XML Feeds
By Antoinette McDonald
Multi-platinum rock band Third Day has racked up over 25 No. 1 radio singles and sold more than seven million albums, receiving two RIAA Platinum and eight Gold certifications. The band has won four GRAMMY awards, an American Music Award, 24 GMA Dove Awards and multiple ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) honors. The band has appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson," "60 Minutes" and "Nightline" and been featured in The New York Times, USA Today and on the cover of Billboard, which called Third Day "one of the best rock bands."
We recently caught up with the band’s bassist and backing vocalist Tai Anderson and posed these questions…
Follow up:
Why the name Third Day?
The name “Third Day” is a direct reference to the day of resurrection – to Easter. As Christians we often focus on Jesus’ birth (Christmas) but obviously Easter is so important because that’s really where we find our hope for eternal life.
So do you classify yourselves as a “Christian band”? What does that mean?
Yeah, we do without reservation. But, we understand why some people are hesitant to call themselves that because they want their music to be heard by a wider audience. For us, our message is so direct and so much of our music encourages people of faith. We also try to model a great Christian band for others too.
What does being a Christian mean to you?
That’s a great question because there is a lot of baggage that can be tied up with that word. There are many things done under that banner that don’t necessary have much to do with the person of Jesus. For us, we define it as trying to live out the gospel of Jesus. On our own, we are never going to achieve anything – let alone get into heaven. It’s by grace we’ve been saved and by His grace we live. It requires us to serve others, to care, and to try and live a life that reflects this incredible gift God has given us.
You’ve been in the “Christian music industry” for almost 20 years. What’s that been like?
When we started there was this perception that Christian music was behind the times and we really wanted to be a part of changing that. And I think along with several other really great bands we have really helped to do that. Christian music today covers a lot of different genres but I think there is a lot of great quality music being produced out there too. The biggest part for us is that we’ve been able to encourage people through our music – people all over the world. People say our music has touched their lives or helped them in their journey with God - so I’d say it’s been an incredible honor for us to make Christian music.
Would you say there were any perceptions about the Christian music industry that you’ve encountered that you do and don’t like to be associated with?
Yeah, I think they are well known. I think the stereotype that Christian music is going to be uncreative, or a Christian version of (you know, like having no artistic integrity) – that is something we’ve really tried to combat by being creative and original. We really wanted to create music that stood on its own. Being a Christian band never gave us the excuse to produce something less than – if anything, we wanted to make it stand out – to be excellent. Whether we are touring or recording, it’s been our aim to give of our best and I think that’s one of the reasons why we’ve enjoyed so much success all over the world.
We have encountered interesting perceptions – like when we are sitting on a plane and someone asks, “So what do you do?” And when you say you are in a Christian band they either expect you to bible bash them or they think your band must be bad quality. I am really glad we can give those people any Third Day album or song and be proud of our efforts.
‘Move’ is your latest studio release. How would you sum it up?
(Read album review here)
I think to go back to our album before that, “Revelations’ – the title track of that record asked this question, “Tell me do I need to stay here or do I need to move?” I think our album ‘Move’ really answers that prayer. We felt to say: just take a step, get moving, whether that’s across the street or across the world. The metaphor I like to use is that it’s hard to steer a parked car. Once you get moving, even slowly, it’s much easier to steer and find direction. And that’s really our hope, that we can encourage our fans to get moving. So many Christians are just stationary – asking God what do we need to do, or where can I serve. And I think God needs us to take that first step.
You’ve sold over 7 million units, won 4 Grammy’s and countless other awards, been on the cover of magazines all over the world – what would you attribute such success to?
I think we have an incredible singer who has an incredible voice. I mean Mac’s voice is so recognizable –and that just set us apart – and I think we’ve backed that up and our songwriting has got better and better over the years. I think we also allowed our audience to grow with us and not grow out of us.
What’s with you always performing with a cowboy hat on?
It’s covered up a whole lot of bad haircuts over the years. I started wearing it a few years ago and now fans are used to it so it became a trademark of sorts – people have come to expect it.
You guys seem to be big on adoption? Why?
It sort of started when our former guitarist Scott adopted a child from China, and then Mac adopted two children from Atlanta – and seeing what that’s done for their families. It was just also such a beautiful metaphor for how God has adopted us into his family. Personally it just inspired me so much and now my wife and I are in the process of adopting. It made us open to it because we’ve seen how incredible it is. It’s such a great and practical way for Christians to live out the gospel.
What would you say to people that say that this concept of adoption amongst celebrities seems so fashionable right now?
I haven’t encountered that yet. The proof is in the pudding. Even if its “fashionable” its still a great thing to do. I mean it’s become fashionable to recycle and that doesn’t mean we should stop recycling. That doesn’t make it right or wrong. I don’t have a lot of criticism for anyone who says they’ll open up their home and take a child that has nothing and give them a real chance and love. Someone who criticizes that, I don’t think we’ll have a whole lot to talk about.
You guys have spoken about influencing the influencers. What does that mean?
We are really proud of the legacy of this band and what God has done with it. We are just average Redneck guys from Georgia and yet we’ve been able to travel the world and make a difference in peoples lives. And who knows who we have influenced along the way?
As a band, who inspires you? Why?
I’ve always been a huge U2 fan. I think Bono has always been an inspiring figure. He’s been mobilizing Americans to pressure our governments to keep our promises to help the poor around the world. So as a musician and as an activist, Bono definitely inspires us. But I also think of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – basically any band that can stay together for more than 20 years inspires us because we love what we get to do and want to keep doing it!
You have played in South Africa before – what were your thoughts, impressions – about SA?
Its great to come to South Africa and find that there is a market for Christian music. It’s such a beautiful country and it was great to see that there is a lot more to Africa than what we see on the news here. I’d love to bring my kids on the next trip! We are so appreciative that we have fans in South Africa. We went to a local mall one day and there were all these gospel music stores with our albums in there and we were just blown away. We stream all of our concerts online so until then, enjoy that!
Permalink
