Medford Drive

Our interview with Awaken Mag:

Where did Medford Drive originate from and how was it formed?

Tim: Well, Joel and I had always wanted to be in a band and played guitar together alot. One happy day, Robbie drummed into our sunshiney lives and said "do you wanna jam?" We all started out playin in Robbie's basement, and our bassist Jash just kinda stumbled into the picture. As you can see, it all happened so randomly. Like ice cube trays.

Jon: one day (I even remember the date: May 11th, 2004) I was driving down the road and was going through a tough time in life. I started talking to God and asked Him for direction concerning music. I asked Him if it was His will for me to play in a band for Him-that He would plainly show me and cross my path with the right people. Before I had a chance to say Amen, I heard something and looked over and saw these four guys playing in a church parking lot. I had never seen them before in my entire life but that week I joined the band and played my first show with Medford. And since then, it has been like a rollercoaster.

Tim: The way we got our name: Joel, our friend Adam, and myself were driving home from Chipotle and were shouting out random band names. You see, at the time we reeeeeally needed a name and couldn't come up with anything not dumb. Anyway, we were driving through downtown Dayton and passed by a street called "Medford Street." Joel, being the random person that he is said, "hey, how bout Medford Drive?" Needless to say, we hugged each other.

How has God influenced you in writing music?

Tim: 1 John 2:6 says "Those who claim to be in Him must walk as Jesus did." This was a big verse for us as we began writing. Though our lyrics from our previous EP weren't as obvious about our message, we still wanted to "walk the walk." The more all of us thought about though, the more we realized that we had nothing to fear when we were being His hands and feet. When we went back to finish the LP, I think our focus was alot more on the lyrical content. We wanted to be more blunt about the God we serve.

Do you guys have any specific goals for 2006?

Jon: We hope to get more exposure; and, most of all, change peoples' lives.

Tim: TOURING. We just hooked up with Park Place Entertainment and hopefully will get tour support spots. And showering.

What has been one of your best experiences on stage?

Jon: The coolest thing for me was when we first heard people singing our songs with us at our shows. After this started happening, we saw more and more people every week and heard more and more voices. Another thing that stands out in my mind is when kids our age would come up to me after the shows and say things like, "Man, you guys have really inspired me and strengthened my heart spiritually." The greatest feeling for me is igniting a new hunger for Christ in others. For me, that is the main reason I want to do this.

Tim: This, for me, would have to be Goodwen's cd release show...though that is not an experience on stage, I loved having the comeraderie we did with those guys. It was just really fun to play with our friends on their big night.
Also, it is encouraging to hear other Christians building you up.

How do you guys feel you have progressed and became better over the years?

Tim: Well, when we first started out, alot of our music was "unorganized." We needed a helping hand in the development of our band. Summer of 2004, we got an email from the man who would eventually become our "Uncle Barry" (we call him that all of the time and we don't think he likes it, BUT WE DO!). Anywho, this man's secret identity is Barry Blair. He was wanting to know if we wanted to come and record with him. We knew that he was previously in Audio Adrenaline and had worked with a band that I liked: Bleach. We were excited about getting to work with him! Basically put, we sold a bunch of crap on Ebay and went into the studio. We released an EP in 2004, and just released our full length in December. As a progression of this band, we were actually able to get our CD in Hot Topic and Tower Records (a big plus!). We are constantly getting to work with new people (like this magazine) and it is exciting!!!!!!

Jon: God has really transformed us as a family in the last two years. A lot of times, we have trouble getiing along as a group. It has been so bad that it almost ended the band more than once. After we finished our full length in June of 05 I think we all knew that this thing wasn't over yet. We started releasing new tracks on Myspace and got great feedback. We were also very excited because our lyrical content had become saturated with our faith and love in Christ. We didn't know how our secular following would react but we didn't care. Christ had changed us that year and we couldn't hide it. This joy brought us closer together again. Though we still can't stand eachother at times, God has given u