The title for the new Relient K album, The Anatomy of the Tongue In Cheek, sounds like it has some deep meaning, doesn't it? Gotcha! To the guys in Relient K, it's just another amusing play on words. Relient K is all about quirky music and telling teens that being a Christian is FUN. After all, Matt Thiesen, Brian Pittman, Dave Douglas and Matt Hoopes are having a blast.

Air 1: What kind of fun songs do you have on your new album, The Anatomy of the Tongue In Cheek? On the first album there were a lot of fun songs. The "Charles in Charge" cover was hysterical.

Matt Hoopes: We don't have any covers on this album. We have a song called "May the Horse Be With You."

Air 1: OK, there has to be a story behind that. How do you guys come up with these ideas?

Matt Hoopes: There's definitely no real story. Matt [Thiesen], our lead singer, just wrote it. It's just a really funny song. It has a lot of puns in it, and it's basically about horses and having fun. It's kind of crazy; it has some gang yelling. We have been playing it all summer, and people have been really excited about it.

Air 1: Some bands just want to have a good time, and some are very evangelistic in nature. Every band has a different mission statement. What is the No. 1 thing you would like to accomplish with Relient K?

Matt Hoopes: I would say that none of us are really like pastors, evangelists or speakers. We definitely want to show people that Christianity is fun, and knowing the Lord is a happy thing. You don't have to be uptight and worried about legalism, rules and things like that. You can celebrate the freedom of Christ. I think our mission statement is to serve the people that are in a position to evangelize, whether that be youth pastors, promoters, or people that come to our shows who want help in reaching their kids. We're involved with this company called Interlink, and it basically serves the people who put the ministry in place.

Air 1: Why is it so important to you to show the world that Christianity is fun and it's not all legalistic and "Church Lady-ish?"

Matt Hoopes: Well, all of us come from church backgrounds. All of our parents are strong role models in that respect. So, we grew up seeing the good and the bad of church. It's a really cool thing for us to be able to go to people who may or may not be Christians and express what we have experienced.

Air 1: What is different about this second album?

Matt Hoopes: It has a wider variety. I think the album is more hard hitting. We had more control of what we were doing on the album, and we had a better handle on songwriting and production. On every aspect of making the CD, we knew how to do it a little bit better, just from doing it once. We're all really happy about the new CD. We're all excited about letting people listen to it. Some songs are a little bit heavier. We have a different drummer now, so that affects the songs. There are two kinds of mellow songs. One of them is the last song, it's called "Less is More." It's all piano, it's really poppy, but words are really cool. It's a worship song. And the other one is called "For the Moment." It's an all-acoustic song. It actually uses the chorus from our previous independent release.

Air 1: What are some of the topics that you cover on this album?

Matt Hoopes: We have a lot of funny songs on it, like the last album. There's the song about horses and silly stuff. We also have a song called "Down in Flames" that's about problems. It's about Christianity and the church, and problems with ourselves, like the way we look at things. It's about saying that things need to change.

Air 1: So what are some of the issues that you zeroed in on in that song? Did you address problems in our church society on that song?

Matt Hoopes: It's mostly about people being judgmental and not having the attitude that Christ had. And that some people have a lackadaisical attitude towards what their Christianity means.

Air 1: Have you guys had to deal with that as the band? Have you had to deal with judgmental Christians?

Matt Hoopes: Yeah, we have had to deal with it, being with a lot of different church circles and with a lot of different Christian people. You definitely see both sides of it. You see really cool things that God is doing, and you see masses of people who you wish thought differently that they do.

Air 1: Do you guys get in trouble for the silly stuff that you do, the silly songs? Do people want to know "Why isn't that song about God? What are you doing?"

Matt Hoopes: Yeah, we get that. It's kind of interesting. They take us the wrong way. Obviously, our songs are easy to misunderstand, like the Marilyn Manson song off of our first CD. It's very easy to listen to it and say, "In this song, they're just talking about Marilyn Manson. How could it possibly be a Christian song?" In reality, the song is not really about Marilyn Manson. It's about letting media icons, or things that you put in your mind, control what you believe and not being rooted in Christianity.

Air 1: Were you surprised about the negative reaction that was stirred up by the song, "Marilyn Manson Ate My Girlfriend" in some church circles?

Matt Hoopes: We weren't really surprised. We wrote that song a long time ago. It was probably our second song. We were getting a lot of flack from youth pastors and parents. Even kids would come up to us and ask us what it was about. Usually, it was really a good situation. We would explain it.

Air 1: It was a conversation piece.

Matt Hoopes: We realized that the song is kind of stupid. It says "Marilyn Manson" about 50 times. So, we stopped playing it. Then, when we were recording our first CD, we had about 20 songs that we had demoed out, and Toby from dc talk and Gotee Records was a big fan of that song. He thought people would be able to relate to it, and that turned out to be true. A lot of people appreciate it. It's cool that they relate to it.

Air 1: What has been the biggest adjustment for you guys since you have transitioned from a local band to a well-known band that is signed to a major record label and tours the country?

Matt Hoopes: I think we're still getting used to being away from home and playing shows. We've become a better band, better musicians, and we're growing closer as friends. I think it's definitely a growing process. It's getting used to being away from home, away from my dog and away from things that I have known my entire life. It's hard not being rooted down anywhere. If you go off to college and move to another city, you regroup with another community of friends and family. It's different being on the road and not really having a place that's home except for your van or bus. So, it's really different, but we all really enjoy it. It's like a dream come true.

Air 1: You are living the dream a lot of people have, being in a band and touring the country. Now that you're living that dream, is it everything that you thought it would be?

Matt Hoopes: Yeah, I think it is. It's different, but it's a really good experience. God has helped us in a lot of ways. We have a lot of fun playing shows, meeting new people and seeing new places. It's just a really cool opportunity that God is giving us.

Air 1: You're all pretty young guys, right? You're all under 21?

Matt Hoopes: Actually, two of us are 21 now, and two of us are 20. We're getting old, now.

Air 1: I picture these young guys sitting around in their little bachelor pad late at night, trying to make each other laugh. I'm picturing that as how you come up with these songs.

Matt Hoopes: That's part of it. Sometimes we have this problem with laughing in serious situations. We were just in this place with these lawyers, and they were talking about all this serious stuff. Brian and me, we looked at each other and just started cracking up. We felt bad, because we thought the lawyers were taking offense. It's obviously disrespectful, and I wished I could have just disappeared right then. It wasn't anything that was said. We were just thinking about something funny at the same time.

Air 1: It's a gift to be able to see humor in the absurdity of life.

Matt Hoopes: Yeah, exactly.

Air 1: The new album came out Aug 28, and you are touring this fall - this sounds really cool - with Five Iron Frenzy and John Reuben?

Matt Hoopes: And ACE Troubleshooter.

Air 1: ACE Troubleshooter's on the ticket, too? That's going to be a sweet show. What is the deal with the sock puppets? Are people supposed to bring sock puppets to the show?

Matt Hoopes: I don't have a lot of information about that, but I think we're going to try and get all of the kids to bring sock puppets and sing along with the songs. On the tour we will have a scripted drama, comedy thing in between all the bands that are playing. So, we will have a comedy-type drama team on the road with us.

Air 1: That's cool. Have you made your sock puppet, yet?

Matt Hoopes: I have not, no.

Relient K is touring now. Catch a show in a city near you. The band will appear in Jacksonville, Fla. on Sept. 30, in Phoenix, Ariz. on Oct. 27, and in Portland, Ore. on Nov. 2. For more information and a full list of cities on the nationwide tour, visit the band's Web site, relientk.com.

This interview was taken from Air1 Radio at http://www.air1.com/aviews/01-09-1.asp.