Your album will be coming out soon, are you nervous?

No, not really. To me, we've already finished making it. It's kind of all over for me. I feel fairly confident that we've been a band that's been around for a while, so we have a lot of support, not just from the record label, but also from our fans.

Tell me a little about yourself.

I grew up in Adelaide, Australia and my dad was a pastor and missionary. He traveled a lot.

How did you become a Christian?

It was really through my parents. They not only preached the Gospel, but they also lived it. It wasn't just through their prayers that I came to Christ, but also through their example. I became a Christian when I was 18. It was really a matter of my own maturity and realizing that these people really believed what they are saying. I went beyond resenting and resisting it and I realized that this is the Living God.

How did you get into music?

My mom played the organ in church and I just took to anything musical. I am one of these people who really learned about music from the radio. I grew up on all types and styles of music. My parents bought me a drum set when I was 10. I didn't really have any aspiration to being in a band; I was just playing for the love of it. I played in a little band at church, and that was how I stayed involved in church.

How did you get tied up with the Newsboys?

I moved to Queensland, and I had a friend who was in the Air Force and he would come up on the weekends. He was kind of caught between two goals, his career in the Air Force and music. He was a fantastic guitar player. He was an inspiration to me and he is still a great friend. We had this garage that we lined with mattresses so the sound wouldn't get out and we would play for hours. If you can imagine in the Australian heat we would be in there, just the two of us, sweating and writing songs.

Then we added a bass player, which was kind of hard to find then. We would play any gig we could. I remember our first real gig was my sister's 16th birthday party. We didn't really have any singers, none of us could sing. We met up with John James and tried to convince him to play with us. At first he wouldn't because his girl friend at the time thought rock music was a sin. But they later broke up and he joined us.

How did all of you end up in the U.S.?

We were pretty happy just playing in Australia and were doing pretty well. We would talk big, but back then we didn't take much seriously, especially ourselves. We didn't really have any big goals to go to America. We got fairly well known down there.

Then, when White Heart came through Australia, they asked us to open for them to get some of the Australian audience, because they weren't real well known in Australia. Several of White Heart's producers saw us play, and three weeks later we were on a plane to New York City with a record contract. That was something.

We had never seen snow before, never seen a Cadillac, or a limousine or freeways like that. We'd never seen buildings that block out the sky. It was so surreal.

It was also strange running into people who claimed they were Christian, but what came out of them was completely opposite. We realized that this was a country that grew up on God, unlike where we came from, but one that had strayed.

Why did John James leave the band?

He's been on the road for 12 years and that really takes its toll on everybody. I mean on the "Take Me to Your Leader" tour he was really having a great time and we're still great friends, it was just time.

We have spent almost 10,000 nights on the road, and when you get out on stage you lose perspective on real life. I mean, I've stayed in 10,000 hotels, but I don't know how to check into a hotel. I've driven tons of rental cars, but I don't know how to rent a car. I wrote a check the other day for a guitar and I got it all wrong, because I never have to write checks.

Its that non-reality, people wanting a lot out of you all the time. I think it took a toll, not only on him but on his walk.

I think this is the best decision for him and for his family. They are both from Australia, he and his wife, and they really missed it.

Are you married, and do you suffer some of the same problems?

I am married, and she is very understanding. I couldn't have found anybody better. We don't spend more than two and a half weeks at a time away, we're pretty family oriented that way. I actually think that time away is healthy for us.

There seems to be more spiritual maturity to this new album, why? What has changed?
I would hope we've grown, not just as independents, but also as a group. We're very close friends and when something ignites in one of us, it ignites all of us. I think we all went through our own revival. There were a lot of things that were revealed to us, and the consequences of that come out in our music, I think.

We really came to dwell on the verse "Seek ye first the kingdom of God." We have a lot of people we are accountable to, the Parable stores, our fans, our record label, but above all this we are accountable to God. So we want to make sure that we don't write a song for AC [adult contemporary] radio but we write a song for God. That's our focus. We are trying to concentrate, as a band on what is right for the Kingdom.

I'm really excited about it. The reason I think that we keep getting better as a band is because we wake up every morning poor, spiritually poor. We know as a band that we desperately need God. We need not just a knowledge of God's word, but a love for it.

What is your favorite song on the album?

I think my favorite song would be "Believe" or "Hallelujah" or "Entertaining Angels." I'm sitting in the studio right now and the song list is still up on the board, and I really like them all.

I like "Believe" for what it says and I really felt like it was such a revelation.

I love "Entertaining Angels" because we all really felt like it was a real breakthrough for us, not just lyrically, but also musically.

I think what I like best is that the whole album sounds like Newsboys. There is a lot of originality. It isn't a Christian version of anything. We really tried to push the envelope, which can be hard for new acts because they have their A&R guys telling them how they should sound. When you get a little older and a little more set in your ways you still take the criticism, but you decide where to put it.

Has your vision for the group changed over the years?

No, it's still the church. Our vision and our heart has always been for the church. Our heart is with the youth group leaders and the pastors. Our heart is with the Christian family of believers, whether they love our music and are for us, or are against us.

Has it been difficult adding new band members to the mix?

Our line up has really been the same for about 5 years, and we really feel like we're solid. When John James left we didn't really add anyone.

We've been through a lot of tough times, and we've gone through a few band members. When we first started out we would ration $1 a day to eat. We would go to 7-11 and get those $.99 burgers. It stayed that way for quite a while, but we were just happy and grateful to be alive. It was tough going though.

But now, with these guys, it just feels right, it feels like a band.

What do you do to keep your energy and excitement up when the going gets tough?

We're always surrounded by spiritual assets. The people I work with and that surround me are all really sold out brothers in Christ. Without them I would only be half the spiritual man I am, not that I'm anything special, but I wouldn't be anything without them. I'm really thankful to have these people around me. It really is a matter of iron sharpening iron. That's what keeps me going.

But overall, it's a love for God. His love is so exciting.

Why this focus on missions? Is this something new for all of you?

This is one focus that has really become clearer for us. It's become clear that it's really our obligation to really send somebody outside of where they are. It's about getting out of your element, to go to another country and be put way out of your circle, and you get a sort of culture shock. Then you try to share your faith, and in doing that you start asking questions like "Why do I believe what I believe?"

Our motive behind missions is not to change Ecuador or anything; our motives really are to change the visitor. It is to change the church. So we are using what we have to say to a lot of people that this is something important. And this has been something that has been important in our own lives.

Phil is in El Salvador right now with world mission and we've taken one trip as a band and two or three trips as individuals. But this is the first time that we have done anything on a large scale.

What is the Newsboys greatest strength?

I think our greatest strength is our knowledge that we're weak and our knowledge of our need for God.

What are your greatest challenges?

The greatest challenge, I think, is not worrying about what tomorrow brings, to trust totally in God.

As we step up the ladder and start getting gold records and sold out concerts a lot of times you get comfortable up there and then all of a sudden the ladder is pulled out from under you. Our biggest challenge is to "Seek ye first the kingdom of God,"

Where are you going next?

We're starting our tour of 60 cities in the fall. There's a lot of work coming up for us. A lot of work in the preparation. We're going to start practicing for it soon. I can't wait. I'm excited about the album and translating that into live performances.

Do you get nervous when you're on stage?

Before I go on stage I'm about an inch off throwing up. I didn't used to be nervous, it's just when I have to be out in front singing. But I don't mind it; it keeps me in check, makes me feel vulnerable and brings something out in me.

We're already thinking about the next album, and we'll probably write while we're on tour. Until then we'll probably do some side projects.

So there will definitely be another Newsboys album?

Oh yeah, we're just getting started!