Supernatural (CD)

The boys are back and they’re better than ever! It has been three years since dc Talk hit the streets with a new album, but Supernatural has been worth the wait.

If, however, you were expecting a new and improved version of their last platinum seller Jesus Freak, think again. Supernatural takes dc Talk on a completely different creative track, steering them away from the hard-rock, hip-hop style of their last album and instead offering a series of edgy pop/alternative melodies with revealingly personal lyrics and dc Talk’s always strong underlying message of hope and faith. This new sound and style should come as no surprise to seasoned dc Talk fans, who know that this high-octane trio has redefined itself with every new album, changing their music, yet somehow keeping that essence and energy that is uniquely dc Talk.

So how do they manage to stay on the cutting edge of style, and the top of the charts, year after year?

We recently sat down with dc Talk’s Toby McKeehan and Kevin Max to find out. Along the way we got the inside story on their new album, their new record label and all the wonderful, and painful, events that have changed their lives, and touched their music, in the past year.

Working as a Team

Never ones to leave "good enough" alone, dc Talk added a new dimension to their already renowned songwriting with this newest album. Though all three members always performed the songs together, they never wrote them together; until Supernatural.

"The thing that sets Supernatural apart from any other record, for me, is that this is the first time all three of us were incorporated in the writing of each song," said Kevin. "I think that all of our ideas about life have taken shape as a whole or a collective in this."

This was no easy process, but one that was well worth the effort. "We’ve grown up a lot through the years," Toby said. We’re getting past the envy, jealousy and insecurity that’s there in any band setting… I think we’ve really learned to hope for each other and to be proud of each other…I think those feelings are becoming much more of the everyday norm, and it’s been a healthy process… We learned we could collaborate."

The songs that came out of this process, Toby says, are better than anything they’ve done before.

"I'm really proud of the words that we worked on together," he said. "I've never felt so proud of them. They're real, they're relational, but all of them are also bathed in the Word because our lives are."

Getting Personal

The dc Talk boys had much more to talk about that just their new album. A new wife, a new baby and the death of a dear father have all had immeasurable impact on their lives, and their music.

To the disappointment of legions of female fans, Kevin is now married man, and this new role has not only softened a few rough edges, but it has also deepened his faith. "I think she's taught me a lot about myself," he admitted with a laugh. "She grew up in a non-Christian home and came to know Christ through reading Francis Schaffer. She treats her Christianity from a logical level and not a traditional level. It's been a big message to me to find out who I really am. To not listen to just what I've been taught, but to look it up and find it myself. She's really changed me."

Kevin is not the only one with a growing family. Toby and his wife Amanda had their first child on Sept. 4. While he says he is excited about being a father, he also admits that he is nervous, especially about how he will blend his "on the road" life with fatherhood.

"We're very much used to running you know, as a band, from city to city, hotel to hotel," he said. "And Amanda fell right into that... That's going to be a big transition for me, but I'm looking forward to it."

With even more now waiting for him at home, Toby has taken a good hard look at why he goes on the road year after year. "It's a sacrifice to come on the road," he admitted. "I wouldn't leave home if I couldn't point kids to God each night. Art is important, art is nice, but for me personally, art is not enough for me to leave my house as much as I do. But the Gospel is."

Michael faced a much more painful change in his life this year with the death of his father in February, "That was really hard because all my life he was my hero," Tait said. "He was the greatest man that I've ever known outside of Christ - the best God example. I'd had him all of my life and it is so hard to lose someone that has been such a big part of your life."

Dc Talk has learned to take these life changes and heady emotions and turn them into deeply moving, and incredibly popular, music. "We've learned that a song about a relationship with our wives, in our friendships, a song about interracial relationships can reflect Christ," Toby said. "I think at first, at least for me, I thought we had to write every song directly vertical, from me to Christ and me to God. All of a sudden I've learned, that you can write a song that is about our relationships...and that for me is reflective of Christ and what He did for us."

Going Public

From the beginning it has been dc Talk’s goal to take their message and their music to as many people as possible. At first it was to thousands, then millions of Christian fans. Now they’ve got a new record label which they hope will be the key to millions of new secular fans.

For the making of Supernatural dc Talk signed with mainstream record label Virgin Records (Rolling Stones, Smashing Pumpkins, Janet Jackson and others). At first this move caused a little concern among some who worried that dc Talk might be making the dreaded "crossover" into creating secular music. But the guys themselves, and the lyrics of their new album, quickly set this fear to rest.

"We used to have a saying, 'If dc Talk crosses over, we are taking the Cross over with us,'" Michael said. "It was always our goal to try to find a secular counterpart to work alongside our Christian label to help get the message out there."

Kevin agreed that rather than a new direction, Virgin Records simply offers a new direction.

"Virgin to me is just this, it is a carrier for what we do to the public," Kevin said. "There was nobody in that infrastructure talking about changing what we do. It was quite the opposite...They realize that with us we carry a strong message and to water that message down is to lose what we stand for, it really is to take the foundation out from underneath us."

So, while their look, sound, style and rhythm may change, their message, they say, never will.

"We all three like different sorts of music, but we love music and we see music as a platform to point people to our Father, the Lord Christ."

Hello, good-bye
I wanted to say, but I guess I
Don't have the strength to speak tonight
It's tricky sometimes
When you wanted to run, you'd always hide
You can't find the truth behind the lies

Another day and I'm on my feet
But the street feels like it's sleepin'
I'm on a mission and it ain't too sweet
You're the reason I'm afraid
Said, you're the reason I'm afraid

CHORUS
But I want you to know
It's killing me
I think I gotta let go
'Cause it's killing me
You're gonna do what you want
But you better believe
It's killing me

Love never dies
It's the reason that I won't compromise
But sometimes you fall before you fly

I've seen it comin' for quite some time, man
I don't know what you're thinkin'
How can the two of us walk in stride
If we don't see eye to eye
You got me all messed up inside

CHORUS

BRIDGE
Is it too late in the game
There is no one left to blame
I will always mention you
To the one that I pray to

CHORUS

I saw it all from my bubble on the 15th floor
I was unaware as I sank into my leather chair
Upon my throne I was known as untouchable
The smoke was creepin' in
My castle walls were wearing thin
It took a fire to inspire me - to make my move
Cigarette in a garbage can
Changed the way of this corporate man
It was time for a radical plan

CHORUS
I took a dive
I took a love plunge into your arms
I took a dive
I took a love plunge into your arms
I took a dive
I jumped in with all my heart
I took a dive

Follow mw through the door to the great unknown
Something was telling me that this would shape my destiny
Take my hand, understand you are not alone
Shame on me if I oppose the stirring of the Holy Ghost

Heard a voice calling out to me
I come to set your spirit free
And in me you are free indeed

CHORUS

Won't you come and take a dive with me
Won't you come and take a dive with me
Jump in with all your heart and take a dive

BRIDGE
I'm breathing under water
I'm sinking like a submarine
You're ocean's so much deeper than anything I've ever dreamed

CHORUS

Won't you come and take a dive with me

Lovely traces
I can sense you in everything
The way that you move me
Takes me far away
I seek no escape
I'm dreaming through your eyes
I am wandering through your mind
I'm overtaken
By the way that you deliver me
I'm transcended
There's no place I'd rather be
Than here in heaven
Without you I'm incomplete
It's hopeless

CHORUS
You consume me, You consume me
Like a burning flame running through my veins
You consume me moving through me
Anytime anyplace you invade my space
You consume me, You consume me

Wholly devoted
I immerse myself in you
Baptize me in your love
'Cause drowning in the thought of you
Floods my soul
I'm taken by the things you do
God you know
It doesn't matter what I lose
I'm yours

CHORUS

BRIDGE
I am in your hands
Under your command
Like a puppet on a string
I am willing to
Put my faith in you
So before the world I sing…

CHORUS

There's no other way I can fly
It's you and I, you and I

I heard your record on the telephone
It was my cousin Joan
She picked it up from the top 40 rack and then

I read your interview in Rolling Stone
You threw the boys a bone
And so I genuinely felt obliged to call

I know you never meant to hurt us, man
We're just a baby band
You found a quicker way
To scale the wall of fame

CHANNEL
The situation's awfully dim
Should we up and go with him
No way

CHORUS
We know exactly where you are and you're gone, my friend
Don't know exactly where you're coming from
You've gone away so long my friend
We know exactly where you are and you're gone, my friend
Don't know exactly where you're coming from
Have you gone astray

I saw your video on VH-1
Looks like they spent a ton
How does it feel to be the flavor for a spell
And I remember when you used to say
"Jesus is the way"
I never thought I'd see your light begin to fade

CHANNEL

CHORUS

BRIDGE
Don't think we don't miss you
We think about you every day
We still love you anyway
Cause love don't go away
There's still this burning question
I got to know, "why"

CHORUS

Wish you well
My friend

Haunted by a jaded past
Never thought that love could last
Hope was but a castaway at sea
Skepticism took its toll
Closed the windows to my soul
Was fighting just to keep my sanity

When out of the noise I could hear you breathing
You came along knowing just what I needed
Turned me around and ya got me believin'
You would die for me

CHORUS
Now I'm fearless with nothing left to hide
All the doubts of yesterday love has driven them away
And now I'm fearless when I am by your side
It's forever me and you in this covenant of truth
Ya know I'm fearless

Patiently you stripped away
The walls of pride that I had raised
You revealed the child inside of me
We will run and not grow old
Soar on wings as I've been told
Together we will fly the heavenlies

Cause out of the noise I could hear you breathing
You came along knowing just what I needed
Turned me around and ya got me believin'
I would die for you

CHORUS

BRIDGE
Some of us leave the vine
Some of us fall in line
All of us have a friend in Jesus
Some of us live in fear
Some of us persevere
Knowing that you are near me I am Fearless

CHORUS

Hoping praying, I've been waiting
Everybody needs somebody to love
There's no question, straight from heaven
You're my angel, I'm so crazy for you

CHORUS
You're a Godsend
A blessing from above
You've been God-sent to me
You're the Godsend
I've been dreaming of
You're a Godsend

Holding your hand, touching your face
I will love you now and always I swear
I will never forget that first moment we met
When two worlds collided and I found my best friend

CHORUS

BRIDGE
I was made for you, you were made for me
In this lonely world, we were meant to be in love

CHANNEL
I will never forget that first moment we met
When two worlds they crashed in
And I found my best friend

CHORUS

A rainy Monday afternoon
There's a funk over the city
Everybody's movin' to a different tune
Some are weak
And some are strong
And some are sittin' pretty
Then there's others who are barely hangin' on

It's no easy situation
People livin' in their separate worlds
But one thing that we've got in common is

CHORUS
We all wanna be loved
We all want just a little respect
We all wanna be loved
Tell me what's wrong with that

I've never heard a dying soul
Wish that he had taken
Moer time on his portfolio
I swear, I've never heard a Mama say
Should've never had that baby
As a Doctor holds her newborn on display

It's the heavenly prescription
A little bit will go a long , long way
Just put yourself in their position, don't

CHORUS

Faith and hope are worth a mention
But love is holding its position...position

CHORUS

Say what you want, mean what you say
Remember the deepest seeds stil find the light of day
Do as you please, and be who you be
I'm telling you, this thing's gonna bring you to your knees

CHORUS
The truth is what we need, it is the end of mystery
You know the truth will set you free
The truth is out there, the truth is out there

I am living proof that the Spirit moves
It's a Holy interceding absolute
Say what you want, but you've got to believe
There's a dimension that the eyes haven't seen
The secret is out and people are coming clean

CHORUS

BRIDGE
The truth is out there
Our search is not in vain
The truth is out therev God has prepared a way
The truth is out there
To save the human race...out there

Say what you want, but you've got to believe
There's a dimension that eyes haven't seen
The secret is out and God knows I'm coming clean

CHORUS

The truth is out there
For you and me, it's out there
The truth is out there
I believe its out there

INTRO
Was at the end of my rope, had nowhere to go
Was at the end of my rope, I had nothing to show
Until the day that I turned to you, was at the end

You call me crazy, man you make my day
My state of residence was disarray
At every party and as far as anybody knew - everything was cool, but
The truth was bottled up inside of me
I was as lonely as a man could be
And my 200 friends couldn't fill the void in my soul
It was a giant hole -

Nothing made any sense
I thought there would never be an end
Then love came knocking at my door

CHORUS
Since I met you I've been alright
You turn all my darkness into light
And since I met you I've been okay, I've been alright
Since I met you I've been okay
You're rolling my winter into May
Since I met you I've been alright
I've been okay, been okay

You got me feeling like a million bucks
Some people write it off as Irish luck
But I know better, 'cause my rabbit's foot never did me a bit of good
The truth it hit me like a sock in the eye
A revelation that I can't deny
Your love has overtaken every little part of me
You were what I needed

Now I'm carried away
Never seen the sunshine like today
You made something of my life

CHORUS

REPEAT INTRO

Sick and tired of the same ol' fluff
You took me in and you shook me up
You got me tripping on a vision of eternity
I can see it clearly

I see the moon, a million stars are out tonight
Gentle reminders of the way you are
A sea of glass, a raging storm has come to pass
You show your face in an array of ways

PRE-CHORUS
My feet may venture to the ground
But you will never let me down
I can't hold it in
My soul is screaming

CHORUS Hey you, I'm into Jesus
Hey you, I'm into Jesus, oh yeah
Hey you, I'm into Jesus
Hey you, I've seen the truth
And I believe

I know you're there
I feel your love through my despair
You speak the words that ease away the pain
My heart is free, my eyes are clear
My soul is healed
Now that you have got a hold on me

PRE-CHORUS

CHORUS

BRIDGE
I still believe, I still believe
Hey you, this kid is back
And I do declare that the son is shining
Hey you, the kid is back
With a red alert cause it might be blinding
Hey you, the kid is back
And I do declare that the son is shining
Hey you, the kid is back

CHORUS

Pages filled with a holy message
Sealed with a kiss from heaven
On a scroll, long ago
Phrases, words that were bound together
Now have the power to sever
Like a sword, evermore

PRE-CHORUS
Heed the words divinely spoken
May your restless heart be broken
Let the supernatural take hold

CHORUS
There is love in the red letters
There is truth in the red letters
There is hope for the hopeless
Peace and forgiveness
There is life in the red letters
In the red letters

One man came to reveal a mystery
Changing the course of history
Made the claim he was God
Ageless, but born of a virgin Mary
Spoke with a voice that carried through the years
It's perserved

PRE-CHORUS

CHORUS

BRIDGE
What you say moves me, Revelation, come and take me
The more I look, he more I see
The Word of God is what I need

CHORUS

This world's a tortured place to be
So many things to torment me
And as I stumble down this road it takes a toll
These days and nights I turn to you
No human hand can pull me through
No cosmic force or magic brew will ever do

But I can see it coming
You're not so far away
'Cause I can feel your power surging through the whole of me

CHORUS
God is there and He is watching
He tells me all is well
God is there, there's no denying
It's supernatural
Supernatural

Beyond this physical terrain
There's an invisible domain
Where angels battle over souls in vast array
But down on earth is where I am
No wings to fly, no place to stand
Here on my knees I am a stranger in this land

I need an intervention
A touch of providence
It goes beyond religion
To my very circumstance

CHORUS x2
God is there and He is watching
The signs are everywhere
God is there, there's no denying
It's supernatural
Supernatural

BRIDGE
Six days a universe was made...Supernatural
From the dead a man was raised...Supernatural
They say he walked across the waves...Supernatural
And I'll believe it to my grave

CHORUS

Parable.com Exclusive Interview
with

Toby McKeehan and Kevin Max

When you guys started the band what was your vision for DC Talk?

Toby: "When we came together it was clear that we all three were believers and we all three loved music. It was the difference in the musical opinions that was rough for people to get over, I think that’s what made really made DC Talk. Kevin came from one background musically, Michael came from another and I came from another one and so when you put all of that together we kind of came out this sort of, I’ll give it a compliment and say "eclectic" pop.

But all three of us, I think we said that we all three like different sorts of music, but we love music and we see music as a platform to point people to our Father, the Lord Christ."

You guys obviously have attained huge success. Has your vision for the band changed since the beginning?

Kevin: "I wouldn’t say the vision has changed, because really the vision is something that propels the whole thing, but it definitely branches off from the different directions, I mean with any vision it is not going to go exactly the way you think it is going to go. And for us it’s taken different shapes and sometimes different phases. But I think the original vision of being a group that is message-oriented that takes what we believe with our faith, with our social ideas, with what we believe in those ways and incorporating what we do musically and bringing it to the masses. I mean we’ve always wanted to bring our music to as big of a crowd as possible, and the group has always been about making the best music possible as well.

Making the best standard of music that we possibly can make, meaning that we definitely are about perfecting who we are as musicians as well as perfecting who we are as people. And I think outside of music, I think it’s more important who we are off the stage than who we are on stage. That’s the toughest thing is to know what to do with that one. Because that vision is a lot tougher."

Toby: "The branching out has been cool because we’ve learned that a song about a relationship with our wives, in our friendships, a song about interracial relations can reflect Christ. I think at first, for me, I don’t know how Kevin might have felt, but at first we all said we had to write every song that is directly vertical and talks me to Christ, or me to God, and all of a sudden I’ve learned over the last several years that you can write a song to God, not just between you and me, it’s about our relationships, Mike, Kevin and I, you know we can fight and then we confess and forgive, and that to me is reflective of Christ, it is reflective of what he did for us.

Is Supernatural the culmination of that?

Kevin: "Definitely. The thing is that Supernatural, apart from any record to me, is that it is the first time that all three of us were incorporated into the writing of each song, musically and lyrically, and I think that all of our ideas about life have taken more of a shape as a whole, a collective."

Now you have the rare ability to change your style of music with each album and yet remain distinctly DC Talk. How do you change, but stay the same at the same time?

Toby: "I think it’s just growth, artistic growth, spiritual growth. I really think it has to be that, because we don’t set out…now let’s do a post-modern rock. We just kind of make our record and I think it is the reason it’s DC Talk is because, I think a DC Talk lyric is a DC Talk lyric, and I think vocally and how we blend our voices and our talents together is what makes us a little bit different from the next group."

Can you guys tell me the process of creating Supernatural? Were there any new influences or any new inspirations on this one?

Kevin: "I think for me, one of my biggest influences in life right now is my wife. I just got married; it’s going to be a year in eight days. I think she’s taught me a lot of values. She grew up in a non-Christian home and came to know the Lord by studying Francis Schaefer stuff. She got her Christianity from a theological Bible, and a logical Bible, and now a traditional Bible. And I think that a lot of people out there grow up within the church and you really don’t find out about their true spirituality until very far down the way, and I think it’s been a big message to me to really find out who I am and not listen to who I was taught and to look it out and find it myself. And so for me that’s what changed me."

Toby: "I think on another level, and this affected all of us, I think we learn to work together at a deeper level this record because whereas before we would each, I would take home a song and work on a lyrical, or Kevin would take home something and work on a lyric, or Mike. This time we sat in a room together in room and wrote the words, and that was hard. I mean it was a process, and it was a process that I look back and say it was good for us, we gained respect for each other, we worked together at a deeper level. That is the most vulnerable you could possibly be, is to throw out a lyric in front of people that has to follow-up records that have sold a million.

That’s tough. It has to be artistic, it has to be true from a theological standpoint, it has to sound personal. There are a lot of criteria and filters that that lyric has to go through. I think it was a good process, I’m really proud of the words we worked on together. I’ve never felt so proud of them. They are real, they’re relational, but they’re also sort of bathed in the Word. Because our lives are. Our personal lives are, and were they not you might hear that tweak occasionally. Because they are you hear us totally submerging in that, in truth."

You guys are kind of Christian "stars," is it hard to stay humble as a Christian when you are put in this role? And how do stay focused?

Kevin: "I think it’s very hard to be a humble Christian whether you are a star or not, because I think humility is something that we as people continually fight against because we are sinful. And I also think that, yeah, that when you put yourself up on a pedestal and you have a lot of people hanging on every word that you say, it creates a strange scenario within your mind and some performers take that too seriously and they start to believe what they are supposed to be in other peoples minds.

Where I think that as a Christian I feel that I continually have to beat myself up to become more like Christ, and it’s just a struggle. You know it is. It’s not as difficult a struggle as some might think, but it’s a struggle that is always there to a degree for me, I mean for other people they might be able to handle it, or completely write it off. But not me."

Toby: "I think it is definitely a struggle for everyone. For me, personally, I’m uncomfortable with the world "celebrity," I’m uncomfortable with the word "star." It’s just not comfortable for my personality and I don’t like it. Other people do a little bit better than me probably, I just kind of live in denial and say that’s not who I am, I mean that’s how I have to face it personally.

Both you guys are married, how do you nurture that relationship when you are on the road and you are so busy and all that kind of stuff?

Toby: One way is by not leaving your ring in your hotel room. [with a laugh.]

Kevin: I would be kicked out of the house for a week for that. [with another laugh.]

Toby: "It’s in the hotel room with her, she’s there with it."

Kevin: "Ask my little brother about that. He was with me all day, and I check in with my wife two or three times a day on the phone when she is not here. Because it’s kind of like sending a message that "I care about you and I wish that I could spend more time with you." So we communicate as much as we possibly can. Obviously our phone bill is a little higher than most people’s, but I think that if I didn’t communicate with her during the day… I think that is the tragedy in being a performer and not communicating on the road. When you don’t comminute with your other half, it’s kind of like you are setting yourself up for a lot of strangeness. There is a lot of temptation on the road to get attention from other women, it is definitely there, but the way I conquer that is I just look further down the road and I think of decisions that are going to be longevity based decisions. I can say no to this attention right now because I know I have a beautiful woman waiting at home for me that cares about me internally not externally.

Toby, your wife is pregnant right now?

Toby: Yes

Congratulations! How exciting.

Toby: "Very exciting."

Kevin: "They are going to name the first one Kevin Max."

Toby: "We are due on the release date of our record, which is a trip."

Are you nervous?

Toby: "Yeah, yeah I am. I was actually talking about the advantages and disadvantages this morning. We’re very much used to running because the life that we came up in since college, we have just been running. I mean as a band we go from city to city, hotel to hotel, not lying around watching TV. Amanda [his wife] fell right into that, we travel all the time. When I get home from the studio at 7, I say ‘okay can we eat really quick and go to a movie?’ it’s like that. It’s not like, ‘okay I’m home now, we’re in our nest, you know.’ So it’s like that is going to be a big transition for me when I come home. Either that or I’ll have to get a full-time babysitter or something.

But I’m looking forward to it, and I was thinking about when you were answering that question, is you remember in the Religion Hall at Liberty, there was this guy named VR Laken, and he was like a traveling evangelist and what do they call those guys who travel on horseback? Anyway, they used to travel on horseback to preach the gospel, and I was thinking about that guy’s wife. He didn’t have cell phones, he didn’t have phones. Kevin picks up his phone three or four times a day, calls his wife she is on the cell phone somewhere but she’s not sitting at home, she is busy too. So it’s like, we are so blessed with technology, I mean it might kill us one day but....

So giving up that is a sacrifice to come on the road."

Where do you guys find the energy and inspiration to keep on making that sacrifice?

Toby: "For me I wouldn’t leave home personally if I couldn’t stand up and point kids towards God each night. I mean that’s the truth. I mean art is important, art is nice, but for me personally I can say that that’s art and not just enough to leave my house as much as I do. But the Gospel is."

Kevin: "Honestly, for me, that is a good question because you think ‘Why am I in it? Why am I doing this?" For me it’s that, but it’s also… I feel like I am a task oriented person and I feel that if I was not doing something I would feel like less of a man, I know that when I sit at home for more than two or three days at a time and have nothing to do, I start creating things to do. My wife is like that too, so it’s not just about men, I mean she’s very busy, she likes to take on projects all the time. I think for me it is a task.

Coming up and doing shows are a lot of fun. There are a lot of emotional highs that go on by being in concerts, and there are spiritual highs too, like pointing people to God. But for me it’s a job, coming up and doing a dc Talk show is a job. And I love having it as a job."

What do you do to have fun?

Kevin: "I’ll explain what you like [Toby] and then he’ll explain what I like. Toby’s a sports guy, he likes to play basketball, he golfs.

Toby: I played Pebble Beach today.

Kevin: "I also think he likes to travel and do other things. What else do you like to do? You like to collect strange floppy hats."

Toby: "Kevin definitely likes to travel, he loves his tea time. He definitely is a fashion guru, and I think if dc Talk is his job, poetry’s his love, I think that’s true. I’ve seen him write poetry, I’ve seen him around the corner writing poetry, he’s like having fun. When we try to write a song it’s like we are pulling each others teeth out."

Kevin: "I like it. I mean I personally I like to look at myself as a well-rounded person, I enjoy playing tennis, I like to go out and body surf with my brother, it’s a lot of fun. The thing is that you know what we do is kind of like standard for everybody that I know that’s making music to be very athletic, but at the same time travel a lot and you just have a lot of things you like to do. Because just sitting around watching TV… your adrenaline is up all the time, to do interviews like this, to be on stage, you have a lot of loves, you love life, a lot.

What lessons is God teaching you right now? Personally, or as a band.

Kevin: "I think mine is definitely humility. That is probably my big thing…My manager is like slowly nodding, not to sleep, but nodding in like yes, affirmation, it’s true.

I mean my wife beats me up about it sometimes, my friends beat me up about it. It’s the biggest."

Toby: "Mine is the same thing really, but in a different package. Mine is learning to put other people first. And also being at peace, even in the midst of craziness. I think God’s saying, you know what even though this is going on and that’s going on with dc Talk or this company thing, or this investment thing, or you didn’t get to play at Augusta National, just kidding God is saying you can be at peace with me, in the midst of frustration, in the midst of all the craziness. And I think that I am striving for personal peace more this year than I ever have before.

You guys are with Virgin Records now, and your music is going to go more to the mainstream. Is that going to change the way you do things?

Kevin: "Virgin to me, is just this…it is a carrier for what we do to the public. We believed in the staff at Virgin, we were courted by many different companies after our contract ran out with ForeFront and Virgin just seemed like the right place to go for us, the staff felt right.

There was nobody in the infrastructure talking about changing what we do, in fact it was quite the opposite, they were wanting to be a part of what we did because they know that what we do is successful. But I think that they realize that with us we carry a strong message, to water that message down is to lose what we stand for and really it’s to take the foundation out from underneath us. So I’m thinking that any record company would be stupid to mess with what we have internally."

Toby: "I agree. Another great aspect was that we could remain with ForeFront also. Virgin agreed that we could stay with their Christian label, I mean that worked out perfect.

As I said earlier it’s just a bigger canon to shoot, they can now shoot more product in more places than we’ve ever been before. With Virgin’s help, to me I look at it from an evangelistic stand point of, wow with Virgin’s help we can get through the gospel to lots of people and our art to lots of people, and what we do, the things that we’ve learned and the things that we’ve grown through, and our struggles, we can throw them out there to everybody and hopefully people will ultimately be pointed toward the light.

Kevin: One thing in staying with ForeFront, we told them that they have to change the name to Talkfront.

One song that stands out in my head is "My Friend." Is there a story behind that?

Toby: "Yep, Kevin’s quitting the group, no I’m just kidding!"

Kevin: "It’s a fantasy song, I would say that at one or two times all of us have had that "dream" that what would be like if I left the band and became a huge star without dc Talk. Just because it’s in us to think about that because we’re selfish people. I think that we kind of dreamed that idea up, what would it be like if we had a member that left and became a rock star, bigger and better than we could have ever been and kind of lost his faith in the process.

I know that I’ve had people in my life that I can draw that analogy to and in a way it’s kind of like we see people in this position and so it’s kind of something that is close to home. But it’s also a fantasy, like a role, it’s a storyteller song."

Is this the one you guys wrote in Europe? Can you guys tell me little bit about that?

Toby: We were in a castle in France, we got invited to a songwriters retreat, and you sit around a huge table and eat breakfast and then you go off to your own little room within the castle and…

So we went off to this little place and the whole thing is you start at 8 in the morning and you have until 2 in the morning to write and record a song. You have to do a song a day. So it was quite interesting.

Kevin: "That’s what we were supposed to do. We didn’t really obey the rules because we’re not Johnny on the spot".

Toby: "We used to write a song in three months. But it was interesting because Carol King was there, some very interesting people. The lead singer of Crash Test Dummies. We ended up writing a song with Dominick Miller who’s best known as Sting’s guitarist. And then also a guy named Mark Hudson. He just produced Ringo Starr but besides that he’s really known as being the Hudson Brother’s variety show.

So we ended up with them and we pushed the song out in a day. We just wanted to take a trip somewhere, and Kevin nailed it, it was fantasy. It’s interesting because we wanted to deal with what we would feel in the group, I mean, are we jealous, are we insecure, are we proud of him, are we happy for him? In some ways we wanted to encompass all of those feelings, because all of them would really come out."

Kevin: "So it will be interesting to see who gets to play that role in the video. We will probably be fighting over it so much we’ll have to get someone else to play that. Johnny Depp, or a screen actor would be cool for that. I have an idea, Toby has an idea. Mike wants like Brad Pitt, a "Legends of the Fall" kind of look.

The ever-popular trio known as dcTalk has done it again. Never ones to rest on past successes, these former kings of Christian rap have reinvented their sound with each new album, from hip-hop to grunge to hard rock, never losing the distinctive essence and energy that has kept them riding high on the Christian music charts for almost a decade.

It comes as no surprise that Supernatural, dcTalk's newest musical incarnation, is both fresh yet subtly familiar. Storming headlong into new musical territory, these three East Coast boys blend driving alternative pop melodies with revealingly introspective lyrics and a certain sophistication that may catch listeners off guard.

These artistic transformations have been one of the keys to dc Talk's remarkable success, but it's not something they purposely set out to do. "I think it's just growth, artistic growth," says unofficial group leader Toby McKeehan. "I really think it has to be that, because we don't start out saying, OK, now let's do a post-modern rock album. We just make our record."

Yet there is more than just artistic growth at work in the commanding sound and message. A new songwriting style, new family ties, and the potential for an entirely new audience all collide spectacularly to deliver the rich fullness and deep maturity of Supernatural.

Though dcTalk-- Kevin Max, Michael Tait and Toby -- has been a record-making team for years, most of their songs had been written solo by each individual member. Not so with Supernatural. "The thing that sets Supernatural apart from any other record, for me, is that this is the first time all three of us were incorporated in the writing of each song," says the group's poet laureate, Kevin. "I think all our ideas about life have taken shape as a whole or a collective in this."

Of course, fusing the creative energy and spiritual intensity of three very independent men was no easy task. "We learned to work together at a deeper level with this record," Toby says. "This time we sat in a room together and wrote out the words, and that was hard. It was a process that I think was good for us; we gained respect for each other. That's the most vulnerable place you can possibly be, to throw out a lyric in front of other people ... that's tough."

But the hard work paid off in the end. "I'm proud of the words we worked on together," Toby says. "They're real, they're relational, but also bathed in the Word, because our lives are."

"It’s Killing Me" is based on a true story of dc Talk feeling the need to break ties with a fellow believer who was moving further and further away from a Christian lifestyle.

"We would try to get this person back onto the path, but eventually it got to the point where we couldn't continue following them lest it become detrimental to our own spiritual lives," says dc Talk's Toby McKeehan. "Finally, we had to say, 'It's killing us, but we have to move on. We love you, care deeply about you, and will pray with you anytime, but we can't follow your path.'"

DIVE

Built around an almost tribal dance beat that adds a sense of mystery with the subtle use of floating melodies, robotic keyboards, crunchy guitars, and theatrical violins, "Dive" paints the analogy of a corporate businessman sitting on top of the world until he sees that his office building has caught on fire. Suddenly realizing that his financial status won't save him this time, he understands the need for salvation and boldly "takes a love plunge into (God's) arms."

CONSUME ME

"It's an intimate, passionate song that is all about the love relationship between God and us," says McKeehan. "Some people we've played it for have been taken back a bit by the song. People we've met through Virgin Records have asked us, 'Is that really about God and your faith? It's so un-ritualistic.'"

"To me, that sounds like they are trying to say, 'But that's not the God I know.' And to me that's beautiful, because that IS the God I know. And that means the intimate portrayal of God's love in "Consume Me" may speak to those who don't yet know Him."

McKeehan admits that he labored over the lyrics in the opening verse, explaining that it is a hard thing to put into the words the way a person feels when they are striving to be so close to the Savior.

MY FRIEND (SO LONG)

This is a purely fictional account of what dc Talk imagines it would be like if they had a fourth member who left the group to go solo, putting faith in the back-seat in order to seek sheer mainstream appeal. "We hear so many unfounded rumors about dc Talk - about members going solo, or Virgin trying to water down our message in the general market, or you name it," says McKeehan. "With My Friend So Long, we tried to play those rumors out and imagine what we would feel like if these things really happened. Would we be hurt or envious? Maybe at first. But in the end, like the lyrics say, 'Should we up and go with him? No way.' We know what we are being called to do."

FEARLESS

"A song that really talks about being fearless;" said Toby, "being in such a relationship with God that you begin to see things in a different light. You begin to live life with more security, taking more chances because you have the confidence of God's love. Realizing God's love for us calls forth a love from us for Him. It gives us a different demeanor that hopefully people will see as being from God. When you've come clean with God, there's nothing left to hide and people can see that."

GODSEND

"This was my first opportunity to write a romantic song," said Toby. "I never felt a longing to write a love song. Most of the songs I've written deal with vertical relationships between God and man. Nothing led me to do it until "Godsend" came out because I felt that I could pour myself into this song. First of all, I have a wonderful wife that I love dearly, and I do believe that God sent her into my life and there's the acknowledgement that God sent her to me. It ties two things together - not only the romance and passion I feel for my wife but the fact that I am recognizing and honoring God for bringing her to me. When you tie those two together, I feel very humbled and privileged to have been a part of it. It was nice to finally have the inspiration."

WANNA BE LOVED

"All of humanity, no matter what color we are, what religion we are, we all share the common need of being loved," Toby said. "It says 'put yourself in their position, don't we all want to be loved?' Just think of the other person and reach out and love that person. Don't make it based on anyone's race or culture, just use the universal language. It's a song about human love."

THE TRUTH

"Written originally for THE X-FILES movie soundtrack; it didn't make the final cut, but we loved it and kept it for our record," said Toby "It's a song that deals with seeking out the truth. As we go through this life people are mystified with the supernatural and what is out there that we cannot see. I think "The Truth" hints at that. There is a domain that we can't see and that domain is the spiritual domain. As we discover God's love we realize that that's what truth is and that's the end of mystery. The first time I heard the X-Files say ‘The Truth is out there’ I knew it was - God is the Truth."

SINCE I MET YOU

"Pure pop-punk for the kids with a touch of drama thrown in at the beginning and in the middle. The lyrics tell the story of the excitement a person feels on the first day they meet Christ. "I became a Christian when I was 12," says McKeehan. "And about six years ago I feel that I got re-acquainted with Him in a deeper way, so those points are where my inspirations came from in the song." Ultimately, the song's theme is that coming to Christ turns everything around in the best way possible. A person can only fake their way through life so long before realizing the need for a Savior."

INTO JESUS

Set against an atmospheric acoustic groove, the first single from Supernatural, "Into Jesus," finds dc Talk re-proclaiming the point so boldly made in their 1996 Gospel Music Association Song of the Year, "Jesus Freak."

Dc Talk's Toby McKeehan explains the song's inspiration: "A lot of people are calling this song an anthem because of the lyrics in the chorus, but it wasn't written precisely for that reason. Sometimes it just feels very liberating as a Christian to come right out and say 'Hey you, I'm into Jesus.' Singing words like that makes it harder to hide your light."

"On another level, the song is sung directly to God. Like the first verse says, I tend to look around in amazement at the nature that surrounds me and find it hard NOT to believe in God. He shows us Himself through Creation, and I want to show other people what He has done for me with my life."

SUPERNATURAL

"Sometimes a word will spark a whole lyric," said Michael Tait. "I was playing guitar at home one morning at 4 am and just started singing that word 'supernatural' and later on Toby and Kevin thought it was great. Everybody wants to know about the supernatural and what's beyond this life. We started writing down the lyrics when we were in France last year. We wrote from the mindset that God is Supernatural and He's in control. We didn't want to force it on people, we just wrote from our hearts."

"The song is about the thought of there being another domain in life," says dc Talk's Toby McKeehan. "God is here. In the midst of a crazy world. He tells me all is well because He's got the world in His hands. He's got angels watching over me. That's really special. People are so intrigued with the supernatural and all people have to do is go to the Bible and see the miracles in there. I think those things are intriguing even today - Jesus healing the sick, Jesus walking on water. The same God that did those supernatural works can do supernatural things in my life."

RED LETTERS

Red Letters," track #13 on SUPERNATURAL, makes it clearer than ever that dc Talk is a group that unabashedly believes in and worships Jesus Christ. And if anyone has ever been concerned about the implications of dc Talk partnering with a general market label in addition to ForeFront Records and Chordant Distribution for this album, the following example should put minds at ease:

When dc Talk first played "Red Letters" for the people at Virgin Records, the first comment from a label executive was, 'Man, that's a great sounding song, but what in the world are the red letters?' Right there, the group had a doorway through which to profess their faith. Imagine that story being shared anywhere and everywhere!

Here’s what Toby has to say about the song. "’Red Letters’ is one of those songs that I was a little intimidated by because we're talking about the words of Jesus Christ. There was a healthy fear of God that went on during the writing of the song. Nobody wanted to be wholly responsible so we all added a little at a time. We wanted to face it as a group. We held each other accountable and treated it in a holy, respectable manner. To take the words of Christ and make a tribute was a thrill and quite a task. If someone asked me what to read in the Bible, I'd say ‘read the red letters’ because those are the words of Jesus. I'm very proud of this song."