Shine Interview - word-on-the-web

With a brilliant new album ‘keep on moving’ about to hit the shops and a summer tour including most of the ‘big’ events, Shine look set to show why they are one of the very top Christian bands in the U.K. word-on-the-web’s David Booker caught up with the band and discovered that despite all the attention the girls hearts are still focused on reaching young people in schools around Milton Keynes…….

"Church is so completely culture shock to lots of young people"

"Church its so important to find a Church that you love and that loves you"

As a band you are getting talked about in lots of places, schools work isn’t the easiest or most glamorous ministry to be in, so what’s the pull of the schools for you?

Ever since I became a Christian, and going through performing arts school, I knew my vision was to reach young people through music. I always wanted to work with young people and I found there (in schools) young people who want to hear about Jesus….it’s an open harvest, you know what I mean? I didn’t have a heart for schools or anything like that, but I did have a heart for reaching young people through music and schools are obviously a great place to meet young people. Shine came because I’d already had schools experience

.It’s like they actually do not know, they’ve got no clue about who Jesus is, they never heard it, do you know what I mean? They do not think about the Easter story and the Christmas story being connected…...when you explain it to them sometimes some of the kids say ‘oh yea, I get it!’ We’re sowing the seeds as well, its not that we have to convert them and everything, maybe years down the line, maybe months and that will happen, they might start asking questions, you know, because of something they heard.

"They do not think about the Easter story and the Christmas story being connected…...when you explain it to them sometimes some of the kids say ‘oh yea, I get it!"

Listening to the new album it sounds a lot kind of more confident than the first one, does that reflect what’s been happening in the band?

You know what its like with your first album you’re feeling your way and learning. This time we were sure what we wanted for this one, It’s a lot more us because its more R&B Garage, but not just for the style but what we want say.

There is a song on the album called ‘Been a long time’ about someone who has drifted away from God. What would you want to say to someone if that’s where they felt they were?

That song is about those times, you know, when you can remember being close to God and that’s just a memory. I think for a lot of people it’s a case of ‘I’ve done this one bad thing, or loads of bad things and I think God won’t take me’. God’s grace is just so much bigger than that, his love is unconditional and it doesn’t matter that you might feel so bad, God when he looks at you, when you become a Christian he see Jesus, not the things that block us from a friendship with God.

Have you thought about going down the line of releasing singles and trying to make it ‘big’ in the secular market, does that ever appeal?

"We really want to try and relate to the kids so its trying to still be like normal people"

"We’re not trying to trendy up Jesus, because you don’t need to"

I think that not for this band! I think we would all agree that isn’t the vision for this band, we were set up to do schools work and it would be very hard to be able to go in schools if we were at stage of the pop stars that you see out there, you know even the ultimate pop stars, hear' say that were completely put together you know the hype that’s surrounding them, there would probably be mayhem if they walked into a school

We really want to try and relate to the kids so its trying to still be like normal people I suppose in their eyes we’re stars, but we’ve really seen the pressure of just doing the amount of touring that we do.

There’s a track on the album with you guys singing with Bryan Duncan, in the States he’s a big name, but If you could sing with anybody who would it be?

"Kermit the frog please"

You see the thing is we’d have to pick someone really bad so they don’t show us up!

If I felt confident enough, well, I’m happy to not sing but to just stand on stage and watch, then it would be Ce Ce Winans! I just think she’s amazing, her voice is amazing and her integrity as a person I don’t really go for the whole phase of anointing but when I saw her in concert, she was so genuine and so anointed in just how she spoke in between and I just think she’s just like definitely my Christian heroine.

If you could only keep one of your C.D.’s which one would it be for each of you?

Its really old one, and I’m gonna sound really old and fogey but you know Al Green. I didn’t even know he was even a Christian. I grew up on Al Green and stuff like that from my Dad and that’s the cd that no matter what mood I’m in, whether I’m feeling depressed or happy, just get a great feeling when I put that one on. So it was Al Green!

….cd that probably no-one has ever heard of called ‘storm mission’ that was a one off thing that was done. It was famous soul artists, they got together and just written songs that particularly for this one off album…. brilliant singing

There is this one song I used to play, like when I was younger, like I’d let God down or myself down, I’d had a bad day and then I think everyone in my family would know because this song would …… from Ulanda Adams called Take Away and it was just amazing, her vocals were just amazing anyway but I’m sure it was one that made you feel worse after! It made me feel really close to God but I would be sobbing by the end of it.

"All the vibrant, zany people end up annoying people
so they get voted off"

Natasha would stay in forever because she’s the only one who would cook, so amazingly everyone would be like, and Natasha is cooking the meal tonight! We’d be pushing you in going No Nicola can’t cook tonight please

What makes you win? I’ve not worked out who, what, who wins, because watching it you’d think the vibrant person would but I was just saying this morning actually, you know all the vibrant, zany people end up annoying people so they get voted off and then you realise that actually your only left with two really boring people who have never said a word the whole eight weeks and that’s the reason they’re there, people forgot they were actually in the house.

I reckon that who wins is like the peace makers who get on with the most people and I think in that case Tasha would win because she’s hospitality queen!

For some young people you are their first experience of what a Christian is. If they get into the idea of God through you and decided to come to Church that could be a real shock, how can you help them?

Its funny you should say that actually. We helped to pioneer something in Milton Keynes called Revive, and really its for that reason, because Church is so completely culture shock to lots of young people, they hear the message in schools through Shine and they walk into Church and like ‘arghh ok!?!?! What I’m seeing and hearing here and experiencing is isn’t quite the same’

Its (Revive) Church in a funky, vibrant way packaged for youth so its all Jesus, teaching, prayer, worship… for a generation of young people in a way they can understand where they won’t get so culture shocked

Its also an encouragement for them to go away and do something similar. Showing them what’s possible is showing them how to worship through God’s word and so I think the thing is, we don’t want teenagers to wait around for once every three months meeting at Revive, but its go out do something similar and get together…

Are you aware of the same tension for yourself, the gap in culture between who you are and what you do and where the Churches are? How do you survive the Church?

"I don’t know why every person doesn’t become a Christian"

"If you read the Bible that’s really exciting"

It is difficult, but I think you have to get to a stage in your own relationship with Jesus where it isn’t just about Church, its about your relationship with Jesus… If you are struggling a bit with Church its so important to find a Church that you love and that loves you. I’m in a Church where I really do feel that. I just feel that the thing that communicates to teenagers is if you can keep it real. If we can communicate to young people in schools exactly what Jesus is, and if Churches are communicating exactly what Jesus is that’s gonna be the same thing anyway and if you read the Bible that’s really exciting,

I don’t know why every person doesn’t become a Christian. Because he is amazing you don’t have to add anything to it but its when you start adding things that aren’t in the Bible, that aren’t Jesus, which Churches do a lot, which Christians, myself, do a lot, that’s when people get put off. So we want to make sure that in schools we’re saying what the Bible says, we’re not trying to trendy up Jesus, because you don’t need to. All of us are grateful to our Church backgrounds and our foundations, you know, but sometimes you do wish they would just chill ….all these rules and regulations and things and focus on Jesus

So where do you see Shine going next?

We are really praying for schools workers to come in, people who can run clubs and build relationships in ways we can’t. Yeah that is what we are praying for!