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Sunday Drive
NASHVILLE - Sometimes the simplest of life's truths can be the hardest to grasp. And human nature often seems determined to complicate things that are actually very clear. With lives that subtly-but-surely show simple but abiding faith in God and music that celebrates that faith are the heart of Sunday Drive's new Diadem Records' project, "Doors Open Wide."
Sunday Drive made an immediate impact with its self-titled 1997 independent release, when the single "God Is Believable" soared to No. 1 on the CHR charts. "Doors Open Wide" dramatically delivers on the promise of its predecessor, as the six-man band - now signed with Diadem records - polishes a solid pop/rock, radio-ready sound that cements its identity as one of today's most notable emerging acts.
Equally at home with both the gentle and assertive sides of the rock/pop equation, Sunday Drive weaves a tapestry of catchy hooks, melodies and harmony with deeply moving words - as profound as they are poetic.
From the irresistible, edgy rock/pop of "Doors Open Wide" - the album's first radio single - to the stirring, instantly memorable ballad, "This Is Love," and the delightfully Beatle-esque "God Is Good," "Doors Open Wide" demonstrates at every turn that Sunday Drive has arrived, and is a talent to be reckoned with.
"I love it that 'Doors Open Wide' is such an accepting song," says group leader Buddy Mullins. "It sums up a lot of what we're trying to convey throughout the record, which is simply that Jesus is approachable. Anywhere and everywhere we are, His door is always open wide to us to spend time with Him, and to find ourselves through Him."
"'This Is Love' is really a feel-good song to me. I think of it as a true love song...the real thing. It's eternal, and not based on how good I may be or may not be. It's based upon what Jesus has done for all of us."
"'Soul Revolution' is about salvation," he continues, "but it's really a high-energy, fun song. It's about spinning in the excitement of knowing you've been forgiven until you're almost dizzy with joy. We're not passive or timid about the name of Jesus Christ and what He's done for each of us. It's a wonderful life."
As the album closes on a richly-imaginative reinvention of Twila Paris' "Lamb of God," one can't help but sense the stirrings of something truly extraordinary, arising from a hallowed place where creativity, entertainment and enlightenment exist as one.
Sunday Drive showed the full breadth of its talents when it spent the Fall of 1997 and Spring of 1998 touring with superstars Clay Crosse and Jaci Velasquez. Before tens of thousands of people over the course of the house-packing tour, Sunday Drive did a powerhouse opening set of its own, after which it remained on-stage to brilliantly back both Crosse and Velasquez.
"We believe that the most meaningful ministry takes place off stage, just listening and talking to people," says Buddy. "Being excellent and entertaining in our performance is crucial..."
"The tour taught us a lot about what really communicates with people in effective ways," says Buddy. "We got tighter as songwriters and as a band, and I think that really shows on "Doors Open Wide." This is a record that's going to connect with the fans from our first album, and bring a lot of new folks on board as well."
Sunday Drive had first hit its stride when a two-song demo tape sent to renowned evangelist Josh McDowell landed them a place providing the music for his 1996 campaign. It was then that Brentwood Records picked up the distribution on their independent project, allowing the band to concentrate on their on-stage performance. As the band's own distinctive sound developed playing for McDowell night after night, the members realized that they were performing for audiences that ranged in age from young children to their parents, and managing the difficult job of appealing to them all.
That wide demographic reach became a hallmark of Sunday Drive's appeal, landing them their slot on the high-profile Crosse/Velasquez tour, and catching the attention of Diadem Records. Beyond their abundant talents, the most striking thing about Sunday Drive - Buddy, Paul Lancaster, Joel Huggins, Marvin Sims, and brothers Westley and Mark Willett - is their genuineness and complete lack of pretension.
Coming from very diverse and divergent backgrounds, the band members have walked complex, but ultimately converging paths to where they are today. Buddy sees that as one of Sunday Drive's greatest strengths.
"It sums up a lot of what we're trying to convey throughout the record, which is simply that Jesus is approachable. Anywhere and everywhere we are..."
"I'm a preacher's kid who spent six nights a week in church for years," says Buddy. "Paul grew up in a very Christian home, but had to learn what true obedience to God meant and was not actually saved until he joined the ministry. Mark and Westley grew up in a military home. They were always moving finding it hard to get a sense of grounding in any one place and had trouble knowing where they belonged and how to fit in."
"Rock'n'roll was the first love of Joel's life," Buddy continues. "He was in some great bands and he got into the whole drugs-and-alcohol club scene for a long time. Marvin grew up in a broken home, raised by his mother. Among the six of us, there's hardly a life situation anybody we meet is going through that we haven't know firsthand - and been delivered from - ourselves."
Unaffected by the status of a new label deal and of a No. 1 song to its credit, the band has been deeply moved by seeing and getting to know thousands of people face-to-face in the last two years.
"We believe that the most meaningful ministry takes place off stage, just listening and talking to people," says Buddy. "Being excellent and entertaining in our performance is crucial, but we want to offer something of eternal value as well as immediate impact. I would hope we could be uplifting on a spiritual level, but also really connect in a real-life, everyday sort of way. We try very hard to break down the 'star/fan' thing, and show people that we're no better and no different from them. We're all in this world and this life together, and we really want that to shine through on our albums, in concert, in conversations...everywhere we go and in all that we do."
Fueled by abiding faith in their Maker, and steered by His steady hand behind the wheel, Sunday Drive now eagerly embarks on the next leg of what they see as the journey of a lifetime: taking the love of a living God to the world, down a never-ending highway.
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