Seventh Day Slumber coming to Boyd County

Most rock band leaders can rattle off their band's hits, their MySpace plays, their awards, their SoundScan numbers and other industry success markers.

Joseph Rojas, lead singer of the Christian rock band Seventh Day Slumber, has a different measure of success.

Now working on the four-man Tennessee band's fourth CD, Rojas said the band, known for its rock concert altar calls, has led more than 74,000 people to Christ.

Seventh Day Slumber will get that chance to witness again as The Awake Project welcomes Seventh Day Slumber and fellow national-act Christian band Casting Pearls to Boyd County Middle School at 7 p.m. Friday.

Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $3 in advance or at the door.

Rojas, whose band's name comes from the Bible's Exodus 20:11, said in addition to testifying musically with the band's full-throttle, high-volume-rock, that carving out time to tell his story and then have an altar call has always been at the forefront of their ministry.

"We have been called dorks because we do altar calls but for us, Seventh Day Slumber, we have one goal in mind and that is to please God," he said. "People can say what they want to say, we'll continue to have altar calls and to put him first. We've seen over 74,000 come to Christ, and that is our reward. Our main focus isn't to sell records, it is to touch lives."

It's easy to see why so many people are touched.

Take a look at Rojas' YouTube video testimonies to hear a redemption song that sounds like a made-for-TV movie.

Growing up a poor, fatherless and overweight Latino, Rojas began using cocaine at age 14, and age 21 had a felony record, and a $400-a-day habit.

After stealing from his mom to get high again, he overdosed.

"My mother walked in unexpectedly and saw me overdose," Rojas wrote on his Web site. "She was crying out to God and called the paramedics. While I was in the ambulance, I felt the power of God. I called out to Jesus to save my life, and for the first time, I felt like I got picked. I have given everything to Christ and he has taken me places I never dreamed were possible."

A decade later and now married with three children, and a successful rock band that sold 60,000 copies of its debut CD, Rojas said he's still growing in the Lord both personally and through the band.

Nominated for a Dove Award for its third CD, "Finally Awake," the band is taking an interesting turn on its fourth CD.

With Brent Milligan (Michael W. Smith, Audio Adrenaline, Rebecca St. James, David Crowder) producing, the band is recording a praise and worship album.

No worries, it's still amp volume knobs to the right and guitars blazing.

"It was a chance to praise God with guitars all the way up, so we've taken some of the songs from other artists that are traditional praise and worship songs and have turned them into Seventh Day Slumber-style praise and worship songs."

The 13-song CD, which should be out late in the year, has originals such as "Take Everything," as well as rocked up versions of such acoustic sing-a-long's as "Give Us Clean Hands" and Mercy Me's "I Can Only Imagine."

Whether turning the heat up on normally acoustic-crafted songs or rock-blasting through their own material, Rojas said the band (Joshua Schwartz, Jeremy Holderfield and Ray Fryoux) is aware always that it is message above music.

"We really take our time when it comes to making sure the message is heard," Rojas said. "We always take our time in parts to record to either pull down the guitars or do a breakdown or whatever we have to do. Sometimes, it's in singing or pronouncing a word more clearly than you would if you didn't sing it. It's really a message we want people to hear. We also want that melody that's very catchy to sing along with and any song we write we want the guitars very crunchy and heavy so people get the best of both worlds."

Though the band loves recording, Rojas said it breathes best on the road, out sharing the ministry. It's something the band does more than 200 dates a year.

"Being on the road and touring is where we feel the most comfortable," Rojas said. "In Ashland, we're expecting an awesome night believing that somebody who is going through a hard time in their life or someone who maybe has never been to church, or somebody who is thinking about suicide or is into drugs, will have their lives changed forever if they make the trip to see the show."