Wayne Hindson talks with Dave Frey, lead singer of Sidewalk Prophets about their new album ‘The Things That Got Us Here’ & some of the stories behind the songs.
Have you felt blessed that you have had a break from touring and been able to spend time at home with family, in this season?
120%! I would never had planned this ever, ever, ever. But, in the midst of that I got a month with my wife before my son came, where we got to focus on each other and focus on our marriage and just be together which was a blessing. Then once our son has come, where doing virtual shows here in the U.S. We’re actually going into a studio and broadcasting to different states and cities across the country and we’re doing that north of Nashville. So I get to go home every night after we do our little broadcast and I get to be with my wife and son. I’m so grateful, not to have to sleep on a bus that’s rumbling all over the country. Secondly, that we have this opportunity in the midst of something that isn’t any of us would have chosen. Its absolutely so important in the middle of all our tragedies James 1:2 says “consider it pure joy to when you face trials of any kind”. That’s God’s been teaching me through all of this, is ‘there is so much job to be found of these “pandemics and trials”. God is trying to teach us something and teach us to slow down, take our time and what a gift it is. It can be if we allow it to be.
Your new album ‘It’s called The Things That Got Us Here’ has been a journey of more than a decade for you guys as sidewalk profits.
Yeah. We’ll be talking about 2020 for the rest of our lives, whether we want to or not. You know, this year has been it feels like we shoved like 20 years into this first six months of the year. And who knows what’s coming next. But in the midst of all that, you’re right. You know, are the things that got us here are the questions, the trials, the rows, the miles and all the stories we have, the beautiful and the ugly. And it’s brought us to this point in our relationship with each other and with God. And so I think that the songs on the record, it just kind of a timely thing to release our album right now. And I think hopefully it’ll help people find joy in the midst of what is going on and but also wrestle with the doubts. There’s a lot of that as well on the record, realising that our God is big enough for our fears and our doubts and understands when get angry, but also is there to comfort us. And, you know, challenge us and I think it’s definitely a journey of a record. And this has been such a journey of a year, I think it’s a perfect time to release it.
“Sidewalk Prophets are a road worn group of instrument playing, faith chasing, misfit nerds that believe that life is precious”.
Did that come out of a lived journey?
Yeah, I was a literature major and I love reading books and I love just thinking about, you know, who you are at your heart’s core. And I think that, you know, in that there’s a bit of silliness to that quote. But at the same time, it’s very serious. That’s what we want to do. Those are our goals. And, you know, being nerdy I think goes hand-in-hand with it. And I think that with our new single Chosen, we just want people to realise it’s OK to be exactly who you’ve been made to be. And, you know, God has put these passions in you for a reason. He’s put the nerdiness in me for a reason. And, you know, he’s he made me a bass clarinet player. Nobody plays the bass clarinet, you know. This is like all these things, all these the quirkiness, I guess, that we are here for the outcasts, for the people that feel like they don’t have a family. So they don’t have a home. Like that’s who our fans seem to be a lot of times. And we want them to know you’ve got brothers and sisters that are just like and quirky like you, and nobody’s the same as anybody. But we’re in this together as a family. And so I think that our single Chosen is based on 1 Peter 2:9 that says “we’re a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession”. And I think it’s so important to remember that especially in times like these, when we’re quarantined and feeling alone more than ever, that God sees us where we’re at. Whether we’re alone or surrounded in a crowd. He sees us and He chooses us every single time.
A big thanks to David Frey for taking the time to chat with us. God bless!
