The Eleventh Hour: An Interview With Jars of Clay

Stephen Mason spoke with us about the process of making the fourth Jars of Clay record and the significance of how the music came to be. March, 2002

Since the release of their landmark debut in 1995, Dan Haseltine, Charlie Lowell, Stephen Mason and Matt Odmark—collectively known as Jars of Clay—have been on the creative cutting edge of Christian music. Songs like "Flood," "Crazy Times" and "Can't Erase It" have combined thoughtful, image-laden lyrics with unique instrumentation to create a sound that, although consistently evolving, is unmistakably Jars of Clay. Not afraid to cross musical boundaries or step outside of the Christian music industry to reach more people with their faith-influenced message, the band has been rewarded with two Grammy Awards, six Dove Awards and nearly five million in album sales. More importantly, they have presented the message of Christ to the world in a way that is both relevant to the culture and uncompromising in personal and artistic integrity.

For their latest album, The Eleventh Hour, Jars of Clay continue their inventive growth and return to their roots by writing and producing the album, as well as directing the artwork for the packaging. Stephen Mason recently spoke with FamilyChristian.com about the process of making the album and the meaning behind their music.

FamilyChristian.com: One of the unique things about Jars of Clay is that you seem to reinvent yourselves with each of your albums. So who is Jars of Clay with the release of The Eleventh Hour?

Stephen Mason: I think [we're] a healthy combination of the last three records. We produced [the album] ourselves so it has a similar feel, I think, in terms of the attitude of the first record with some of the songwriting values of the second record, [Much Afraid] and some of the kooky production of the third record, [If I Left the Zoo]. We've taken everything we've learned from the past three records and tried to employ that in the process of making this record.

FamilyChristian.com: What is the significance of the title The Eleventh Hour?

Stephen: It was born out of the song, "The Eleventh Hour," which is a tune we wrote at the very end of the process. The lyric itself is pretty self-explanatory in terms of when we're at our most hopeless, when we're at that point of feeling like we're unsalvageable or "unsaveable," that nothing can be done to help us—even past that point—it's still God to the rescue. There isn't a place we can conceive that God can't be. It is true that we're a lot worse off than we think we are but we're [also] more loved than we think we are. I think that message pervades the whole record. It's about how well God loves us even in the midst of how "unwell" we love Him back.

FamilyChristian.com: Your first single is "I Need You" and it seems that this song—and in fact the whole record—is more spiritually straightforward than past projects. Is that an intentional lyrical decision on your part?

Stephen: I don't think so. I think a lot of this has to do with the season we're in and what we've been learning. It's interesting you would say that because I think some people have still said that they wish we'd come a little bit closer to being more explicit in terms of identifying God in songs. But there's a spirit in music that if you really invite it, is more powerful than just completely lining everything out and wrapping it up by the last chorus and putting a bow on it. If God's Spirit dwells in it then even a song about doubt or a song about the uncertainty of this life can move people.

FamilyChristian.com: One thing that sets this album apart is that the band became more involved with details typically left to the record label, like packaging and photography. What made you decide to do that?

Stephen: I think between the four of us, we've had a lot of creative vision [but] never really had the time or opportunity—maybe we didn't take advantage of that time or opportunity—to get to do that stuff. And this time we have plenty of time. We're not trying to hurry through the process. We're getting a lot of setup time as far as the record is concerned so that allowed us to be a lot more involved. Dan, specifically, took the initiative on how to do some of those design things. We all have become pretty Mac savvy so we're doing a lot of movies, little Quick Time clips and things like that for our website.

This just all fell in line with what we originally had done in college. We helped design the packaging and gave a lot of ideas in that area. And with all the other stuff, it's just hard to find time to do that. This was a special exception. I'm sure it will set a trend for us.

FamilyChristian.com: Is there a part of this process that you yourself specifically focused on?

Stephen: For me it was more about the technical aspect of the studio. We worked [on the album] in my basement so I was involved on that end. I did do a little bit of filming and some I-movie editing stuff [but I] pretty much [focused on] the studio. I was trying to keep that together.

FamilyChristian.com: Your reading tends to influence your songwriting as well. What books are you reading these days?

Stephen: John Eldredge's Wild At Heart [and] The Sacred Romance. The [book about] U2, Walk On. We're finding inspiration in all sorts of places.

FamilyChristian.com: What's in your CD player now?

Stephen: The P.O.D. record, Satellite, is in our CD player. [Also] Coldplay's Parachutes [and] Whiskeytown's Pneumonia. We're still big Beatles' fans. We've actually rediscovered a lot of our techno from the early 90s. That's been fun.

FamilyChristian.com: What has God been teaching you lately?

Stephen: I've been learning lately that peace is not a place I'm going to get to in my lifetime. Peace is not promised us by God in terms of we're going to get to that peaceful place in this life. But He promises that we can have peace and contentment in the midst of this life and in the midst of what's going to carry us through. That's been a valuable perspective change for me because I think I got really, really frustrated at a certain point over this year that things were swirling and confusing and hectic and never seemed to slow down. But the reality is [that] it's life and it's not going to [slow down] but God can come into the situation and allot peace and allot joy.

Amy Meyering, a writer in Grand Rapids, Mich., conducted this interview exclusively for FamilyChristian.com.

© 2002 FamilyChristian.com. All rights reserved.

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