“Life, in general, is noise,” says Geoff Hunker, lead singer and founder of Satellites & Sirens, a band on the brink of releasing its self-titled debut album on Word Records on March 2, 2010.

“And we busy ourselves so much that a lot of times we miss out on hearing what God’s direction is.”

The band consists of lead singer Geoff Hunker, Jonathan Dimmel (drums), David Troyer (guitar), and Brandon Owens (bass/synth). They are a band both defined by and concerned with what it means to make music in a world filled with the deafening voices of the information age. Their sound is a modern take on the popular synth-pop of the 80’s, blending synthesizers with rock guitars overtop of interesting grooves.

I got the chance to speak with lead singer Geoff Hunker about first single “Take Me Back” and here is what he shared with me about the song. You can listen to our entire interview here.

Please tell me about how you named and formed the band?

The meaning behind the band’s name is symbolic of our ministry: SATELLITES – heavenly bodies that circle the world, observing and advising it; and SIRENS – emanators of loud warnings and calls to action! Satellites & Sirens’ goal is to hear God’s message and loudly proclaim it to the kids of today’s generation. The band formed on Craigslist. Seriously. After I moved to Nashville and began working with producer Rusty Varenkamp on what would become Satellites & Sirens, I realized I needed to assemble a band. And I decided to try out the possibilities of 21st-century interconnectivity by posting a want ad for band members on one of Cyberspace’s most popular bulletin boards. I just put up an ad looking for guitar, bass, and drums to just see what happened. Probably 80 percent of the stuff that came out of it was just absolutely horrible, but I found our drummer.

Please tell me about the background in writing the song "Take Me Back."

All of the songs, whether explicitly or implicitly, point the listener upward, away from the confusing din of our world, toward God. “Take Me Back” is a perfect example in that it outlines a repentant return to God from a heart weary of experience away from Him. Take me back is basically like a prayer. It’s that realization—coming to that point where you’re like ‘the path that I’m going down is not right.’ It’s saying, I’ve come to that point where I know I need God—I know I need grace and forgiveness.

Do you have a life verse or any verses you used in writing the song?

Psalm 71:1-3: In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness; turn your ear to me and save me. Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.

Here are the lyrics to the song:

I walked away from You
All just to say I choose
And my mistake just proves
I can’t live a day without You
You’re the only good
You’re the only light
In the world of darkness I call life

(Chorus)
Will You take me back
Will You take me home
Tell me where You’re at
That’s the way that I’ll go
Will You hold me tight
Never let me go
Will You save my life
Will You make it so
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Will You make it so

So easy now to see it
When I but drown in regret
I’m crying out for forgiveness
And hoping You will see I mean it
Cause You’re all I want
You’re the only one
That I promise I’ll love with my life

(Repeat Chorus)

I know where I’m meant to be
It just took a while for me to see
Now falling down at Your feet
And You’re reaching out to rescue me

At some point, all of us as Christians make mistakes and need to ask God for forgiveness, this song is a prayer song in the style of the Psalms. God wants to give us His grace and mercy, we need to fall down at His feet and pray. This song is a great way to work on the disciplines of self-examination and prayer.