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“It doesn‘t just feel like another world, but another time,” added Neufeld. “We could have showed up 100 years earlier and it would have looked the same After seeing the situation for themselves, Starfield members decided to work with World Vision when touring their third album, I Will Go, and committed to find enough sponsors for a new village to be created in Uganda. The band needed 1,200 child sponsors for the new village and Neufeld happily reported, they not only met their goal, but surpassed it by more than 200. “It‘s fun to be part of music and to go on the road but obviously, doing something like that makes it so much more worthwhile,” he said. The trip to Uganda also affected the band personally and it crept into their music. “I Will Go was kind of like a call for people to do more than just sit back and enjoy the comfort of life in North America, to act on the suffering that‘s going on around us on the other side of the world – to essentially be the change.” Three-time Juno nominees, Starfield was Gospel Music Association Canada‘s Group of the Year in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Originally from Manitoba, the band is now based out of Abbotsford. When eVent caught up with them, they were sitting in the Seattle airport about to fly off to Ohio where they were playing two back-to-back youth conferences, with more scheduled the weekend after in California. Starfield will headline here in Kelowna at the Rush Youth Conference, which runs Feb. 19-21, a gig Neufeld said, the band really looks forward to each year. Being good friends with the Willow Park leadership group is one of the main reasons the band keeps coming back year after year. “We really believe in what they‘re doing with the students – not just in the Kelowna/Westbank area but whole Okanagan Valley.” Neufeld said the choice to be a Christian band instead of mainstream came primarily from their upbringing. “I think it‘s just because the music comes out of who we are. We grew up in a Christian home. It‘s not to say that we didn‘t have to find our own faith somewhere in our 20s, but it was a huge part of our world view. Among all the options out there to subscribe to, the idea of a God who created all this and created us to be in a relationship with him and the grace that‘s offered through what Jesus represents is the best idea that I‘ve come across. “And out of that come the songs.” What makes Starfield different from other Christian bands is what they write about. “I think the unique thing about us is, our songs aren‘t just about mountain tops and running through the fields of daisies with Jesus, but a lot of them deal with real struggles, doubt and trying to figure it out as we go along,” said Neufeld. “It‘s about trying to know God not just with my emotions, but with my intellect and my experience. “It‘s not the easiest route, but I think it‘s the most rewarding and, at the end of the day, the truth.” It‘s been almost two years since I Will Go was released and Neufeld said those attending the Rush Youth Conference are in for a treat. Their latest CD, The Saving One, is set for release on Feb. 23, but they will have advance copies available for sale. Neufeld and his brother Jon started the band in high school back in Winnipeg when they were teenagers. Although they‘ve had a few changes in members, the brothers have remained constant throughout. “It‘s been our one gig,” he laughed. Neufeld plays guitar and sings lead vocals, with brother Jon also supplying vocals and guitar. Dave Lalond is drummer, with James Johnston rounding out the band on bass. The band left Winnipeg for Nashville, where they stayed for four years before moving back to Canada and settling in Abbotsford. Their first album was a 2001 independent self-titled, self-published release, followed by a second CD in 2003 entitled Tumbling After. Their first international release, again self-titled, came out on Sparrow Records in 2004, followed by Beauty in the Broken in 2006 and I Will Go in 2008, all on Sparrow Records. While Starfield travels around the globe, band members are genuinely looking forward to once again play Rush. “It‘s not just the best youth conference because it‘s here in our backyard, but it really is one of the best and we‘ve played hundreds of youth conferences around the world. “The fact it‘s in our backyard is just a bonus.” Quick hit Who: Starfield Where: Rush Youth Conference, at KSS When: Feb. 19-20 Tickets: Register for the weekend at rushyouthconference.com uu Top of Page |
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September 9, 2010, 1:47 pm |