Flyleaf: bringing Christian music to the masses

Though current popular music tends to lean toward hip-hop and the teen pop of Miley Cyrus, the alternative music sound still has a pulse. Flyleaf is a shining example, with its abstract lyrics, experimental melodies, and beautiful vocals by female lead singer Lacey Mosley.

Flyleaf, (the band's name means "a blank page appearing in the front and back of a book") have written enough material to produce two full albums and contribute to other media outlets such as film and video games.

All originally from the Lonestar State, Flyleaf originated in 2000 and didn't release its self-titled album until 2005. Having only released one official album, a couple EPs, and a second album in the making, Flyleaf has done plenty of touring, including two Family Values Tours, an Australian and European tour, with bands such as Stone Sour and Three Days Grace. During the spring of 2007, Flyleaf headlined the Justice and Mercy Tour, which featured other bands of the same style and genre including Skillet and Kill Hannah.

The band has also contributed two of its songs for two movies - "I'm So Sick" for "Live Free or Die Hard," and "Perfect" for "Resident Evil: Extinction." Flyleaf's song "Tina" is on Guitar Hero 3.

Also interesting about the band is its Christian overtones.

"We're just a band, it's part of who we are, so it comes out in our music, and it's the fuel for what we do," Mosley told Christian Music Planet Magazine. "And finding faith saved my life. So I'm not ashamed of it all. And most of our album reflects that."

When Mosley was only ten years old, she dabbled with drugs and later on moved out of her mother's house after an intense altercation and became an atheist. But during high school after a nervous breakdown, she found her faith. Take a listen to the band's hit single "All Around Me" and it clearly illustrates her relapse and the basis of her renewed faith.

All five members - James Culpepper on drums, Sameer Bhattacharya on guitar, along with Jared Hartmann on guitar and Pat Seals on bass - all follow the Christian faith, but Mosley doesn't believe that makes the band strictly Christian.

"We're all the same faith," said Mosley in an interview she did with Christian Music Planet. "And so when we deal with the whole 'Christian band thing', we kind of think about something P.O.D. once said, "If you're a Christian, it affects everything in your life. So if you're a plumber, does that make you a Christian plumber?"

The quintet from Belton, Texas will be playing the Music Farm on Monday.