Send the Begger

I interviewed two members of the alt-rock band Send the Begger, Cris Anthony and Brett Fitzer. It's an open and honest discussion about their music and the CCM music scene in general...

1. You started out as a youth group band. How was the transition into the big time?

Cris: Is this the big time!!! Technically the old youth group band and what we are now are two completely different bands. We played for years in that youth group and I can say that that is how we developed our closeness, friendship wise, and musically. When we graduated from the youth group, the singer who was with us at the time basically broke us up. Brett, Wootie (former bassist), Chris, and I decided to stay together without the others and form our own band. We barely hung on during those early years. Chris brought our old school aqaintence Matt into the group and then went away to Bible college. The three of us who remained used that time to learn to click with matt. when Chris came back from school, he had written a whole bunch of songs. That kind of rejuvenated us. We called the band stb and began working out his new songs, and songs that me and matt had written. We then did what bands do - play out. We played youthfest 96 in Bloomington, IN and had our first encounter with a label. We recorded "jar" independently and that hit on radios in Columbus. Then we got signed and the rest is history.

Brett: I don't know if I would necessarily call it "Big Time" since we make VERY little money doing this. I still have trouble signing autgraphs ;-) We all got old and moved out of the youth group, lost our singer (he didn't feel called to lead praise and worship anymore), and decided to stay together and keep writing and playing music. So we picked up Matt Bentley and his voice. We played a couple of festivals, people seemed to like us, and we started to talk to a few labels. Before we knew it, we were recording, but we still don't play out that often. That's something we'd definitely like to be doing more of.

CR: Which artists do you like?

Cris: We have been influenced by bands like Jars of Clay, Sixpence, and Poor Old Lu. They each have their own unique style, with great lyrics that >don't just touch on the surface or are just out to please christian radio programmers, their honest lyrics that are deep and poetic.

Brett: Jars and especially Sixpence. I like Third Day a lot too. There is so much stuff out there that I don't like (especially the harder stuff) and for me personally, it's very difficult to find Christian music that I absolutely love. Most of it is either super hard rapcore stuff, or very contemporary worship stuff. Then there's ska. I'm not a fan of any of that. I like very mature stuff, that has a little edge and creativity to it. There just isn't much of that in Christian music, which I feel is very unfortunate. It's also why the few bands out there that are like that, have the success that they do.

CR: Why do you think it's important to be honest about sin?

Cris: Because it is so real. Everyone deals with sin. It is sin that separates us from God. the Christian life has struggles and I think when those struggles are ignored, that's when people get discouraged about their faith and walk away. Christian life isn't all "if your happy and you know it say amen"! Dealing with sin honestly in our music is a way we try to relate to the listener and try to meet them where they are. I think there is powerful ministry in that kind of musical fellowship.

Brett: I think because the Bible says that whatever is exposed to light becomes light, and whatever remains in darkness, will never become light. We have a responsibilty as Christians to take the narrow path, and that means exposing our darkness to the light. That's not to say that this is an easy task to accomplish, because everybody has skeletons and vices, but the purity of our heart and our honesty pleases God. The Bible says that if we love Him, we'll keep His commandments, so we should always strive to be pure. That means exposing our darkness to the light.

How did you develop your orchestrated rock sound?

Brett: Some of it was done very quickly, and some of it was, as you say, "orchestrated." "The Touch," and "Knot" are examples of songs we were very self-indulgent in writing. Why? Just because! We thought it would be fun to write something very deep and artistic and creative. That's one of the fun things about writing your own songs that you know aren't going to be released as singles. Songs like "Presence of God", on the other hand, were written very quickly. Like 20 minutes was all it took for that one to materialize. Funny how God works isn't it? The whole end of that song was also improvised in the studio when we recorded it. It was effortless, which is one way God likes to show us He's behind something in the studio. He just makes things flow sometimes.

CR: Why do you feel it is important to listen to christ centered music?

Brett: Because we all need to be encouraged and receive exhortation. We all need to be reminded of who we are and where we stand in Christ as Christians. Jesus always hung around people who weren't Christians. But no matter what, He always had that direct connection with His Father. I think we need to be the same way. You can't reach somebody who doesn't trust you, and unfortunately the world doesn't trust very many Christians. So we need to show God's love first as a physical example, before a word is spoken. People have to know you can be trusted and that you aren't trying to force them into anything. They need to know that what you are offering them isn't for your benefit, but rather for theirs. You can't convince anybody of this unless they trust you. People really believe that if it looks too good to be true it probably is, but they don't understand the love of God enough to know that this doesn't apply here. To show Christ's love to others, we need to be lifted up by Him first, and that is why listening to Christ-centered music his important.

CR: Is this a full time gig, or do you have day jobs?

Brett: Definitely day jobs. Unfortunately, many of the people who want us to come minister to others, don't feel that we should command high wages for what we do. The Bible says the worker is worth his wages. It costs us money to travel and eat and buy equipment and pay other people. This means that there isn't much left for us to live on. We get the excuse that this is a ministry and we should be doing this for peanuts all the time. Unfortunately, the government doesn't see ministers any differently than the rest of the world, and as a result, we have to pay taxes and provide food and shelter just like everyone else, including the very same people who want us to play for nothing. This is a very difficult business to make ANY money in, and so yes we do have day jobs. For the time being, this is a labor of love.

Cris: I'm emailing you from mine right now!! There's really no money in this industry. I think it's God's way of keeping us focused on what this is really about and keeping our faith on him that he will provide for us our needs. We're closing a deal right now on getting a van which has been a complete blessing from God. I believe it won't be long before we're back at this full time.

CR: What advice do you have for new bands?

Brett: Don't try to sound like anyone else- be original. Also, be prepared (assuming you sign a recording contract) to do what you're told, and be poor for a long time. Record labels have a habit of signing you because you have a unique sound, and then trying to make you sound like somebody else when recording radio singles. Be absolutely positive that this is something God is calling you too, because it is by no means glamorous. It is something you must love with all you heart.

Cris: Practice, practice, practice!! Stay committed at this thing because there are a lot of discouragement out there and people that will try to bring you down. Also, open, honest, and constant communication within and without your band. We've been burned so many times because of failure to communicate and communcate honestly.

CR: Where does the name come from?

Brett: It comes from Luke 16:19-31. It is the parable of the rich man and the beggar. The Bible explains it best ;-)