The band, which has had snowballing radio success over the past couple of years, is happily independent and gladly bivocational. They all have full-time jobs they love, including Matthew's more-than-full-time role as lead pastor at Ministers of the New Convenant church in Conyers (plus his role as husband and father of five children).

While this family band is not focused on massive touring schedules or living the rock star life, they are passionate about sharing the songs they believe God has given them. With new album American Jesus challenging and encouraging people, they're on the verge of reaching scores more fans--all from the comfort of their own community.

I had the opportunity to talk with Frank Bowen about the band's past, present and future, and about how our Western view of Jesus might not be the genuine article.

Tell us a little bit about August Rain and how you got started.

Back in 2007 we had written a song, "Wonderful Savior." A couple of people heard it and said, "That's kind of a commercial sounding song. It's pretty cool. You all should do a band thing."

We recorded that song and it had done really well on the indie radio. We had played together; Denise, Matthew and I had played together for years at church as a worship band. After that one thing led to another. We got to write more and more material and playing it and radio was kind of good to us being an indie band. 

We were in a drought here in Georgia at that time. We were trying to think of a name for ourselves and it was actually August of '07 and we were in a drought, and we needed rain spiritually as well as physically. That's how the name came about, August Rain.
 
How do you guys balance making your own music and performing just with the responsibilities you have at your church?

It's tough. We all have good full time jobs and family obligations. Matthew has five children and his wife and children by far come first. Anything that conflicts with that--ballgames, etc.--he let us all know that that's first and foremost.

It's very difficult because you have to juggle so many things. There's nothing more rewarding than you get off the stage and people come to you and say, "That blessed me so," or they hug you and they just don't want to let you go and they're crying. 

We did a song called "Highway" with Dara MacLean on it, but before she was on that song, the old version, we would sing it. We had this girl that was bound by drugs come to us and say, "I've been delivered from drugs because of this song right here." That sticks out in our mind more than any other thing that's ever happened for us, I think. That's a reward. That's our reward.

Talk about American Jesus and the name and the concept and the focus you guys came up with there.

This is a little bit of in-your-face song. One evening, Matthew was preaching this message and he popped up on the screen a really cool looking American Jesus. He was a dude with the long cool hair and he kind of had on an American vest and was kind of muscular looking. It was just kind of a really cool picture and I thought we've got to write a song about an American Jesus. I'm jotting down things right there while he's preaching. So we kind of took it from there.

What we're trying to say is that we have a picture painted of Jesus as being just this really cool guy winking his eye, suit and a tie, just all warm and fuzzy. 

He was real. He probably smelled bad. He was with the real people. He wore sandals. His feet were dirty. He was a real man. He served. He's a servant. I believe that's the real Jesus. I don't believe it was the American Jesus that we have him in our back pocket at our convenience, that "we're too blessed to be stressed" message. We love to hear all that, but that's not the way it is.

Paul had a thorn in his flesh. He died with that thorn in his flesh and he was closer to the Messiah than we will probably ever be. Life is real. 
 
You guys get to preach this message basically every time you play. What's the feedback been?

The people love it. The radio stations that we've played at love it. I don't know how "business" radio could handle it or the industry in general. I don't know how they would handle it. I don't even know that there's been a focus for us to put that song on radio. Maybe we should. I think it has a really cool commercial feel and sound.

It's pretty in your face, but people receive it well. Actually they love it. They connect. They say, "This is great; we need more people with this kind of lyric or this kind of message instead of just tickling your ears all the time. I don't want my ears tickled. I want to hear what I need to hear, not what I want to hear." Maybe we think everybody is like that, but unfortunately they're not.

Are you touring a lot? How does that work in terms of trying to balance?

We're not touring a lot. Last year or two years ago we did a lot more. We went to Seattle. We went to a lot of places and I hate to say this, but I also want to keep it real: It's hard. It's a burden. It's very hard. You don't make a lot of income doing it and it costs you money a lot of times when you to go these places with the work you miss, which it isn't all about money by no means. At the same time we have families. We have to balance it.

We're not touring a lot. We've kind of made the decision to just do local stuff for right now. I'm sure we would go do something long distance if it worked out for us. We do a little thing here every year we call Jasper Jam. It's kind of our own thing where we have some bands coming in. We've had JJ Weeks band play with us. All that to say, we're not doing a lot of touring. We're doing a lot of churches here local, stuff like that. Radio is kind of what we're after right now.

What inspired the songs on this album?

Without getting into a lot, we have been through the roughest year and a half, two years of our lives. For my wife Denise and I, life has kind of kicked us in the tail. Matthew went through some things he never thought he'd have to go through. About a year, a year and a half ago he said, "Let's just not do the band no more. I'm tired. Life is rough. I've a lot of responsibility." 

It broke my heart. I said, "Let's just wait. Let's see." He said, "I just can't do it right now. I can't be touring. I can't do all this." I said, "Let's just see what happens." A few months down the road I said, "Matthew, let's at least make another album for the people, for us, what we're going through." I wrote the song "Grace," every single word of it. Matthew put the music to it and made the song great. I just came up with the lyrics.

And so we made this album. We went and got Jason Hoard here in Georgia. He's with Third Day. We love Jason. He became my best friend. I got to actually co-produce this album with him.

Everything was just real. It's just where we're at in our life. Every single song on this album is about us. If the people get it, great. It's because they're going through some of the same things, but this album was actually for us and keeping it real, and we're hoping that it translates to the people.



When you're playing your live set, how do you guys split up the instrument duty? You're on drums and Matthew is either rocking the guitar or something else and your wife is on keys, right?

Some songs the wife plays the bass. She's not a bass player by no means, but we do what we have to do. Matthew plays guitar. I'm the drums, percussion. Because there's only three of us, we've have had to use some tracks recently, but we try to keep our music organic and kind of rootsy so that it's real to us. Jason Hoard has volunteered to play with us some when he can. He's great. He's one of the best people I know on the planet--the most humble, real guy.

Matthew is a super great singer, so his voice to me is another instrument. He comes across real because he is real. Every musician knows you'll say the same thing in your set 100 times, but over half the time he still cries when he speaks, because it's a real thing to him. 

We don't take life for granted, I don't think, anymore. Going through cuts and bruises, you don't seem to be so judgmental. I'll be the first to admit I've been judgmental to people. What in the world are they doing that for? Now I kind of understand. We can only carry so much. That's where that song "Grace" came from. If it wasn't for grace, where would we be? 

As a band, what would you say your calling is as best as you guys see it?

If none of us agree on anything, we all agree on this mindset: Point people to the Father, to the Son and encourage people. I feel like there are enough preachy things going on. People right now, in my opinion, are not needing somebody else to tell them what they're doing wrong. They're telling them that there's forgiveness for what they've done wrong and that they can make it and that they're not alone.

The whole stinking world is suffering. We're all suffering together, but if I had to tell one person anything it's hang in there. It's going to be dark. It's going to bumpy and it's going to be rough, but hang in there. There's light at the end of the tunnel.
 
Who really influences you musically? You said you've got this organic, rootsy sound. Who do you listen to that inspires you?

That real organic sound I think is just us. I guess it's us because that's all we can do. We're so untalented, but Matthew would say his biggest influence is probably Steven Curtis Chapman. I always call him Matthew Curtis Chapman. He just loves him to death. 

I know our music doesn't really sound like that, but that's his musical hero. We listen to him and like OneRepublic. I like U2. I like stuff with positive music, but cool lyrics. NEEDTOBREATHE--I love their sound. I love their stuff. I like lyrics that you have to listen to and think about and see what they mean and then you finally get it. That's the kind of lyrics I like.

How can people be praying for you?

Just praying that we do the will of the Father. That if it's His will that radio stations will recognize our music and play it to get the message -- if it's meant to be, if people are meant to hear it, that radio stations will add us and just pray that we keep doing His will and writing music that glorifies the Father and the Son and encourages people.