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MORE MICHAEL MEETS OLIVIA
The interview continues as Michael Child, winner of Talent Trek 06, talks with Olivia the Band about music, faith and odd jobs.
In the July 2006 print issue of Breakaway, you met the winner of Breakaway’s Talent Trek 06: Michael Child. The 18-year-old musician from Colorado Springs, Colo., struck a worshipful, upbeat note with his song “Wanting More” and beat out hundreds of entries. Part of his prize was to meet Olivia the Band, so we figured Michael had better get acquainted with the guys first—you know, meet my phone before getting together face to face. We even let Michael pick the questions.
Listen in as Michael continues his interview with Olivia the Band. And read the original Q&A below.
Michael: Did you ever wake up one day and go Whoa, I’m getting paid to play music?
Reed: That hits me every day a few times. I still don’t feel like it’s real. I still feel like I’m a surfer from Hawaii. I get onstage and I’m like, What? It’s weird. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. I just don’t always feel like I’m worthy enough compared with so many incredible musicians out there, but God uses everybody.
It doesn’t sound like you should ever feel prideful, like, Oh yeah, check me out. I’m a professional musician.
Reed: You have to have the right attitude and stay thankful, like I love playing music. That’s what I do for a living. I’m stoked. Not [Reed puts on his best snobby accent] If there are brown M&Ms in my trailer, I’m going to flip! Know what I mean? You can’t get all rock star about it.
What’s the most common reaction you guys get when telling people that you are a Christian band?
Christian: Usually, they kinda have some stereotype that you are a certain way. We used to play with bands we’d never met before, and some seemed to kinda write us off from the get-go. Then, after we’d hang out with them, they’d tell us, “Man, we kind of had this idea of what you guys were going to be like, but you are not.” We just love Jesus, and we try to follow what He says. We don’t look down on anybody or anything—just try to live by example.
What are some previous jobs you guys have had?
Justin: We’ve worked together since we were kids. Reed and I waited tables at this nice restaurant in Haleiwa, [Hawaii]; that was really cool and fun getting to hang out and meet a ton of people. All four of us worked at the same place at one time in the surfboard industry. It was just the four of us and our boss making surfboard fins at Island Fin Design. They make all these cool flower print fins that you see on lots of longboards.
Christian and Gabe did the final touches on the fins, so they would mark them somehow so they would know which ones were theirs. They’ll still run into someone and look to see if his fins have their little mark that no one would ever know existed on it.
I had the gimp job in that place. I was the guy who touched the fins first and made the least amount of money. I would be there eight hours, and they’d be there four hours and they would leave with, like, twice as much money as me.
Is there some bitterness there?
Justin: No, it was all good, but they paid the price. All the air sucked toward the room where they worked. There was all this fiberglass dust around; it’s really itchy. I would blow off my machine with the air blower and throw up handfuls of dust and so that it would get sucked right at them. It looked like a snowstorm, man, all that fiberglass dust going all over them. It was so funny. They’d get so bitter. I think I got the last laugh at them. They made more money, but I had more fun.
Do you have a story or experience that gave you the feeling that your music career is out of your hands and in God’s hands.
Christian: Oh yeah, there have been so many, it’s hard to pick. But one happened in Australia where they had the Olympics. There were about 13,000 people, and I was just sitting there going, What am I doing here? Like, I am just some bozo. But God chose fishermen. (Not that fishermen are dumb. We like fishing, so . . . maybe we are dumb, I don’t know!) Fishermen were just normal people, though. I think that a lot of times it’s easy for us all to focus on our inadequacies. God wants us to realize our inadequacy, but He wants to change our focus to being on Him. That’s pretty much a daily thing for me to realize. I am in way over my head, but God chooses the path. I try not to ask why.
Describe the best concert that you have ever played. What was it like?
Christian: My favorite ones have been little ones. One of the best was soon after we moved to California. There were only about three old people there. We got up there and played our hearts out. It was so easy to remember why we were doing it, that we play for God. We always look at it like He gets us every show. He wanted us there for a reason. That show was one of the best times we’ve ever played. It was super fun. We were just basically playing to God. You can worship by yourself with nobody else there to hear, but God still hears.
That’s cool because that’s not what I was expecting. I was expecting to hear about the 13,000 people set and that you rocked the place out.
Christian: We always tell people that we play music so we can meet people. When there are more people, you can’t be as personable with them. When there are fewer people, then it’s way more personal.
What was the worst concert you ever played? How did you guys handle it?
Christian: There’ve been shows where we’ve played bad, but people were stoked afterward. That’s cool because we try to get our hearts and attitudes across even more than what we actually sound like. We always want to have the presence, man, like God is with us and you can feel it.
But we play bad chords and off beats and all that stuff constantly. One time Reed swung his bass around his head, and Justin walked into him, and it split his head open. After we realized that he didn’t die, we laugh about in now! Even the bad shows are good in some way.
Any final advice?
Justin: At the end of the day, you need to be sure that you are on the same page with God. Stay focused on God, and don’t let anybody bring you down.
STRAIGHT FROM THE PAGES OF BREAKAWAY, HERE'S THE ORIGINAL
Michael, Olivia. Olivia, Michael.
Michael: So how’s the recording process going?
Reed Cromwell (bass and lead vocals): We just finished. Two or three days ago we tracked our last song. Our producer is mixing it right now. It was rad. He lives in L.A, outside Hollywood. We rented a place there for a month and recorded every day, all day.
That’s like my dream, man. How is the new album different from the last one?
Reed: The new stuff is a little more edgy. We went with a lot more energy. More oomph, I guess. I’m pretty stoked.
So, what’s your songwriting process like? What does each person do?
Reed: Justin writes a lot of the music and melodies and lyrics. Gabe writes some awesome melodies, too. That’s usually how it goes, but every song’s different. This time it was fun having the producer emphasize different parts and suggest changes.
Did growing up in Hawaii affect the style and sound of your music?
Reed: Oh yeah, for sure. Hawaii is such a mixed plate of everything. Reggae is really big in Hawaii, and there are tons of different styles.
Are the majority of your songs inspired by life experiences or personal worship times with God?
Reed: Both. I think of a lot of different stuff, and God drops different ideas on me, you know? The new album has more songs based on life experiences.
Where do you think is the next frontier of Christian music?
Reed: I think more Christians are writing songs from a Christian perspective that aren’t necessarily worship songs. That is gonna make a huge impact on the world, too. Not every record has to be 100 percent worship.
How do you guys remain God-focused in the midst of fame?
Christian Perreira (drums): For us, it’s pretty easy because God said that He chooses foolish things to shame the wise. He says that when we are weakest, He’s at His strongest. That’s kind of like what He did with us. None of us set out to be a band. God took us and turned us into a band. I think it’s easy for us to focus on Him because we feel so out of place and inadequate for the whole thing.
It sounds like it is the right place to be.
Christian: Yeah, it totally is. And that’s the most fun part. I used to be scared and uncomfortable and unsure about what’s gonna happen. Now, after reading the Bible, I’ve realized that’s the way everything is. Reading about Noah and all the other people God used makes you realize that life is a crazy adventure. God’s the same yesterday as He is today and forever. Why should things be different now? It’s a fun, scary place to be.
What’s an average day in the life of Olivia?
Christian: On tour or not?
Average. Whatever’s the most prevalent day.
Christian: Whoa, that’s a big word for me, man. (He laughs.)
I’m like a journalist in the making here.
Christian: Our most prevalent day is, um . . . If we are on tour and we’ve slept at Wal-Mart . . .
Slept at Wal-Mart?
Christian: Oh, we sleep at Wal-Mart all the time.
Jeremy Jones: Like in the aisle, or what?
Christian: No, no, in the parking lot.
Oh, I thought you meant like in the camping section at Wal-Mart.
Christian: Oh no, man, but that would be cool! One time I stayed awake because this other band on tour with us was sleeping on all the seats in our van. There was no room for me, so I went inside and read the Bible and all the skate magazines.
I think we are different than a lot of bands. We have a little gas grill in our van, so we’ll go to a park and make sloppy joes or grilled cheese or something.
But on a normal day in California, if we have a show the night before, we’ll go to sleep really late because it’s all about hanging out with fans for us. Then we’ll go eat Wendy’s or something, go to sleep really late and wake up around 11 a.m. If there are waves, we’ll go surfing. If there’s another show, we’ll get back in the car and drive.
What other jobs would you guys do if you weren’t musicians?
Justin Abilla (guitar): We’d all like to do something with kids, whether it be in youth ministry or a skate park or something. We love hanging out with kids. It’s really rad hopefully getting to make a difference in kids’ lives. It’s not about money for us.
Jeremy: What advice do you guys have for an aspiring young musician like Michael?
Reed: As long as you know music is what God wants you to do, do it. There’s so much out there to sing about. Don’t worry about people who might tell you that you’re doing it the wrong way. We hear all the time, “That’s not how most bands do it.” But if we think God wants us to do it, we are going to do it.
Christian: Make sure your passion is God first because that’s where it starts. Listen to good advice, but ask God about it. Roll with who He made you to be.
Justin: Record labels are overrated. Don’t even worry about that. We never cared if we ever got signed. It just happened. God is going to give you as much as He wants to give you, with or without anything on the business side. At the same time, you need to be smart about the business side. Learn what’s right and what’s wrong. Get advice, and let God lead you. If His plan is for you to stay in your hometown and play at church, then be stoked. That’s a privilege in and of itself. At the same time, be willing to go wherever He takes you. Don’t forget why you do it and that it’s for Him.
 MEET MICHAEL. DOWNLOAD HIS SONG. |
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READ MORE ABOUT MICHAEL CHILD AND THE TALENT TREK 06 CONTEST IN ON TOP OF THE TREK.
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This article appeared in the July 2006 issue of Breakaway magazine. Copyright © 2006, Focus on the Family. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. |
