Nathan Barlowe: The name "Luna" is Italian for "moon," "halo" means the ring around the moon. And we thought it was a cool name that fit our music. We liked the analogy of how it gives off light in a dark world.

Nathan: Jonny, You tell them.

Jonny MacIntosh: We just made it up! *smiles*

Nathan: Yeah, it took like three months. Finding a name for a band is the hardest thing in the world. We tried a million different things. Then, we liked "Luna," but that was taken and then we liked "Halo," but we had it with some other words and then we kinda found it... It found us, I like to think. *laughs*

Nathan: *laughs* That is old news...

Johnny: Is it regretful?

Nathan: *laughs* No, it's not for me. Yeah, it was just time, it had run its course. We had been together 7 years and people didn't know that. Jonny and I wanted to pursue different musical interests than the rest of the band in direction. We just wanted to be in a fun rock band again. And I think some of the guys, God was calling them to other things. One guy's a youth pastor now. Guys got married, and started having babies and it just became time for everybody to do different things.

Nathan: Jody the drummer and Dave the dancer guy, he works at a church in Nashville.

Jonny: I would describe it as moody rock, pop/rock.

Nathan: Yeah, I mean we're influenced by all the European British band, y'know, so it definitely has traces of that.

Jonny: I don't know, every time I'm asked this question my mind goes blank! (Nathan laughs in agreement) Like influences growing up to or right now? (I add in, "Either/or...") When we were listening to the record we were basically into all British bands -- Radiohead, Oasis, bands like that. We kinda got burned out on everything over here.

Nathan: For me, I've always loved bands like the Smiths growing up. There's a band called Ah Ha that I used to love back in the day-- which they have a new record that's amazing. I think Radiohead is my favorite band. Muse-- Muse is a great band. That's the main influences, probably.

Nathan: We wrote that song together and for me the lyrics are like a conversation, y'know, the old person versus the new. And basically that that side of you is like and alien. I think it's the struggle with flesh and your spiritual side and how foreign they are from each other.

Jonny: It was inspired by the Beatles and how they just followed the religious fads of the month and just kept getting let down and kept thinking they found a new way. And it's just about people who are just searching and changing their mind and realizing that they can't find what their looking for until they find God. But it doesn't get that far in the song. *laughs* (Nathan chimes in, "Well, it's a short song!") It's just about the need that everyone is trying to fulfill but they can't find it.

Nathan: The lyrics were written about a friend of mine growing up. I wanted her to become a Christian so bad. We'd always get in these deep talks and these arguments and this deep religious stuff that I didn't even have enough knowledge of the Bible or schooling to even argue some of the points, y'know? And I just remember, as I was writing those lyrics, I was thinking back to that time how I just wanted to say to her that nothing I can say or do will talk you into this and I don't want to talk you into it but you gotta just open up and step out on faith and that's how you'll see the power of God. It was really written out of almost frustration and a place of heartbreak-- just really wanting someone you love and someone you know to come to Christ but you can't be the one to talk them into it. You can share God with them, but you can't move in their life.

Nathan: Yeah, and even to this day she has not become a Christian. It was a girl I was dating a long time ago. As far as I know-- I don't talk to her now, because I'm married! *laughs* That's one good reason. I mean I prayed for her for years and years and still occasionally think of her and will say her name in a prayer, y'know, and who knows? She may have given her life to Christ, I haven't talked to her in years, so she may be...

Jonny: (to Nathan) You better go first cause I don't know... *smiles*

Nathan: Mine is "Forgiveness" because I love the lyrics, like the picture of forgiveness falling on you like a fresh rain. I think just the whole vibe of the song feels good to me. It's just one of those songs that puts you in a good mood. That's one of my favorite ones.

Jonny: I like one of Nate's lyrics, "Come step inside my mind," just asking God to come in and take control. It's in the song "Aliens."

Jonny: *laughs* The Sushi order?

Nathan: Yeah, that was actually a poem I had written and the poem's actually written inside the album lyrics and it talks about shining and actually "shimmering." Jonny thought of the album title, Shimmer and I wrote the poem after that fact, so it we didn't get the name of the album-- it was reversed. I thought rather than just putting the poem in the album, we had already had the cover designed-- my wife designed the cover-- and it had the Japanese font that says "Luna Halo" in Japanese. So I thought it would tie in really cool to have a Japanese lady read the poem. So when we had decided to go with that whole Japanese theme, then I found this lady in a Sushi restaurant and asked her if I could pay her to read this into my mini-disc and that's how it happened.

Nathan: *laughs* You know what? It's so funny cause that was a song that was supposed to go on Shimmer and it got cut in the final picks.

Jonny: It wasn't finished. The version you have is in the beginning process in the studio. And we don't know how it got on the internet. *both laugh*

Nathan: *chimes in* ...and we don't know how it got on the internet or who has it because only like 5 people had it. (Jonny jumps in, "I don't even have it") Yeah, I don't have a copy of it. So were freakin' out when we saw it on there. We love that song, we think it's a cool song.

Nathan: I think lyrically it was a little similar to "Complacent" which is why part of the decision may have come to that. But part of it was we hadn't finished it and part of it was we added "Hang On to You" and so that had a similar vibe and got cut. It's about, basically, someone who's fallen away-- a Christian friend that is close to God and has fallen away. The lyrics and the chorus say "I watch you drift away.. There's nothing left to say. Wish I knew your reason for pushing me away."

Nathan: Well, that's an interesting story... *smiles* We were done with our album and we turned it in and the label wanted one more radio song. And we didn't want to write one more radio song. We couldn't. We were really burned out cause we worked on our record for 9 months. And we turned it in and we were just like, "Man, it's finally done," we were relieved and then they call us and are like "We need one more song..." And we tried to write 3 or 4 songs and it had just left us. The whole vibe was gone. So they brought this song to us. Our A&R guy said, "Well here's this song Martin wrote, but they don't want it, they're not going to use it." So we're like, "You're sure their not going to use it," and he's like, "Yeah, I think so." So we recorded it, and I think it's a great song. It fits well on the album. Everything was cool until recently. And no one told us they had heard our version and decided that it was a good song and put it on their new record. And they'll tell you that too. (Amy joins in, So did you arrange the music-- how does that work?...) Well it's basically all our own style. The basic chord progression is Martin's and you can listen to their version and hear what is the same. Like the ending, I wrote the whole ending of the thing that's in falsetto. And it's *starts singing* "When the darkest days are falling..." I did all that stuff and they didn't use that, cause... they couldn't so it's a little weird situation. I mean everything's cool between us, but it's just a label issue.

Nathan: As soon as Jonny writes it. *laughs* I'm waiting on him.

Jonny: We're just waiting to get inspired again. It's depending on how this tour goes, actually. If we can get on a spring tour, we're just going to keep touring this record. We're going to do as many shows as we can to support it. But if things start dying down, we're going to go into the studio following the spring. But either way I'm sure it'll be out the end of next year.

Nathan: Probably the fall of next year.

Jonny: The latest we'll probably start it is the summer. We haven't started writing for it really or anything.

Nathan: For me, when we played Flavo last month in Holland, and walked out on stage-- we headlined on a Friday night and there were 10,000 people out there going ballistic. To me, that night standing on the stage was one moment I'll never forget. It was the best I've ever felt on a stage in any band I've ever been in ever. It was the most amazing moment where I felt like the band is connected and we were connected to the crowd and there was the whole spiritual thing going on. It just all came together. And those moments are pretty rare. That would be mine...

Jonny: I can't really think of a moment that tops that moment.

Nathan: That's a good one... *turns to Jonny* What's yours?

Jonny: My favorite movie is Immortal Beloved, it's the story of Beethoven. It just shows another way of looking at music. It just touched me.

Nathan: Two of my favorite movies are probably -- I love the remake of Romeo and Juliet that they did with Leonardo DiCaprio. I just thought the writing in that was super cool, y'know, they way they did different stuff. And Life is Beautiful is just a great movie. The story in that... I love movies that leave you thinking about life and teach you a lesson without cramming it down your throat. And I left there a changed person.

Nathan: Yeah... *holds tape recorder close to his mouth* Jars of Clay! *laughs*

Jonny: It's hard cause we're friends with a lot of those guys. When we listen to those records, it's like listening to our buddies play their instruments. But it's cool... We're friends with the Switchfoot guys. Yeah, their records are pretty cool. I love all the dc Talk records.

Nathan: I like Starflyer 59, I think they're really cool. Their last record was my favorite thing they've done. There's also this band-- Actually, this is the coolest record. I need to give this band a little shout-out cause I had never heard of them. They're called The Juliana Theory. I just got their newest record and it's great. It's one of the cooled Christian records I've heard this year, or in the last couple years. It's really cool, I was really surprised and taken back. And Earthsuit, they're friends of ours. They're amazing. I just they're so innovative. *large crash sounds in the background*

Jonny: There's Jimmy...

Nathan: Yeah... *yells* Thanks Jimmy!! *laughs* Jimmy's our new bass player. His name is Jimmy Hendrix. That's his real name. (I'm incredulous and add "You're Kidding?") Nope. Not kidding.

Nathan: Um... Buy our album. *laughs* That's always a good one to leave by. *laughter*