Flyleaf are a media savvy, platinum selling band which often performs in very secular venues. They are also known for a close relationship with their fans — and with their Saviour.
Flyleaf’s songs have appeared in video games; and on the Resident Evil: Extinction soundtrack. Their ‘Missing’ video recently won the AMtv contest.
In June, the band is scheduled to share the main stage with Megadeth and Rage Against the Machine, at the Download Festival in the UK.
They will perform this summer as part of Franklin Graham’s Rock the River Tour West in Calgary (August 21) and Edmonton (August 28).
Responding to the group being labeled a ‘Christian band,’ lead singer Lacey Mosley once said: “We kind of think about something P.O.D. says, like, ‘If you’re a Christian, it affects everything in your life. So if you’re a plumber, does that make you a Christian plumber?'”
In the following interview, Mosley speaks of her personal struggles, her faith and Rock the River.
Q: What was your life like before you became a Christian?
A: I was an atheist. My life’s mission was to make people understand how stupid it was to believe in God. I felt like they were limiting their freedom by avoiding all these bad things that were so fun. I was a bad influence on a lot of people. But those bad things I was encouraging people to do were destroying my life, too: dark music and drugs and hanging out with people who always had something bad to say about their family, or were always picking fights.
Spiritually, it was super damaging. We see what hurts our body, our emotions or our mind, but we don’t always understand when we are hurting our spirit. I was hurting mine, and I felt empty inside. I woke up one morning at age 16, and decided to commit suicide. I had thought about it a million times, but this day I resolved to do it. But this same day, my grandmother forced me to go to church.
Q: What happened at church?
A: The preacher pretty much started to tell my life’s story. He spoke to everything that was going on in my life. And then he said, “There is a suicidal spirit in the room. Please come up here and let us pray with you.” My hair stood up, and I thought, I’m not going up there. So I didn’t. When they dismissed the service, I started to walk out the door; but an older man who was a deacon in the church caught me, and asked to speak to me. He said: “The Lord wants you to know that even though you’ve never known an earthly father, he will be a better Father to you than any earthly father could ever be.” I didn’t know my father, but I thought this was a coincidence. I had purple hair and wore a rock T-shirt, so I thought. “He probably just assumes that I don’t have a dad.” “Can I pray with you?” he asked. “God knows all the pain that is going on in your heart. Jesus died to take your pain away, and he wants to heal that pain.” Every time he said ‘pain,’ my heart broke. There was so much of it in me.