ST: When did you first start playing music/getting interested in music?
The Swift: We were all in other bands growing up and at one point, three of us were in a band together. We were the coolest in town, so we thought. We were all worship leaders or played on the worship team at our home churches. We have always been fans of music since we were kids.
ST: What is the origin of the band’s name?
The Swift: The name comes from the analogy found in 1 Corinthians 9 where the apostle Paul says that the Christian life is like a race and we are to run the race as if to attain the prize. We love the imagery of being aggressive with life and faith, throwing everything that is not important to the side and chasing after the ultimate goal. We believe that it should be the goal of every Christian to have that kind of intensity and focus in our lives. Have we arrived? By far,no. We will continue to run though.
ST: When did you form your group?
We started the band about ten years ago. We were all in college with the exception of Mike. We would always have to wait for Mike to get out of school (High School) so we could go and do a show.
ST: Where did you guys grow up?
We all are from different parts of the country, but we all grew up in North Carolina. We were about an hour east of Raleigh, Durham. The big metropolis of Rocky Mount was home. Now, we all live in Nashville, TN.
ST: What were you doing before playing music?
We were forced to attend school, just kidding. We are a true mixture of “Jack of all trades”. Some of us were teachers, Youth Pastors, and various restaurants even graced our resumes. To make ends meet, there were other odd jobs that we won’t mention.
ST: What made you want to do a worship album?
We have been a band for 10 years now. Since the beginning, we have always been a band that was called to lead others in corporate worship. The venue is always changing (church, camps, etc…), but the passion and vision has always been the same. To some degree, we have fought the temptation of doing a “worship” album for some time now. Not that doing a worship record is wrong, we just wanted to make sure that our motives were pure. This record is really dedicated to our fans that have been asking us to do a record that reflected what we do live at the camps and conferences that we have led worship for over these last ten years. Sure, the songs have changed or taken a new face, but it’s still a Swift record.
ST: Tell us about your new project - Singing Back to You?
With this project, outside of it being an intentional “worship” record, we decided to take things in a different direction. We used a lot more electronic elements, whereas our first two records were very raw as instrumentation goes. This project also brings in other keyboard instruments and sequencing.
ST: Can you explain the meaning of the title “Singing Back to You”?
Singing Back To You is a lyric from “Love Song”, the first track on the record. We wrote this song based on the fact that all of creation was originally designed to bring glory to its creator. Nature was made to speak of God's wonder and beauty. As our heart beats, it is singing a song back to the one who made the universe. Isn’t that all worship is? We can “sing” without songs in all the areas of our life.
ST: Where can fans expect to see you in the coming months?
This fall, we are hitting the road hard. We will be doing several dates with our label mates, The Turning. We will do several dates as well on our own. We are very excited about our 2007 plans as a tour for the Spring is in the works and our Summer is full of various camps and conferences. Make sure that you check out our website and Myspace to find out when we are in your area.
ST: Are there other random tid-bits about you that a SongTouch customer would find interesting?
Because all of us in the band have all served in some capacity in a local church, we have a desire to be as available as possible to churches who may not be able to afford to bring in a band for a concert or an event. We travel with a small sound system so that we can ensure that it is one less detail that a church has to worry about. We love to do events that are more than just a concert. Most of the ministry that takes place for us is off stage. We value that time so much. Time that we can get into the lives of people right where they are. There is such a huge disconnect when we are on stage behind the lights. That is when we feel we are most effective as a band.