INDIANAPOLIS —
As Anderson University students, Dave Frey and Ben McDonald met when Frey was playing Nintendo and McDonald walked into his room.
Now, they’re two of four members in Sidewalk Prophets, a Christian band getting ready to release its second CD.
Nintendo was an ice-breaker that set up the band.
“The way it brought Sidewalk Prophets together, that’s right. If it weren’t for that Nintendo, who knows?” said Frey in an interview with The Herald Bulletin.
Sidewalk Prophets are coming to Bankers Life Fieldhouse at 6 p.m. tonight. They’re part of The Rock and Worship Roadshow, which also features MercyMe and another AU-based band, Tenth Avenue North. Tickets are $10 for seven bands.
This is the second time that Sidewalk Prophets have been on the tour.
“We did it two years ago and we came through Indy. It was just kind of a trial by the fire that first year. God was doing some amazing things. We actually drove a van that very first year across the country from Indianapolis all the way out to California and all the way down to Arizona and back. It was rough. We drove it ourselves so we were pretty sleep deprived 90 percent of the time. But this year we’ve been blessed to get a bus ... so we might come with a little less sleep deprivation, and that’s an excellent thing.”
The group’s first album, “These Simple Truths,” has sold more than 135,000 copies since its August 2009 release.
The sophomore disc, “Live Like That,” is due out March 27. To come up with a cover for the disc, the band asked fans to submit photos of people who reminded them of Christ. There were hundreds of photos submitted in a project that helps define the theme of the album, Frey said.
The title is based on Hebrews 12: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
Frey said, “It also reminds me that I’m surrounded by great people as well with my teachers and pastors and my family. The reason I want to be like them is because when I stop to think of the memories I have, it’s the times they were showing me what the love of God looked like ... that passion that they had or the forgiveness that they gave me or the grace they showed.”
And some of that scripture might have applied to McDonald, who recently ran the Philadelphia Marathon. Before McDonald ran, he grew a beard in an effort to publicize the band’s need for a tour bus.
“We were raising money for a bus that was Help That Bus Go campaign that we did. He said once we met our goal, he would shave the beard.”
During the campaign, McDonald ran in the November marathon.
“He was looking pretty Forrest Gump-like with that long beard. And he ran in the Philly marathon and he finished, and as soon as the marathon was over, he shaved his beard.
“I was proud of him. He hit his goal,” Frey said.
Frey, 29, lives in Nashville, Tenn. His parents still live in Terre Haute. For Christmas, he finally got home to visit with them.
“We played over 250 dates this year. I was home in April then I wasn’t home until December. That was probably the first time that I had been home that little in my entire life. It was hard, but at the same time it brought home what Christmas is all about. It’s about Christ being born and the love he gave us and sharing it with your family. I saw Christmas through new eyes this year.”
Contact Scott L. Miley, 648-4230, scott.miley@heraldbulletin.com
Faith
Related Photos
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Sidewalk Prophets will play Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday. They are, from left, Ben McDonald, Cal Joslin, Justin Nace and Dave Frey.
Discussion
Sidewalk Prophets part of Rock and Worship Roadshow
AU-based Christian band to play with MercyMe in Indy
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