Pillar Interview
Here is the interview with Pillar’s Rob Beckley, which went into the preparation for their Nov/Dec cover story. Perhaps you can read through this and pick out quotes you would have used instead of the ones that ended up in the article. Either way, enjoy!
Tell me about the creation of this album. What went into it? What stories lay within it? What were the roadblocks overcome in its making? What did you discover about yourselves as a band in making it?
We recorded this album over the course of almost a full year. So, it’s not just one story. Lyrically, it’s very broad. Numerous things happened over a year. The one thing that was the true theme was to find resolution in your hurt. To bring closure to things that you’ve held a grudge towards or people that you haven’t been able to forgive or things that you’ve done that you know you need to take control of. That was the one true thing that we wanted to make sure… For me personally, I needed to make sure – for therapeutic reasons, really – to make sure that I poured my heart out on this record. The irony of how some of the things we went through that I had to deal with this morning, actually, from somebody that told us that they wouldn’t play our music because we weren’t ‘spiritually mature’ enough. Now I’m able to laugh instead of just holding that grudge, you know?”
Did I ever. It wasn’t too long ago that I got a call out of the blue from Rob, where he asked me for advice on how to have and show patience to some of those well-meaning but annoying and bent out of shape Christians that can’t seem to leave their on-a-pedestal Christian music heroes alone. He was about to go on another of the band’s long-winded tours and he’d had enough of the judgment that he and his peers face in just about every city; and he knew he was about to go out and face some more of it…
“I can let it go. I understand that I have to do what I’m called to do. Doing that. (pauses to say to a so-called friend who interrupts him, “Excuse me!’)
Did you give him an evil look?
Yes, it’s like, I’m trying to do an interview and he obviously doesn’t care. He’s still singing.
[Kevin Young sings loudly in the background, getting the attention that he must’ve wanted]
“The really... It’s that thing where you know that you’re doing what you’re supposed to do and when you’re confident in it. It doesn’t matter what anyone else does – they can’t keep you from doing what you know you’re supposed to do. That’s where we are right now. I’m confident I’m supposed to be doing what I’m doing. So, we just kind of take those comments with a grain of salt now, and say, ‘Bless your ignorance.’”
Thinking to himself, ‘Let’s see. Is there anything else that we had to overcome?’ Pauses to think. “Other than getting the actual record started took a while. That was a process.”
How much song construction and de-construction did these tunes go through? How present was Travis Wyrick in the song-crafting stage?
“Well, the writing of this record took place over the course of a year and we were going in… The guys would go into the dressing room every day and start laying down tracks into a 16-80. We’d use whatever – electric drums or whatever we could find. We’d use headphones and play quietly in the dressing room and record some stuff. We had a lot of stuff done. When we got to the studio, 20 songs or so. And then when we got to the studio, we ended up writing a few more in the studio. Some riffs that were already there or a riff that had evolved into a new song… Actually, the first single was one of those songs. It was derived from an old riff. The mutant riff became the popular riff. Everybody loved it. ‘Ah, we ought to do something with that.’ So, we did a lot of cut and pasting with ideas. Like, ‘Hey, Noah, you’ve got that one chorus idea. Mike has this cool bass line. Let’s see how those things fit together, and put a bridge to it. Let’s construct and let’s build a song. Let’s try things we’ve never done. Let’s don’t just do a verse/chorus, verse/chorus, bridge/coda, it’s over. Let’s do a song that feels good. Let’s write because that’s what we want to write. Let’s not just write radio friendly songs for every song. Let’s have fun and show as much of what the band is capable of doing.’ Wyrick was a good coach along that way. He had a lot of, ‘Yeah, let’s do that’ or ‘No, don’t do that. Why don’t you guys come up with something different?’ He just really was the drill instructor or the drill sergeant, giving you that push that you need to keep going when you didn’t want to keep going. We would be content with a song and he’d be like, ‘Ah, you know, I don’t know?’ Even our management – they pushed us to the limit. They were like, ‘You’ve got to write the best record that you’ve ever written right now!’ So, that’s what we ended up doing. I personally feel like it’s the best record we’ve written.”
“I don’t think we would have made it if they hadn’t been there. I think we would’ve been content with where some of the material was at, and I think they pushed us that extra little step.”
What are your favorite songs? Why?
“That’s kind of tough. There’s about five songs that I really like. Probably one of my favorites is the song, “Wish Tomorrow Comes.” I just like it because of how that song came together. It wasn’t even going to be on the record. The music wasn’t even considered for writing lyrics to. It was just one of those things. Noah and Mike got together and decided to change the verse music and it completely changed the vibe of the song. So I went back and started writing to it and I loved the melodies on it, and it ended up being probably my number one favorite song. I think it’s Noah’s favorite song, too. “Awake” is another top song for me – “Awake” and “Everything.” “Awake” probably because it’s so dynamic. It has lots of emotion and passion in it – different levels of intensity. It doesn’t just go balls out the whole way. It has some peaks and valleys in it. There’s also “Sometimes.” It’s so different than everything else on the record, and that’s why I like it.”
NEXT PAGE
All Pages | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Return to Internet Exclusives
Comments
