Good rock bands emerge from America's CCM scene with startling regularity. Among the best of the new crop is California's BRIGHTON. Jan Willem Vink met their leader David Brighton.

"It was very, very hard. I don't know how long you've been a believer, but I was so set on being a rock 'n' roll star and that was everything for me. I had poured every ounce of myself into that for so many years and I wanted that more than anything. That was the first thing God had to break. I had to admit that I wanted that more than God and so He took me out of it to refocus my attention and my desires and now, I love music and praise God for it and love playing it, but I'm just finding that God is more important than anything else."

Did you feel it as a set-back when you had to start playing Christian music? Most Christian artists seem to yearn to perform in secular music.

"That is a very good question. Initially, yeah, my thinking was wrong. Now I think the highest form of music there is, is worship to God. If you really look around you'll see that the rest of it is the lowest form. Praising God through music is the highest. Gradually, He's changing me to see things more like He does. But back to your question, it was a matter of letting the Lord change my desires. If you say to God, like Jesus said in the garden, 'Not my will but yours', if you say that and really mean it, it changes what you want to do."

Would people see the difference between your performance now and then?

"It is interesting how people come up to us sometimes, even when we're playing the clubs and say, 'Are you guys religious? Are you guys Christians or something?' They can sense the difference."

Do you feel you have a target audience with people who have been away from Christianity for some time - maybe because you have been through it yourself?

"I feel right now, it's some kind of a broad audience. I feel that we've got a calling for people who are broken hearted, whatever their background. A lot of our songs come from a place of pain, desperation, isolation and a feeling of emptiness - like no one loves you. There are a lot of people God wants to talk to in that context. They could be someone who used to go to church or not."

You say a lot of your songs come from pain and struggle. Are they autobiographical?

"Many of them, yes. Many of them are sort of chronicling the experience we've had as Christians. If you read the Psalms that David wrote you'll see his crying out to God, his guts are on fire, things aren't going right. 'God help me', David cried. And God helped him. Some of our songs are like that, some observe other peoples' lives."

You said praise is the highest form of music. Is it part of Brighton's music?

"Yes, it's a part. I think we will be exploring some more on this next album. God has given such incredible resources in music, there are so many kinds of music to do. Praise is like God inhabiting the place you're in. It's the most powerful thing you can think of. So praise is going to be more of our work in the future. Having said that, a good old kicking rock 'n' roll song can also be very inspiring and a spiritual thing as well. It's interesting. I'm excited to see what the future holds."

You've brought Matthew Chapman into Brighton since the 'Promise Of Love' album. I know Matthew used to play in the Allies. Tell me a bit about him.

"One of Matt's giftings that he's bringing to the group is beyond music, it's his passion for ministry. He's helped us to be hooked up with Compassion International, an organisation committed to feeding starving children. Matt has a real hunger to know God better and obey Him more and be with Him more and see the band reflect that."

How did you get in touch with John and Dino Elefante?