10 Questions with ... The Afters

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

LINE-UP:

• Josh Havens (lead vocals/keys/guitars)
• Matt Fuqua (vocals/guitars)
• Dan Ostebo (bass)
• Jordan Mohilowski (drums)

LABEL:

• INO Records

DISCOGRAPHY:

• Light Up the Sky
• Never Going Back to OK
• I Wish We All Could Win

1) What's the story behind the new single "Light Up the Sky"?

Josh Havens: "Light Up the Sky" is a song about God's faithfulness. As constant as the sun rises in the sky every morning, breaking away the darkness and giving us a new day, God is constant in our lives. He is always with us. He loves us and cares for us and will not leave when we need him most.

2) Upcoming fall tour plans?

We're heading out on a tour called the "Hungry For Love Tour" with Leeland and Sanctus Real. Both of those bands have been friends of ours for quite a while. It's going to be an awesome night of music and fellowship.

3) What's the message or theme behind the new album "Light Up the Sky"?

When we started writing this record, we sat down and talked through all that we'd been through and started looking for God's fingerprints in all of it. It was amazing to see how constant he was in everything. We had so many signs along the way that he was with us: from seeing God work in our own lives and comforting us through the pain of loss to seeing transformation and restoration in the lives of others. With the changes we've been through, we saw this record as an opportunity to go places musically that we may not have gone before. There's a lyrical theme of rebirth, fresh starts and new beginnings throughout this record. That lyrical theme is definitely representative of where we are as a band. This album is a new and exciting season for us and I'm so glad to see that our fans are joining us on this new journey.

4) Do you have a favorite song on the new album?

I love "Light Up the Sky." It's a song that is quite representative of what we've been through as a band. In the last year and a half we've had some close friends pass away, two band members step down and I was in a massive car accident with my family. Through all of it, we felt God's presence and faithfulness. God is with us not only during the good times, but also when were walking through life's valleys. As we've shared our stories, it's been amazing to see how many of our fans have had similar experiences. We made a "Light Up The Sky" page on our website where people can share their stories and how God was present in their times of need.

5) Who or what inspires you guys to keep doing what you're doing, creating music and staying on the road as The Afters?

Every time we hear stories of how our songs were a defining part of someone's life, whether a song that was played at a wedding or a song that helped someone through a hard time, that's a huge encouragement to continue on. When we write songs, we never know how God will use them or what they will mean to people. We'll probably never know most of the stories, but when we do hear them, it's a huge encouragement.

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

We did a show with Jayar Reeves, and since the band kind of met and started while working at a Starbucks, he thought it would be funny to record the interview as if it were live from a Starbucks, only we were actually at the station's studio. He went and recorded audio of espresso machines, blenders and coffee shop banter from a local Starbucks and used that as the background audio for the interview. There was a segment where we even pretended to be burning milk and causing an espresso machine to blown up. The funniest part of the whole thing was that we later heard that there were people Starbucks hopping, looking for us at all of the local stores.

7) Do you have a favorite song to perform live?

Honestly, here lately it's been "Light Up The Sky." Radio has really supported that song and at our shows the crowd has been passionately singing along. It's been amazing how quickly people have latched onto that song and learned the words. I also love the part of our set where we go into a time of worship. I lead worship at my home church whenever I'm home and love any opportunity to worship with a room full of other believers.

8) Where is your favorite place to play? Do you have a favorite city/venue?

I have so many favorite cities and venues across the country, hard to pick just one. We recently played a show in Holland, which was especially cool since half of my family is Dutch. My mom is from there and I have a sister and other family that still live there. I've wanted to play in Holland since I was a kid, so it was amazing to finally tour there and be so well received. We had no idea what to expect, but the crowd knew the words to quite a few of our songs and were engaged from beginning to end. On top of great shows there, I was able to introduce my bandmates to my Dutch family, Dutch culture and crazy Dutch foods.

9) What song do you wish you had written?

There are some worship songs, such as "How Great Is Our God," that are sung by people all over the globe. I think it would be amazing to have even just a small part in a song that is used by God to bring so many of his people together in worship. The most recent song that I've heard that I thought, "Man, I wish I'd written that" was Brandon Heath's "Night Before Christmas," written by Chuck Butler, Stephen Brown and Regie Hamm. It immediately caught my ear. The song I'm thankful that someone else wrote is "Lead Me" from Sanctus Real. I think that song has helped a lot of people, including many of us in the Christian music Industry.

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

I am listening to the new Jars Of Clay record "The Shelter" at this very moment and it's amazing! It's encouraging to see that a band can be together for as long as they have and continue to make their best music!