10 Questions with ... Building 429

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

LINE-UP:

• Jason Roy (vocals)
• Michael Anderson (drums)
• Jesse Garcia (guitars)
• Aaron Branch (bass)

LABEL:

• Provident Music Group

DISCOGRAPHY:

• Listen to the Sound (2011)
• Building 429 (INO Records, 2008)
• Iris to Iris (Word Records, 2007)
• Rise (Word Records, 2006)
• Space In Between Us (Word Records, 2004)

1) What's the story behind the latest single "Listen to the Sound"?

"Listen to the Sound" was written about the voice of God, and how we are desperate to hear his voice. Somehow in the midst of our busy, noisy lives, we find it hard to hear him speak. The truth is that God has never been silent; he has always been consistently pursuing us. But we've just surrounded ourselves with so much noise that it's harder and harder to actually be able to hear the voice of God. There's a line in the song that says, "You'll never know what faith is til you don't understand. Sometimes it takes the silence to finally hear his plan. So listen to the sound of hope that's rising." And I think that's it. It's about finding the silent moments, finding time to seek God and to await his answer, and that was the idea behind the song "Listen to the Sound." If we could truly begin to listen for the sound of God's voice, we would hear hope rising all around us.

2) What's the message or theme behind the new album?

The new record's theme really is centered around what is home, where is home and what home looks like. I think the reality is that we try to dig down to the fact that nothing in this world really measures up, nothing ever is enough, nothing ever makes us happy. No matter what we achieve in this lifetime we always find ourselves still wanting more, and that's because this is not our home. This life is hard and it will always be hard because we were designed not for what we want, but for the pleasure of God. The more that we struggle and fight to get what we want, the more we find that it just doesn't add up. That is, until we start living for the glory of God and start recognizing that in this life we will face troubles of many kinds. The scripture says, "In this life we will face troubles of many kinds, but take heart and know that I have overcome the world." That's what Jesus said, and that's really the focus of the record. This record does not hide the heartache and the chaos in this life. Rather it embraces it but also says in response, "We know the one who has overcome this, and we know that there is a better day coming." So if we start living like that now, I believe that life will begin to look completely different.

3) How did you guys connect with Food for the Hungry? What is it about that organization that inspires you?

Food for the Hungry is an amazing organization that has allowed us to become very hands-on and involved in fighting poverty and providing for the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of children and communities around the world. We've always had a heart for ministry, and every single night we are blessed to see people have life changing experiences, where they take their faith and put it into action. That is a big step in every person's walk of faith. And on top of that, knowing that Building 429 is having a worldwide kingdom impact gives us great motivation and encouragement. No matter what the situation may be, that is what gives us strength to keep going.

4) Who or what inspires you guys to keep doing what you're doing, creating music and staying on the road as Building 429?

I think the stories that we hear about how the music has impacted people's lives is our inspiration, and more than anything just knowing that we are having an impact. As long as we can keep being creative with our music and keep pressing forward (and people are still receptive to us pressing forward,) that's what keeps us moving. The fact that people are still excited about our concerts and music is very inspiring. As long as we keep getting emails and having conversations after shows about how our music matters and makes a difference in peoples' lives, we will probably stay on the road for a long time.

5) Do you have any inspiring or humorous stories from recent radio visits?

See answer to question 4.

6) Do you have a favorite song (individually or collectively) on the new album?

I think it's very different for all of us, but my favorite song on the record, by far, is "Where I Belong." It's a song that I can sing with conviction every single night, no matter where I am and no matter what stage I may be on. And I think that the guys in the band can sing it with conviction as well. "Where I Belong" is a special song, and it's the kind of tune where we can literally stop singing and even stop playing, and people still carry it. That's a pretty cool thing to be a part of.

7) Is there a favorite song that you guys love to perform live?

"Made for You" is a song that we love playing live. It's so much fun. It's the show starter and it's an anthem. Another favorite is a song called "One Foot." Maybe this song is less noticed on the record, but there's something cool about the groove and the lyric of the song. Both of those are just super high-energy songs in the set, and we look forward to playing them every night.

8) Where is your favorite place to play?

One of our favorite venues to play was in Hawaii. We played in a big amphitheatre there and it was amazing. The West Coast is also blast to play. We played the Gorge in Washington one time and that was a amazing. We also had the opportunity to play overseas in Rwanda, a few other places in Africa and Germany. There just something cool about the spirit of the people in those places.

9) What song do you wish you had written?

It used to be "I Can Only Imagine," which funny enough, is a song that MercyMe doesn't even play anymore. Now I would say "Hold Fast" by MercyMe is another song I wish I'd written.

10) Do you have much time to check out other artists' music? What are you listening to right now?

Yeah, we try to check out other artists' music as much as we can. We're always listening to independent music. There are a couple guys at my church that I'm listening to right now. A guy named Chris Crove is a talented independent artist. There's a band in Clarksville, TN called Jealous Lover that's really good. I'm also checking out the new Blindside record right now and really diggin' the RED record. So yes, we are always listening to other people's music and trying to learn more and grow as musicians.