Michael:  toby and Kevin could join us… [Laughs] Our first show in Dallas, we were just absolutely encouraged. There was a mistake here and there, but for the most part, the people wrapped me in love and support. And you would have thought I [had been] there the entire time.

CCM:  Are you going to still try to pursue some of your solo stuff, or are you going to put that on hold at this point?

Michael:  For the “ccm” marketplace, newsboys is my home for sure. But if I get called by Sting or Seal … this boy ain’t gonna say “no.” [Laughs]

CCM:  This album also marks the return of Jody Davis who used to play with you guys. So it’s kind of a reunion of sorts.

Duncan:  You know, it really is. Jody left the band about five years ago … And we just called him up out of the blue and said, “Hey Jody. What do you think?” And he was way into it, and he just came on board. You know what the great thing is? It’s kind of the same thing with Mike as well … Jody came back, and instantly we had this feeling of brotherhood. It’s like being away from your wife for five years, and then you’re back with her after that amount of time. You know, being in a band is kind of like a marriage of sorts. You come together, and there are times when you definitely spend more time with these boys than you do with your spouse. And Jody was fantastic. He just came back and took off exactly where we left off. And he’s actually singing better and playing better than he ever has. He’s an incredible asset, and we’re just stoked to have him back in the band.

Jeff:  Well, with Jody, he was in the band for 10 years, and it was sad to see him go when he left. I know for me, the last couple of weeks, there’s been times when I’ve looked to the side of the stage, and I saw Jody over there and I was like, “Whoa!” You know, we have a lot of history together and a lot of great memories together from 10 years ago, even 15 years ago. It’s pretty cool to have him back with us again.

CCM:  You guys have had a lot of people come in and out of your band through the years, but you’ve always managed to be successful no matter what. What do you attribute to that?

Duncan:  When it’s all said and done, it’s a combination of different things. It’s a combination of, first of all, the incredible management, which we’ve had all since day one. It’s also great songs. ‘Cause ultimately, you can be the best band in the world and be the best players and be the best-looking guys, but if you don’t have great songs … see ya. It’s those two things working hand-in-hand that have made us last this amount of time.

I think the biggest temptation when you have a really successful record is to make another one exactly the same. But you actually can’t do that because you actually end up getting stagnant because the fans move on; they’re listening to all different types of music all the time. So all we’ve ever tried to do is just write the best record that we possibly know how to write. I think if you get caught up in a fad, then that fad dies, you’ll die too. So I think we’ve always been aware of that … But one thing I’m really proud of is the newsboys have always had their own sound. They’ve never been the Christian version of someone else. We strive for that, and we’ve always been very proud of that fact. Going forward, that’s obviously going to continue. …