Brian McSweeney knows a lot about touring. As well he should, considering that the Seven Day Jesus singer/songwriter/guitarist has been "travelling for four years solid" with the West Virginia-based quartet. And with every stop and every show, one situation seems to present itself constantly…

 "Kids come up, 12-year old kids who've never heard of Seven Day Jesus…and they (say), 'You gotta sell me this CD! I'm Seven Day Jesus' biggest fan! I just love Seven Day Jesus!'

And I'm like, 'Have you heard the first record?'

'What, the one with 'Butterfly' on it?'

'No, sorry!'"

"No, sorry," seems to be a pretty frequent reply for Brian these days. Although it may have left some sugar-toothed, radio-friendly, welve-year-old pop fans begging for more, the newest musical offering from Seven Day Jesus has also left many a hardcore fan scratching his or her head in confusion. Not just one, not even two or three, but four musical outings were recorded prior to 1998's wildly popular self-titled album (the original 1994 self-titled album, Sustenance, The Hunger, and the untitled release on 5 Minute Walk Records). And back in that land of indie rock, before their days as Christian Radio Top 40 darlings and Forefront poster-boys, Seven Day was onto something.

So exactly what happened to the pre-"Butterfly" SDJ? Not to say that change isn't a good thing (hey, we're all for musical innovation and progress), but to quote your Grandpa Bill, "Why fix what ain't broke?"

"I kind of wanted to take a different step and do something a little more pop," Brian explains candidly. "But I think I went a little too far with it. I like our new record, but I think it's just a lot different than the old one. I think there's still a good sense of melody there, but it's just a lot different. On the new record I wrote everything on an acoustic guitar, just an acoustic guitar and the melody, like G, C, and D. I wrote everything in chords. And then we just put it together in the studio, which…we totally shouldn't have done. Individual parts are so much more important than just G, C, and D. Our first record, we wrote it as a band. And it really was a lot different, because the music was a lot more intricate than maybe with the new record."

 So what does Brian have to say to those listeners that may feel somewhat cheated by what can be seen as an in-studio rush to throw the album together?

"I can totally understand it," he says honestly. "I had all the songs written, but we didn't have the parts all worked out. So in a sense, that's what we did. I don't know. I can understand it."

And coming from a man who loves music as much as Brian does, this is a pretty big admission. Just spending a few minutes with the guy, one is left with the absolute certainty that he is completely enamored by life as a musician.

"I love what I'm doing. I love it," he professes passionately. "I love sharing music and sharing passion with other people. Just if I could come off as being real and sharing something, sharing my heart with people, instead of just (being) a performer…To me, there's a difference between an artist and a performer. And I want to be an artist. I want people to feel what I'm feeling when I sing the songs. I want people to be able to relate and be able to get something out of the music. I guess that's the most important thing for me, is that people get something from it. They get something from it. It's not just entertainment."

Beyond entertainment, beyond the stage and the smoke and the flashing lights, there's the music. And to Brian, that's one of the most important things of all.

"Music is a gift from God. To me…God didn't create us (man) for the sake of evangelizing the world. He created us simply for His pleasure. Adam and Eve had not sinned. So there was no need for Jesus yet or no need for salvation, because Adam and Eve had not sinned. God created them just for His pleasure, just to enjoy Creation….

 Like, we paint a picture just for the beauty. I'll write a song for the beauty. (To) no other living thing did God give that gift. I mean, (take for example) dogs…you can teach them to open a door, only to get to the food that's on the other side. You can teach them to do something only for something else. But why do you paint a picture? Just for enjoyment. I want to do that. I want to create music. I want to give back to music what music has given me. I want to be that Jeff Buckley."

"You ever heard of Jeff Buckley?" Brian continues in a rush of words and emotion. "He was a general market artist. He was a singer-songwriter who was the most intense, passionate person. He died last year. He drowned last year at age 30. He was on Columbia Records. He was a crooner. He was a chanteuse, like just a romance, love song kind of (singer), playing coffeeshops in New York City with his guitar; just an original. He was amazing. And that's what I want to be like. I want to be a singer-songwriter that's passionate about my relationship with God, about my wife, about whatever; just about life. Because there's so many things in life that are beautiful to be thankful for."

Life after Seven Day Jesus: updates courtesy of former Seven Day bassist Russ Fox…

Brian McSweeney has joined forces with Chicago based band, Lackluster, as has ex-7day drummer, Matt Sumpter. Brian has also been playing some acoustic shows in the Nashville area with former SDJ guitarist Chris Beaty, while working on original material.

Also, Chris could recently be found on the road with the All Star United, Silage, and the Normals tour as Stage Manager.

Russ Fox has moved on to playing bass for Bleach, upon the departure of bassist Todd Kirby. Russ is also laying the musical foundations for Newborne, a new song collection in the aggressive melodic rock vein. Bleach is now on the Peacemaker tour with Viva Voce and Glisten, and will be in studio for a new recording in June.