Spotlight: Third Day

Vocalist Mac Powell and acoustic guitarist Mark Lee on the influences of such bands as Lynyrd Skynyrd, U2 and Rich Mullins formed Christian rock band Third Day, who recently performed in Panama City.

“Me and Mac started a Christian Rock band in ’91 before we even knew what a Christian Rock band was,” said Lee. “All we knew is that were excited about our faith and we were excited about our music.”

The duo would eventually add bassist Tai Anderson and David Carr and build a loyal fan base. Shortly after lead guitarist Brad Avery joined, the band signed on with Gray Dot Records.

Lee said that the sounds for their band came from bands such as Lynyrd Skynyrd but the lyrics were from their life experiences.

“A lot of things inspire our music,” said Lee. “Mac is the primary songwriter for the group, but we all collaborate on what the songs are going to be about; they come from conversations we’ve had and the things we’ve experienced together.”

Lee said they’ve experienced quite a bit together and one of their biggest motivations is the family they leave behind.

“We spend so much time away from our family and we want to make sure that the time spent away from them is maximized to the best of our abilities,” said Lee. “It’s also our lively hood; so all those factors come into play, but most of all we started with this great vision to do great music that glorified God and that’s still our vision.”

They started their debut with Conspiracy No. 5 in 1996, followed by Offerings in 1999, Offerings II: All I have to Give in 2003, they were nominated by the American Music Awards for Favorite Contemporary Inspirational Artist, Wire in 2004, followed by Live Wire and returned to Christian rock for 2005”s Top Ten hit Wherever You Are.

After they released Christmas Offerings in 2006 and completed Chronology in 2007 they announced the departure of Avery in 2008.

Third Day then went on and released Revelation, which was produced by Howard Benson and featured appearances by Chris Daughtry and Lacey Mosely and Third Day won the American Music Award in 2008.

Third Day has recently finished their Revelation Tour and is now working on their Make Your Move Tour.

“Our tour is going along really well,” said Lee. “We’re going on our eleventh studio album and we’ve got a tremendous response from people; we’ve really been living those songs.”
Lee said one of the songs off the new album, Move, is “Trust in Jesus.”

“’Trust in Jesus’ has been a personal influence in my life; I’d say it’s one of the best top two,” said Lee. “It really speaks to me on a personal level.”

They started the Make Your Move Tour in February and normally their tour season would have ended at the end of September, but Lee said they’ve decided to continue on for another tour season.

Recently Lee said they’ve been helping promote a couple of upcoming artists during their tour such as Tenth Avenue North and Trevor Morgan.

“Trevor is a great up and coming performer,” said Lee. “He’s toured some with Natile Grant and he has such an amazing voice.”

Another new development with Third Day is their recent partnership with Christian university Grand Canyon University.

“A year ago we wanted to partner with someone on an academic level, but it’s been difficult with us being a Christian band we have to be careful who we share our image with,” said Lee. “It was just before we started with our Make Your Move Tour and we were still looking for someone when Grand Canyon came to us.”

After learning more about what the university had to offer and what the university stood for, Lee said they were the perfect partner.

“There’s a lot of high school students looking for a place to go, but there’s a lot of people our age, in their 30s and 40s, who feel like God’s really calling them to continue on with their education because they feel they’ve got something more they’ve called to do,” said Lee.

He said even some of the band members are continuing their education on the road.

“Tai’s taking marketing courses and I’m taking Christian studies like ministry and theology,” said Lee. “When I started out I really wanted to be in the academic field; growing up I envisioned myself being a teacher, funny how things turn out differently then what you plan.”

Lee said he had recently had an interview with a reporter who just got done interviewing someone from the Ringling Circus.

“He said something that really made me think; he said ‘it’s like we make our plans and then God laughs at our plans and then shows us His plans,’” said Lee. “It’s funny, I wanted to be this great academic and here I am.”

He said that if everything works out he should have is Bachelor of Art’s Degree in 2013.

“We’re right in the thick of things right now, with the tour and our family and school,” said Lee. “We’re really excited about the road ahead.”

For more info on Third Day visit their website at www.thirdday.com.