Be sure to download the SHIROCK song Calm Inside The Storm (below)
“Everything Burns” is your latest record that was released in February 2009, and was also released by interl’inc to several thousand youth leaders in YLO 76. Talk about the meaning behind “Everything Burns” and the charity that you started which shares the same name.
The idea came a few years back when I wrote a song called “Everything Burns.” At the time I was thinking a lot about how valuable our time is and how I wanted to make sure that I was making the most of the time that I have. In our culture, it’s so easy to get caught up in this endless pursuit of things – and we tend to fool ourselves into thinking that it’s these ‘things’ that define us. It’s not that having things is wrong at all...we just can’t let these temporary things define us. It’s what we do that defines who we are – not what we have. I wrote the song as a reminder to myself, mostly, to live for things that matter. As we continued to tour we found so many people that were in this same place. They were frustrated by the state of the world we live in, and wanted to get involved in making a difference, but so many times just didn’t know where to start. So we launched “Everything Burns”, the Non-Profit organization, in Feb. (along with the release of the record) as a means to bridge that gap, and help encourage and equip people to live beyond the mundane and take the first step to get involved in their communities and around the world. The first thing we did with “Everything Burns” was organize a 13-city Non-Profit Tour, where in each city we partnered with a local charity that was working to solve homelessness and poverty issues, to help raise awareness and connect music fans to become volunteers and get involved.
You have also partnered with organizations like SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) what was your experience with that, and how did you see your music and your message influence the youth of this country?
Bands are in such a unique place where, whether they like it or not, people are going to listen to what they say and look up to them. We feel like that’s an amazing and also scary place to be...for us it holds a lot of responsibility. We partnered with SADD because we feel like people need to know that not all bands are about the typical “sex, drugs and rock’n’roll” lifestyle. We have seen that momentary, seemingly small, destructive decisions regarding drug and alcohol abuse can wreak havoc and have long-term consequences on young lives. Even before we decided to partner with SADD we had written songs about seeing this in the lives of people close to us. It’s been really amazing to go into schools and just be honest with people and let them know that we’re not perfect, we’ve made mistakes, and that we’re there (along with their SADD chapter at school) to talk to them and be a friend, not judge. People open up, and you realize there is so much that they’re up against – they just need to know that there are people who won’t give up on them.
Chuck, I understand that you grew up with missionary parents and spent most of your childhood and youth on the mission field. How did this experience shape you as person and as a musician?
Actually, Pap and I both grew up spending part of our childhood overseas with missionary parents. I think this had a strong effect in shaping who we are. For one thing, it gave us a very broad worldview – it forced us to experience the world outside of the US at a very young age. It’s inevitable that anyone who spends time in places like the Philippines (where my family was) and Turkey (where Pap’s family lived) will come away with fresh eyes & greater empathy towards people. The world is much smaller after spending time abroad. The nameless faces on TV become people, and you can’t help but let it affect your life. Both of our parents brought us up to have a great compassion for people above all else. As we looked at their lives, we could see that possessions are not something to live for – that what defines a person isn’t what they have but what they do with the time that they have. As musicians, it affects our writing because we write with a purpose – it’s not all about entertainment. We’ve simply seen too much to ignore the problems – and we’ve seen that even an individual can make a huge difference.
Even though the majority of SHIROCK’s fan base is in the secular market, talk about SHIROCK’s opportunity to play at a number of Christian Festivals.
Both last summer and this summer we’ve had the opportunity to play at many Christian festivals across the US (last summer mostly as the winner of New-band Showcases). We love having the chance to play this music in front of all kinds of audiences. The response has been amazing at the Christian Festivals – some of our most dedicated and supportive fans are from those festival shows, I think in part due to the fact that they can really get on board with our vision behind what we are doing.
After one of your concerts and you guys are packing up your trailer, what makes you say to each other “THAT WAS AWESOME”?
There are a few things that can take place at a show that really get us excited make it all worthwhile...there are times, during a show, when we are so enveloped in the music and what we are doing, and the audience has so fully become a part of it, that the whole thing kind of lifts off the ground.
Also, when someone comes up to us after the show, and tells us how a song or something we’ve said has really encouraged or inspired them...that’s when it’s all worth it. |
