< Continued from page 3
Kim - Do you have any goals for the future, as far as what you would like to see yourself and the band doing down the road?
Alyssa - I think as much as we can, our prayer is that God will allow us more and more to allow Isaiah 61 to be fulfilled in our concerts, through our CDs, through interviews, through things that we're a part of and that we would open a door and give Him a platform to heal the broken hearted.
There's so many broken hearted people in this world. There's so much brokeness. I think we see that the more we travel. I would love to see more and more us girls and the family having the ability to help and to bring hope and to bring truth. Ultimately to stand and to have our 45 minute show or hour show and in that time to usher God in as much as we can to see what He is going to do in this world. Not what BarlowGirl can do in this world, but what can we do to allow our God to have the most time to do what He needs to do at the venues that we're at, or in an interview or whatever. I'd like to see my heart grow in that and I'd like to see me grow spiritually in that. That's our prayer every day and that's our biggest goal.
Kim - There are those out there who are very vocal in saying that Christian rock is too "worldly" to be acceptable to Christ. Do ya'll ever have to deal with that?
Alyssa - You know, we've actually never really encountered any comments like that. The comments we get more are "wow ...
you girls are a little too vocal and you say a little too much". (laughs) But with the whole rock music kind of feel we haven't really heard that yet.
Kim - Do you have any kind of a particular step-by-step thing that you do before every concert?
Alyssa - Before the shows us girls normally do about 45 minutes of vocal exercises in the car on the way to the venue. What else do we do? We normally, right before the show, we gather as a family and we pray. We girls calm our minds down and focus on what we're about to do. That's the biggest thing. You're rushing around all day, driving to the venue, sound checking, meeting new people and doing interviews then all of a sudden you're standing on stage ready to do a show and you haven't even thought about the people and why you're really there. My parents kind of enforce this ... for 45 minutes before you have that quiet time, as a family and we just pray or sit there silently for a little bit and we just focus on what God has for us that night. Those are probably the main things that we do. Of course, we have to change clothes and get ready to go on stage. The guys are like "you're going to change again?" "Yes!" The guys don't always get that one. They're like "One outfit is good for us." and we're like "You can't sweat in the outfit that you're getting ready to perform in!" (laughs)
Kim - I know that your mom and dad manage you and you travel as a family. Do ya'll ever do the big tour bus routine or do you usually go to the venues on your own?
Alyssa - Right now we go to the venues on our own. We have a van and a trailer that we travel in and have since February. We're actually in the process of designing our own tour bus. It's a semi-converted tour bus. So we'll soon have one of those. It will be very nice and we'll have our own little home on wheels. Dad won't have to drive anymore and mom will have her kitchen on the road. That's what matters! It's a girl band thing ... we want to bake! (laughs)
Kim - I hear from a lot of artists that the best thing about the road is the food. People always bringing home baked goodies. How do you maintain your figures?
Alyssa - (laughs) You know, after a while you just don't even want it anymore. It just becomes something that you can get past. And we girls do jog every once in a while in the mornings.
Kim - I read in one of your journal entries about sleeping late and trying to make up for the exercise we missed yesterday ... well ... maybe just sleeping late.
Alyssa - Exactly! Lauren and Rebecca are normally really disciplined about jogging and all that. But I don't know ... when you get that time to sleep in and you're like "Oohh...sleep in for the first time in two months or jog?" I always choose the sleeping in. I'm all about the sleeping in and if I have a chance to I really take advantage of that.
Kim - If you weren't in the band at this point in your life, what do you feel like you'd be doing?
Alyssa - I think I'd probably still be in theater. I'd probably still be directing. I was really getting into directing before God called me into the whole band thing. I'd probably still be doing children's theater.