Interview: Shane & Shane Share 'Pages' from Personal Journal

It's been quite some time since Shane & Shane – the powerful worship duo composed of Shane Barnard and Shane Everett – have come out with an album. But their newest project set to release within the month, Pages, has made it well worth the wait.

Known for their busy touring schedule, the two continue to reach a number of venues spreading their message through music and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Christian Post caught up with one of the Shanes – Everett – to discuss their new project and life in general. Through the interview, he expressed the vision for the album, and how the two hope that its songs can have an impact on listeners. They hope to build up God more and become less themselves.

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CP: So your first album in three years is coming out on Aug. 28 called Pages. Can you tell me what that title represents and the process that you two went through to create the new project?

Everett: Yeah, like you said, it's called Pages, and we were kind of trying to figure out what to call it, but basically, the reason is that Shane Barnard's journal was the textbook for the record. I mean, if I have a mental picture of what happened in the studio, his journal was always open.

It's kind of a real introspective look at life. And it's even schizophrenic at times because some days your journal is happy, and you're just loving the Lord. Life is good. Then the next day, it can feel like it's falling apart. But in the midst of those little seasons there, the Lord is there, you know. And the record feels like that.

It's music inspired by these journals, and it's many different seasons of life. So that's where we get the name Pages.

CP: Are there any particular songs that really stick out in your mind on the new album more than the others, and could you describe a little bit about them?

Everett: Um, yeah, the record kind of starts off with a song called 'Vision of You.' Basically, it's kind of an expression of sorts saying, 'God, all we have are songs, all we have are melodies, and all we really have are words to speak with a microphone on stage.' But you know, we're in music, because we feel we have a message. We have a platform, because we have a message. But the crazy thing about the message is that if we bring it without the Spirit of the Lord, it won't work. It's just words, and it's just songs.

The song kind of starts things off right. It's a great kind of decoration that works hand-in-hand with prayer. Unless God comes, nothing's going to happen but songs and music and words. I really love the song. I really love what it says.

There's another one too which has got the most emails and that people seem to respond most to called 'Embracing Accusation.' We feel like we have to explain it a lot, because it talks about the devil preaching the Gospel. But it's basically Galatians 3 where it says, "If anyone cannot abide by the laws and its books, then they are cursed."

Shane [Barnard] was jogging along the beach one day, and he kind of felt accused all day. He just kept hearing this voice telling him, 'You're a failure. You're a failure. You can't get the laws right in His book. You never can. You never will. Just give up man. Just give up.' So he stopped there on the beach, and he remembered that verse in Galatians. It says that those that can't abide by the laws are cursed, and he felt like, at that moment, the Lord was saying he was cursed because he was remembering that Scripture. But there was also the voice of the enemy saying he was cursed. So he was kind of like, 'Ah man, this is like a dual accusation.'

So all of these things are going on in his head, and he's sitting on the beach looking over at the water thinking, 'Oh my gosh. Man, it's over. What am I going to do? I guess I'll just go watch TV.' And then entered the voice of the Holy Spirit this time to tell him to read the second half of this verse in Galatians 3. There's a big comma there. It says, 'Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, and became a curse for us.' He was kind of like, 'Oh yeah, the Gospel. Oh yeah, Christ.'

So it was a really cool moment for him. So he wrote this story down in his journal, and this was about him embracing accusations. The coolest part of this story is that without the first part of this verse, the Gospel isn't true. So it's like, the devil is correct. We as believers embrace those accusations to depend fully on the redemptive work of the Lord.

So that's where that title comes from, and the song about the devil preaching the gospel. He always likes to remind us of the first part of that verse. He always leaves out the second part.

That song has been getting such a great, great response. And we follow that up with a hymn called 'Before the Throne of God.' It kind of explains that process a whole lot better than we did, but most of those songs in the record kind of end that way.

CP: What do you think that you are trying to tell your listener through Pages? Is it the same kind of message as your other projects or do you think it was any different this time around?

Everett: You know, I'd say it's definitely different. It's different musically a little bit. We had time. We've never had an extended amount of time in the studio. It's always been extremely rushed, and we only got a couple weeks. We're going in and just doing what we can.

But this time, we took three months to write the record and three months to record the record. Because of that, the record, I think, is a close representation of our heart, and musically, what we really, really wanted to do. We had the time to really get beyond, to be intentional with parts, be intentional with music in correlation with the lyrics. We're really excited about this project.

I mean the message is still the same. The message is 'Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.' You know, we're failures; he's not. We need help; he can give it.

The songs are kind of like I said before. Some of them are very introspective. Some of them are very declarative. You know, 'God you're amazing. The truths in Your Word are overwhelming.' Some songs beg you to move. There's a song called 'Beg.' It's just saying, 'God, help me to love you, because if I'm really honest with myself, I could say that I don't.' I think there's a huge mix. I think if any believer is really honest with himself, that's probably where they live most of the time.

CP: Oh, by the way, I heard that you just had your first baby girl. Congratulations!

Everett: Thank you man. Yeah, Olive Lynn Everett, she's six months now. It's been an amazing experience.

CP: Do you think that this is going to affect your future with Shane & Shane now that you've had a child, or do you still think you'll be on the road a lot with Shane Barnard?

Everett: You know, I think that we're not spring chickens anymore. We're not old, but I think we're midway apart from having a child which definitely makes a difference. We're trying to travel about half as much as we used to. We've ventured so much on the road. Playing 150 or 120 is almost like a vacation, you know.

We've seen a lot people in our life, but my child and wife come with us. It's great man. I think in five years when it's time to go to school we'll reevaluate where we are. But right now, we're loving it. We believe in what we do. My wife believes in what we do, and we're going to keep on doing it. We'll keep doing it.

But there's a lot more diapers on the bus.

Things are definitely very different as far as traveling, but we're going to keep doing it.

CP: You do a lot of touring, especially on college campuses. You said you really love it, but does it ever drag on you at all? Do you ever wish that you played a little less venues than you do?

Everett: Oh yeah, it is hard. But the thing is, we feel very, very strong about the message. We feel that what we do, at this point in our lives, it's really by God's command. I know it sounds kind of cheesy, and I don't mean to sound a bit cheesy, but the reality is that we just want to honor the Lord and work hard at whatever He calls us to do. And right now, it's music, and it's family.

We kind of feel more like traveling evangelists than musicians. We actually play music for an hour and a half a day, but 90 percent of the time, it's spending time with people, and looking at the book. I've found that I do a lot of physical labor. But it's all means to an end. We feel that we are heralds and that's what we want to do.

Sure, we get up on the roof tops, but does that mean I want to do it everyday? Oh, heck no. I want to sleep, you know. I want to sleep in my own bed. I want to go to the movies on a Friday night. But it's a discipline and duty.

CP: Your group's name is Shane & Shane. It's pretty catchy and easy to remember. Do you ever feel that it ever takes away from your individuality though? Like your are just one of the Shanes and not just really Shane Everett?

Everett: Sure, sure. I don't know … I think that's probably kind of hard for Shane B., because he was Shane Barnard before. But, man, that part of it is hard. I think the reality of being on a platform as a believer – I really think that it is pretty cancerous anyway to the soul. You get a lot of strokes getting on a stage, any kind of stage, whatever that is. Strokes for the believer often create a breeding ground for pride, for less selflessness.

It is a loss of self, you know, losing my name, and I'm all for that if I truly believe what the Word says. Would it be nice to have my name known? Sure. We want the glory (as humans), but the reality is, the prayer is… A daily prayer for me actually, just one of my things that I pray daily, is 'Teach me to decrease. Teach me to decrease. Teach me to decrease,' because I know what a life of being in front of so many people can do to the heart, you know. So we're trying just like everyone else to lose ourselves more and more, because that's where the Lord says we're going to find joy. So that's what we're after.

CP: What has been your most memorable moment during your career as a musician? And if you don't really have one specifically, could you describe a time that was really unforgettable?

Everett: You know, do you know what the Passion Conference is?

CP: Uh-huh.

Everett: There was one day at the conference, the sun was going down, and we started to sing, 'From the rising of the sun, 'til the sun goes down, let the name of the Lord be praised.' We were singing it, and the sun was kind of going down. I think there were like 20,000 people. I don't know how many people exactly. But it was like a moment, you know. It was a moment for us. It was pretty awesome.

It's rare for you to sing a song when the exact same thing is happening all around you. That moment was just really, really cool.