Beginning independently in 2001, this vocal-driven pop-rock band from Valpraiso, Ind. endeavors for nothing more than to keep it real, in its music and the lives of its members. Check out BREATHEcast.com's interview with lead singer Fred Butson as he talks about the band's history, ministry and what it's like to live next door to your manager.

So you guys are SevenGlory and you’re on 7 Spin Music and your CD is coming out on March 7; what’s the deal with the number seven?

It was just kind of something that, when we got started as a band, felt like the right thing. Seven’s an important number in the Scriptures and we really just felt like it fit where we were headed at the time. For the label, I’m not really sure why our manager [Peter Khosla] decided to go with 7 Spin, it was just kind of something that he came up with separately. But yeah, our CD comes out on March 7, and there’s a couple other sevens that we’ve got going on with the CD, like I think one in every 7 CD’s is signed or has a SevenGlory guitar pick or poster in it. And then the big thing is is that there are seven “Golden Tickets” where you get a free SevenGlory show in your backyard or in your church.

What’s the story behind Track 7?

Again it was something just kind of felt right at the time; we were finishing up the CD and getting the track listing down, and there was one song that we didn’t have a title for, and we just felt that Track 7 was right for it, even though it’s actually track 8.

You mentioned backyard shows, and I know a lot of times for newer bands in the industry touring can be kind of unpredictable. I’ve talked with a lot of bands that on one night play in front of 10,000 people and then the next a few hundred. Has it been like that for you guys?

It’s definitely been that way, and it’s something that we’ve grown to accept in a way. There could be a couple hundred or a couple thousand, it could be on stage with 2500 people or on a truck bed in the middle of Idaho with 20 people. And that’s just kind of the nature of what we do, but it makes it interesting.

Are there any bands that you’ve had a chance to tour with that have made an impression on you?

Well, most of the touring that we’ve done is on our own, but probably Seventh Day Slumber, who we had a chance to tour with last spring. As you might know, they have a very different background from us, but for them, there’s the sense that every single show they do, there’s a definite purpose for it. They’re not kind of going through the motions and relying on music to save the world – they use their life to speak to the audience. And we always hope that our music can kind of be a soundtrack to our lives, and that our life would speak louder than the music. And we’re always looking for bands to look up to, and since we’re not in Nashville, we don’t see Mac Powell in Starbucks everyday, so we are looking constantly for role models. So that’s a huge desire of ours at this point, to maintain humbleness as we really try to pinpoint what God would have us do.

As two guys who shifted from major league athletic aspirations to doing Christian music, I thought it was pretty interesting how you and Gabe got hooked up. Can you tell us more about that experience?

Well, we met together in college and we randomly ended up being suite mates. I had a roommate that was going to be our bass player and one that was going to be our guitar player. Gabe wanted to play drums more than he wanted to go to basketball practice, and right away when we decided to attempt to play music we all kind of knew why we wanted to do it. And one thing that we knew for sure when we got started was that we didn’t want to be another band in our college who played music for a hobby. Gabe and I are pastor’s kids and we’ve seen authentic bands and non-authentic bands, and seeing the difference between the two, we just wanted to be ourselves and to make sure that right from the beginning we had that strong purpose to be authentic.

Tell us how being “authentic” translates into how you conduct your ministry.

When we arrive at a venue, we know that, for the most part, that we’re meeting most of these people for the first time, especially since our CD hasn’t been released yet. So we know that in order for that show to go well that night that we really have to make a connection before the show even begins or else you’re just trying to win them over the whole show, and that can be tough. But if you make that connection with them, then not only do you feel better, but the fans enjoy the show more and you get over that awkward beginning. So what we really like to do is to make it natural, to make it easy and to just be ourselves on stage and not try to impress anyone. And the fans know who we are, that we’re just normal guys and that’s the show. And then after the show, it’s just a hangout time, and we’ve made some great friends by doing that and we still keep in contact with them. We really like to let people know that we’re not a band that just stepped in but that we can be a partner with them in their ministry, and by the time we’re back and we’re excited about everything and we get a better idea of what their vision for their ministry, then if we can be a part of that, that’s our biggest goal.

You guys have kind of an interesting living situation in that all of the band members live in the same apartment complex. And not only that, but your manager also lives there too. Tell us a little about how that occurred and about how it’s affected your ministry.

A year and a half ago [the band] decided that we would quit our jobs and pursue music full time, and at that time we were all in Valpraiso, and that’s where our current manager lived at the time. And we had known him for a few years and we knew that he’s constantly trying to take over the world, which means that he’s always busy and always trying to do things, and we love that about him. But at the same time, we knew that if we wanted to feel like we were a part of what he’s trying to do, then we had to live even next door. And so we moved to Valpraiso to this apartment building right next to the 7 Spin offices, and not too long after [Peter] moved right next door to my wife and I, with the other guys living right downstairs. And the great thing about being in that proximity is that any concerns about tours that we have or anything, it’s that, even if he’s out trying to save the world, all you have to do is knock on his door and he’s there. So when we’ve had questions about the direction of SevenGlory we don’t have to drive down to Nashville, but all we have to do is go next door. And with him being our manager, our booking agent and the president of our label, he really understands what we need and what our vision is of the ministry. So when he’s booking our shows, he sees it from every angle, so we can trust him to represent us in the right way, and we know that he knows us better than any one else. And he’s cool because he takes us out to lunch all the time. And for the band, being in close proximity also makes everything convenient, especially in load in and load out times, so I don’t have to make as much coffee.

I understand that your ministry focus is to reach those in the church. Can you say a little more about that?

Well, we’re not in any way trying to only talk to the church, but we’re pastor’s kids and we relate best to those kids in the church. And with most of our concert opportunities in church functions, we would be kind of fooling ourselves at this point in our life that God would best use us in bars and clubs. We know that right now that God has us where He wants us, and He’s shown it to us. And it’s not because of anything that we’ve done – it’s usually on a night when you think it was terrible and then God just shows up in an amazing way to speak to someone’s life. And to describe that – we’ve just kind of looked back and seen God move and work a lot in the church through our ministry, and our vision is to really work alongside of the church to reach the world. We really hope to get past our own worries and focus on a world that needs to hear what we sing, and it’s really about forming relationships with people and hanging out after shows, and that’s more likely where someone will buy a CD. We want them to take a CD home because they support who we are as people, and if we love the people who we come in contact with by being authentic, then hopefully God will take over from there and point out in our music where it can be encouragement to their faith as well as a challenge.

What are your plans/expectations for the release of your CD, Over The Rooftops?

It’s something that we kind of laugh about. We’ve been in this band for four and a half years, and that our CD has an opportunity to be in stores around the country is just amazing. Our plans for around the release time is that we’re going to tour independently and hit some markets that are pretty strong for us, and we’ve got some regular festival things around the summer that we do, and we’re also recording some projects in the fall. As far as our expectations, we sat down with our manager, and we’re super excited that Provident would be on board with [7 Spin] and SevenGlory in particular, so we’re extremely privileged for them to be working with us. And really, we’re confident in where God has placed us currently with [music] being our job, but we’re trying to be realistic about the music industry at the same time, and anything with this CD is all icing for what God is doing in our ministry. And maybe we’re just a little scared, but we want to look at this thing as a kind of bonus. We want the people who have invested the time and energy for that to pay off for them. But we do hope for the best, but I guess we’re just scared to say it. (laughs) My wife always tells me that I have to be more expressive.

For more information on Sevenglory, go to www.sevenglory.com