A Newsboy steps up to the telephone

Last weekend I had the chance to talk with drummer Duncan Phillips about the current tour, the album Step Up To The Microphone, and a lot of things that just aren't related to either.

How long have you been with the group?

We go back a long time...probably six years now.

So how do you handle being in a group with both Americans and Australians? Where does everybody live?

We all live in Nashville. Me and Peter (Furler, frontman), we've known each other a long, long time. We met Phil (Joel, bassist) in New Zealand, and then we've got two more guys from the States. Jody Davis (guitar), he's from Indiana, and then we've got Jeff (Frankenstein, keyboards), he's from Detroit. We get on great, actually. It's a really good mix. It's a lot of different cultures thrown in there together, but we get on like brothers.

Speaking of the tour, there's a fair amount of speculation about the "British invasion" in regards to contemporary Christian music. What was the response like when you toured Britain?

Really really good. We weren't really sure, �cause we haven't done many shows in Britain before, so you never know how it's going to go. In the States, everyone knows the songs; you kick into "Shine" and everyone screams. In Britain, it seems like they're almost a little bit more musical, they're into it for the music. In the States, it seems like they're in it for a good time and they make up their mind to have a good time, which is awesome for the band. But in Britain they'll kind of stand there and listen to the whole song and then they'll kind of clap afterwards. We love it over there; we love going over there and seeing all the architecture and hanging out...the people are great.

CCM's been around for about 20 years, and the Newsboys have been in it for 10. How have you seen it change, and where do you see it going?

Since we were [first] involved, there weren't very many artists around. There were artists like Keith Green, and then a little later on bands like Petra and White Heart popped their heads up; there was only a handful of bands that dared play rock music. Now, especially in the last five years, it's just really exploded. There are so many bands now, it seems, it's kind of hard to keep up with them all. I think it's only good. I think it's only good for the industry and for the listening public too. They're getting a lot more variety.

The lyrics on the album make several references to TV and "drowning out the noise," and obviously there's the whole "step up to the microphone" idea. It sounds like the group is examining their own roles as role models, kind of a Going Public on a different level...how much power do you think entertainers have and how do you deal with it?�

Obviously, on this record, we just wanted to make the best record we could musically, but also lyrically. We're just like anybody else, we go through struggles and different periods of thinking. On this record, we just wanted to help make people�especially kids--be aware of what they believe and to give an account of their faith. We ask questions...where are we going here? Who was this person who came down 2000 years ago and walked the Earth? Why do I need to believe in him? On this record we raise the questions and hopefully help to answer some of them.

The new album's being marketed by both Star Song and Virgin...I would imagine that's caused a few changes. Do you see any evidence of gaining a new audience through the Virgin deal?

As far as [changing things], it hasn't really. Obviously, when you go with a company like Virgin Records it really opens up the distribution side, as far as getting you into Tower Records and all the mainstream music marketplaces. But as far as changing what we do, they don't want us to change anything, because they realize that we've got a great fanbase now. I guess I can only see it as being a good thing.

Would you rather been seen first as a good Christian band, or as just a good band?

Probably as a good band, you know? We're musicians, and we first started playing music because we love to play music. When I was 12 and 13, 14 years old, it was the love of music that got me playing, it wasn't really my Christian walk at the time. I think that no matter who you are, you write about your life, whether you're into Christianity or whether you're into sex and drugs and rock and roll...what's in your heart comes out in your songs. I guess in that sense, as our lives began to change, so did our lyrics, and so did what we do.

What can people expect to see at the concerts, now that John James and his silver lam� suits are gone?�

It's been a real smooth transition. Pete's stepped up and he's doing an awesome job. We try to give our audience, if they pay $15 or $20, we try to give them $50 worth. We're always trying to better ourselves from the last tour. The Take Me To Your Leader tour had spaceships and stuff flying around and video screens. It's going to be that and more.�

And the rotating drum kit?

Oh yeah! Don't want to tell you too much about that. We used to do that like four of five years ago, we used to have one drum kit that went up and went around. Now we've got two. I'm going to leave it at that.

What are you and the band currently listening to?

There's so much good stuff out there. I'm a bit of an 80s child. I was brought up listening to the Cure and all these major 80s bands... I still love that. There's so many good bands that are coming out now, not only Christian but mainstream as well.�

I'm sorry, but I have to ask...what's your take on Savage Garden?

They've had some great songs. I really like their style �cause they're a bit 80s; I instantly loved them, loved the sound. And of course they're from Brisbane, which is about an hour from where I'm from in Australia, so I guess there's a little bit of national pride there too.�

They're very Duran Duran...

They are, they are. They're very...that kind of early, pasty-faced makeup and that whole vibe.�

Did Blur's "Song 2" inspire "WooHoo" in any way?

No, not at all. It's got really nothing related to that. We haven't been asked that before, but that's a good question.

"WooHoo" was featured in a recent episode of Dawson's Creek. Does anyone in the band watch it?�

You know what, I don't know about the rest of the guys, but that was the first time I had ever watched it. I probably won't watch it again.�

I can't help but notice that Peter's taken to wearing eyeliner, especially in the "Entertaining Angels" video. Why doesn't the rest of the band?�

(Laughs) Aw man, I don't know. I guess he just felt that he would like to do that for the video. Artists are pretty strange sometimes, we do wacky things. I've got my head shaved at the moment. We always try new things. Especially out on the road, it can get pretty boring so you do weird stuff to try to spice up your life a little bit. I'd do it, I just don't feel the need to at the moment. Who knows, in two months' time...?�

Can you tell me a little bit about making that video?

It was done out on the west coast. It was about two hours' drive out of LA. We got out there like 7:00 one morning. It was kind of spooky when we first got out there �cause it was quite cold, and we got out on this lonely, lonely stretch of road. It was weird because they had this backdrop set up across the road painted to look exactly like what was behind it, and then out in the middle of nowhere, behind the cameras, there were all these catering trucks and fire trucks and just weird stuff. By 11:00 or 12:00 that day, it was 100 degrees and we were all sweaty. It was a one-day shoot. Very big day, very long day, but it was good.

Have MTV or VH-1 shown interest in it?

You know what, it just got an award. The Billboard awards? It just won an award, I'm not quite sure...I think for the CCM video. I don't really know much more about it. I was reading USA Today and I just happened to stumble across it, that we won this award. We're pretty excited. I'm not sure if we get anything for that, but I'm sure they'll let us know.

Old England is our home, and Englishmen are we;
Our tongue is known in every clime, our flag in every sea.