Fireflight

Behind the Album: Fireflight: For Those Who Wait

Fireflight’s newest album, For Those Who Wait, is an epic journey in more ways than one. In fact, Fireflight's first three albums have been a thematic travelogue of sorts. While the band's debut emphasized resiliency amidst hardship, their sophomore album, Unbreakable, focused on emerging victorious beyond such difficulty. And For Those Who Wait? "This album is a maturation in understanding that sometimes you don't appreciate why you're on the path that you're on," explains the band’s frontwoman, Dawn Michele. "A lot of times, we get bogged down thinking about things that we're waiting for. As soon as I get my bills paid, then things are going to be great. As soon as my family member's not sick anymore, then things are going to be a lot better. And when we do that, we totally miss out on what's happening in between now and our goal.”

This insight not only drives the album's dynamic title track – a defiant rocker which shatters the "Unbreakable" mold – it frames the entire record. "It's our lives, our hearts, and our pain just poured out,” relates Dawn. “We worked to take the things that we struggled through and faced to leave a trail of bread crumbs, in hopes that other people would be able to see what we went through and find hope in that."

"We pray earnestly that God will give us good songs that will be able to help people," she says. "And He's come through for us, especially in our weakest moments. That's when we've really gotten the best stuff." This awareness of God's magnificence amidst personal weakness is a defining trait for Fireflight. It not only frames the band's songwriting, it empowers Fireflight's rejection of "rock star" entitlement and enables genuine relationships between the group and countless fans. "We work collectively as a band to answer every MySpace and ShoutLife question we get," says the lead singer. "We believe first and foremost the Christian faith is relational. We try to show people God's love, and you just can't do that unless you care about them." This manifests itself most directly as the band proactively interacts and prays with fans who "need to talk" after concerts.

Lead singer, Dawn Michele, talks with InnerVoice about their latest project, For Those Who Wait, set to be released on February 9, 2010.

IV: Can you tell us about the season of your life when you wrote the songs for this new album? What sort of things were you going through personally?

Dawn: It’s been a crazy year for our whole band; recording years always are. In particular, for my family things were especially difficult as my brother was struggling with an unknown illness. Early this year they discovered a mass in his brain, and later I ended up flying home from writing to be there for his surgery where they discovered he had brain cancer. My family has a history of loss, so it was particularly difficult for us to face, but thankfully the doctors were able to remove all of the cancer, and he has been seizure free since the surgery! It was a tumultuous time but God is faithful, and in the end, our prayers were answered. Many times in our lives we face situations where we simply have no control, and it's in those times we learn what it means to truly depend on God.

IV: Can you share a bit more about the inspiration behind the title track, "For Those Who Wait?"

Dawn: We all find ourselves waiting on something at some point in life. Too often, we live our lives in anticipation of something that hasn't arrived yet and we let that be our focus, instead of living every moment to its fullest. We believe that God has something for us to learn in those times when we feel caught in-between, and "For Those Who Wait" is a song to remind us that there is a purpose for our times of waiting.

IV: What were some of the new musical elements that were introduced in this album?

Dawn: On the new album the rock songs are harder, and the low-key songs are softer. So it's an interesting collision of energy levels. Also, we have incorporated more piano into the softer songs, which adds a lot more diversity and depth to the overall sound of the album.

IV: The ballad, "Name," is a change of pace for you. Can you share what inspired you to write that song?

Dawn: We are so blessed to have been able to meet so many people while touring over the last 9 years, and a lot of our fans have shared their lives with us along the way. This particular song tells the stories of just two. First is the story of baby Jack. One of my close friends knew a couple whose long awaited first born had arrived three months early. Originally the baby was given little to no chance for survival by the doctors, and in an attempt to encourage the parents to believe for a miracle, my friend created a slideshow with our song "Wrapped in Your Arms", featuring pictures of the tiny newborn and it was sent out virally on the web. Against all odds, the baby made a slow but full recovery and is a healthy, bouncing baby boy today! The second story in "Name" was inspired by a fireman who was seriously injured after falling from a ladder truck while putting out a fire. His wife came to a show of ours and explained what happened and how her husband had been in a coma for months. She came to support our band because she said our album, Unbreakable, had helped her stay strong during all this time and we were blown away by her great courage and faith.

IV: In closing, what is the primary message you want listeners to take away from For Those Who Wait?

Dawn: We want people to remember that life is in the living. Truly, even when things don't go the way we think they will, no matter what we face in our lives, God is with us and He can take the most difficult circumstances we face and turn them into the cornerstones of our character and faith.

Fireflight is: Dawn Michele, lead vocals; Justin Cox, guitar; Glenn Drennen, guitar; Wendy Drennen, bass; and Phee Shorb, drums.

For more on Fireflight, please visit www.fireflightrock.com, www.myspace.com/fireflight, www.providentpress.com, or www.flickerrecords.com.

Special thanks to Alisha McArthur.