Matt Odmark has a beleaguered tone in his voice. Speaking by phone from his residence in Nashville, Tenn., the guitarist for Jars of Clay is a little disheveled on this particular Tuesday afternoon.

"It’s been the craziest weekend," Odmark confides. And he was not exaggerating. The band had performed three shows in three nights—the first one in Anaheim, Calif., the last one in Harrisburg, Va. On top of that, the group missed two flights, their bus broke down on the way to two of the shows and their tour drummer departed early to help his wife deliver twins. [Editor's Note: Charlie Lowell, keyboards, is actually the father of new twins.]

Jars of Clay may not be the hardest-working band in music, but they’re certainly high on the list. And that’s fine with them, Odmark says, because they’d rather run instead of walk to their envisioned place in music history.

"I’m not in it just to write songs and play. I’d love to be one of those bands that defined a decade of music," he says. "In the first three years of each decade, there’s been a group that has defined the music for that decade."

That’s a pretty bold statement from any band, and particularly from a Christian folk rock band. But not unheard of. U2, which Odmark cited as one of those "decade" bands, was considered a Christian rock band when they first hit the Billboard charts back in the early ‘80s.

And Jars of Clay has had crossover success. Remember their 1995 debut album? It sold more than 2 million copies and spawned a hit single, "Flood." Their follow-up album, "Much Afraid," went platinum with half that many sales and won a Grammy for best pop-contemporary Gospel album.

"It (debut album) exceeded all of our expectations," says Odmark. It also created greater expectations for the future: ie., future crossover success on the scale of a U2 or a Nirvana.

That hasn’t happened yet, but Odmark says the band is still committed to both broadening their commercial success and expressing their Christian faith.

"The two (music and faith) are inextricably linked," Odmark points out.

"I think there’s kind of a acceptance today that (music) is just a lot of noise without a lot of heart. I think music should be spiritual...I think in our songs, the truth behind the music comes through. That’s what we hope, anyway."

Jars of Clay was formed in 1994 at Greenville College in Illinois as a no-frills acoustic band. The name was taken from a passage in 2 Corinthians. In addition to their faith, the group members also shared diverse musical influences. For Odmark, it was classic rock. For lead vocalist Dan Haseltine and piano/synthesizer player Charlie Lowell, it was 1980s New Wave. For bass and lead guitarist Stephen Mason, it was a little of everything.

On their new CD, "If I Left the Zoo," there are the usual hints of the Jayhawks and Counting Crows. But there’s also an unexpected injection of the Rolling Stones. The latter was intentional, says Odmark. The album’s producer, Dennis Herring (a familiar name to fans of Counting Crows), used the legendary rock band’s repertoire as creative inspiration for "Zoo." Elements of the Stones’ sound can be heard on several tracks from the new CD, which just went gold.

"Our second record was a pure attempt to be not as clever, not so stylish," Odmark explains. "It was simple and straightforward. On ["If I Left the Zoo"], we wanted to inject more fun and personality and put risk-taking back into the process."

That’s when Herring entered the picture. "We knew he would drag us in different ways. We wanted somebody who could upset the balance," Odmark says. Beginning Sept. 22, Jars of Clay will perform in 40 cities through December. Their current tour will take them to Alltel Pavilion in Raleigh, NC Sept. 10 for an afternoon show. They’ll share the engagement with other Christian music performers, including Steven Curtis Chapman.

Odmark said the band’s Christian moniker has been a mixed blessing. While Jars of Clay has a passionate core audience, the label has sometimes made it difficult to reach secular music fans. "It has been a barrier in the past," he says, noting that some rock radio stations have been reluctant to air the band’s songs.

Meanwhile, the band continues to be one of the hottest Christian music acts anywhere. And they hope that success will become the launching pad for a trip into music notoriety—no matter how hard they have to work.

"I think in this business there’s a tendency for some musicians to become jaded and burned out," says Odmark. "But right now, we feel very blessed."

WANT TO GO?
WHO? Jars of Clay, with Steven Curtis Chapman, Crystal Lewis, Jennifer Knapp, Rachel Lampa and Mark Shultz.
WHERE? Alltel Pavilion in Raleigh, NC
WHEN? Sunday, September 10, beginning at 4:30pm. Gates open at 3:30pm