Still Advance
http://www.purevolume.com/stilladvance
http://www.myspace.com/stilladvance
By: Jessica

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

SA: Pretty much Young, Matt, and Ryan knew each other since Young moved here from Africa in ’92. In 2000 the boys got their instruments and started fooling around with music. They enjoyed what they made and continued making stuff. In 2002 Kyle came around and learned how to play guitar so he joined up with the crew. And now we have what we are today.

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

SA: We have been together for about 3 years.

CS: How has this affected the group? Did it take awhile to bond?

SA: What kind of relationship do you all have now? We each know basically what the others are capable of musically. Personally we are all the best of buds. We do a lot of stuff together all the time. We would undoubtedly take a bullet or give one where its due.

CS: What kind of equipment do you use?

SA: Young- Godin Electric Guitar, Line 6 Amplifier, Martin Acoustic Guitar; Matt- Peavey Milestone IV Bass Guitar, Ampeg 115 AV; Gibson SG Electric, Marshall Half Stack (4x12); Mapex 5 piece drum kit, Sabian Cymbals, Nova sticks

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

SA: We play our music to glorify God and encourage any that listen. We don’t have just one group of people that we focus on.

CS: What does your groups name mean?

SA: Our name means a lot to us. It really reflects our attitude that we gotts to stick with it and keep at it no matter what. Life is about perseverance, we gotta keep on keeping on.

CS: Where did you come up with it?

SA: One day we were sitting in Kyles sisters room just doing nothing and thinking about names. Matt looked at the VCR (Video Cassette Recorder) and noticed that one of the buttons said “still advance” for slow motion. So he suggested it jokingly. Later after contemplating what we had thought of, that name just kept coming back and we really liked it. So it just stuck.

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

SA: In five years, God willing, would love to have played on the fringe stage at Creation. In ten years we will hopefully still be together but probably not playing as much together because of careers. We will just go where the Lord leads.

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

SA: Well as of now, our little pot bellies have yet to be rubbed by the hands of Farmer Show Business. We are still wandering in the pasture of the musical world. But if and when it does happen we know that pride in yourself is easy to get caught up in, but with the Holy Spirits help we know that we would be able to handle it appropriately.

CS: What kind of relationship do you maintain with your audiences?

SA: Do you fellowship with them? Or do you remain distant as the performer? We have always been “average joes”, and we just love watching shows as much as playing them. When we aren’t playing, we are right down there in the crowd with everyone else. After the shows we try our best to mingle with the people as much as possible. We love meeting and hanging out with people. Just because we are the ones on the stage doesn’t make us any better than the kid in the crowd tapping his foot and nodding his head. We want to meet everyone.

CS: How would you describe your music style?

SA: This is a hard question for us. Our music contains heartfelt lyrics driven by catchy, energetic music. We feel that our music is melodic and very easy to catch on to the lyrics and sing along to. As for style, we’ll leave that up to you.

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

SA: Switchfoot, Relient K, The Wedding, Fall Out Boy, Underscore, Boys Night Out, The Early November

CS: Are you involved in any other ministries?

SA: Matt and Ryan play in a worship band on Sundays.

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

SA: We try to practice once a week, but with our conflicting schedules of school and work sometimes it is hard.
Individually each guy practices several times a week.

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

SA: Before we have practice we pray, and before we drive to a show we pray.

CS: Have you always had a desire to be in a group like this?

SA: Ever since we knew about music and what you can do with it, yes, we have had this desire.