And on the Third Day, there was 'Conspiracy'

By Buzz Trexler
for The (Maryville, TN) Daily Times, March 13, 1998

Rising from the South comes the resolution of a conspiracy.

It’s not the man who was on the grassy knoll that fateful day in Dallas, nor is it the body of an alien in a New Mexico hangar – though an "Alien" can be found …

Wait, we’re getting ahead of things, here.

This conspiracy is twofold:

First, why would a Marietta, Ga., band such as Third Day be labeled a Southern rock band?

"You know, when people say that about us, that’s fine. We don’t mind that," lead vocalist and lyricist Mac Powell said recently in an interview from Dolan, Ala. "We’re from the South, we’ve been influenced by stuff, do a lot of Southern rock covers and things like that, so we don’t mind it as much. I would hope that people don’t label us that and just think that’s all we do, ’cause that’s definitely not the case."

Powell concedes that the band’s first record was a lot more "Southern-based and acoustic kind of rock." But while there’s "one or two songs" with that flavor on the latest release, "Conspiracy No. 5," Powell says that "overall, you would not listen to it and say this is a Southern-rock record."

"I think we’re a rock band from the South," Powell says. "There’s definitely a difference."

The difference can certainly be found in the second part of the conspiracy, "Conspiracy No. 5."

From the moment Powell churns out to "Peace like-a-river-flows …," you know this isn’t Southern rock in the same vein as Marshall Tucker or Allman Brothers. Not that there’s anything wrong with the classic Southern sound, but as Powell told an earlier interviewer, "I don’t think there are going to be any more Hottie comparisons."

 Looking to gain momentum from the cut’s "Nothing At All" mainstream success (boosted by last summer’s Coca-Cola commercial, "Always – Third Day), "You Make Me Mad" was released simultaneously in Christian and mainstream radio markets.

"(We) haven’t had a single yet to really hit the charts hard as far as mainstream from this new record, but hopefully that will come soon," said Powell, who noted that most of the band’s airplay comes via Christian rock shows on Contemporary Christian Music stations.

"There’s not a lot of … Christian rock stations. They’re mostly like shows on a Christian station," Powell said, explaining that some CCM stations will air rock "shows" on the weekend.

The video release of "You Make Me Mad" can be seen locally on ZMusic television (Intermedia cable channel 37) as well as other Christian video shows, but Powell said it is not getting much airplay on other channels such as VH-1.

"Even though there’s a small amount of Christian video shows, you’d be surprised how many people actually see those things channel surfing, or whatever, and we have people come up to our shows all the time … In fact, we had a person who is (with) a mainstream booking agency up in New York and they book people like Oasis and all kinds of big-time bands. The main guy there was flipping through one night and saw our video and loved it so much he gave us a call, wanting to be our booking agent."

Billboard refers to Third Day as "not only one of the best Christian bands of the ’90s but one of the best rock bands period."

So much the better for Third Day’s desire to not just preach to the choir, but to reach beyond that realm and into the world – from Atlanta’s Roxy Theater to college campuses.

"We try to play venues that we like to call ‘neutral venues,’ where … church people aren’t scared to go to, like a bar or something, and where unchurched people aren’t afraid to go to, like a church," Powell explains.

When Third Day comes to Knoxville 7:30 p.m. Saturday, the band will be performing at Farragut High School Auditorium, 11237 Kingston Pike, along with Silage and Grammatrain.

What cuts carry the most impact on the band and listeners at those concerts?

"I think as far as the album itself, the song ‘My Hope is You," is a very simple kind of praise song is one that speaks to us and every time we do it I say a little bit to the audience when we play it live and it kind of reminds of why we’re doing things. It kind of refocuses us to put our attention to the Lord and off of ourselves."

"Also live is a song we do called ‘More Than I Deserve," it talks about the mercy of Jesus and the grace that he gives us. It’s a weird thing because that’s not really a normal type praise song, but that’s definitely the way we look at it in concert.

"It’s always good to look out and see people singing the words to the songs, hands raised in the air, it’s just a very humbling thing."

The Rev. Frank "Buzz" Trexler is managing editor at The Daily Times and pastor of Green Meadow United Methodist Church, www.themeadow.org. You can e-mail him at PastorBuzz@nxs.net.