Faded Me
by Jessica

CS: How did your group form? Did you start out together or did you pick up players along the way?

FM: um....long story. Probably the shortest way to tell it is just to say...there's only one original member remaining, and we're going for the world record in number of former members in a band. We think we might be winning too...

CS: How long have you all been together? How long has the group been in existence, not counting any possible changes in members?

FM: Started in summer of 2000 as the praise band "Ground Zero". Within months we added originals to that. In 2003 we became "Faded Me". Again, many different members that God has blesses us with, and some big changes in musical direction.

CS: How has this affected the group? Did it take awhile to bond? What kind of relationship do you all have now?

Every change has effected the group. Some have been great, some have been painful, but God's taught us a ton through each change. It's always interesting to look back and see how God used a former member to really teach you something about Himself.

It's definitely a testimony of God's faithfulness to us. Bonding for us has always been a struggle. For a long time we fought...alot...but thankfully those days are past us (hopefully), and we're trying to be servants to each other.

Right now the band is closer than it's ever been, even with God making some major overhauls on us right now. The core of this band has recommitted itself to our purpose, and together we're excited to see what God chooses to do with us.

CS: What kind of equipment do you use?

Nate: Yamaha Drums, Zildjian cymbals

JP: Eden 400W amp, Eden 8X10 Cab, Musicman 5-string bass

Jon: Mesa dual rectifier amp, Marshall 4X12 cab, Gibson les paul

Mark: Mesa Nomad 2X12 Combo with Marshall 2X12 Extension Cab, Epiphone Les Paul (till he gets his dream Gibson goldtop...donations accepted!)

Jeremy: Roland, Yamaha, and Korg keyboards (most of which he borrows!), and the "ghetto-rig" (an array of knobs, and buttons that only make sense to him.

Jason: Them God-given vocal chords, and lots of life experiences from which to pull lyrics from.

CS: What is the main focus in your ministry? Teens? The lost? The hurting? Why did you decide on this as a focus?

FM: We're a Christian band through and through. That means playing in places where Jesus would have played, reaching those that need it with God's compassion, while also playing to the church that so often needs to be confronted to wake up from its apathy.

We consider ourselves an extension of our church, reaching places the church isn't welcome, much like missionaries in a foreign land.

CS: What does your groups name mean?

FM: Our band name can be summed up in the verse John 3:30 "...He must increase, I must decrease..."

CS: Where did you come up with it?

FM: JP came up with the name, after spending some time at a MissionFuge camp. God had really used that time to teach him about the truths of our band verse, and we each identified with that mission. We also had a song at the time called "Without You". The chorus in that song said "we can't say anything, do anything, be anything...without you". We're definitely nothing without Him.

CS: Where do you see the band in five years? Ten? The future?

FM: 5: on the road with our wives, on a major label, starting to punch through to the "other side"

10: 5th studio album?, 4 grammy's?, starting our own label? This is all wishful thinking and nice thoughts. God can do what He wants.

Future....
Setting an example of how christian bands can and should influence the world for Christ. We see this done wrong all the time, and we really want to get this right for future generations.

CS: Do you ever worry about getting caught up in the world of show biz? That success will change your group?

FM: Funny you ask...this question has come up alot recently. Even we'd like to think this won't happen to us, we realize we're human and are gunna fail on our own.

We're willing to learn from the mistakes that past christian bands have made in this area. We feel that if we stay well connected and accountable to our church, we will be able to stay strong in our faith. This is the way God's recommends it's done...so we're gunna go that route.

CS: What kind of relationship do you maintain with your audiences? Do you fellowship with them? Or do you remain distant as the performer?

FM: We've got some pretty dedicated fans that travel some amazing distances to see us. Many of our fans have become close friends, and many we're still getting to know. We use our website to stay connected as well, even though we could definitely improve in that area. In person, we definitely try to not be stand-offish because we know we're no different than any fan/critic we have, except that we've been graced with the privilege of taking the stage. We're just people, they're just people, and on either of our best days we both still desperately need God's grace and mercy.

CS: How would you describe your music style?

FM: We really don't know, so we call it bounce rock...even though we don't know what that really means. There's definitely a lot of big guitars, funk rythmns, and melodies and lyrics you'd catch yourself singing in the shower. We'd like to think of it as music you can bob your head to, or feel moved by, and sing at the top of your lungs with all the windows rolled down.

CS: Who, or what, are your biggest musical influences?

FM: Also a difficult question to answer. Our tastes vary widely, and no particular band really influences our music. Here are some bands whose MUSIC we really like
though: Blindside, Pax217, Mars Volta, Jimmy Eat World, Mae, Weezer, POD, Incubus, Switchfoot

CS: Are you involved in any other ministries?

FM: Yes, All of us are active in our church praise team. JP is very active with the Middle school youth program. Jason is the youth pastor of our church (www.apexcommunity.net). In the not too distant past Jon was a youth IN Jason's youth group. Jeremy's been was a part of Apex Community from it's inception as a church. A jack of all trades, and a master of absolutely nothing (including keyboards for Faded Me), he's tried his hand at the church leadership team, the discipleship program, the community service team, and others.

CS: How much time do you spend practicing as a group? How much time do you practice individually?

FM: We practice together 2X a week minimum, more if we can/need. Individual practice varies...as much as we're able, and that's never enough.

CS: Does the group come together for prayer at times other than concerts and ministry opportunities?

FM: Absolutely. We meet every monday night for a band meeting, with prayer being a definite part of that. We start and end each practice with prayer as well, acknowledging that even our rehearsal time is in His hands. It's pretty safe to say that we know we can't live without it.