You Took This Heavy Heart...

mattythiessen:

Relient K Tells AllWritten by Vanessa CareyTuesday, 10 April 2012 09:41
Relient K is one of the biggest Christian acts on the planet. Churning out a total 20 releases over 14 years, the band has earned spots on both secular and Christian charts. They’ve headlined Parachute Music Festival twice, toured with bands like Paramore, been Grammy nominated, and even appeared on The Tonight Show.
Combining clever lyrics and catchy pop-punk hooks, Relient K has proven that they’re talented guys who still know how to have fun. Only true legends could cover Justin Bieber without losing their credibility.
We caught up with the boys at Parachute 2012.
Do you guys have a band motto?
Matt Theissen: ‘Fun, fun, fun till Daddy takes the T-Bird away.’
John Warne: Something like that.
Matt T: ‘… Till Daddy takes the K-Car [car from the band title, the Plymouth Reliant K] away’, ha ha.
If you could collaborate with one artist who would it be?
Ethan Luck: Joe Strummer from The Clash. That would be fun.
Matt T: Paul Simon.
John W: I’d write a tune with John Lennon.
Jon Schneck: Maybe Mike McCreedy, guitarist from Pearl Jam. Or Elvis. I’ve been listening to a lot of Elvis lately.
What animal would sum up the heart of the band?
Ethan: A kiwi. Ha nah, just trying to fit in.
All: The heart of this … probably a chupacabra [a mysterious blood-sucking animal rumoured to live in the jungles of Puerto Rico].
Ethan: Yeah chupacabra. Maybe…
Matt T: Sasquatch. Sasquatch heart for sure.
What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done on tour?
Ethan: Uh, found a chupacabra …
Jon S: Didn’t you help hotwire that Ferris wheel that one time when you broke into that theme park?
John W: Ha ha, no, that wasn’t me. But I wish it was. Wait … that was you, wasn’t it?
Jon S: Ha ha, yeah, yeah, that was me. Me and Sam.
Matt T: Yeah, we were playing at fair grounds and the fair was closed. And he went over the fence.
Ethan: And got it going?
Jon S: Yeah!
Ethan: Did you ride it?
Jon S: Yeah, there wasn’t anyone there. It was like one or two in the morning. So we hotwired it and went for a ride.
Ethan: What?! Ha ha ha. No way. I did not know this.
Matt, you’ve been quoted as saying you’re enjoying playing slower songs as you’re getting older. How slow are they going to get? Like, when you’re 70?
Matt T: Ha ha, I still like fast songs. I think that quote was referencing that whole punk rock thing, but that’s still very much a part of our spirit. With my voice now, I find it easier to sing slower songs so I think it’s just a lazy thing … But yeah, they’re not going to get much slower.
Where do you guys see yourself going?
Matt T:I’ve always felt the beauty of the band is we’re not goal oriented necessarily, and we’ve always just thought this is a really fun job and if we get to keep doing it, that’s all we can ask for. So trying to find ways to make sure we get to keep playing, and people still want us to come to places like New Zealand, is important. I guess we’re just going to see what happens—it’s fun to leave it up to mystery.
And most importantly, are there plans to bring out a new record soon?
Matt T: Well, we’ve been writing a few new songs and jamming it out lately but we have no real plan for when it’ll all be ready or what the new record will look like.
John W: Yeah, so I guess we’re working toward a record but there’s no time frame really.
Matt T: We’ll just write a whole bunch of songs and head into the studio some time this year probably.
Ethan: And so the album will come out, when the album comes out, ha ha.
QUICK FIRE:
Heavy metal or heavy metal (brass)?
Jon S: We all look at Ethan …
Ethan: Ahh, because I used to be in ska band, thanks. That is a tough one.
Matt: I’d go with brass.
Ethan: I mean, I love metal, but I think I’d probably lean toward the actual metal brass.
Jon S: I’d go with a Harry Connick and a big band kind of thing.
Band Bible verse?
All: Uhh … we don’t have one.
Matt T: ‘Thou shalt start Relient K and play for years and years…’
Ethan: Second Opinions 5:6
Matt: Uhh, no, sorry. But that verse about youth: ‘Don’t be discouraged just because you’re young.’ I mean, when we were younger that was definitely a creed, ya know. Like, let’s be young people that are doing something.
Anyone have a party trick?
Matt T: These guys [Ethan, John and Jon] can solve Rubik’s Cubes.
Ethan: We have records. I think mine was 1 minute 48 seconds.
John W: Yours is 45 seconds eh?
Jon S: Yeah, about that.
John W: We’re making a website with tips on how to solve Rubik’s Cubes. It’s going to be big.
Jesus is …?
John W: [Singing] ‘Jesus is a friend of my mine. Jesus is my friend. Jesus is a friend of mine. I have a friend in Jesus.’ Uh, I can’t finish that in a serious way now.
Jon S: I would say Jesus is my friend.
Matt T: I’m going to say Jesus is accurate.
Ethan: I’m going to say Jesus is.
All: Oooooohh!

Relient K Tells All
Written by Vanessa Carey
Tuesday, 10 April 2012 09:41

Relient K is one of the biggest Christian acts on the planet. Churning out a total 20 releases over 14 years, the band has earned spots on both secular and Christian charts. They’ve headlined Parachute Music Festival twice, toured with bands like Paramore, been Grammy nominated, and even appeared on The Tonight Show.

Combining clever lyrics and catchy pop-punk hooks, Relient K has proven that they’re talented guys who still know how to have fun. Only true legends could cover Justin Bieber without losing their credibility.

We caught up with the boys at Parachute 2012.

Do you guys have a band motto?

Matt Theissen: ‘Fun, fun, fun till Daddy takes the T-Bird away.’

John Warne: Something like that.

Matt T: ‘… Till Daddy takes the K-Car [car from the band title, the Plymouth Reliant K] away’, ha ha.

If you could collaborate with one artist who would it be?

Ethan Luck: Joe Strummer from The Clash. That would be fun.

Matt T: Paul Simon.

John W: I’d write a tune with John Lennon.

Jon Schneck: Maybe Mike McCreedy, guitarist from Pearl Jam. Or Elvis. I’ve been listening to a lot of Elvis lately.

What animal would sum up the heart of the band?

Ethan: A kiwi. Ha nah, just trying to fit in.

All: The heart of this … probably a chupacabra [a mysterious blood-sucking animal rumoured to live in the jungles of Puerto Rico].

Ethan: Yeah chupacabra. Maybe…

Matt T: Sasquatch. Sasquatch heart for sure.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done on tour?

Ethan: Uh, found a chupacabra …

Jon S: Didn’t you help hotwire that Ferris wheel that one time when you broke into that theme park?

John W: Ha ha, no, that wasn’t me. But I wish it was. Wait … that was you, wasn’t it?

Jon S: Ha ha, yeah, yeah, that was me. Me and Sam.

Matt T: Yeah, we were playing at fair grounds and the fair was closed. And he went over the fence.

Ethan: And got it going?

Jon S: Yeah!

Ethan: Did you ride it?

Jon S: Yeah, there wasn’t anyone there. It was like one or two in the morning. So we hotwired it and went for a ride.

Ethan: What?! Ha ha ha. No way. I did not know this.

Matt, you’ve been quoted as saying you’re enjoying playing slower songs as you’re getting older. How slow are they going to get? Like, when you’re 70?

Matt T: Ha ha, I still like fast songs. I think that quote was referencing that whole punk rock thing, but that’s still very much a part of our spirit. With my voice now, I find it easier to sing slower songs so I think it’s just a lazy thing … But yeah, they’re not going to get much slower.

Where do you guys see yourself going?

Matt T:I’ve always felt the beauty of the band is we’re not goal oriented necessarily, and we’ve always just thought this is a really fun job and if we get to keep doing it, that’s all we can ask for. So trying to find ways to make sure we get to keep playing, and people still want us to come to places like New Zealand, is important. I guess we’re just going to see what happens—it’s fun to leave it up to mystery.

And most importantly, are there plans to bring out a new record soon?

Matt T: Well, we’ve been writing a few new songs and jamming it out lately but we have no real plan for when it’ll all be ready or what the new record will look like.

John W: Yeah, so I guess we’re working toward a record but there’s no time frame really.

Matt T: We’ll just write a whole bunch of songs and head into the studio some time this year probably.

Ethan: And so the album will come out, when the album comes out, ha ha.

QUICK FIRE:

Heavy metal or heavy metal (brass)?

Jon S: We all look at Ethan …

Ethan: Ahh, because I used to be in ska band, thanks. That is a tough one.

Matt: I’d go with brass.

Ethan: I mean, I love metal, but I think I’d probably lean toward the actual metal brass.

Jon S: I’d go with a Harry Connick and a big band kind of thing.

Band Bible verse?

All: Uhh … we don’t have one.

Matt T: ‘Thou shalt start Relient K and play for years and years…’

Ethan: Second Opinions 5:6

Matt: Uhh, no, sorry. But that verse about youth: ‘Don’t be discouraged just because you’re young.’ I mean, when we were younger that was definitely a creed, ya know. Like, let’s be young people that are doing something.

Anyone have a party trick?

Matt T: These guys [Ethan, John and Jon] can solve Rubik’s Cubes.

Ethan: We have records. I think mine was 1 minute 48 seconds.

John W: Yours is 45 seconds eh?

Jon S: Yeah, about that.

John W: We’re making a website with tips on how to solve Rubik’s Cubes. It’s going to be big.

Jesus is …?

John W: [Singing] ‘Jesus is a friend of my mine. Jesus is my friend. Jesus is a friend of mine. I have a friend in Jesus.’ Uh, I can’t finish that in a serious way now.

Jon S: I would say Jesus is my friend.

Matt T: I’m going to say Jesus is accurate.

Ethan: I’m going to say Jesus is.

All: Oooooohh!

8 notes

I just keep loving them more and more everyday!…. lol! BACON CHALLENGE!

<3

(Source: roryflannelgan, via matthew-thiessen)

92 notes

Happy (Belated) Birthday to Matthew Thiessen!!! :)

“Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21

Praise God for his word! :)