10 Questions with ... 7eventh Time Down

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

When 7eventh Time Down made their break at radio with 2013's Top 5 hit "Just Say Jesus," they'd already been a band for a decade. Their years of grinding on the road and in studio continued to produce fruit as they honed in their sound and songwriting, which ultimately landed them a No.1 single with the title track to their 2015 album God Is On The Move. After a four-year wait, 7TD is set to release their next album on March 1st, highlighted by new single "The 99," which impacts all Christian radio formats this Friday.

1. The creation of your new album "Brand New Day" this will be your first full-length album in four years. How would you describe the past few years as it relates to the growth and evolution of the band and it's vision?

I think the common thing is to look at the band as one entity. In reality, we are a bunch of guys doing life together. We've experienced the miracle of birth, and the pain of seeing family members called away from this life. God has used those moments to give us a heart for those in the thick of how overwhelming life can be. So hopefully, no matter who you are, if you are, alive and breathing, there's at least one song on this record that can speak to you. - Cliff

2. Compared to when 7TD started 16 years ago, is it easier or harder to be a band in 2019?

I think it's way easier to be a band in 2019. Technology has made the world smaller, and it's quicker and easier to get our message to the masses. When we started, the only way for a band to get its message to the masses was to be road dogs. That's exactly what we did. We had a 15-passenger van that we put over a half-million miles on in just a few years. - Mikey

3. If the band had a central message or ministry it hopes to convey to its audience, what would it be?

To love God and love people. Life can be tragic at times. But God's story for us is one of triumph, and hope. And if God has given you hope in your life, then do your part to try and share that hope and love with someone else. - Cliff

4. What advice would you give to the circa 2010-2011 version of 7eventh Time Down?

Get a better stylist for starters! Haha! We were our own stylists. Besides that, probably have more fun. We worked so hard in those early days and probably took what we were doing way too seriously. I'd tell myself to chill. Do people still say "chill"? - Mikey

5. After all of these years, the stylization of '7' in the name lives on. Where did that originate and what makes it special to the band?

We initially just wanted to do it to be different and we thought it was cool. Throughout the years, we realized that it actually set us apart pretty well. If you start typing our band name into Google or another search engine, it's the first thing that pops up. - Austin

6. Who comes to mind as the people (fellow artists, family members, ministry leaders) you've leaned on most for support and guidance through the past decade as a band? How have you served in that mentor role to younger artists along the way?

I'm not really sure if could narrow this question down enough to single individuals, but I do believe that you hit the nail right on the head by all of the general people that you mentioned. We've definitely leaned on fellow artists, family members, and ministry leaders throughout our career. I think that's how any Christian should live their lives. We all need people to lean on through life and to speak truth into our lives and myself and the other guys in this band have all been blessed that we have had those people to lean on throughout the years and we're honored that we're also able to mentor and encourage young artists-and anyone else, for that matter-along the way. - Austin

7. How does the band seek to best connect with its audience during its live show?

We hope everyone that comes to a 7TD show has an encounter with the Most High. We feel it's our job to be constantly directing the audience's attention to Jesus. Reminding them that He is pursuing us all and He is relentless. - Mikey

8. What made the process of this album any different or (assuming) more special from the previous projects you've released in the past?

There was no deadline. Most of the time, when we were writing songs for this record, we were just sitting in a room, talking about life in a very unforced, organic way. Then a song would start coming together. Stylistically, we had freedom to branch out and have fun with some sounds we've never used before. So there are some moments on this record that you won't find on any other 7TD project to date. - Cliff

9. Who was the band listening to throughout the creation of this project? Any artistic influences? What about ministerial influences?

I know personally as an artist I draw inspiration from everything. It's like we mentioned earlier. Typically, we sit down and start talking about life or what we've been reading in the Bible or dealing with in our walks and then songs seem to start pouring from that. Mikey, Cliff and I have been playing music together for so long that we feed off of each other really well. As far as ministerial influences, there are truly too many to name. While traveling the world sharing the Gospel, we've been blessed to meet so many pastors and people of God and we LOVE having conversations with them and having continuing conversations with them about our Lord. So I think in an extended kind of way, they all have influenced us. - Austin

10. What do you anticipate 2019 looking like for 7eventh Time Down?

We're looking forward to the new album being released. I think there are going to be several songs that really connect with people and things that they're going through. We look forward to being able to expand on those connections of those songs by performing live and getting to hear stories of how these songs have impacted people's lives. - Austin