Falling Up, Not Down
An Exclusive Interview With Christian Hard Rock Group Falling Up
Living what every garage rock band considers their "dream" – signing with BEC Recordings, cutting their first record, and touring with label mates and hometown colleagues Kutless all almost straight out of high school – critically acclaimed rap-rockers Falling Up have not been phased by the intensity and pressures of being new faces in the industry. Instead, the group has held on to their "passion" for their faith and are already leaving a big impression on both fans and critics of the hard-rock genre.
The following are excerpts taken from a recent interview the group had with San Francisco-based BREATHEcast.com after one of their recent shows in San Jose, Calif.
You guys began your musical career almost straight out of high school and you're all pretty young; what's the age range in the group?
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Tom: I turned 21 in November
Jessy: I'm 20. The oldest guy is 24, the youngest is 18. So we're all in between there.
Yeah, we basically started hitting the road right after High School. We took some time to write and right after that we hit the road.
How long have you guys been on tour?
Jessy: The Little Green Tour just got started a week and a half ago. We actually just got out of a nine month tour with Kutless and Pillar, with a few summer festival appearances in there as well.
I read that you guys have been learning a lot about the industry through touring. Can you share some of the things you've picked up on through your experience on the road and what you're learning now as well?
Jessy: Actually this current tour expresses a lot about what we've learned. It's called the Little Green Tour, which a lot of people don't get. It's called that because "green" in the industry means that you're kind of ignorant, little, or young. It's like you're green because you don't wear what rock stars wear; you're green because you don't have piercings or tattoos. They've told us that since day one.
One thing I've learned about the industry is that a lot of bands try to be "different" or
"original" by standing out with their dress or their attitude. I personally think that being original is doing what you did from day one. Being who you are, that's original.
For the band, we started out as the dorkiest guys ever. We were in the garage with taped microphones in cabinets and in the sides of the walls – we were just dorks. Not saying that we want to be dorks for the rest of our lives, but we want to keep with our roots. We want to maintain our humility about things, and that's being original.
Tom: I think that all ties into keeping with innocence. A lot of people in the industry confuse innocence with ignorance. Not that getting piercings or tattoos are wrong, but the whole attitude behind it is wrong. We feel that for a lot people their motive in getting those things is just so they can feel more like a "rock star," and if that's all that it's about, it's not for us. And because we don't conform the industry calls us ignorant when it's really just our innocence showing through.
That reminds me of when Jesus said that we as Christians have to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. It's really awesome that you strive to live the life of the Gospel.
Tom: Yup, it's a "lifestyle."
So how does that "lifestyle" feed into the writing process, or, in other words, can you describe the inspiration behind your music?
Tom: I feel that a band has a very limited amount of time together, so what I try to do with every CD is fit everything style and meaning wise into it. I don't want people to just put on a record and listen to it, but I want them to feel that there's something more behind it.
It's like with a VHS movie; you put it on, and all you can do is just watch the movie. But now they came out with DVD's with all these special features and that just ups everything. That's kind of how I look at our CD's; we can do so much more to it and make it so much more interesting.
As far as the actual lyrics and music is concerned, we're a band that tries hard to reveal passion in both not so much emotions. And that's because the world is driven by emotion. If we're at a show and we're singing a song fully on emotion, the next day we might feel differently and the song may not have the same effect. But if it's about passion, if it's about something that we strongly believe in and have a strong say about, then that song will always be powerful. And that passion comes from the Word of God, because if it weren't for the Word, our songs would not exist.
I read Mike's testimony on your website, and it was really touching. Would you guys mind sharing your own stories of faith?
Tom: Ours ties in a lot with what we said earlier about staying with our innocence. We didn't grow up like Mike; we had Christian families that were very supportive and we grew up in the church. And more than that, we felt that God had really took a firm hold of us and said, "You're not going anywhere." We felt that grasp and were very determined to stay on the path. Not that we don't mess up, but for example, I knew I was saved in the 6th grade and ever since I was little I had prayed with my parents. My testimony is simple, but it's powerful at the same time because it teaches those kids who did grow up in church that it's ok, you might be dry and not understanding in the beginning, but if you stay strong, God will reveal Himself. Like we've been saying, sticking with that innocence; staying with that child-like faith as much as possible.
But at the same time we have Mike, and I'm really thankful for the position that he has put us in. Me and Jessy's testimonies almost sound sugarcoated, but then Mike's is really intense, and it's a good balance between the two. It shows that God can grab you anywhere you are. Whether you're in the depths of hell or on the highest mountain, He can grab you, it doesn't matter where you are.
It also shows that sin isn't a picture of how bad a person you are, but rather it's just separation from God. Mike was engulfed in this separation, whereas we might have been on the edge a couple of times. But it doesn't matter, you're just either hot or cold.
How long have you guys all known each other?
Jessy: Tom and I went to elementary school, middle school, high school together, some of the other guys we know from high school. We've all been friends for a long time except for Mike. We just met him not too long ago. But we definitely know each other well.
Tom: Almost too well.
Did you guys grow up playing for the church?
Tom: We played a little bit in the worship team once in a while, but our band in high school was not really part of the church. It was our own little hobby thing. Josh was in other bands before ours, and he played in the worship team in his church. But for our church, the worship team was a really big commitment. It was super organized, and we just couldn't dedicate the time. It was fun though. I would lead worship sometimes, and sometimes Jessy did.
Now that you guys have moved beyond the sanctuary and are in the public eye, what new struggles do you now face that you haven't before? Do you consider yourselves to be in a leadership position for the youth?
Tom: One very personal struggle for me is being away from my wife, as she's not on the tour with us right now. It's not so much a struggle, but it can get you down.
Jessy: I think what you said about leadership is really key, because you're right, what we do is a big deal. We play a show every night, and to us it might just be a show but to the people, sometimes it only comes to their state like once every year, and to them it's a huge deal. That is a struggle of ours, to remain passionate every night. It's hard. To be honest there are some nights where it's like ugh, I just want to go to sleep; especially when we drive overnight.
But just staying strong, we've learned that this is where we're supposed to be. We are in the role of leadership, and we have more expectations. Not that we are higher than other people, but the Bible puts it perfectly: we need to become less of ourselves and more of God, and that makes us bigger. Godly bigger, not humanly bigger.
It applies most when we play a show like tonight, for instance, where there weren't a lot of kids, as compared to when there are thousands of kids going crazy with lights everywhere and smoke.
It must be humbling.
Tom: Yeah, it's kind of strange. Going from the Kutless tour where we played in front of 11,000 people to the next show where we're playing for 150. But consistency is the key.
Jessy: It's about what God sees, because from His perspective it's the same show. It's like, "What are you guys talking about, what are you guys complaining about?" and we're like, "well there aren't many new people." But that's just what we see through our humanistic eyes.
Spiritually speaking, how do you guys keep up with your faith while being in the industry? Since you're always pressured to keep up with an image, how do you guys remain strong in Christ?
Tom: I always think during interviews that the interviewers think we're boring because we always say the same things, but the key to everything is consistency. Ecclesiastes talks about, "do not have any extreme," and what we try and do is stay as level as possible. As a band, we try to stay in the Word as much as possible and to try and keep a consistent walk with Christ. And some days He can be our best friend, sometimes He can be the guy saying, "Hey, you shouldn't be doing that," Sometimes He can be the Almight Savior that makes Your mouth drop. But its about embracing all those things and just staying consistent.
Jessy: Yeah, you basically covered it.
