't just something you go through for no reason. We now realize there are things to be learned through pain.

I went through a really hard break-up too. At first it seemed like the most horrible thing in the world, and I didn't understand why I had to go through it. It wasn't until later that I realized there were many things I could learn through it.

And what did you learn?

Melissa: That I've always depended on relationships and guys to fulfill my life. I had never been to that place where I was all by myself, at the point where I had to depend on God to be everything that I needed—not any relationship or any guy to fill any of that. That's the beauty I've come to find through all of this. I've become stronger. I guess I really found myself more, after all of this, than I ever had before.

My biggest problem was that I'd never fully depended on God. I like to take care of things myself, not ask anyone for help—not even God. I would forget that he's the one that should be my strength—not my own strength. After my break-up, I was at a very broken place with nowhere else to go. It left me at God's doorstep and saying, "All right, if this is what you want, and you want all of me, and you want all of my attention, then it's yours completely."

Did you immediately get to that step, or did it take time?

Melissa: Oh no, not immediately. There was definitely some time, some anger, because I had definitely felt like this was the one. I had my heart and a lot of emotions invested in this. So initially, I was angry, even at God: "Why did you let this happen? Why did you let my heart get hurt?" But the problem was that I never really gave my heart to God first and said, "It's yours. You give it to whoever you want to." That's the place that I had to get to.

But don't you think even if we've given our hearts to God, they can still be broken?

Melissa: Yeah, I definitely think so. Pain is part of life. God didn't ever say it was going to be easy for us, by any means. That's not what it's all about. It's all about trusting him despite all of that. Another thing I've been learning is that God didn't guarantee that I was going to have a husband and a perfect life or anything like that. I'm here to serve him, and I'm here to bring people closer to him. That's my purpose.

Did you and Trish go through your break-ups at about the same time?

Melissa: Yeah, almost the same time.

What kind of support were you for each other? Are you pretty close?

Melissa: She's my best friend. She went through her break-up first, and it's probably a good thing because I'm kind of a stronghold for her. I don't think Tricia has ever experienced heartache like that. I think she needed someone there every day, saying, "We're going to get through this." Because initially, there were days when she didn't feel like she could go on. I broke up with my boyfriend a month later, but me being the I-can-take-care-of-everything person, it was about a month before I was at a place of heartbreak, where I needed support. By then, Tricia had felt a lot of what I was feeling, so she was there to just be an encouragement. And we went right onto a concert tour, so we were together every night. Having a person to cry with at night makes a really big difference.

Why have you decided to go public with your pain—a song on the album, and talking about it in concerts and in interviews like this?

Melissa: I think it's our next step as a band. Our first album was just general, positive messages, things people could sing to and identify with. Our second album was more of the stories we were hearing from kids we were talking to. But with this album, we just decided we want people to see us. We want them to hear our hearts, and to realize we are human. We go through these things.

The thing is, our entire band—every one of us—in this last year has gone through a hard break-up. We all were at a point where we just felt confused and sad and lonely. We realized these are things everyone experiences. But our whole point, and the point of the album, is that even though we go through these things and, yes, they hurt, God is still there. He never left our side. He has always been faithful, and he has gotten us through. That's the beauty in it. That's the beauty in any pain we go through—God is still there.

You can learn more about Superchic[k] by visiting our artist page for the band, where you'll also find our review for the album, Beauty from Pain. To listen to sound clips and purchase their music, visit Christianbook.com.

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