PZO: As a band what do you think your best qualities are?
Chris: Our looks.
<laughter>
Owen: It depends on who you're talking to. <points to Keith> Him looks, <points to Thom> him skill, <points to Chris> him practicality and me I'm just I don't know. As a collective I think one of the things that is true of us is that we actually still enjoy what we do. I know a lot of bands who do it for so long and it become a job and it's all they do. They're out there on the road just for the sake of responsibility for paying bills and they don't enjoy it anymore. What I think is cool about us is yeah, we have to be on the road you know and there is a matter of paying bills and stuff like that, but we really love making music. We love making records. We love being out on the road and hanging out with people. I think that's one great thing and another good quality is we know what we do. There's a lot of bands who I feel have an identity crisis. If you were to ask a lot of bands what they're all about maybe they wouldn't know. I've talked to a lot of artists who don't really kind of know what they're about. I think we really feel that we're focused and believe that God has given us a specific vision for this moment in time. Whether or not we will elaborate on that in a little while with further questions is to be seen. So I think in clarity, the fact that we still really love playing music is first. Second, I think is we really kind of know what we're about and it's nice to know that you're in God's will.

PZO: What keeps you grounded and optimistic?
Owen: We're not.
<laughter>
Owen: We're neither grounded nor optimistic.
Keith: We feel like this is the end.
Chris: Every end is a new beginning.
<laughter>
Owen: Things that keep us grounded are things like 3 hours worth of sleep, flying from Indiana to here to the west coast--
PZO_Camera_Friend: Jet lag.
Owen: Jet lag keeps you grounded, yeah. The rigors of the road keep you grounded. You may go out there and sign a thousand autographs and then you got to jump in the van and drive yourself to the next show and you may have to drive all night. So there's a lot of things to keep you humble.
Keith: Going home and your parents telling you clean your room and telling you you're no rock star and you need to go upstairs and do your chores.
<laughter>
Keith: That keeps you grounded.
Thom: I still change my own guitar strings.
Owen: It's not like we have running around guitar techs.
Keith: I still change my own clothes. I don't know what that's all about.
<laughter>
Chris: I have a wife. That helps.
<silence>
Keith: He just wanted to mention his wife.
<laughter>
Chris: It helps.
PZO_Camera Friend: What's her name?
Chris: Karen. Kristen Karen Thomas.
<laughter>
Owen: Grounded. What was the second half?
PZO: Optimistic.
Chris: I have a wife.
<laughter>
Owen: Keeps him optimistic too.
Chris: That helps.
Owen: But then that keeps us optimistic 'cause the fact that we hope we have wives one day. I don't know. Like I said eluded to before it's good to feel like you know what you're doing, what you're about. I don't think in your life you will ever get to place where you've actually arrived especially in your walk with Christ. You're never going to get to a place where you're perfectly at one with God where you've just made it. I think just having the knowledge of where God wants you--success for us is being in the middle of God's will and just trying to live in that everyday. Optimism is that God is faithful to us. If we're faithful to him, he'll be faithful to us. We're having a blast. We're just optimistic cats, you know what I'm sayin'? We just like to keep things on the sunny side alive, ain't that right?
<laughter>

PZO: What do you like the most about the position you're in?
Keith: Just sitting down.
Owen: Yeah, I like how my elbows are both sitting on the table.
Keith: My food right in front of me. Orange juice on the left and hot chocolate on the right.
<laughter>
Owen: It's a good position I'd say.
Chris: <weird voice> Lemon meringue!
<Thom was taking a sip and snorts up his drink>
<laughter>
Owen: Did you get that on camera?
PZO_Camera_Friend: Yes.
<laughter>
Owen: About the position we're in. I think one of things I love about the position we're in is that we're still very much growing. We're a new band to a lot of people. Without saying something cliche. I don't think we're really at the mercy of a trend. I feel like we're doing our own thing. We just love rock and roll songs and it's kind of cool to be able to know that's what we've kind of based our career around. Hopefully, we can spend--who know's how many years we'll be doing this, but I love the fact that when we go in the studio the next time...there's just a really cool vibe. We can go in there and everybody does their thing and it's not like you're being hounded to do things one way or another or being told to do more of this this or less of that. Our label has been pretty supportive of us doing what is genuine to us, so I love that about our position. I think we're very much growing and just growing at our pace and as a result we're making the records we want to make and touring enough. <to the other guys> If you guys have have answers to these questions by the way, I'm just...
Keith: You're pretty much hitting the nail on the head there. Take a bite while she asks the next question.
<laughter>

PZO: If you were done tomorrow, would you be happy with how far you've come?
Keith: You gotta be. You gotta be happy with whatever you've done. If we were done tomorrow it wouldn't be our fault. Someone else dropped the ball.
<laughter>
Keith: We've talked about that before. What would be we do if the band were done tomorrow? None of us really know. Probably work at Walmart for awhile until we can find a nice little lady we can mooch off of.
<laughter>
Chris: My wife just got a job.
<laughter>
Keith: But as far as if we'd be happy with as far as we've come? Yeah, I'd say so. We've worked our tails off.
Owen: Would I sit there and wished I could have done more? Yeah, absolutely. But I would never look back and look at what we've done wrong per say. We just really try to be dilligent and do our thing. I think we're proud that we made albums we like. In one sense there's always more you want to do, but in the other sense it's like I don't think anybody would look back and regret and hang our heads as if we totally missed out.

PZO: What is your best childhood memory?
Chris: We grew up in Buffalo, New York. Well, Owen and I. He's my brother. He's always been older, but I've always been bigger.
Owen: I've always been older, but there was this one time in the middle where he was almost older.
<laughter>
Chris: Well, everyone says I look older.
Owen: Yes, they do.
Chris: Anyway, we had these hard wooden floors and I got mad at Owen and I body slammed him on the hard wooden floor and I didn't get any Dunkin' Donuts.
Owen: That's a good childhood memory?
Chris: Yeah.
Owen: That wouldn't be on my list.
Chris: I'd say it's funny 'cause I had a really good time body slamming you.
Owen: Okay, yeah. Childhood memory.
Thom: I think winning the 1st and 4th grade spelling bee.
Owen: Nice.
Keith: He took two years off. He would have won those too.
<laughter>
Keith: My favorite childhoold memory. I don't know.
Owen: Big Trash Day?
Keith: Big Trash Day! We weren't the most well to do family and in our neighborhood one day a year you could throw out huge things in the trash. Like whole beds and these huge trucks would come through and pick whatever trash you want to throw out. You could throw out half of your house if you wanted to. Well, on Big Trash Day my dad and I never threw out anything out we went through peoples trash. It was like Christmas.
<laughter>
Keith: He woke me up early. It's Big Trash Day! We got all excited. We got like four VCRs that all they really needed was a head cleaning and TVs that needed a new plug. It was great.
<laughter>
Owen: That's a good story isn't it?
PZO: Totally.
Owen: I think one of my best childhood memories was when we--like Chris said we lived in Buffalo and there was a lot of snow and we were sledding one winter in this huge park. My dad always said to my brother--
Chris: I know where this is going.
Owen: Pipe down. My dad always said to Chris and I make sure you guys don't come down the hill at the same time. 'Cause there's a big creek at the bottom and if one of you comes down--'cause he would stop us when we got to the bottom 'cause we'd be on these little saucers. He'd say don't come down at the same time 'cause I can only catch one of you and the other one will fly right past me into the creek. So we were up at the top. I jumped on my sled and Chris jumped on his and we went down at the same time.
Chris: I got pushed. I remember distinctly.
Owen: So what happened was we both went down the hill. I guess I was slightly ahead and my dad caught me and Chris just went WHEWWW!! right past him. We heard this big splash and we looked over and Chris was like submerged in this 32 - 33 degree whatever. Dad and some older guys pulled him out. I remember driving home and sitting in the back seat and I looked over at Chris and he was dirty and soaked with leaves on him.
Keith: That's a good one.
Owen: That was I don't know if my best, but one of my most vivid memories. We could go on for hours.

PZO: What were you like in high school?
Keith: We were all dorks except for Chris. He was popular.
<Chris makes a funny face>
<laughter>
Keith: I'm not really sure if that's true. I just really wanted to say that.
Owen: I'd say we were all into music in school's where sports were the cool thing to do.
Keith: He's right.
Owen: Chris and I we live in Indiana and basketball is huge. If you weren't on some sort of sporting team you weren't cool.
Chris: You weren't needed. Why exist?
<laughter>
Owen: I was pretty quiet and just blended in and tried to stay afloat in high school.
Keith: I didn't go to much of my senior year. I slept a lot in the stairwells and then skipped and stuff. I don't recommend skipping, but it worked for me.
<laughter>
Chris: I was in band and two choirs all through high school. Huge in high school.
Thom: Same story as everybody else. I tried to play football my 8th grade year and that was a big mistake. I became more reclusive after that.
Keith: I played soccer. I wasn't a jock, but I played soccer.

PZO: What event on your life had the greatest impact on you?
Keith: I remember being five years old and my dad had always had a mustache and when he shaved it off I had no idea who he was.
<laughter>
Keith: It was my first memory. Who is this guy?
Chris: Why is he in my house?
<laughter>
Keith: Why is he taking me to the Dunkin Donuts that my dad takes me to. Sits me in the same stool and buys me the same donut. Funny thing is my dad still buys me that donut.
Owen: We were in a pretty bad automobile accident in Memphis and waking up in a hospital impacted me. I've never been in a hospital before and I was probably more scared I've ever been in my life. That was pretty memorable.
Chris: I got married two months ago.
Owen: I forgot that already.
Chris: If anyone is looking for salvation--
Keith: Try herbalife.
<laughter>
Chris: Some people say what's the biggest event in your life and I don't think any of us have had huge conversions/salvations experience. Some people are like no doubt in my life when I came off of the drinking.
Keith: I was five minutes from death.
Owen: Those are good stories, but we grew up in good homes. There are people with some really amazing testimonies. But I feel we were fortunate to have really loving families.

PZO: What was the last good deed you did?
Keith: This interview.
<laughter>
Owen: Let me say this. The point of the good deed is to not take credit for it. What you do in secret God will reward you for openly. If I have done any good deeds today which I can think of hundreds I did today--
<laughter>
Owen: but I'm not going to take credit for them.
Keith: Except for those two you told me about.
Owen: Yeah, except for those two.
Chris: I think good deeds should be so commonplace you don't realize you're doing one.
Keith: Whatever, dude.
<laughter>
Keith: He's right. We shouldn't be bragging.
Chris: Opening a door for someone? Come on. Saying thank you.
Owen: Random acts of kindness.
Keith: Charitable contributions.
Owen: Yeah, if anybody watching this wants to make a good deed; some charitable contributions.
<laughter>
Keith: Accept some cash into my hands.
<laughter>

PZO: What is the best advice you've ever been given?
Owen: Let me think about this. I don't know. That's a hard question.
Keith: If it pays for itself, it's a good hobby.
<laughter>
Keith: That's a good question. I don't think anyone has ever asked that.
Owen: You know what? Let me just say this. We've all been brought up in families in which they tried to instill morals and ethics. My parent's have taught me so much, so if there's anything good about me it has come from my parents. They've been so supportive of what we do and of me. Looking back, if I feel like I did something right I can say my dad taught me how to do that. That's my answer.