Melissa Greene (left), Jody McBrayer, Janna Long, and her husband Greg are still carrying on despite significant life changes in the last three years.

Avalon celebrated its tenth year as a group in December. Between recording seven albums, releasing 20 No. 1 hits, singing before 500,000 fans nationwide and winning numerous awards, they've found time to start and expand their families while recording their new studio album, Stand. Avalon's Jody McBrayer took a break from singing—and rocking his daughter—to talk to us about what's been happening with the group, about their new album and about what's ahead.

Your website mentions having dark times this past three years. What hard times have the group members been through?

Jody McBrayer: It started three years ago with the loss of Grant Cunningham. He worked at our label and was responsible for putting Avalon together. He was almost like the fifth member. Then, Cherie Paliotta left the group after nearly four years. The next year, Michael Passons left as well. Janna and I wondered whether God wanted us to continue. Through those difficulties, we realized that anything worth doing is worth fighting for. God has turned our mourning into dancing. We have so many reasons to be excited and celebrate now.

What good things have been happening?

McBrayer: We're all having babies. Janna and Greg have a 20-month-old girl, Lillian, and she is just amazingly beautiful. She rides on the bus with us. Then, my wife and I had a baby seven months ago. Her name is Sarah Clayton. She gives us a new perspective about how God cares for us unconditionally. We recently found out that Melissa and her husband, Ben, are expecting their first child.

How are you enjoying fatherhood?

McBrayer: No matter what anybody says, nothing prepares you for what's about to happen. The hardest part is her lack of sleep. I told my wife I wanted sleep for Christmas this year! The positives are so incredible. I don't know if I could ever imagine loving someone as much as I love her. I hold her in my arms and rock her to sleep and she starts to snore a little bit, just like dad, and I'm just overwhelmed. I look up to heaven and say, "Lord, why did you bless me with such an amazing thing? I'm so undeserving of this." Yet, I'm so thankful that he did. I don't know how anyone can watch a baby being born or watch the heartbeat on an ultrasound and not believe in Christ. It's such a miracle.

How does having a new baby impact touring?

McBrayer: We bought a bus a few years ago because we all knew we were going to start having families. We wanted to make it as easy as possible for our families to come along. Our bus driver is Greg's uncle. He drives at night and Greg and I take turns driving during the day. We did 17 Christmas gigs in five weekends in 2005, so it was very busy. Sarah didn't like traveling on the bus. She was great until she had to sleep and then she was like, "Why is my bed moving?" My wife just decided that we should keep her home.

You have another new "baby," your album, Stand. It's more up-tempo than your last album.

McBrayer: When Avalon started, Christian radio considered us edgy. As time went on, we almost became "inspirational" for a couple of records. We wanted to get back a little of that edginess. We want to stay current without compromising who we are; that's something we tried to do on this record, giving it a little more edge. There are still some great ballad moments on the record, but we needed some energy. We're also in a different place as a group. There's a lot more joy these days, so we wanted to portray that on this record. When we made The Creed, the record before this new one, we were coming through the difficult period. If that record was our mourning time, this new record is our dancing time. It took us almost a year to make the record.

What took so long?

McBrayer: Finding the right songs was important. We were persnickety about picking songs. We didn't have the luxury of settling on anything. We pushed back the release date twice. I'm thankful we did that because God brought some great songs in the eleventh hour that needed to be on the record.

You don't write most of your songs. Why is that?

McBrayer: Melissa and I had a hand in writing a little bit of "The Other Side." I also worked a little on the song, "Survive." I'd love to do more, but I don't feel like I'm strong enough at writing. We're more singers than songwriters. So many people write music and are looking for people to showcase their gifts. They are good at what they do and they contribute songs to us.

Why were you so picky about the songs on this album?

McBrayer: Even though we loved The Creed, the industry didn't view it as that dynamic of a record. In this industry, you are only as good as your last release, so we felt we needed to step it up stylistically and musically. That's why we were pickier this time around. We were under different circumstances making The Creed. We felt pressure from different sides to make a record and have it out in a specific amount of time. Time was on our side more with Stand. We also used different producers. After ten years, we just wanted to reinvent a little bit to give it a little kick.

How do you decide who sings lead on which song?

McBrayer: We each gravitate toward songs that we really love. From the first time we heard "Joy and Sorrow," Melissa felt a personal attachment to it, so we told her to do it. When someone feels that strongly about a song, it's a God thing. It rarely happens that two of us feel strongly about the same song. It did happen once in the past, so we made that song a duet.

On your song, "The Other Side," you sing about finding good in dark periods. Have you learned to do that?

McBrayer: Yes, I have. Every time you go through difficulty, you face a choice. After my father died five years ago, I struggled through bitterness, guilt, frustration and anger. I'm not sure that I wanted to find a silver lining; I just wanted to be mad. But, you must find a way to see the light through the difficult time or you die inside. I don't understand how people who don't have Christ can make it through hard circumstance. I guess a lot of them don't. I believe with my whole heart that I am a part of something bigger than I am. I now see the light at the end of the tunnel. God never said he'd make our lives easy, but he said he'd be there to help us through. I truly understand that now.

Did you have difficulty getting out of God's way, as in your song, "Slowly"?

McBrayer: Yes! There are things I have a hard time giving up. I am one of those "I know better" people. Even though I trust God, love him, believe he is all-knowing and know that he has my best interests at heart, I'm very stubborn. I don't do it intentionally, but I'm headstrong. God will tell me, "Jody, if I have to keep you in the same place for the next two years so you will get this, I'll do that." That's what I think of when I hear the song, "Slowly." I'm learning how to live and love.

What is your favorite song on the album?

McBrayer: "We Will Stand" [written by Russ Taff] is my favorite. I love taking an older song and doing it differently. We are all Russ Taff fans, so we wanted to do the song. Our manager went to Russ and his wife Tori and they agreed to write a new bridge for it. We loved it. Russ came to the studio to say hi when we were recording it and ended up singing on the song.

I hear you'll be performing at 24 Women of Faith conferences this year.

McBrayer: Yes. They did a poll last year asking who people would like to see performing, and we were one of the top three chosen. They asked us early last year to be part of seven conferences. We did, and the speakers and women on the platform were an encouragement to us. It's a huge blessing to be part of that family for 24 conferences this year. We may be going to Africa with Women of Faith through World Vision this year. We have seen 11,000 children sponsored in eight years through World Vision at our concerts, so I do want to help and to see the plight of these children first-hand. What's the point of having a microphone and a platform if you aren't doing something to change the world with it?

Besides the Women of Faith conferences, what else is coming up?

McBrayer: We'll be touring when we're not with Women of Faith. We are also making a hymns record. The hymns on the album will sound a lot like an Avalon record, but we don't want to change the melody lines of the hymns. We want "How Great Thou Art" to sound like "How Great Thou Art." We would like to include more of a corporate worship time at our concerts, so that will be a big part of it for this next record.

For more about Avalon, visit their artist page on our site. To read our review of Stand, click here, and visit Christianbook.com to listen to sound clips or buy Avalon's music.

© Maryann B. Hunsberger, subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

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