Interview with Christian band Third Day’s David Carr

As a Features reporter I have the opportunity to interview musical groups to come to the Fort Wayne (IN) area. Here is a story for the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel newspaper with David Carr from the well-established and totally-sold-out-to-God Christian band Third Day. Let me know if you’re a fan of this group.   I know I am!

 

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“The perspective of a performance is different for the fan than for the performer,” said David Carr, drummer for the Christian musical group Third Day. “My personal goal in performing is to glorify God through my playing of the drums. If I do my part of the machine and do it well, I know someone will be touched and blessed in the name of Jesus Christ. Our band’s goal is to present people with the hope, grace, mercy, and blessing of being in God’s presence. People have told us they experience that at our shows.”

 

 

For 20 years Carr and other members of Third Day, a Grammy-award winning group, includes lead singer Mac Powell, acoustic guitarist Mark Lee, bassist Tai Anderson. They have traveled throughout the country playing music that emphasizes God’s love for people. With their longevity Carr and the other members of Third Day now see generations of followers at each concert. “In the beginning our music catered more to youth,” said Carr. “Today we see people from age four to 84 years old at our concerts. It fees good to have that much appeal.”

 

With thousands of performances behind them Carr admitted the band focuses on keeping its music and message fresh at each concert. “We strive to remember our worst night of performing might be a fan’s best night,” he said. “Even though we’ve played some songs a thousand times, we pray every night God would make them fresh and bless our audiences. We never know what God will do with our music.”

 

A native of Atlanta, Carr began drumming at age 11 on a neighbor’s drum set. After receiving a set of his own, Carr played top hits and hard metal until becoming a Christian in high school. From that point Carr said he pursued music that glorified God. During a missions trip to Mexico, he saw people in need of a faith in God. “It was appealing to me,” he recalled. “I was hungry for God and began to feel a deeper need for Him.”

 

As a college student, Carr considered using his interest in music to become a music producer. Strangely enough, he also thought of being a Spanish teacher. When he and the other Third Day members dropped out of college to pursue their music, they had no idea they would someday release eleven albums (their latest is Revelation) and win an American Music Award (2008). Carr takes no credit for the band’s success. “As a person of faith, I feel God is in control,” he said. “We have choices, but He’s sovereign. I give Him credit. He’s continued to pour opportunities on us. The direction our careers have gone was not something we could have done.”

 

For more information on Third Day go to http://thirdday.com/.

 

The End

This article appeared in the News-Sentinel 10/19/11.