Whole Notes

Independent bands are typically a dime a dozen. Anyone can spend their own money to make their own record. And most of those bands, no matter how talented they might be, usually get lost in the highly competitive music industry

That’s what makes Hearts of Saints so unique. The four-piece band has found a way to capture the attention of Christian music fans thanks to its penchant for self-marketing (via digital and social platforms) and an undying commitment to authentic ministry.

Whole Notes recently caught up with Hearts of Saints lead singer Craig Felker via email to talk about the balance between worship and rock music, the advantages and disadvantages of being independent, and how one tragic story greatly impacted the band:

Chad Bonham: Which came first, Hearts of Saints the worship band or Hearts of Saints the rock band?

Craig Felker: We’ve always led worship. In fact, early on we really developed as a band by leading worship at a local church in my hometown of Paducah, KY. All four of us grew up playing worship in church long before Hearts of Saints ever existed.

Bonham: On a practical level, what are the challenges of balancing both sides of what the band does creatively?

Felker: I’m not sure it’s a challenge as much as it’s understanding the agenda. When we were writing the songs for the worship record we wanted to make sure we used language that encouraged and united brothers and sisters to sing together in adoration. That’s why you see the emphasis on using words like “we,” “us” and “our.” In addition, we really focused on using scripture as the backbone for the worship disc. I can’t write better lyrics than the truth that exists in scripture, and we just wanted to write fresh expressions from that base. As for the rock disc, we thought of the live audience when creating these songs. That’s why you’ll hear a lot of gang vocals and big anthemic choruses. The agenda was all about the energy and impact these songs could have in our live show.

Bonham: What are the benefits to being able to nimbly move back and forth between both streams?

Felker: I think it allows us to connect with a larger audience, which creates more opportunities to speak about the Good News of Christ. You can’t be all things to all people, although Paul definitely talks about that in 1 Corinthians, but I think this record gives a full picture of who we are today as a band. We’re not a rock band covering worship. We absolutely feel called to do both.

Bonham: What are the advantages of being an independent artist in today’s cultural climate that emphasizes empowering technology and social media?

Felker: Great question. I think creative/artistic freedom is the big advantage of being an indie. In this specific instance, we had the liberty to be both a rock and a worship band, which we most likely would not have been able to do otherwise. Another advantage of being an indie in today’s culture is the freedom to control social media content to stay connected with our fans. Recently, we started a Facebook/Twitter “share our new album” marketing campaign to promote For All of Us. We planned and implemented this plan in less than 24 hours.

Bonham: What are the disadvantages of being an independent artist and how have you overcome those challenges?

Felker: Radio…Radio…Radio. Did I say radio? While independent artists are receiving more credibility that ever, it’s still very hard for an indie band/artist to receive significant radio airplay in the Christian market. There are multiple factors behind that, but it’s a very competitive market and radio stations only have a few spots each week to add new songs. Ultimately, you have to write great songs and find the Lord’s favor. In all seriousness, our Christmas single “The Shepherd’s Song (God With Us)” broke into the Billboard Top 20 in December, and we were humbled and honored by the news. We really hope that continues with this new record so more people can hear our music and message.

Bonham: What creative influences (outside of other artists) have had the greatest impact on the band’s sound and songwriting?

Felker: I’m really not trying to be cheesy here, but it’s the scriptures and the gospel. More than ever, we’ve really leaned on God’s Word for vision and direction on this record. That’s where we find truth about God’s nature and great love for us, which shapes our identity and story. In a lot of ways, I’d say that’s what this record is all about—our story wrapped together in His.

Bonham: When it comes to your worship music, what is the general theme that tends to emerge from your writing sessions?

Felker: With the worship music on For All of Us it’s all about Identity. A song like “Out Of The Dark” (based on 1 Thessalonians 5:4-5) really speaks about this theme. As the chorus says: Hallelujah/ Christ has overcome/The Son has risen, the song is about understanding our identity as sons and daughters of light. It’s about realizing that God has already conquered death so that we might have freedom to live in Him. Despite what we may face or what we’ve done, God loves us, redeemed us and wants to give us eternity. This hope we have in Christ is not something we’re waiting on; we walk in it now!

Bonham: What about your narrative songs? Is there a particular message that tends to find its way into the rock material?

Felker: I think on the rock material you see a few main themes. Songs like “Flash” and “Attraction, Distraction” focus on being distracted by things in life that really don’t matter like fame, self-pursuit, etc. While songs like “Birth of a Legacy” and “Battle Cry” are modern rock anthems that present a direct call to fight with love for justice by giving ourselves away. Ultimately, that should be the theme of everything we do. When we give ourselves away, that’s where we find life.

Bonham: Long set up for this question, but after reading your story about the fan who took her own life, I was reminded of a church service I was in recently where the speaker had been suicidal for most of his teen years and through his early 20s. He gave an altar call for those in the crowd who have been tormented with suicidal thoughts and 18 came down out of several hundreds of people. I was shocked that so many answered the call.

So here’s the question: Was your experience hearing about this girl an eye-opener when it comes to suicide within the walls of the church and how has that impacted your ministry focus?

Felker: I’m not sure it was an eye-opener as much as it was humbling. We just kept thinking, “What could we have said? What could we have done to prevent this?” That’s a tough road to go down, but we definitely were asking ourselves those questions. Before this particular story, we were aware of fans having issues with self-mutilation, suicidal thoughts, divorce, etc., But this definitely impacted our focus. I think now we attempt to verbalize the gospel to every audience and communicate how much God really loves them. We just want people to know that they’re not alone, that we were never intended to be alone and that Jesus promised He’d be with us until the end of the age.

Bonham: Can you give me a specific example of how her story (and other stories like it) have inspired the band to help people struggling with emotional pain whether that might have been through a one-on-one opportunity, from the concert stage, etc.?

Felker: The stage has always been a platform for us to be relational. We just love people. So we always attempt to connect with others after shows and stayed involved as much as possible. I think now, more than ever, we just speak more boldly than before. Ultimately, this is about discipling and sharing the love of Christ. Recently, we had a fan reach out to us about her drug issues via social media. This led to a series of conversations, and I’m happy to report that she is now two months sober from serious drug abuse. It’s not anything we’re doing, but what the Spirit of the Lord is doing. We just want to speak truth and be encouragers.

Keep track of the latest tour dates and other band news by visiting the official Hearts of Saints website.

In March of 2013, the History Channel will release a five-week, 10-hour miniseries called “The Bible” produced by the husband-wife team of Mark Burnett (The Voice, Survivor, Celebrity Apprentice) and Roma Downey (Touched By An Angel). To promote the event, Burnett has been releasing music videos highlighting scenes from the series.

Here’s the latest video that was released featuring Pastor Charles Jenkins and Fellowship Chicago’s song “Awesome.”

When it comes to longevity within the music business, 20 years is almost a lifetime. And in the past 20 years, husband and wife duo Jeromy and Jennifer Diebler of FFH have certainly experienced a whole lot of life—from the mountaintops where gold records can be found to the valleys where natural disasters and disease can rock your world.

Much of that experience has been amplified by the Diebler’s six-month trip to South Africa followed by Jeromy’s diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in the fall of 2007. Then came the devastating Nashville flood in 2010 that destroyed the family’s home. As Jeromy says, “this has been a really interesting season.”

Most recently, FFH has released a hybrid worship/lullaby/hymns project called The Way We Worship but things will likely never be the same for this heralded Christian duo. And Jeromy is okay with that. In this Whole Notes interview, he explains how Africa changed his family’s life, how the latest album came to be and the lessons they’ve learned along the way:

Chad Bonham: Tell me about the six months your family spent in Africa.

Jeromy Diebler: We knew we wanted to take a break from music. We didn’t know how long it was going to be. A lot of it was about our marriage. Jennifer and I had been touring together for 10 years and we had innocently morphed into Jennifer and Jeromy of FFH and it was less about Jennifer and Jeromy the married couple. We needed to be away for a while. So we went to Africa. That helped us a lot. Life in Africa is hard. It wasn’t for us. We were living in a little farm community spending U.S. dollars, so with the exchange rate, we were fine. But we got to see how life is hard in Africa. To contrast that, we saw how hard life can be, but we also learned that hard is not positive or negative. Hard doesn’t have good or bad. Hard is just hard. A lot of times hard can be good and sometimes hard can be better than easy. When we came home, one of the biggest realizations was how relational things are in Africa and how we got used to that and how much harder relationships are here.

Bonham: How did the initial discovery that you had MS impact your personal life and your desire to keep your music career going?

Diebler: When we got back, we had 70 show offers and we said no to them all. We had to wait and see what was going to happen with me. Then Jennifer lost her grandparents and our daughter Sadie was born and so much life happened during that time. We couldn’t just continue on like we were before. So we had to reset everything. And then our house was flooded and we had to start over again. This has been a really interesting season.

Bonham: What has been the lesson from these challenging situations in your family’s life?

Diebler: It goes back to our experience in Africa, but God has had gifts for us inside the suffering. We’ve had to be still long enough to see it and find it, but it’s been good. It’s been a good time. It’s not been a party. We’re living in our fifth rental house in two years. It’s half the size of the house we lost in the flood. We lost everything that we owned. I think I have my Bible and we have some birth certificates and some tax records. But we’re happier and we have more peace and we have more contentment. We’ve gone through a lot of hard things and at times it still is, but we are happier. How do you explain that? I think the only way you can explain that is Jesus.

Bonham: How do you explain the fact that you and your wife have such compatible voices, almost like something you’d expect from siblings that sing together?

Diebler: That’s something that has to come from God. We sound alike. This is what God did. I had no hand in that. Even when I was younger, 16 or 17 years old, I always thought it would be really cool to be in a band with my wife. So God put that in me a long time ago. Our strongest suit is singing harmony together.

Bonham: How did you choose the unique mix of hymns, worship songs and original music for the latest album?

Diebler: The most interesting part of this process is that we didn’t intend to make this record. Making a worship album was not on our radar. We had made the record Wide Open Spaces when we got back from Africa. That was two years in the making. So then we decided to make a Christmas album and that went great. We got that out of the way and went back into the studio to do another FFH album. So were in this meeting with Provident and the president of the label and the president of marketing and two or three other people. Then there was another guy in the room. He was the youngest guy and definitely the hippest guy. He’s got his hat pulled down and he’s not really paying attention. We went back and forth about the next FFH record and I was telling them about how I was excited to get back in the studio and write new songs. So before we got up to leave, I said, ‘Oh by the way, Jennifer and our guitar player John have been working on a record together. Jennifer sings our kids to sleep every night and she usually sings old hymns. She wants to make a record just for our kids and our family. We might sell it at shows. If you have any interest in packaging that with this record or if you want to hear it, let me know.’ And that dude with the tattoos looks up and goes, ‘Now that I would buy.’ I had explained that it would be really mellow and soft and nice. So we started this new discussion and the president of the company agreed that it was a good idea. They decided they would rather have a bluegrass lullaby record instead of a typical FFH record because it was something they thought people would really like. We started piecing the record together and the Holy Spirit really led the whole process. It’s definitely a worship record but I almost wish we didn’t have to call it that. These aren’t typical worship songs that you hear at modern church anymore. But this had to be from God because it wasn’t even our idea.

Follow the latest news from FFH by visiting the band’s official website HERE.

On Sunday, January 20th, P.O.D., will perform at halftime of the NFC Championship in Atlanta between the San Francisco 49ers and the Atlanta Falcons.

The game starts at 3p ET/2pCT on FOX. P.O.D., will follow up this high profile performance with a major tour alongside 3 Days Grace and Shinedown beginning February 1st in Moline, IL and concluding on March 30th in Fargo, ND.

Here’s a look at the full list of tour dates:

Feb 1 – Moline, IL
Feb 2 – Madison, WI
Feb 5 – Minneapolis, MN
Feb 6 – Green Bay, WI
Feb 7 – Dayton, OH
Feb 8 – Nashville, TN
Feb 9 – Huntington, WV
Feb 10 – Knoxville, TN
Feb 12 – Saginaw, MI
Feb 13 – Battle Creek, MI
Feb 14 – Cleveland, OH
Feb 15 – Ft. Wayne, IN
Feb 16 – Lexington, KY
Feb 17 – Reading, PA
Feb 19 – Baltimore, MD
Feb 20 – Lowell, MA
Feb 22 – Rochester, NY
Feb 23 – Glens Falls, NY
Mar 9 – Orlando, FL
Mar 11 – Estero, FL
Mar 12 – Savannah, GA
Mar 13 – Augusta, GA
Mar 14 – Pensacola, FL
Mar 15 – Jackson, MS
Mar 16 – Little Rock, AR
Mar 18 – Baton Rouge, LA
Mar 19 – Belton, TX
Mar 21 – Oklahoma City, OK
Mar 22 – Lubbock, TX
Mar 23 – Wichita, KS
Mar 25 – Denver, CO
Mar 26 – Lincoln, NE
Mar 28 – Sioux City, IA
Mar 29 – Lacrosse, WI
Mar 30 – Fargo, ND

For more details about the tour and P.O.D.’s latest album Murdered Love, visit the band’s official website HERE.