Children 18:3: Punk rockers On The Run and ready for the long haul

Sunday 22nd July 2012

Tony Cummings reports on the progress of Minnesota's punk trio CHILDREN 18:3

Children 18:3
Children 18:3

When Cross Rhythms first reported on Children 18:3 they were bunch of punk rockers whose high energy music was impactful if not particularly radio friendly. Now with the release of 'On The Run' the Minnesota trio's relentless touring schedule and a top rate production from Travis Wyrick (Pillar, P.O.D.) has ensured that there are radio friendly hooks a la GreenDay and Blink-182 to go with all the frenetic energy. 'On The Run' is already shaping up to be the band's most successful release so far and David Hostetter (vocals, guitar), Lee Marie Hostetter (vocals, bass) and Seth Hostetter (drums) are decidedly pleased about the response it's receiving.

Said Seth, "We're really excited about these songs, and by far, we're the happiest with this record after leaving the studio. Prior to recording the project, we were just like, 'man, let's switch it all up and take a new approach.' Besides the changes behind the scenes, there was a lot more of a collaborative process between all the members and it came together quite a bit faster than our past two projects. There's also a lot of vocal character from David and Lee Marie, who really weigh in with a lot of emotion, and there's a lot of musical variety. Some are straight forward rock songs, others are poppier and melodic and there's even a ballad-like slower song, which probably comes from the three of us bringing so many influences to the table."

Seth spoke to noisecreep.com about working with Travis Wyrick. "He's just nuts. The guy is a machine - hyper all day long and super fun. I've never met a producer that gets up at six everyday and still works late hours. We all hung out a lot even when we weren't tracking, we went to his daughters' high school basketball games and his church, and we'd go out to eat with him almost every day. That was a blast."

Seth continued, "Our first two records took upwards of five weeks each, but we did this one pretty quickly in three weeks. We were pulling some pretty long days, but the vibe felt great and it was nice to get in and out. Travis has been producing quite a long time and it was cool getting his expertise and perspective. Being Christians is really our identity and it's who we are. Bottom line, that's what's important and we want to do the best we can with the platform we've been given to inspire people and bring them to the Lord. At the same time though, there are different levels to our lyrics, and while some songs are about faith, there are also songs about how we struggle just like anyone else, what's going on in our lives and stories that don't have anything specific to do with the Lord at all. The whole point is to take from it what you can, like when we've had people say a song helped them through a difficult season even though it may have been inspired by something completely different for us."

Children 18:3: Punk rockers On The Run and ready for the long haul

It now looks like the band are going to be around for the long haul. Asserted Seth, "We've never had any grand, long-term goal, but we all really like playing music and always want to take it to the next level. Right now we're really excited about the fact that we're changing everything up so much and I feel like there's a broader range of people that will like it. With On the Run and into the future, we want to write better songs, put on a better show and just keep doing the best we can, which also includes striving to be better people and serving others. We're not looking to arrive at a particular destination, but just progress with every step on the journey." CR

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.
About Tony Cummings
Tony CummingsTony Cummings is the music editor for Cross Rhythms website and attends Grace Church in Stoke-on-Trent.


 

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