Tooth & Nail - Artist Blog - Sent By Ravens

Sent By Ravens on Westboro Baptist Church

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:04:57 -0700

As some of you know, we recently traded words in a Twitter war with the Westboro Baptist Church. We have prayed over this situation for the past few days and believe this statement is in the best interest of our hearts. I wrote the lyrics to our new record "Mean What You Say" in response to my initial anger after hearing about their acts. This emotion did not sit well with me. As a believer, I feel an enormous responsibility in the quality of what I say. People listen, people judge, and most importantly, people absorb. The new album is an introspective look at my own heart. It was not directed at the WBC or any other group. My hope was and still is to grow in love. My initial anger at certain views of certain people was wrong. The Jesus that I know does not condemn. He saves. He loves. This is why I believe we need to continuously examine our own hearts and follow peace from God. Not Anger.

We sincerely thank all of our friends and fans for your support, however, we encourage you to search your hearts as well. How are you affected by anger? How does your anger affect those around you? I believe that it can cripple us. If you pray, we ask that you pray for a release of love on the hearts of the people in this situation. I know in my heart that they are loved as we all are. Whether received or thrown away, they should be loved. This is our final statement on this situation. We do not wish to add any more fuel to the fire. All we ask is that if you feel the need to speak. Speak with love. Be an example. #meanwhatyousay

Transparency

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:03:43 -0700

When you ride in a van half of the year, life really gets put into perspective. Hours go by and sometimes the only way of passing time is to confront the questions that sometimes evade us in the "rat race" of normal life. It's normally effortless to spot one of the guys, or myself, lost in a maze of thoughts. They're mostly the "Am I doing the right thing?" or "What's my next move?" moments. We've all asked those questions in life. It's part of being human, and in most cases, how we grow. The content of those questions, however, aren't what this blog is about. Everyone's experience is different. We all ask different questions and follow the road of our hearts to whatever end we seek. What's encouraging to me is the transparency of my friends/band mates. Nothing sits inside too long with these guys. I love it. Whether it's problems or random thoughts about life, they are quick to address it. It's this transparency of the soul that helps us stay friends in the midst of everything from judgmental people to grueling thirty hour road trips.

About three years ago, I was struck with a terrible case of the deja-vu's. Honestly (I've never told anyone about this), I thought I was going to die. Every day, some different deja-vu happened and almost made me go nuts. Finally, after much deliberation within my own heart, I found the source of the problem. I wasn't living from the inside out. Like quite a few Christian artists, we got thrown into a scene of music that expected you to be a preacher and have life answers that far exceed your experience level. I felt enormous pressure when writing songs along with presenting my art to fans with a facade that was palatable or un-offensive. I think the deja-vu bombardment was my heart's attempt at manifesting an example of what it would be like if I continued to live from the outside. I eventually realized that I was wrong. I write songs to express myself, not just to make others happy. I want to be transparent, not tippy toe on religion. This is where the fuel for "Mean What You Say" began.

After I realized these things, the deja-vu assault stopped. Life was back to normal. But that season taught me a valuable lesson. Without losing tact, use the talents you are given to their full potential. So what if you're not perfect. Without mistakes we wouldn't learn. Life is about taking steps forward. People are going to be judgmental in whatever you do, just like a few who are reading this now. You're a product of love. Be true to who you are. Express your heart without fear. Light will expose the truth, and from there we'll keep growing.

Heavy Words

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 13:02:52 -0800

"What have I become, my sweetest friend, everyone I know goes away in the end...and you could have it all, my empire of dirt, i will let you down, I will make you hurt" - Trent Reznor

As I sit here at 9:13 am, listening to the Johnny cash version of "hurt", I can't help but wonder what Johnny felt the first time he sang this song. Now, I'm in no way bold enough to make an attempt at the heart of "the man in black", but something stirs in my own heart that I'd like to think he felt at some point as well.

Have you ever experienced those surreal moments in life where you examine the very core of who you are? Well, those experiences usually hit me over morning coffee. I sit in the sun and try to sift through the barrage of thoughts that occur because of some music or conversation I had the day, week, or even month before. As our record gets closer to street date, I remember one of those times. That particular morning, I couldn't help break the feeling of regret for forgetting to burn CD's for my Quebecoise nephew a month earlier. Although he got over it and quickly forgave me, I'll never forget his initial disappointment. The realization of the "weight in our words" hit me like a ton of bricks. How much can you affect someone's heart with words?

Before I continue, I'd like to preface this entire blog with a statement. My goal in writing music isn't to force religion on people. It's to love people unconditionally. I don't care what religion you follow, or lack thereof, the topic of our "weighty words" affects us all.

Now, as a singer, I feel an enormous responsibility in the quality of what I say. People listen, people judge, but most of all, people absorb. Just like a kid watching a parent, we learn from experience. Can something I say change a person's heart? The answer is yes. What we say can affect people, for good and bad. The sobering part is we're responsible for the words we say. The title track on our record, "mean what you say,” touches on this topic. The fuel for this song was my encounter with the "extremist" Christians. They are the ones who preach hate while holding a book of love. "Boys with long hair are going to hell", "God hates Fags" are the statements that spewed from their mouths while hubristic smiles filled their faces as people shouted in disagreement. These people were absent love. They were hurting people. If I didn't know God, and this was my example, I would hate him too. But that’s the point, we as human beings are meant to love each other. At the very least, respect one another. How does hating someone like this feel right to anyone? Isn't there a little spark in most of us that says "hey man, that was wrong of me"?

The song "mean what you say" is about that spark - the point where you realize the weight in your words. We've all said things we don't mean. There is no way around it. My question is, "Once we realize what we've done, how do we fix it?" We learn love. I think back on my nephew and how quick he was to forgive me. I realize some people will never learn this. They'll never know how much they may hurt someone who is struggling. The good part is we don't have to follow their example. We can learn from our mistakes. We can make a difference with love.

"The Man in Black" sings another chorus. I'm still sitting here pondering my "empire of dirt". What have we become? I understand that I've said things that we're wrong, things not thought through. It will happen again. But with all these heavy thoughts, I continue to have hope. Life's a series of steps. Hopefully I can learn a little along the way

Je chante dans Sent By Ravens

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:03:56 -0700

Hi T&N world! My name is Zach. Je chante dans Sent By Ravens (if you don't know what this means, Google it! it's good for you <3). We thought we'd get started on our part of this album release by saying hello and explaining our hearts a little. Our first full length "Our Graceful Words" is coming out April 20th. We're one of the newer bands but it's really a blessing to be a part of the Tooth & Nail family. Everyone we met in Seattle were the most down to earth people in the world and really seem to believe in the record. That means a lot to us in these cut-throat times in music. We're still babies, figuratively speaking, but we believe honesty and grace will take us in the right direction. Following God's peace is our daily goal. Don't get me wrong, we're not perfect people, but we learn...and enjoy our walk.

We recorded last summer with Aaron Sprinkle and Matt Carter in Seattle at The Compound. Those two made us feel at home and really pushed us to put great songs on this record (being in beautiful Seattle didn't hurt either). The eleven tracks on "Our Graceful Words" come from some of the most personal and honest places in our hearts so far. I hope you guys enjoy and we look forward to coming to a town near you. We'll be touring all of May and June, ending at Cornerstone festival July 2nd. Come say hello!

Blessings,
Zach