Posted on Sun, Apr. 23, 2006

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Five questions for guitarist Hector Cervantes

BY JOHN NEMO

Special to the Pioneer Press

Grammy-winning Christian pop rockers Casting Crowns perform Saturday at Xcel Energy Center. Guitarist Hector Cervantes took the time recently to chime in on everything from the band's almost-overnight success to what the ninth-graders he teaches in his Sunday morning youth group think of him now.

Q. In less than two years, Casting Crowns has sold nearly 2 million albums, played to more than 1 million fans and nabbed a Grammy Award for its second album, "Lifesong." How do you explain such incredible success in such a short time frame?

A. I wish I could explain it, actually. People on tour with us, especially the musicians just starting out, always ask us how to get to that next level, what steps they need to take. I really don't know what to tell them, other than just bloom where you're planted and make the most of the experience you're having right now. All we can point to in all of this is God. We have been doing this for more than six years — leading worship services, working in student ministries — and we just thought it would be cool to record a CD someday, let alone get signed and have all this other stuff happen.

Q. Your lead singer, youth minister Mark Hall, still leads his youth group's 400 students each Wednesday night, no matter where he is. Do the rest of you work this hard at your day jobs?

A. It's funny, because when I was a high-school senior, Mark became the youth pastor at our church. When I got out of high school, I began ministering right alongside Mark, and now we all kind of work at our own separate churches. I teach a class for ninth-grade guys at my church. Mark is the only one who is officially a youth pastor with a paid position, though.

Q. How have the kids in your youth groups responded to the band's fame and success?

A. The thing about our churches is, they keep us levelheaded and down to the ground. Occasionally, you might hear, "Hey, that's the guy from Casting Crowns!" or "Will you sign this for me?" but we're all at the point in our churches now where it's more like, "Oh yeah, that's Hector, he teaches ninth-grade guys." And the students are really more interested in wanting to know how you can help them get through their day, how you can pray for them, things like that.

Q. Your show is a little unusual in that you have a Christian speaker, Tony Nolan, out to talk to the audience between bands. How has that been received so far?

A. It's been really amazing. I can't remember the exact number, but on a recent weekend at a show we did, over 1,000 people stood up to receive Jesus Christ into their lives. Our goal isn't to have people walk away and think, "What a great concert." We want them to walk away and think, "What a great God we serve."

Q. Do you see contemporary Christian music getting more and more mainstream as bands like yours keep gathering steam nationally?

A. I'll say that contemporary Christian music, in just the last four or five years, has really taken a huge leap. No longer do you hear, "They're this Christian band that kind of sounds like Coldplay or U2," but instead you hear, "That's Switchfoot or Third Day," and people know who they are. I've heard Christian songs being used on MTV now, and Mercy Me's "I Can Only Imagine," even though it's a total Jesus song, was all over mainstream radio. I hope Christian music gets so big they have no choice but to play it on mainstream radio. Who: Casting Crowns

When: 7 p.m. Saturday

Where: Xcel Energy Center, 175 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul

Tickets: $41.75-$13.75-$41.75

Call: 651-989-5151