Who are these people anyway? The name sounds like a macabre twist on a popular fast food restaurant, but the tracks that come from this music maker are hardly macabre…no, these sounds are innovative and definitely dance worthy. So, ok, how’d they get where they are now? The answers came from Kurt, the group’s founder and lead vocalist

Coco: Hey Kurt! Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions about how everything got going for you. So what made you choose to make EDM rather than, let’s say Pop music?  

Kurt: Having followed dance music from its birth in the early 90’s after having grown up on disco and the synth-driven music of the 80’s, I came to love dance/club music. The energy and melody of the music pushed my buttons, and the style has its own built in industry and community, so that is compelling as well. 

Coco: Disco is the bedrock of many an artist’s beginnings, but I think it is really refreshing to hear how synth played a part in shaping your sound! <Side Note> I ADORE Synth!! </Side Note> What artists did you listen to that influenced you the most, and when did these things begin to ignite your music making?

K: Technotronic-“Pump Up The Jam”, C&C Music Factory-“Gonna Make You Sweat”, and Snap-“Rhythm is a Dancer” are the songs that were first on the horizon to me. I remember hearing PUTJ in the student center, GMYS through the wall in the dorm over and over, and RIAD used on MTV’s The Grind. Some of my influences also include Capella, Armin Van Buuren, Worldwide Message Tribe, Tina Cousins, Aqua, Madonna, and a lot of Top 40 dance remixes. After being such a fan of the music and studying it, it became the style I was most adept at writing, singing, and producing. Thus, the majority of People In A Box songs are one shade or another of dance music. 

Coco:  What's the first track you can remember that you thought was amazing? How did it make you feel, and what did you do when you felt it?  

K: Wow, that’s been a long time! I guess Code of Ethics-“Taking You Down.” Made me feel like dancing! It’s such a meaty dark track with unusual sounds and electric guitar woven so effectively together into a rich dance song. To my knowledge, it was never a single for the band. But ah, aren’t most of the best tracks on the album never pushed as a single!? 

Coco: Yes…many, many successful tracks are never released and pushed as a single. Off the top of my head, I think of Crystal Waters’ “Gypsy Woman” from her first release back in the 1991. Kurt, you dropped a bombshell! Good dance tracks make you feel like dancing. And that, Dear Reader is the simple, yet profound nugget of truth! Ok, back to the questions. Who are your heroes, in so much that just hearing the name of one of their tracks sends you into a nearly unconscious state?  

K: Well, Armin Van Buuren/Perpetuous Dreamer blows me away. He has such knowledge of mood, programming, arrangement, and mixing. There are a very limited number of Perpetuous Dreamer singles, and I’m kinda on a mission to get them all. DJ Light is also an amazing programmer/remixer/artist and such a great friend and vendor. Da Buzz (from Sweden) are a genius eurodance/pop group; their melodies are super-hooky. Iris, a phenomenal synthpop band from Texas, is another—what a rich mature sound and deep lyrics to boot! (irismusic.com) I’m a huge fan of 80s pop music, and after having learned how involved producers are in the achieving an artist’s final product, I am blown away by several. Brian Tankersley (Bash ‘n the Code, Kim Boyce), Dez Dickerson (Keith Brown), and Carl Marsh (Farrell & Farrell) were such an influence on me. I still am in awe of those albums today and after 10 years in Nashville have had the privilege to meet and talk with all three.  

Coco: That’s a good definition of a classic…being in awe of someone’s art for years after it has been made, and aspiring to do that yourself for your own music. That’s really great. So Kurt, lastly, a nd most importantly, where did you find the Lord in your craft? Just flow, flow, flow!

K: Granted a lot of the artists listed heretofore are “secular,” but the more I mature as a Christian, I think God is “in” more than just Christian Contemporary Music. If you can appreciate the beauty and delicacy of a flower and praise God for it, why not the lush melody, tight production, and body-moving groove of a club music song (that is not crass or lewd) so pounding that you want to get up and dance?  

I praise God for power vocalists like Melanie Thornton (La Bouche) and the female singers of Capella as well as the gritty soul-baring emotion of Margaret Becker (also an influence on me). Kathleen and Jennifer of People In A Box have been an enormous blessing in their contributions to our music, their attitudes, and their heart for people.  

Also, as far as myself or anyone finding the Lord in music, music is such a powerful tool. Anyone, with a well-done enjoyable song, could use it as a vehicle for their point of views, attitudes, expression, encouragement, venting, emotion, or anything. You can convey and drive home so many things with music. This question brings to mind First Call’s “Without You” (1989). What a dark, poetic, and make-you-think song! Music can definitely be a means for God to reach a person—encouraging Christians or breaking through to a non-believer with a thick wall of pain, anger, and questioning between himself and God.  

I also think it’s good for everyone not to shun (and I was guilty of this myself as a teen) all music that is not CCM. After all, we don’t ignore all works of art that aren’t painted/sculpted by a *Christian* artist…poetry written by a *Christian* poet, etc. There’s so much more out beyond the CCM bubble--but as with anything, you need to find what is not a stumbling block for you and avoid what is lewd/crass/obvious “garbage-in.”  

In closing, I just wanted to encourage fans — be they of dance or any other style of music — to support the artists. If you hear a song you like, go check out the full album. And if you like it, buy it! So many people today I don’t think understand the time, money, effort, and sacrifice that goes into an album — indie or big-label. And with radio, digital music download services, and rampant ADD, the full-album a band has worked so long and hard to craft is going largely ignored. Our newest full release, Find You Again (trance/dance-pop/eudrodance), is available for preview and purchase at our web site: www.peopleinabox.com  

Coco: Thanks Kurt!

Once mo’ again, we get to have a wonderful look into how one of the most creative artists around cut their musical teeth, and allowed our Glorious Lord to shape them into who they are today!

Next Time: REDSAVIOR

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