You wouldn't necessarily know it to read their official bio or to listen to their new album, Mmhmm, but Relient K are huge stars on the Christian music scene. The pop-punkers sold more than 1 million copies combined of their first three albums, and Mmhmm debuted at No. 38 on the Billboard charts without MTV or radio support. They have a rabid fan base of wholesome kids who love punk but don't go in for the angst of Good Charlotte or rude humor of Blink-182. "Our fans are really crazy and they know a lot of the words, and they usually sing along like crazy," says drummer Dave Douglas.
Douglas is doing substitute interview duty for singer-guitarist Matt Thiessen, who's under the weather. Those crazy fans are helping Relient K get through Thiessen's illness on the road, filling in for him when he can't sing. It's a crash course for the curious who go to the shows. "Anyone new that comes out, comes and sees these crazy fans that we have," Douglas says. "I think it's kind of interesting, because I feel like they will get the sense like, 'Wow, why do all these people know the words and they're crazy about this band?'"
Perhaps it's because of Thiessen's soul-baring lyrics or Relient K's mix of punk exuberance and orchestral pop sensibility. Or maybe it's because, although all members of the band are practicing Christians, they don't feel the need to preach. "It's kind of something that we've been doing over the last couple of years, and that's just to not try and define ourselves as necessarily a Christian band," Douglas says.
With crossover acts like MxPx and Switchfoot paving the way, it's no longer that odd for a band to break out of the Christian underground and into the mainstream. For Douglas and Relient K, success has brought the luxury of not worrying about how people perceive their beliefs. "Basically, when it comes down to it," he says simply, "we're Christian guys who play in a rock 'n' roll band."