Bryce Avary, mastermind behind The Rocket Summer, is a very inspiring man. At age 16 he released an EP which set fire to his career. Now, year's later, The Rocket Summer has 3 full length records and countless road hours. Bryce racked up plenty this year touring around on the Vans Warped Tour playing the entire tour. I was lucky enough to catch up with him for a few minutes at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles on the final date of the tour.
Decapolis.com - Hope and the desire to do great things have been themes to describe your music, how do you feel God is using these positive messages to reach people through your music?
Bryce Avary – I think it’s just happening, not every single person listens to us but every single day people come up to us and tell us things like how they feel we’ve been able to help them out a lot. I went through a horribly dark time in my life where I felt like Jesus just pulled me out of it and that’s why I like to think that I can help people out and I think that’s how God uses me.
D - With such an upfront and unashamed statement of faith on your record, how do you feel people have accepted it in the mainstream?
BA – I think people have accepted it, because I don’t think people really care as much as they used to. The way it is now is cool, there’s a ton of Christian bands out there that aren’t in the Christian market, just like us, and I’m sure it bugs some people, but I’m not really a preaching kind of guy on stage, I just want people to feel hope and hopefully dig in to what I’m actually singing about. I like to talk to people about it, and we talk about it a lot, but as far as on stage we’re not like shoving it down people’s throats. I mean not everyone in my band is a Christian.
D - What’s the feeling like to have your latest record debut in Billboard’s Top 50?
BA – Insane man, hearing you say that was really weird but I’m just very thankful
D - Where has God brought Bryce Avary through The Rocket Summer over the past few years?
BA – He’s brought me far closer to Him. I think I fell away for a long time being so consumed with this and like a said I went through a really dark time, I don’t really like to go in to detail, it’s really personal, but it was really bad. I just feel like one day I was in my kitchen and I was praying for like the millionth time about it and everything changed all of the sudden and I realized that through Christ I was bigger than the demonic stuff that was going on in my life. I have a completely different outlook than I did on the last few records where I was still a Christian but there was a point where I went through a really bad time and as terrible as it was God just turned it around and I feel like that was supposed to happen so that I would become the person that I’m really becoming. Like when I’m an old man I’m never gonna be a great dude, but as far as what I realized, it’s really cool to have a moment where you know that God is so undeniably real that it makes you say ‘This is why I’m doing this’.
D - How is a constant touring schedule hard on maintaining a relationship with God?
BA – It’s really hard, I’m not gonna lie. When I’m home, which is never, when I get to go to church and get to talk with other people it’s better. On Warped Tour, you wake up and you might be playing at 11 O’clock, and you’ve got press, signings, shows and then you’ve gotta go to the merch booth so it’s really hard. I think God is gracious and I feel like even though I’ve been so busy and slammed that He is still with me and forgiving.
D - What do you do on a daily basis to get away from it all and connect with God?
BA – A couple of guys in the band are Christian and everybody tries to do quiet times. There are some days I come to work and I feel like God is really understanding of that, as far as not reading your Bible every day, but I definitely talk to God all day long.
D - The encouragement from having led people to Christ through your music has to be extraordinary, what’s the feeling like to know God is using your talents in such an amazing and unique way?
BA – I couldn’t be more thankful. Playing music is my dream and the fact that I get to do that and the fact that its inspiring people is more than anyone could ever ask for, and when you said that to me it really put things in to perspective. When I really step back, that is what it is.
