Taking Us By Surprise

Showing the High Desert how the party is started ...Metal Style!  

The Rhythmstx crowd was ready to party and they weren't dissapointed.  The show started with lead singer Billy riding in on a bicycle through the crowd and jumping on stage screaming, "kitty-kitty-kittttttttyyyyyy!" his trademark battle cry onstage.  The mostly punk-rock attendees were quickly won over to the Metal side as they pitted in a frenzy along with Billy's bike floating through the crowd.   It was a wild night, complete with a pinata which Billy broke open towards their finale where candy and pinata parts were flying through the fog-filled room in every direction.  But to really get an understanding on where the band gets it's energy and excitement we sent our P.R. man to catch up with them before the show.

GILBERT: Can I get your names and what you do?

PHILIP: My name is Philip Hernandez and I play rhythm guitar.

BILLY: Just like I said! You know who this is, it’s brother Billy from Sacred Faith, God bless you. I’m the uh singer.

ANTHONY: Anthony rhythm guitar, rhythm and lead guitar player.

CASEY: I’m Casey and I play bass.

STEVE: Steve Bear I play drums and back-up vocals.

GILBERT: Um, can you guy’s tell me how the band got started, Sacred Faith? Somebody...

STEVE: Go ahead Bill.

BILLY: They always ask me to talk, then they yell at me about it.

GILBERT: (laughs)

BILLY: Anyways, God told me to start Sacred Faith about 2 1/2, almost 3 years ago, told me to start singing I never sang, and then I asked Anthony to come to practice with this other drummer and we just started rockin from there and God just called us and told us  we were gonna have an awesome sound system and God blessed us with that and showed me where to find Steve, what an awesome testimony, we found drummer Steve driving by a church the Lord spoke to my spirit said “Stop!” Went into church talked to some ladies, they gave us a phone number that night drummer Steve called and has been with us since and it was just awesome how we found him. And uh K.C came to be our bass player and now we got brother Phil, we’ve been through alot of persecution but we love the Lord, we hate drugs, alcohol, and satan so that’s what were out to tell the kids. That we just love the Lord and you don’t have to get high to have a good time.

GILBERT: Awesome, How’d you guys get the name Sacred Faith?

BILLY: Anthony! His cousin ahahahaha! Who came up with it? It was Anthony right?

ANTHONY: Yeah.

BILLY: Yeah, it was brother Anthony.

GILBERT: Is there any meaning behind Sacred Faith? Any scripture, Bible scripture?

ANTHONY: Well, the bible says that, to build up your most Holy Faith you know, that’s praying in the Holy Spirit. Faith is what God loves, you know. And your faith is holy to God. Sacred means holy also, and we just put together Sacred Faith.

BILLY: Amen.

"...I belive we are on a big wave right now and Christianity is not going to stop it’s going to grow and grow."...Billy

GILBERT: So how’s it been with a new bass player? Casey do you have anything to say about Sacred Faith?

CASEY: I’ve only been playing a week.

PHIL: Casey is a blessing.

GILBERT: So, could you guys tell us something that God has done for you guys, maybe like show wise, I know you guys played with that big show with Tragedy Ann, and stuff like that. I know you’ve been doing shows like that. So, could you tell me some of the stuff God has been doing with Sacred Faith?

PHIL: I just want to say that Tragedy Ann and Fold Zandura, they’re signed and you know, they are on the radio and stuff. You know what’s awesome, we’re just a local band but God through His Holy Spirit, it was kind of cool because that night we got a great response from the people, and it just showed us that if we just rely on Him, it’s not what we can do, but if we rely on Him that, you know what, we can glorify Him just as much as any other band. And it was just awesome, the response we had that night and it just goes to show that everybody is the same in the Kingdom of God no matter how big the bands are, and that’s the main thing that we say to the young bands too, like yourself and your band.  You know what, there ain’t nobody better than anyone else. If you’re doing it to save souls and bring people back to the Lord, then we are all in one big giant band. You know what that is what God has shown Sacred Faith I think ever since that show, that He can use us and we can be big in the sense of getting a big crowd and witnessing to a lot of people that we don’t have to be signed, that we just have to rely on Him. It was awesome.

GILBERT: Could you guys tell us some of the things that are coming up for you guys?  Things that you have set aside, like the Rock A Hoola thing and the radio shows and stuff, could you talk a little about that?

BILLY: We’re going in the studio to do another CD. This band has definately been living the Book of Job, and that’s the truth. And when you live the Book of Job, when bad things happen you have to sing praises, and that’s what we do. We all just glorify Jesus, hard times come and we just call one another and sing praises. We are also hoping to play the Battle of Bands at Rhythmstx, hint hint. Praise God. Also we’ve got Rock A Hoola of course coming and it’s going to be on the radio. God’s blessed us with putting Sacred Faith on the radio more times than I can count and that is like Phil says, you don’t have to be a big label to get on the radio. You just trust in God and it’s happening now. And I belive we are on a big wave right now and Christianity is not going to stop it’s going to grow and grow, and all of these bands that are playing right now, are leading more bands and it’s just going to open up. There is going to be a call for Christian rock and punk rock and stuff. The calling is great right now but it’s going to get intense by the Holy Spirit.

GILBERT: So could you tell me how it is working with so many people in the band. I know with our band and with other bands I interview people have different ideas and they all want to play a certain style, how is it with Sacred Faith?

STEVE:We play everything from punk rock to rock to grunge, so we’re pretty much, everyone of us has a background with different kind of music so, like these guys said and my brother said you don’t go out to reach just one person. We go out to reach every kind of different crowd we can get, whether it be a punk crowd or a rock crowd or a heavy metal crowd or a mosh pit crowd, we just throw all of our influences in and we all work as one.

"...it’s not all about Guns n’ Roses it’s all about God and Moses."...Billy

PHIL: Ever since I’ve come to the band um we’ve gotten about eight new songs and uh it’s been the Holy Spirit, a couple of those songs, we’ve got a couple of real slow songs and uh, they’re balads but man they are so annointed and we’ve come with them, and uh you know I would just be tunning up and playing a chord and Billy would say like “Hey, keep playing that and I”ll sing to it,” and Billy would start singing to it and Steve would just jump on the drums and that’s just the Holy Spirit you know, ever since I started most of out songs that we’ve gotten they’ve been through the Holy Spirit you know, they’ve been awesome and they’ve been given to us by God. But um, everybody just puts in their own little thing you know and when one guy starts playing one thing then everybody always jumps in and I tell Steve how to play the drums, Steve tells me how to play the guitar and Anthony tells Billy you should sing like this and Billy tells Anthony well you should do your solo like this.  So it’s kind of family thing we all help each other and we all criticize each other, not in a put down way you know, constructive you know just to make the song sound better, we all work together really well.

BILLY: Yeah, well you know we do everything, we’re blessed in that way because we can do punk rock, what’s old school punk? it’s not like Out of Place’s punk, you guys are bad.

GILBERT: Good punk (laughs).

BILLY: Yeah we do some of that and uh all the way from that, we blow peoples minds because we can play like from Building Houses on our C.D. we can play a song like that and go straight into something hardcore like Kill the Spider style or something you know.

STEVE B: It’s all about being versatile.

BILLY: Yeah, you know Project 86, P.O.D., all the way down to a mellow song. Everything we’re blessed in that way, I don’t know were that way but it’s just awesome.

PHIL: I also wanted to say that we’re blessed having brother Billy sing because he’s uh, on those songs he’s got blessed with a real clear voice, you know it says that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God, well uh if you can’t here what the guy is saying then there is nothing being ministered you know I think we’re really blessed by brother Billy’s vocals.

BILLY: Amen.

GILBERT: Well um this last question for you guys um this is going to be on the internet so if anyone wants to see about you guys they just click on it and have your interview right there. What is something you want to say to the kids out there, your last words basically, sum up everything about your band.

ANTHONY: I say beleive in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.

BILLY: Amen.

ANTHONY: And say Lord this is my life and I want you to change my life you know, because there is no other way there is no other reason to living but to live for God, nothing in this world can take that void away, no drugs, no alcohol, no sex nothing only Jesus can fill that void, we give him all the praise.

PHIL: And a word to the kids out there, don’t be deceived by the devil if you think you can only have to listen to the secular stations to listen to that heavy stuff you know you got bands out there like Solid Mind and you got bands like Sacred Faith and Kill the Spider and you got like you know punk rock you don’t have to go listen to all that secular stuff that’s just a lie from the devil you know go to your Christian stores and you can pick up any kind of music it’s not the music that’s bad it’s the message and you know what Christianity and the music is showing that you know what we can still play the same kind of music but with a positive message and you could mosh and come out not hurt and don’t be deceived by the devil and you know what don’t listen to that crap that they play on the radio. And also we want to pray for Solid Mind we hope their new bass player works out and Vic (ex-bassist Solid Mind) we love you and pray for you bro and if you ever need anything call Sacred Faith man.

BILLY: And it’s not all about Guns n’ Roses it’s all about God and Moses. Amen? and another thing man, I used to get high on acid and do all kinds of crazy stuff and now I turned it around and I get just as crazy for the Lord Jesus but I stay sober and you don’t have to get high to rock on man. Keep it tight for Jesus and stay up baby.

ANTHONY: But you can get high.

STEVE: Yeah you get high off of Jesus.

BILLY: Amen.

GILBERT: Well thanks alot guys that was Sacred Faith.