Adios, Audio A!
They've been rocking the Big House for 15 years, but Audio Adrenaline is now calling it quits. Here, bass player Will McGinniss discusses the band's last days.
by Christa Banister | posted 9/11/2006
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After 15 years, 12 albums and a load of frequent flier miles, Audio Adrenaline has decided to call it a day, due to frontman Mark Stuart's persistent vocal troubles. (Stuart is singing some songs on the band's current farewell tour, but his voice isn't holding up very well.) Long known as a favorite of the youth group set with sing-a-long anthems like "Big House" and "Get Down," the band earned rave reviews from its fans for a rockin' live show and industry acclaim with four Dove Awards and two Grammies. But far more important to the band than these accolades was its tight-knit friendships. Bass player Will McGinniss discusses those friendships in this Q&A (none of the other band members were available for comment), along with what's next for the group and how the band survived a rough introduction to the industry ("PDA" anyone?).
The first Audio Adrenaline video I ever saw was for "PDA." At that point, did you ever think you'd be doing the music thing as long as you have?
Will McGinniss We had no idea we'd be around for 15 years. And you just referenced one of the videos we absolutely hate about our past. But we were young, and it was our first go-around. We were just excited about having the chance to play our music and travel around the world. So when they told us to make that video, it was like "Whatever you want, man!"
When we made the first record, we were just trying to give the record company [ForeFront] what they wanted, and so it wasn't that great of a record. It wasn't who we were. After that CD, we heard that we might get dropped. But tobyMac from dc talk came in and said, "You're crazy if you drop this band. They're on tour with us, and they're rockin' the crowds. Man, if you just go see them live, they're nothing like the record, they rock!" So they gave us a second chance, and that's when we wrote Don't Censor Me, which had "Big House" on it. And everything was crazy after that.
So what kind of album had the record company wanted you to make?
McGinniss I think they wanted us to be a hybrid of dc talk and marry the rap and rock thing together like Jesus Jones or EMF. They wanted real danceable grooves but some singing on the chorus or some rap in the verse. We had shown signs of marrying a lot of different styles into a hyper kind of sound. But really at heart, we were just a rock band. We finally started getting around to that on Don't Censor Me, but with Bloom, we got to be what we wanted to be. So it's cool that it was the first record to go gold. Bands still come up to us today and say the Bloom record is why they are in music or totally changed their lives. It's encouraging to hear stories like that.
What are some of the best memories you have as a band?
McGinniss One of the coolest things is that we're not leaving because of some dysfunctional band member situation. We're actually bearing with one another with this situation with Mark. It's awesome that we can go out like that—loving each other well. Through thick and thin in life, we loved each other and let that love overflow from stage. People really saw that we cared about each other. And we'll be part of each other's lives as we move forward.
Other bands will talk about a great moment onstage, but everyone in Audio Adrenaline will talk about the great times we had on our days off when we went snowboarding, scuba diving or fishing for sharks in Australia. Or when we'd do crazy things like ATVing in Las Vegas or snowmobiling in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We'll remember all the places we've been together and all the fun we had. We're a band who stuck together through life.
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