In this interview with Christian Today, Kutless frontman Jon Micah Sumrall speaks while on the 'Go' Tour with the Newsboys. He shares his thoughts on their music going mainstream, who their musical influences are, his relationship with his father, and exciting plans for an upcoming European tour. Here's Kutless... unplugged.
CT: How is the Newsboys 'Go' Tour going?
Jon Micah: It's going really well. You never know how the vibe of a tour is going to be. But so far, all the bands have been doing really well, and it's been a really great touring environment.
I noticed from watching your recently released Live From Portland DVD that your audience mainly consists of passionate young Christians. Is there a particular message you want convey to youngsters through your music?
We really hope to convey the message of love, the message of hope. We want people to know that there's a God that cares about them and loves them individually. We see so many young people in our shows...but there are so many young people out there that feel hopeless and alone. When they realise that God, their Creator, cares for them personally, knows their name, and wants to be a part of their lives on a daily basis... that can really change a young person's life.
How did you get the idea and concept for the song "Sea of Faces"?
It's kind of funny. We were actually in New York City- we had a few days off and we ended up being in New York. I just kind of walked around thinking about things, and I noticed that pretty much everyone there was oblivious to my existence as I was walking around the city. They were just really involved with what they were doing... and I thought 'You know, if I just disappeared right now, no one will even notice. No one would care.'
I thought about that for a minute, and then I thought: 'You know. There is someone who'd care. It wouldn't be these people here, but God would care.' I was like 'How ironic is that. The most important being that could care, does care. God, who really should be the busiest, is the one who cares.
So I ended up thinking of that concept for a bit, and then I began to think of the vastness of the universe. The more I thought about it, the more amazed I was that God cared about me.
I read that your father is a pastor, and you grew up in the spotlight at your church. Did your father and church environment influence you in your music?
Yes. My father was an assisting pastor at a church in southern Oregon, which grew to have more than 7,000 congregants. That's where I grew up and I got involved in leadership there and I felt myself in the spotlight at church a lot.
It's an interesting way of growing up. Sometimes I think it prepared me in a lot of ways for what I am doing now. The cool thing is, the church I grew up in is very focused on teaching the bible and it was great growing up in an environment where I was really learning about the bible and understanding why I believe what I believe. [My church] Versus the church my dad grew up in- he was always telling how he was growing up: everything was do's and don'ts. You can do this but you can't do that. He said it really created an environment where he didn't want anything to do with Christianity or his church, because it was all these rules and regulations. It wasn't his own- it was just what his parents and church said. So he was always careful to teach me the 'why' of things.
