10 Questions with ... The Museum

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

LINE-UP:

• Ben Richter (vocals, guitars)
• Geoff Ashcraft (lead guitar)
• Chris Brink (bass, bgvs)
• Josh Kirk (drums, programming)

LABEL:

• BEC Recordings

1. Introduce the members of the band using personality traits.

Ben: The leader of the pack. Ben is the businessman of the group and formerly a double major in Business Management and Real Estate at Baylor University in Texas. He found himself moving to Atlanta to start a musical venture known as The Museum.

Chris: 6'5" power forward on our church basketball team and happily married at the ripe age of 21. He's also the most optimistic and encouraging man you'll ever meet.

Josh: Quiet but quite witty. Josh is a former church janitor turned drummer and programming extraordinaire. Josh will be making the same jokes 40 years from now, and they'll still be funny!

Geoff: Goes with the flow. Grew up in the jungles of Belize and hence plays that guitar like an animal.

2. Can you offer a brief look at how the band started and eventually signed with BEC?

Geoff and Ben met in 2004 in Waco, TX where Ben led worship for a Baylor University college gathering. Geoff had a horrendous audition for the band but later fell into place when a backup was needed and hasn't looked back since! In 2006 Geoff and Ben made the big move to Atlanta. Shortly thereafter they met Josh Kirk, an aspiring church maintenance man who happened to play his heart out on the drums. They began playing music together in their local church and by 2008 began traveling together as The Museum. Without a full-time bass player, Josh put his programming skills to the test and at one point created an electronic bass player affectionately called "Walter." Later that year the band connected with Chris Brink. Within a few months Chris brought solidity to the band that was previously lacking. By early 2009 BEC Recordings had gotten wind of some of the music and began a relationship that led to the band signing by Fall 2009.

3. What's the message you hope to convey on the debut album?

We're hoping to convey a message that Jesus Christ is the only answer for this world, that our hope lies in him alone. In an economic state of instability, we pray that this album is a reminder that Jesus is our Savior and our hope. That though the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, Jesus came that we would have life to the fullest!

4. Is there any special story behind the radio single "My Help Comes From the Lord"?

I (Ben) was reading in Psalm 121 and immediately connected with these lines, "The Lord will watch over your life, he will watch over your coming and your going, both now and forevermore." And "I lift my eyes to the hills, and where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord..."

It's a great reminder straight from scripture that when we lift our eyes out of the darkness and focus our eyes on him, that our faith is strengthened! He is our shelter and refuge. It's an amazing comfort to me to know that the God of the universe, the Maker of heaven and Giver of life is here for us as our refuge and shelter!

5. Can you share the story behind the band name?

At the end of 2007, just as we were dreaming about what this could look like for us as a band and ministry, Josh was a part of a mission trip to Romania. On the trip he helped lead worship seminars and at the end of the trip he played drums for a worship rally in the center square of the city of Timisoara! A man approached Josh afterwards to share his thanks and how amazing it is to 2,500 believers gathered publicly. He explained to Josh that Romania was a communist nation until 1989, until a small group of Christians gathered to protest in that very city square. Over a period of days, protesting turned to rioting and led to the overthrow of Communism known as the Romania Revolution.

This man took Josh around the corner to show him the Revolution Museum, formed in 1990 as a way to honor the memory of those who gave their lives in the revolution. It was a life-changing experience for Josh. He returned to the states and shared that with us, and we immediately decided we'd be called The Museum. Just as people store up things of significance in a museum, we hope that our music and our journey as a band are simply the things we leave behind to show that God has changed us from the inside out, that he's done a revolution in our hearts and we will never be the same.

6. What is your favorite city/venue to play?

We've been so many great places that this is a tough question! But since Geoff and Ben are from Texas, we love any chance to play in San Antonio! Although we did play in a castle in Wales once, so that's pretty hard to beat.

7. Has there been a moment in the studio, working on the new record, that you thought, "Ah-ha! Wow. Now we have a record!"?

We're there right now! We've completed six songs and are headed to Seattle to continue record. It's the little extra things coming together that make each song its own. There's just such a story and passion in each song that we want to make sure every song is the best it can possibly be. And we hope that makes a great record!

8. If you weren't doing music, what would you be doing?

Ben: Probably some sort of music business or entrepreneurship or something with basketball or baseball!

Geoff: Can't imagine life without music so he'd probably just listen to it nonstop!

Josh: Flying airplanes as he's a certified commercial pilot! He'd love to fly for missionaries.

Chris: Youth Pastor

9. Do you have much time to listen to other artists' new music? Who are you listening to?

We all love John Mayer as a writer and musician. We've become quite fond of Phil Wickham and Needtobreathe!

10. You support an organization called Overlooked. Can you tell us a little bit about what they do?

Overlooked is an organization created to help expose people to many problems in the world and offer a simple way to be a solution. The organization simply wants to offer normal people a way to help those who have been overlooked and make the world a better place. It's founded off Matthew 25:37-40. It's been one of our most meaningful experiences as a band to partner with this organization to make a difference. For all the people that have already and will continue to buy our merchandise, you allow us to give food to starving children. You allow us to free young girls in India from sexual slavery. You allow us to give money to women in poverty to start new businesses so they can provide for their families. For more info, visit www.weareoverlooked.com.

1. What song (ANY song) do you wish you had written?

"Happy Birthday." Everyone knows that song.

2. Favorite road meal:

Alamo Cafe in San Antonio: best tortillas and queso you'll ever taste