I had the opportunity to interview Aaron Weiss of mewithoutYou via email. Many of these questions are ones submitted by our readers both in the forums and review comments. Thanks very much to Aaron for taking his time to answer these.
Chris: Listening to your discography from Blood Enough For Us All up to the new album It’s All Crazy! It’s All False! It’s All a Dream! It’s Alright and Brother, Sister your sound has been ever changing. However this album is drastically different from everything that came before it. What was different about the writing process for this album compared to others and what inspired such a dramatic change?
Aaron: A lot of the new songs started with a vocal melody and basic chords on an acoustic guitar. The other instruments were added on top of that. In the past we wrote the songs instrumentally first, then added vocals. Lyrically there are more coherent stories, characters who aren’t me
Chris: What is the relationship between mewithoutYou and Psalters? They’ve appeared regularly on your albums and the two groups seem to work very well together.
Aaron: We’re one
Chris: One of the questions asked the most was about the band/members spiritual beliefs. There was a lot of discussion regarding the use of Allah in place of God, along with the inspiration coming from Bawa Muhaiyaddeen. Tagging onto the same question, How do you as a band feel about the way your listeners tend to look to you for spiritual guidance or wisdom?
Aaron: We are blind and with absolutely no wisdom, in no place to guide anyone. What can do but turn to God for help and mercy? We can ask that anyone who looks or listens to us would not see or hear us but the One who is good within us all
Chris: Another re-occurring question was regarding the use of Arabic on both the It’s All Crazy! It’s All False! It’s All a Dream! It’s Alright and Brother, Sister. What brought that about and what do the lyrics mean seeing as the translation isn’t included in the liner notes?
Aaron: They are prayers, mostly that my mom taught me. Most of the ideas appear elsewhere in the lyrics in English, so translating them wasn’t necessary. Others I don’t understand the true meaning of, so my translating them might not be correct.
Chris: The lyric “that dog below our waist aroused/ when arms embraced the pretty gals/ it came much more as a surprise/ it happening when I hugged the guys” brought a lot of comments as well. Can you explain it’s meaning?
Aaron: That one’s pretty clear already, wouldn’t you say?
Chris: What do you see the future of mewithoutYou as? Touring, recording, and label-wise. There’s rumor that the band is no longer with Tooth & Nail, is this simply rumor?
Aaron: Future’s hard to say. We signed a contract agreeing to 4 records, so that’s been fulfilled now. But passing through Seattle a few weeks back we had a big barbecue together, so our hearts are still together
Chris: Will we see a balance of old songs and new on upcoming tours and shows? Or will they primarily focus on Brother, Sister and It’s All Crazy! It’s All False! It’s All a Dream! It’s Alright?
Aaron: Our last tour was mostly from those two records and a couple from the previous. Our next tour won’t be the full band, so we’ll have different instrumentation (strings, horns, hand drums…), which means probably even more heavily leaning toward new songs
Chris: What is your favorite kind of tea?
Aaron: It goes:
1. Lady Grey
2. Chai
3. Chamomile
4. Mint
5. Blueberry
Chris: How is the great vegetable oil bus running? Will you ever replace her or do you plan to keep her in the mewithoutYou family until the end?
Aaron: Not so great…we just brought it into the shop this afternoon for engine work. It’s been pouring out white smoke which they say means it’s burning rich, too much fuel, maybe a bad injector, or like last time, some wear&tear on a piston head. You gotta be careful running grease – it can really mess things up if you’re not super careful. But the chassis is solid, not much rust, so unless we wreck it in an accident we’ll probably fix whatever goes wrong
Chris: And one more completely ridiculous question that one our readers submitted: Which one of the five bassists the band has had would win in a fight?
Aaron: Smoker’s fiesty, but the odds favor Pishock
| 09/03/2010 04:52 am | News
Loading ...
I Am Alpha and Omega 
Rodeo Ruby Love 
Hearts In Stereo 
With Life In Mind 
The Showdown 
For Today 
Righteous Vendetta 
You The Symphony 
Mercy Screams 
Underoath @ Boulder Theater, Boulder, Colorado
The Devil Wears Prada 
The Burial 
ForChristSake 
House of Heroes 
180 Out 
Meet Ryan Hayes of Righteous Vendetta
Josh Childers of The Showdown
David Marshall of The Burial
Adelaide
Newsboys
Interview with Divided by Friday
Meet Bryce Avary of The Rocket Summer
Meet Ian McIntosh
Behind The Scenes of Ascend The Hills’ Hymns Record!
Meet Aaron Gillespie
Ted Bond of Craig’s Brother
Meet Mike & Jeremy of TDWP
Meet Joshua Paul of Confide
Wake Into The Nightmare
Meet Nick Nowell Of The Famine
An Interview With Stephen Christian (Anberlin) July 2010
Secret and Whisper shows IVM some love
Lee Marie of Children 18:3
Meet Will Nutter of Amber Pacific
Meet Jarrod Christman of Corpus Christi
Kirk – Just a quick point of fact… I’d love to see a scripture that says that man learns that the Holy Spirit is within him. Good luck with that. An unsaved person has a single nature… fallen and sinful. Paul writes in Romans 7 (I’d actually suggest starting in Romans 3 and reading through 7) that in him dwels no good thing. That’s in his flesh. His carnal nature. And in that chapter he draws a contrast to the fallen natural man and the “new” man we receive after salvation. When, and only when, a person gets saved and acknowledges Jesus as their savior and accepts Him as Lord, does a person have a dual nature. It’s at salvation that the Holy Spirit takes up residence in the “temple” if you will. The whole “good in all of us” is a joke, scripture tells us that no man is good… and that our righteousness is like filthy rags. If we could be good on our own, why would we need Jesus? This is big helping of universalism with a side order of smoke and mirrors.
i see the side that kirk and scott l both are saying. I probably have to agree with scott. no man is perfect, and nothing good can be found in him, even AFTER salvation. the Bible clearly instructs us to strive for godliness though. If you read about the day of Pentacost (which is where the Pentacostal religion gets their doctrines from), each disciple was given the Holy Spirit as a gift. Jesus said that it will teach us, instruct us, and guide us. I don’t think that the Holy Spirit was solely for the disciples, but I think the Holy Spirit resides in each and every believer. It’s a touchy subject, but if you have the Strong’s Concordance, look it up, and see what the Bible itself says about it
Scott thanks for correcting me. Your right i mean that of each believer. However I still whitness non christians which do many good things and knowing that every good thing comes from God leads me to believe that there is something birthed in us when God created us to do good. We have that conciense regardles of faith it is often comes out despite our evil nature. Tricky subject realy..
i smell a whole lot of self righteousness throughout this thread
i smell grilled cheese sandwiches…yum!
ryan – care to elaborate… or is that as far as you’re willing to go. Self-righteousness is a whole lot different than spiritual discernment. When Jesus spoke, He spoke with an authority that astounded some listeners, intrigued other listeners, and irritated still other listeners. If it’s go wings, feathers, a bill, and says “quack”… it’s not self-righteous to call it a duck. Listen, I hope for the best for Aaron and the rest of the band. But there are still things in this life that are right and wrong… and to stand up and say something’s wrong isn’t necessarily self-righteous. Who on this site has proclaimed themselves better than Aaron? Or than anyone else for that matter? None that I could find. But having acknowledged that, it’s not wrong to (1) have an opinion on something or someone, (2) share that opinion in the appropriate manner, (3) point out error in a community that allegedly strives for truth.
I’m all about the grilled cheese. :-)
Kirk – Totally tricky subject. :-) I think we’re kinda comparing apples and oranges. Or as Tyler put it oranges and blues. Fallen people can and will do good… but typically with mixed motives (although that’s a whole another issue). And I agree that we all have the capacity to do good and God most definitely did create us to do good. But acknowledging that is whole lot different than what we can assume Aaron meant when he referred to the good in all of us. He was obviously referring to God (or at least a perception of God) being in every person regardless of any conscious decision on behalf of that person. And that is patently false. Creation may at times testify that there is a creator either through action or simple existence, but only those that call on the name of the Lord, will be saved. But I think we agree on most of that. Just getting my thoughts out there. ;-)
Daguitarmaster – there’s a difference between the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Every believe that gets saved is indwelt by the Spirit which is all about the references that Jesus made to Him (the Spirit) comforting, bringing to remembreance all that Jesus had taught, and convicting the world of sin. Acts states that there were believers that had gotten saved, but had not yet “received” the Spirit. The baptism of the Spirit is by request. The believers in the upper room were Christians… they just hadn’t been baptised by fire. Not sure if this’ll light other fires… but oh, well…
oh no, i agree with you. right on
Part of me wants to join in the discussion (defending Aaron), but I should probably stay out of it (not saying I won’t). I just have to say that there has been discussion here that helps explain some of Fig With A Bellyache here:
http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858772229/#73015727812
Also, please look at context. Context is very important.
did anyone read this?
“Lyrically there are more coherent stories, characters who aren’t me”
the homosexual lyric might not even be about aaron, but about a fictional character. people DO go through things like this. no need to hide it.
also, Aaron and his brothers were not raised in the traditional American household and church like most of you. therefore, he was taught a lot of things that weren’t “Christian”. and it seems like he has found Christ and God but is still struggling with things that he was taught as a child. there’s nothing wrong with writing about these things. he’s confused, and you guys arguing about it on a Christian forum won’t change anything. i think you are all making WAY too big of a deal out of this. if you don’t like them, then don’t listen to them and let those that enjoy them be.
What some people don’t seem to get is that the lyric is not pro-homosexuality. The whole song has to do with sexual struggles, etc. Also, in the interview he is correct in saying that the lyric is pretty clear. The problem isn’t the answer, it was the question. While it meant to ask for an explanation in relation to the song or for an explanation to what it meant about Aaron, what it asked for was a literal explanation.
Come on guys, you’re just going to let our most controversial thread, die? Lol. Let’s keep the comments coming but remember, BE NICE!
hahahahaha brandon, rock on! haha
Lets see….what can I say to get this going again……..here we go…….
….excusing Aaron’s behavior as a bi-product of growing up in a “multi-faith” household is not going to work for me……we all make our own decisions in life…..in the case of “Jesus Christ”….you either believe and follow”…or….you’re lost……..God is Christ and Christ is the WORD. The Word is every Christian’s guide. It helps us Christians to “weed” out the lies and hypocrisy in our lives.
Say for example, I was raised in a Hindu and Christian household. At an early age I claim to accept Christ but still hold onto Hindu Beliefs. And at some point, I begin to muddy the waters of my faith and not be quite as sure about things as I once was. I then die and stand before Christ….and he says “why did you not believe in me?” And I say “but I did Lord.” What do you think he’s going to say….”You’re right, you did….I forgot you were raised in a “multi faith” household”…….naaaaaaa
We either proclaim it or we don’t. Christ is the ONLY way to God. That is the very base of the faith. Once you’ve lost that…..you have no security.
Will this do Brandon???????????
“We either proclaim it or we don’t. Christ is the ONLY way to God. That is the very base of the faith.”
I don’t know if that is an accurate statement. That isn’t the very base of every christians faith.
Huh…….wha…….double take…….Dude…”I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6. How is that not the very foundation of the faith???? Everything else is predicated on this one fact….much like having a foundation to build a house….If I dont believe that 1 statement…..then I am not a true believer.
I’m interested to see where you’re going with your statement Ty. Can you elaborate a little?
@ty you are seriously confused, and not a true believer if you don’t believe what jesus himself said! yes, what i said was cruel, but it’s the truth, and i’ll say it to your face.. YOU WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD UNLESS YOU ACCEPT JESUS AS THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN! works won’t get you into heaven. if you don’t agree with what me and the other 2 dudes on here are saying, you need to read your bible
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Check yourselves people.
Is it love to tell someone the truth even if it offends them? Or is it love to pat them on the back and tell them they’re fine when you know that they’re not?
Thank you Scott. Why is it that so many people pull that scripture out of thin air. Im sorry Nick, but that scripture does not apply. Nice try.
Jesus said a lot of things. What the foundation of the faith is can be interpreted differently. Couldn’t it also be “the greatest commandment” or sell everything and give the money to the poor if you want to follow me. Those both seem like good places to start too. Guys this thread is dripping with self-righteousness. Scott it’s fake for you to say you were trying to be loving. You don’t know me. You are always on here talking about how you want to be encouraging people and deciding what is edifying or not. But you are also the only person to straight up make fun of me. Maybe you’re are right, maybe I’m not a christian anymore. But I know I never want to be one again if it means striving to prove to people online how much better I know the gospel than them. I can deal with this elsewhere, I still like all the other blogs, but the way you treat people online in the name of Christ has it’s repercussions. Talk about salvation, judgment, heaven, and hell as much as you want, i’m outie.
PS This reminds me of my favorite Embodyment song: 20 Tongues.
@ty i honestly don’t think scott is making fun of you, or being self-righteous. the bible commands us to look out for our brothers/sisters, and keep them in check. obviously you don’t like it, and are taking the defense, but oh well..im reminded of the august burns red line ”the truth hurts, but denial’s what will kill you”
Ty – Actually, I think that this is the first time in this thread that I have responded directly to you. I looked at the older comments and I don’t think we ever really squared off. Look, I’m seriously not here to make fun of you or anyone else. As far as your accusation of me being “fake” because I don’t know you… I’m not even sure how my comment to Nick L has anything to do with you. And as far as making fun of you… you should reread some of the posts. As I said before, this is my first direct response to you. As far as the general allegation of not being loving… I can dispell that as well. I got saved in December 1988 I’ve been preaching the gospel since 1992. Over the course of those years I’ve seen a lot and have come to some hard-fought conclusions. One of those being that I refuse to play “let’s pretend”. I’m not into the plastic church. I believe in speaking my mind and I’m willing to pay the price for it. That conviction has cost me more than you’ll ever know. I’ve had to take stands that I wish to God I never would have had to take. But in this life I know that there are things that are far more important than feelings (be they mine or someone elses) and the side of truth is the side I want to be on.
I don’t recall saying that you weren’t a Christian. I don’t recall straight up making fun of you. And my point in posting comments isn’t to show off that I know more scriptures than someone else, it’s typically to try to bring a balance to a topic or to shine some truth into a shady area. Like I said, I’ve seen too many people go off the deep end and destroy themselves and their families to just sit idly by and keep my mouth shut.
And seriously, I do love you. And I don’t have to know you. You are a living soul, the most precious thing on earth. I have a passion for you to make Heaven and I hope that you will.
@Joel
i don’t see why we are disecting Aaron’s behavior like this. He’s human and he’s allowed to question things. he even said in the interview that people shouldn’t look to him or the band for guidance, but to God. if the only reason we’re discussing the beliefs of aaron and his band is if they should be featured on this faith-based site, and if you have reasonable cause to believe that mewithoutYou is no longer a “christian” band, then have IVM stop covering them. no one’s stopping you, but i can guarantee people will still listen to them with or without this site because they are a fantastic band. i’m done.
um, devin, that is precisely how this whole thing started. i said that ivm probably shouldn’t cover them because they aren’t really anything close to a christian band at this point. i never said that no one should be allowed to listen to them. i don’t plan on listening to them, but that is me.
this whole thing is just making me angry because it seems like everyone on here that doesn’t want mwY to be covered anymore or that is questioning Aaron’s heart and his beliefs is saying that they all have it figured out and that he is wrong for questioning someone as large as God. this really makes me not want to be a part of this community any longer.
To Scott:
“Is it love to tell someone the truth even if it offends them? Or is it love to pat them on the back and tell them they’re fine when you know that they’re not?”
Actually, you are correct and incorrect. Yes it is exhibiting love to tell someone the truth, regardless of how offensive it may be. However, whether the hurtful truth is told or not is not the issue. The issue resides in another three other fruits of the spirit: Gentleness, Self-Control and Kindness. All of these contribute to the way in which you tell someone the truth. Now, these three qualities do not mean to sugar-coat things, but they do mean to tell someone in a way that it will not tear them down, but build them up. “Constructive Criticism” is the term for this.
I am noticing a lot of people on here that are quick to call each other names instead of clarifying opinions or points.
I just got finished reading all the Derek Webb comments, and came over here and read the new stuff on here.
I have to say that there are a lot of people on here getting offended by musicians challenging them with their lyrics. I mean, what if this board existed when Larry Norman first started putting out his stuff (if you do not know who that is, dont look like a fool, Google exists for a reason)? He said some really condemning and challenging stuff.
There is a new generation of artists that are coming up, tired of the way their faith has been represented in music. Eugene Edwards (Wovenhand), David Bazan, even Dustin Kensrue (once again, if you dont know who these people are G O O G L E) are all creating faith based music that is almost in direct opposition to the Nashville CCM machine. Its good that we debate these bands, because that is exactly what they want you to do. To allow their music to be a springboard of discussion and truly discover what YOU believe.
The issue of “are they or arnt they” is a big deal in my life. My website asks the question everyday. I think that Aaron, Derek, and all the artists above ARNT for everybody, and in fact I think you better be eating meat before you truly listen to their music (that was a Biblical reference for those paying attention). I think some of the people commenting on both of these two posts MAY have valid points, and they MAY not agree with the individual’s theological disposition, but then again, you MAY not be ready for what God has to say through these truly unique, and talented artists.
Thats how I feel, I will most likely get called a prick again, and I know by who, but I stopped listening to children a few years again anyway(by the way, I love Christ, but Im not a pleasant dude sometimes, sorry bout that, its 104 where I live right now)….
BAHAHAHA! ”children”, thats funny haha no, i agree with you to an extent, but just like tyler said, well you already read what he said, so theres no point in me repeating it..just one question though: if youre so quick to call people out for name-calling, why did you say that if you don’t know who larry norman, or kensrue (thrice) is, then they’re a fool?? kinda a contradiction there, eh child?
Nic P. – I fully agree. And I’ll be the first to admit that at times I let passion dictate things rather than the Spirit of God in my life. However, I think I was doing pretty good on this thread… I’m sure I could’ve done better. I don’t think that the (Nick L’s) comment about the fruit of the Spirit was leveled directly at me but I’m sure that it applies to all of us. As a caveat, if my son was about to step out into traffic on the I-5, gentleness, meekness, and self-control would rightfully not apply. I’m not saying that that’s always the case… or that that’s always been the impetus on this thread… just that there are occassions where not all of the fruit will necessarily function. But, I think we agree on that point already.
Ian (One 21) – I’m not sure that I’d call what either Aaron or Derek or Bazan does lyrically a challange. I personally (i.e. just my opinion) think that they simply push the boundaries to see what they can get away with. I’m sorry, but there’s no need for a Christian to swear in their songs. That’s not challenging the way I think about art, or music, or Christianity as a whole. What it accomplishes is making me wonder where his head’s at. I make no apologies that I’m a firm believer in a Christian’s duty to the world. And one of those duties (among many others) is to do our best to live above reproach. Are we perfect? No. But there’s a huge difference in swearing after you hit your thumb with a hammer and a calculated us of profanity for the alleged purpose of making a point about misdirected values. I’m sorry, if that’s the best he could come up with (a rip off from someone else’s message to doot from what I hear), he should hang it up.
Ian (One 21) – Sorry, one more thing. Likening these guys’ musical escapades to “the meat” or the deeper theological things is so off base that it’s almost laughable. I can’t quite picture Paul telling the young believers in Galatia or Corinth that now that they’ve been on the milk of the Word for a while it’s time to graduate to using foul language to make their points, referring to God as Allah, and the endless list of garbage Bazan is into (he has some great things to say on a video called, humorously enough since you brought up Larry Norman, “Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music?”. I might have waxed a bit sarcastic there, but suffice to say I think your a bit off base with your analogy.
Ok…..those that are defening Aaron and Derek…..could you please tell me which view Im supposed to take on this……The view that Aaron takes…ie..Dont look to me, look to God, Im just an artist….or the view of Derek Webb……ie….everything I say is what God wants?
Art vs Agenda……..which is it people?????
i think neither..as so-called ”christians”, it is our responsibility to be leaders, not just ”artists” or self-righteous ”dopes”..nuff said
I hear ya Scott, but I also believe that there are those of us out there that need to be challenged differently. Im saying this because all the stuff that you guys are finding so offensive I find very encouraging. It is actively touching me. *shrugs*
I want you to disagree with me, Im down with that, because I think that dialogue is how we work out our faith. Like I said , that was only my opinion, and I believe that because that is what is happening in my own life in response to these songs/artists.
I want to make clear that what i said above was not a statement or a declaration, but more me speaking my heart.
@ the other “guy”……….*sigh and pats on head*…no its not a contradiction at all, because I said DONT be a fool, and I was not calling anybody a fool. I can if if you would like me to. But really, everyone reading this shouldn’t be ignorant (i guess that’s a better word for my intention), research Kensrue, Edwards, Bazan, Weiss, Webb, and Norman. Its revolutionary stuff.
and for the second time, Im done on this post…nobody seems to want to learn or grow in response, so I will go back to calling new releases “cool” and trying to audition for daguitarHEROmaster’s band. I might not have enough experience and wisdom though…..
haha we are willing to accept anybody that knows how to play :^)
Sure, I listen to non christians who can play and has something to say ;-)
I never really understood why christians should have there own music market…
Here in the Netherlands its way different….
But that’s another discussion ;-) haha
Isn’t the debate supposed to be arguing over whether or not the lyrics mean evil things and whether or not mewithoutYou is a Christian bands? Because most of what I see on this thread is ad hominem attacks and responses based off of misreadings and misunderstandings.
@daguitarmaster
I undersand you stated it as a querstion however im not sure whether or not it was sarcasim (the limitation of thread boards i guess). Are we suposed to be artistic? I say absolutely. Christians more then anyone should know the creative nature of the Creator God and seek to be of the same mind if they are gifted acourdingly (which i beleive to an extent we all are). My represent Chirst through music or any art if its not creative. If we use a creative medium such as art yes we should be creative.
Wow sorry for the spelling and gramatical errors. ‘Why’ instead of ‘my’ should make my post make reasonable sence though.
Kirk – It helps your post make more “sense” as well. ;-)
i don’t recall saying anything about creativity
Haha well done Scott. Clearly english wasn’t my greatest class =p
Kirk Cameron???? You were great on Growing Pains!
@Kirk, you were awesome in Fireproof. My wife and I enjoyed that movie quite a bit. ;)
Did I miss something? Who made the decision that Kirk was the diminutive Left Behind lead?
I just presented the question.
Yeah, but why? Was it just a random thought? Or did you over hear him asking someone if they thought they were a good person? Every time I read his posts now, it’s like a Kirk Cameron voice-over in my mind. Thanks. ;-)