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Expect the Supernatural …
with dc Talk's Michael Tait
by Michael Herman
 There are many nights when dc Talk vocalist,
Michael Tait simply sits on the backyard deck of his Brentwood,
Tennessee, home with his roommate Chad watching the evening crawl
through the trees and the twilight sky.
"That's a perfect
evening for me; we don't even have to talk," explains Tait.
"There's something mysterious about that time of day, the
anticipation of the darkness of night."
A Supernatural
feeling? "Perhaps," responds Tait with a laugh.
Though he's a member of a band
with "talk" in its name, Michael Tait can appreciate
silence at the appropriate moments.
"I'm a dreamer; I like to be
in that environment to do that. It's like a X-Files sort of
feeling. It's eerie, but I like it." Before the wrong
picture is painted of Tait's worldview, he quickly
adds," … now don't get me wrong, I'm not going off on
some New Age thing here … everyone just has their favorite
environment."
It would have to take at least a
self-proclaimed dreamer and a couple of friends to be completing
their biggest project to date with four albums, including a
Grammy Award, a platinum album, two gold albums and a
gold-certified long-form video already in their back pocket.
The band's Supernatural
release will hit the stores on September 22 with a lot to live up
to. Along with band members Toby McKeehan and Kevin Max
("K-Max" if you want to get in good with Kevin), Tait
saw the immediate success of their last project, Jesus Freak,
turn into a gold record within 30 days of its release back in
November 1995.
What's on the new album? "We
write from the heart. It all comes from what we go through in our
lives, what we experience," reveals Tait. "The song, Supernatural,
was something that I woke up one morning and wrote. It all began
with one word; it asks questions … the song explores who God
is."
Perhaps you've already heard a
number of this album's songs if you've caught the E.R.A.C.E. tour
this summer. E.R.A.C.E. is Eliminating Racism And Creating
Equality, created by Toby McKeehan's Gotee Records label. The
guys have been performing, Into Jesus (#5 on Christian Hit
Radio charts during it's second week out), My Will, Supernatural,
and Since I Met You. Coming out with another album moves
the guys further toward their ultimate goal.
"It's all about making the
news about God's love available for people to hear," Tait
says. "Music does that." Supernatural will be
co-distributed on the Forefront Records label along with Virgin
Records. Some Christian music fans might question this move and
the subsequent increase of airplay on secular radio stations, but
Tait disagrees with the notion.
"What does the term, 'going
secular' mean? This relationship [with Virgin] is a beautiful
marriage that will produce more availability of the message. Is
our music changing? The message isn't, but as for the style, I
like to say, 'dc Talk will evolve 'till we dissolve.' "
Another cut from Supernatural,
called My Friend, takes the band through a fictional
break-up with one of the band's members leaving the group.
"A few albums ago, there were rumors going around that we
were gonna breakup, but that was the farthest thing from the
truth. My Friend goes through what we might feel if that
really happened, the happiness for him and the possible jealous
feelings … a mix of emotions. But don't worry, we're as close
now as we ever have been."
The guys have done some work
outside of the band since Jesus Freak, with Michael
spending more time writing and producing songs with artists such
as Michael W. Smith (My Will), Reality Check, and writing
and singing Uphill Battle with Pete Stewart of Grammatrain
for Forefront's Ten: The Birthday Album, which was
released earlier this summer. Toby has branched out to do even
more songwriting than ever before along with starting up a new
recording label, Gotee Records, and Kevin published a book. But
don't see the individual work of each of the band members as a
predecessor to the guys going their own ways for good.
"It's not that at all,"
Tait says. "dc Talk is the hub—it all comes back to there.
We have been blessed with opportunities to do what we love in
addition to growing as a band. We support each other's personal
projects and are genuinely happy to see each other succeed."
Tait's favorite songs on the new
album include God Send, Supernatural and Consume
Me. "I don't want to be cliché in choosing Supernatural
as one of my favorites, but I love the picture it paints of who
God is."
If you were to drive over to
Michael's place tonight, he says that you'd find Pure
Moods, a Russ Taff album, Dave Matthews, Lenny Kravitz and
Seal in his CD player. The band's sound and style draws from many
genres and artists, but the message comes straight from the heart
of God.
Don't doubt that dc Talk's music
will continue to become more and more popular with their latest
album. But also remember that, "It's all about making the
news about God's love available for people to hear."
The sun has set, and the stars are
back for another night. You can bet that somewhere in Brentwood,
Tennessee, Michael and Chad have put on the mosquito repellant
and are sitting and enjoying the Supernatural.
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