https://everybodyduck.bandcamp.com/
by Trisha Bridges Smith
T4JYM: How did your group form? Did you start out together or did you pick up players along the way?
Darin: We formed the group out of the need to fulfill a Christian service requirement at the College that we were attending at the time. A local church was looking for a worship team for their high school group and so the band was formed in 1992. Also, on numerous occasions we took groups of high school students to Christian concerts in the Phoenix area in which big name Christian bands would do no more evangelistically than give a “round of applause to God” in the middle. We decided that if we were gonna do this music thing, then we were going to use music as a platform to clearly communicate the gospel of Christ as opposed to just entertaining Christians. Since then we have gone through quite a number of players. Cory who plays bass and Mike who plays drums have been with the band for about 3 years now. Molly our vocalist and Josh our guitar player have been with the band for almost a year now. I am the only remaining original member that started Everybodyduck back in ’92.
T4JYM: Did it take awhile to bond? What kinds of relationship do you all have now?
Josh: It does take a while to bond like any normal relationship, but when you have been selected from a number of players you at least know that you are wanted and that definitely makes it a lot easier right at the start. The other thing that helps is that everyone on the team is here for the same reasons. It would definitely be hard to get along if one person wanted to do ministry and another wanted to get rich or be famous. Those things don’t work together very well. Fortunately we all just want to be missionaries.
T4JYM: Is your ministry still focused on Junior Higher through College students? If so, why this age group?
Mike: Yea, the focus of the ministry is still in this age group. We have a real heart and passion for the students, mainly because it was when we were all in high school that God really took a hold of our lives and changed us forever. The funny thing is, a typical concert draws people from five years old to 85. I guess the lyrics help us cross the generation gap somewhat, since people of all ages can usually relate to what we’re saying even if they don’t like the musical style.
T4JYM: What does your groups name mean? Where did you come up with it?
Molly: The band started out as a worship team called the Desert Springs Bible Church High School Youth Worship Team, which is way to long. They started writing their own songs and playing them for the students in the youth group as something fun to do and then God took a hold of it and just simply started opening doors to continue doing music and growing it into what we are now as a band. The night before their first concert they were up real late trying to come up with a name that was better and a little shorter than what they had already. At 3 or 4 in the morning they saw a poster and the caption on the poster said Everybody Duck!. They thought that was the funniest thing they ever heard and ended up going to bed on that. The next day the youth pastor asked what their name was and the only thing they could remember from the night before was Everybodyduck, so they thought that they would just use that until they could find something better and the name just stuck.
So the name didn’t have any real meaning in the beginning, but over the years we have come to realize that if God is going to work in this group we need to essentially duck and get out of the way and let God work. There is nothing that we can do to change people. He is the only one that can change the lives of people in the way that He has changed us.
T4JYM: Where do you see the band in five years? Ten? The future?
Darin: Well really we see the band in the future doing the same thing that we do today and that is sharing the gospel with students and using music as a tool to do that. Obviously we are not going to be able to travel as much as we are now but we are going to continue doing what we do as long as we can. In the beginning we had one goal and that goal has not changed, in five or ten years we see ourselves exactly as we see ourselves today, dedicated to communicating the cross of Christ. We never had any aspirations beyond that, and we don’t have any now. The first time we shared the gospel we had already achieved all of our goals.
T4JYM: How has the group changed since you started out?
Darin: When we started out and knew that we might have the opportunity to do concerts, we knew that we wanted to be evangelistic and share the gospel where ever we went. There were so many times that we would go to other Christian concerts, bring unsaved friends and then leave scratching our heads as to why the band didn’t take advantage of the opportunity and share the gospel. We have worked really hard to make sure that that happens every night. So as far as our goals for the ministry nothing has changed and nothing will change in that department. The only real thing that has changed are the names in the group.
T4JYM: What is the biggest thing you have learned from touring and ministering through music?
Darin: Not only Baptists love Jesus.
T4JYM: What is the funniest thing you have seen while touring?
Cory: Well there have been a lot of funny things that have happened while being on tour, but I think that the funniest happened at the zoo in Toledo, Ohio. We had a day off in Toledo and one of the local radio’s DJ’s took us to the zoo. Now the Toledo Zoo is one of the only zoo’s to have a Hippo aquarium, and honestly it was one of the coolest things there. When we walked into that part of the park there was a huge Hippo leaning right up against the glass. It was pretty amazing! But for some reason Mike found the Hippos more amazing than the rest of us. Mike was watching the Hippo the whole time, while some of the other members of the band began to get bored and move onto the next exhibit. I stayed with Mike and began to read about the different facts on Hippos. As I was reading up on the Hippos, I read that one of the Hippo’s defense mechanisms is what is called a Dung Shower. I thought to myself, “Huh that’s interesting?” At that very moment the Hippo began to move from the glass and with great excitement Mike began to yell for every one to come back because the Hippo was moving. As the rest of the band was just arriving to watch everything go down, Mike turns back to look at the Hippo and get as close to the glass as possible, now looking at the Hippo backside. In that instant the Hippo starts spraying what Scientists call a “Dung Shower” all over the glass right at Mike. That was the day that I almost died from lack of oxygen from laughing so hard!!!
T4JYM: What is the biggest thing God has done during one of your concerts?
Molly: The biggest thing that God does every night is change lives. And He uses us despite our weaknesses and flaws. God is in the business of changing lives. He works differently in different places, but His working in lives has been the most exciting thing for me to watch. It’s kind of hard to measure which event is bigger or smaller because in each individual heart that has been touched during one of our concerts it is the single biggest thing God has ever done for that person.
T4JYM: Do you write your own music? Where do you get ideas for your music?
Cory: We write all of our own music and some of our worship music as well. Usually Darin writes the lyrics and has a melody already in his head. He then brings it to the rest of the band and we all work together to fill in the gaps and polish it up. The cool thing about writing music with Everybodyduck is that everyone in the group listens to a lot of different styles of music ranging from American Indy Pop to Country to Rock to Jazz. You name the style and someone likes it and listens to it. So our influences are quite diverse, which I think really helps us to come up with the unique songs and records that we end up with.
T4JYM: What is the main thing you are trying to tell people with your music?
Darin: The main thing? The cross and Him crucified. If nothing else stuck that’s the only one that really matters. We’re trying to tell people a lot of suff with these songs, but if I had to pick one it would definitely be the gospel.
T4JYM: Do you ever get criticized for your lyrics?
Darin: Sure. We have a tendency to be a little blunt with our words. A lot of people like it candy coated or watered down I guess, and they’re usually the ones who get upset. I try my best to listen and respond in love, but when Jesus said things that made people feel uncomfortable they were usually the ones who needed to hear it the most. And most of the time when people get mad at me I’m just quoting or paraphrasing Jesus anyway so I feel pretty secure.
T4JYM: Who, aside from Jesus, is or has been the biggest influence in your life?
Most of the influence in my life has been the negative type. You know, “I’m not gonna be like him,” or, “Never gonna do things that way.” But I guess as far as positive influences go I could probably not narrow it any closer than a three way tie between Brennan Manning, Keith Green, and Fernando Ortega. Brennan Manning taught me what grace is, Keith Green was an example of how to use music as a platform for missions, and Fernando Ortega is the one who continually shows me that it is possible to write great songs that point others to Christ.
T4JYM: Does the group come together for prayer at times other than concerts and ministry opportunities?
Josh: There are a few times a year that we get together and pray outside of the ministry opportunities. However it is not very often that the band is apart. In the last two years the band has been on the road about 300 days a year. And usually when we are not traveling the band is on a quick break and everyone scatters to visit family and friends. In the times that we do get together to pray outside of the concerts is when we meet with our band pastor and advisory board. This group of people is set up for our accountability. We meet three times a year with the advisory board who oversees the band as a whole and is involved in all the decisions that have to do with the band and the goals for our group. We meet, talk and pray about what has happened and is coming up in the future. The band pastor is set up for the individual people of the band and their needs. We try our best to meet and pray with him at the beginning and end of every tour. He is also available during the tours and when ever possible comes along with us for a stretch of the tour to meet and pray with us.
T4JYM: Have you always had a desire to sing in a group like this?
Mike: Ever since I have been playing music I have always wanted to do music full time and tour and so forth. I grow up as a Christian and knew that I wanted to be in ministry in some way or another. It wasn’t until I was a little older and started attending concerts of other Christian bands that I started to think about playing music and doing it as a ministry at the same time. It was through lots of growing in the Lord and seeking Him in what He would have for me to do that all of this has come to pass.
T4JYM: Do you sing anywhere else just for fun? Like maybe in the shower, while cleaning or driving, etc. And if you do, do you sing your own music or someone else’s?
Molly: I find myself singing quite often whether in my car or elsewhere. I think we all do. Music is a very big part of our lives. Mainly I sing along with other albums that I am listening to or just the songs that are stuck in my head. It isn’t very often, but I do sing our songs outside of when the band is traveling.
T4JYM: Do you find it strange to hear yourself singing on the radio or to see yourself in a video?
Cory: Yes it is a little strange because you never really expect to see yourself or hear your own music on the radio. It doesn’t happen very often, probably because we don’t listen to the radio or watch TV very much, but in the times that I do hear our song or see the video, it always seems to startle me!
T4JYM: Do you have any advice to give to the youth of our world?
Darin: We all have messed up our lives in one way or another. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that we would be desirable to anyone. But God not only created you and loves you, He wants you. He knows all your secrets and mistakes and wants you all the more. Despite the fact that our sin destines us to an eternity separated from God, he sent Jesus as a sacrifice in our place. Jesus took all of our mistakes upon Himself and when He died, He paid for all the dumb stuff we’ve done and purchased a place for us in heaven which He gives us for free because He wants us so bad. All you have to do to accept the gift of eternal life, which He already paid for is believe. Believe you’re a sinner, believe He is the son of God, believe He is the ONLY way to heaven, and believe He rose from the dead. That’s all it takes. No matter who you are or what you’ve done the creator WANTS you! We all deserve to go to hell, but none of us should because Christ died for us. That undeserved kindness is called grace, and it can be yours any time you choose to accept it. Why wait?
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