- 20 Minutes With Phil Joel of The Newsboys
by Adrian Gregory Glover

Currently touring behind their latest Step Up To The Microphone, Phil Joel of international spiritual sensations The News Boys coughed up 20 Minutes of his time to drop dime on life, music and the pursuit of inner peace...
 

Describe what you guys are about..

Our sound's definitely got so much to it. There's not one single dimension that determines who we are. We are musicians first and foremost. We've been a band for quiet some time. It's who we are as people combined with the music that we come up with that best describes us, I think.

Since you project your love for your religion and perhaps the secular side of rock, does that get under the skin of the traditional bible belters?

In what way?

Does the old guard of Christianity consider your appearance and tones blasphemous?

Oh, I see what you are saying. It hasn't been that bad . Sometimes we'll get a letter that says ' cut your hair!' But you can't please everyone. Things just happened this way and for us it's a good thing. We defiantly avoid (Christian rock) cliches as much as possible.

I think as a group of people we live in a sub culture. It's crazy that some have forgetten that Jesus was a magnet. When he walked the Earth, people were very attracted to him. He attracted people, he didn't repel them. He was very misunderstood during while he was here. But he brought a message of love and understanding. All people including a lot of Christians could stand to add a little more compassion to there lives.

There's meaning behind each of these songs. That's not to say that you wouldn't come up with a better meaning, but if you dig I think you'll see it. I don't get it . I know it exists, we've never been really hit head on with the argument. We're all church people. Most of us are from Australia or New Zealand. One is from Detroit and another is from Indiana.

How are they supposed supposed to clash? I've always been interested in music, god and the bible. So, I don't see a clash. I see how they celebrate each other.

How do the songs come up?

It's a group effort, for the most part. Myself and Peter (Furler) do most of the writing. It's a good writing relationship . He's a big melody guy. Collectively, we're just a pool of verses , choruses and bridges. The process is that we just have to hunt around and melt those pieces together.

We'll write a song by dropping that in or sticking that there. Basically, putting that head on that body, if that makes sense. Before you know it, you have a chain going.. It's a lot more fun that way.When (you write) by yoursel it ends up being generic. A certain synergy(between people)makes things feel alive. 

All of us played a lot of different instruments on the record. We switched things around a lot. There was no 'hey I'm the bass player.' The key to this band is that we respect each other musically and personally. We just do what's best for the record...

Ever notice any differences between the overseas and American markets?

It freaks me out (the American media) needs to pigeonhole things. It's like they are Christian therefore they must be a certain thing. It's kind of annoying at least it spell s things out for people. It helps in a commercial sense but that can be stifling.

Especially for a band like ours. We love our fans and we thought that they would get turned off by the Virgin Records connection. Things have turned out ok though I guess.

Outside (of America) things are looked at with more of an open mind. It's like' Hey groove on this beat.' If they happen to be Christians then that's cool to, But it's not so one way or the other.

Don't get me wrong, we have strong beliefs. We just don't necessarily feel that we have to change people. We believe in honesty love and truth. We prefer to be men of integrity and that is what Jesus was. I look at it like, if Jesus wasn't who he said he was, then he pulled a great scam.

Hopefully, all people will be able to forget about boundaries and look at each other with open hearts. There's large sections of the church that don't do that. I'm not going to get down on the church, because there are some great churches out there. There's also a lot of people who don't really y understand what the meaning of the word compassion. I mean those people who run around saying that AIDS is God's way of punishing homosexuals, that makes me very sick. Tat's not my God and that's not what Jesus stands for. They need to look deeper and get a better understanding of things before they spout out this nonsense.

You seem to be getting angry.

No, maybe a little frustrated. I care about people. Things get to me sometimes. Are you a Christian?

I'm not anything in particular. I believe that I've got a good relationship with God, but I honestly don't believe in religion. It seems like man's way of controlling other men.

I can see how you feel that way.

What do you throw on the hi-fi when you are at home?

Hmm.. let' s see Keith Green was very passionate about what he believed the church needed to hear. So, maybe him for inspiration.

We're all from different countries, so there's a lot of different styles that influence us. Motown r&b, guitar based stuff, Australian pop are a few of them. A couple of the guys are super excited about the (upcoming) Culture Club tour.

It's very different where I'm from. In New Zealand there's not really a lot of hope to be a successful musician. You have to been in it for love. If you manage to pay your mortgage, then you're lucky. Most of us as long as long as we can eat by writing songs. It's all about a good listen.

What I don't understand is these people that write songs for others to sing. send I could never send my children off into the world like that. 

What do you ultimately desire to accomplish?

I think ultimately we would like people to think a little more. It would be cool if people searched out the things of god a little more. Like I said before, If Jesus was who he said he was that's a big deal. You owe it to yourself to at least explore that what if.

There's so much that we don't understand and I guess that's why I don't try to get to overboard. I"m just a rock and roll guy with a pretty cool father.

Adrian Gregory Glover

From Portrait Magazine, '98