Left to right: Charlie Lowell (keyboards), Dan Haseltine (vocals), Matt Odmark (guitars), Steve Mason (guitars)

Jars of Clay keyboardist Charlie Lowell discusses the newfound creative freedom that went into the making of the band's new album.

A young man and woman date, fall in love, and then learn one of them has a terminal illness. The man does his best to prove his unending love for the woman, and despite her sickly condition, they get married. However, it's only a matter of time before her physical pain grows worse and her body starts to deteriorate. Why would God allow something so tragic to happen? How can the couple cope with the fact that their time together will end prematurely as a result of her condition?

There's no easy answer to that life-changing predicament, but the latest single from Jars of Clay's The Eleventh Hour called "Fly" attempts to provide resolution and solace to such a couple. Singer Dan Haseltine sings from the perspective of the man cradling his deteriorating bride in his arms: "This part of me that breathes when you breathe is losing time / I can't find the words to say I'll never say goodbye / I'll fly with you through the night so you know I'm not letting go."

With this album, Jars of Clay once again prove they aren't afraid to take on delicate issues, such as disillusionment and unanswered prayers. "We write songs that connect with people on a level that's wider than religion," notes the group's piano and keyboard player, Charlie Lowell. "We want to question situations and discuss issues everyone wrestles with."

Certainly many listeners who don't have a spiritual worldview have been able to identify with the group's messages in the past, but it's the group's hope that The Eleventh Hour will allow these fans to embrace and seek out spiritual truth. "The goal with this project is to branch out of the Christian market and to reach a broader audience," Lowell says. "We're singing about topics relevant to the culture at large, and we want their only judgment to come from an artistic level."

Indeed, relevance meets artistry on the project as the group returns to their grassroots beginnings. For this recording, the group members went into the studio and turned out a batch of tunes on their own terms rather than trying to live up to other people's expectations. "Ever since the first project took off, we've always had industry pressure to deal with the mixed voices of the fans," notes Lowell. "It's been hard to deal with it all, but working on this project all by ourselves allowed us to take on a lot more artistic liberties."

Not only did the group write and record all the material for the album, but they also self-produced it. In addition, the band members decided to design all the artwork for the CD sleeve, stage their own photo shoots, and directly oversee all the other creative processes associated with The Eleventh Hour. "We didn't go into it with a conscious decision to take on as much as we could do," explains Lowell. "We actually had a producer lined up, but he pulled out and we were stuck. We didn't want to start over with a new producer because it's so hard to sit down with someone for an hour and decide if they'll be the right person to direct your record."

As for the other elements involved, such as the artwork and photography, the guys learned their skills from the people they've worked with in the industry over the years. "Each one of us has been involved with enough photo shoots to know what they require," Lowell says with a laugh. "A lot of the promotional shots came from Polaroids that Dan took on the road."

Speaking of the road, the group is currently in the midst of an ambitious first leg of their Eleventh Hour tour, which has already packed houses from coast to coast and chalked up favorable reviews. Even though the band is very experienced when it comes to life on the road, it hasn't gotten any easier as time's gone by. "It's harder to go out and work a record now that we're married and are starting to have kids," admits Charlie. "Finding that delicate balance between our music and our families is probably the most consistent struggle we face."

Thankfully for fans, Charlie and the other three members of Jars of Clay still find doing what they do worth the struggles. "We've been enjoying each other more than ever, and we still like playing live. So I feel like that's more of a barometer of success over radio hits and sales."

Click here to learn more about Jars of Clay at our music channel artist page for the band. Also check out our review of The Eleventh Hour. Visit Musicforce.com to purchase your own copy of The Eleventh Hour today!

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