2.5 OMG [insert band member here] IS SO HOT. Is he/she single?
Song Information
3.1 What is I'm So Sick about?
3.2 What is Fully Alive about?
3.3 What is Perfect about?
3.4 What is Cassie about?
3.5 What is Sorrow about?
3.6 What is All Around Me about?
3.7 What is Red Sam about and why is it called Red Sam?
3.8 What is So I Thought about?
3.9 What is Tina about?
3.10 What is Have We Lost about?
3.11 What is Beautiful Bride about?
3.12 What is Again about?
3.13 What is Missing about?
3.14 What is New Horizons about?
3.15 What is Fire, Fire about?
3.16 What is Great Love about?
3.17 What is Something Better about?
Live Show
4.1 When Flyleaf plays There For You live, Lacey sings lyrics that I don't know. What are they?
4.2 What does Lacey sing in the bridge of Fully Alive?
4.3 When Flyleaf plays Tina live, they open it with lyrics I've never heard before. What are they?
4.4 When Flyleaf plays Justice and Mercy live, they open it with lyrics I've never heard before. What are they?
Band Information
1.1 Who is/was in Flyleaf?
Current Lineup
Kristen May - Vocals
Sameer Samuel Bhattacharya - Guitar
Jared Christopher Hartmann - Guitar
Kirkpatrick McCord Seals - Bass
James Austin Culpepper - Drums
Former Members
Lacey Nicole Sturm - Vocals
1.2 What other band names have Flyleaf played under?
Jared and Sameer played in a band called "Sporos" together. James previously played in a band
called Unveiled, who changed their name to Aidan. Eventually, Sameer, Jared, Lacey and James
came together and formed "Listen". They went through two bass players, Josh C. and Jonathan B.
before Pat joined. Pat was previously in a band called "The Grove" for about five years before
joining the band in 2002. Somewhere around there, they changed the band's name to "Passerby". At
the end of June 2004, the band officially changed their name to Flyleaf, due to another band
already owning the rights to the name "Passerby".
1.3 How did Flyleaf come to sign with Octone Records?
Lacey: "We played South by Southwest and we were seen by our lawyer, a BMI rep and Devra Wright
from RCA. Devra tried to get the president of RCA to come see us for months. Finally we decided
that we would just drive up to New York ourselves and play for him. We had saved like $1000 from
shows and it would be just enough for a week stay. Right before we left an anonymous person from
our church gave us an extra thousand dollars saying on a note that God wanted us to have the
extra money. So we played the show for RCA and they just told us to keep writing. What we didn't
know was that the president of Octone Records had been invited secretly to our showcase and fell
in love with us immediately. After he found out what RCA said, James Deiner called our lawyer to
tell her he was interested in us. We were already in New Jersey on our way home when she called
us and told us not to drive any further. So we stayed at a truck stop and slept in our van for
two days waiting for news about a showcase for Octone Records. The call finally came and we went
back to New York and did the showcase for Octone having just enough money to afford another week
in New York with our God given extra thousand dollars. Everything else is history."
The band was officially announced as signed on January 7th, 2004 on Octone Records' website.
1.4 Is Flyleaf a Christian band?
The best answer we've gotten to date is:
Lacey: "We all share the same faith. And so when we deal with the whole 'Christian band thing',
we kind of think about something POD says, like, 'If you're a Christian, it affects everything
in your life. So if you're a plumber, does that make you a Christian plumber?' I don't know the
answer. We're 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. And finding faith saved my life. So I'm not ashamed of it at all. And most of our
album reflects that."
1.5 What other bands have Flyleaf toured with?
Seether, Shinedown, Korn, Disturbed, Stone Sour, Halestorm, Trust Company, Breaking Benjamin, Saliva, Staind, POD, Taproot,
and many others. For a more complete list of bands and dates they've played with said bands,
you can visit the tour archive.
1.6 What have they released as singles?
From the Flyleaf EP: Breathe Today
From the Flyleaf LP: I'm So Sick, All Around Me (Christian Release), Fully Alive, Perfect (Christian Release), All Around Me, There For You
From Memento Mori: Again, Missing, Chasm, Arise
From New Horizons: New Horizons, Call You Out
1.7 What videos have they released? Who directed them?
From the Flyleaf EP: Breathe Today (Director: Dave Garcia)
From the Flyleaf LP: I'm So Sick (Director: The Brothers Strause), Fully Alive (Director: The Brothers Strause), All Around Me (Director: Paul Fedor), Sorrow (Director: Jake Davis)
From Memento Mori: Again (Meiert Avis), Beautiful Bride (Don Tyler), Missing (Diane Martel)
From New Horizons: New Horizons (Don Tyler), Call You Out (Brad Scott)
1.8 Who is the boy in the tray of the EP?
The boys name is Dalton, and Lacey used to babysit him. According to her, there's a symbolic reasoning
behind the picture, and it relates to why their band name is Flyleaf.
1.9 What does "flyleaf" mean?
"A flyleaf is a blank page at the beginning of a book and at the end of a book where people take notes and
write dedications and stuff. It's that moment of clarity just before the story begins and that moment of
clarity just after it ends. So it's just like before you're born, and just after you die." - Sameer
"The moment of clarity I guess is, the Bible says that, 'Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you in the womb'
and so it's like that moment with God and then the moment after you die when you meet God." - Lacey
Band Member Facts
2.1 What are the birthdays of the band members?
Kristen May - September 28, 1982
Lacey Sturm - September 4, 1981
Sameer Bhattacharya - August 31, 1984
Jared Hartmann - October 27, 1985
Pat Seals - October 25, 1983
James Culpepper - June 21, 1981
2.2 How tall are they?
Lacey - 4'10"
Jared - 5'11"
2.3 What does Lacey write on her arm/body/clothes? Are they tattoos?
Lacey has been photographed with several Bible verses, sayings and quotes written on her arm. They
aren't tattoos. She writes them with Sharpie marker usually.
- "To live is Christ and to die is gain." - Philippians 1:21
- "This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord." - Isaiah 54:17
- "And the curtain was torn from top to bottom." - Matthew 27:51
- "Dry your tears because I'm always here when you're tired of running. I'm all the strength that you need." - Lullaby by Pedro the Lion
- Every ending contains a new beginning.
- There is no such thing as tomorrow.
- "Peace that passes all understanding." - Philippians 4:4-7
- "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge." - Hosea 4:6
- "I wait for you." - Psalm 25:21 / Hungry (Falling On My Knees)
- "No weapons formed against you will prosper. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord." - Isaiah 54:17
- "Mercy triumphs over judgment." - James 2:13
- The only boast we have is Christ crucified, resurrected, alive right here, right now, fresh start.
- Shield/Sword on her wrists, rightousness on her chest, salvation on the back of her neck, truth on the waistband of her pants. The idea comes from Ephesians 6:13-18
- Revelation 12/Twelve
- JESUS
Lacey also has 4 tattoos. One on her left forearm, her bicep, left leg and one on the back of her left shoulder. The one on her back is of the Holy Trinity and a dove. The one on her leg is of a swan. The one on her bicep says "Daughter". The one on her forearm is of the word "Beulah". It's taken from this Bible verse:
No longer will they call you Deserted,
or name your land Desolate.
But you will be called Hephzibah,
and your land Beulah
for the LORD will take delight in you,
and your land will be married.
2.4 What are their favorite bands?
Lacey: Greatness in Tragedy, Resident Hero, POD, Incubus, Nirvana, Audioslave, Chevelle, and Envoy
Sameer: Radiohead, The Smashing Pumpkins, U2, Pedro the Lion, Mutemath, Nirvana, Bjork, and Our Lady Peace
Jared: Incubus, Dizmas, Muse, Radiohead, The Smashing Pumpkins, U2, and Blindside
Pat: Dizmas, Deftones, Soundgarden, Resident Hero, Pedro the Lion, U2, and David Bowie
James: Greatness In Tragedy, Coldplay, Weezer, Incubus, Third Eye Blind, Jimmy Eats World and Foo Fighters
2.5 OMG [insert band member here] IS SO HOT. Is he/she single?
Everyone is married. Sorry y'all.
Song Information
3.1 What is I'm So Sick about?
"I'm So Sick is about how the world can sometimes be a sick and messed up place
and how that influences us and tells us how we should live or who we should be.
People do things just 'cause everyone else does and then they wonder why they feel
empty all the time. Someone who has a firm stance in what they know to be true
will empower empty followers to discover who they are as individuals with purposes
and this creates leaders with voices of their own." - Lacey (taken from TVU commercial)
3.2 What is Fully Alive about?
"It's about the singer for Trust Company, Kevin (Palmer), his wife Layla.
She's an awesome person, and you would never guess in a million years that she has the
struggle that she has. Kinda changed my perspective about the way that I complain
about things, the way that I wake up sad for no reason, and then she wakes up
just glad to wake up." - Source
Generally when it's played live, Lacey says:
"This song is about a girl who went through a lot of pain and came out more beautiful because of it." - Zydeco (March 30, 2006)
3.3 What is Perfect about?
"I had a friend who was trying to live her life a certain way that she thought was good.
And then she'd make a ton of commitments about how she was gonna be and what
kind of relationship she was gonna be in. And then, slowly, those standards just fell lower
and lower and then she just felt worse and worse. She got really burned in her relationships
and she felt really kind of worthless about herself -- like she couldn't start over and she
couldn't be good enough. The song is about how sometimes we're that way and sometimes we're
weak. But, at the same time, God's strength is perfect when we're weak. And
we can stand up in that. And that's what the song says -- 'My strength is perfect in your
weaknesses.' Even when we're weak, he's strong. And if his mercy, his powers are failing,
that's what the message is -- turn and rest, and choose life and not death, and be loved,
and don't condemn yourself." - Lacey (taken from this article)
3.4 What is Cassie about?
It's about Cassie Bernall of the Columbine High School shootings. The gunman pointed his rifle
in Cassie's face and asked her if she believed in God. She said yes, and was shot and killed.
The same happened to a girl named Rachel Joy Scott. When the gunman pointed the gun in her face, and
asked her if she believed in God, she said yes and he shot her, but she didnt die. So he asked her again, and she
said yes again, was shot again and killed.
Rachel's name isn't mentioned in the LP version of the song, but it is on the EP version, and
Lacey sings it live.
3.5 What is Sorrow about?
"One of the ones I think is
important to play is Sorrow. That’s because in our day and age, there
is such a huge number of people who deal with depression, or know
someone who deals with depression. In the Bible, it says, “Jesus was a
man of sorrow.” On the secular side, there are people who deal with
depression because they feel empty. On the Christian side, there are
people who deal with depression because they feel alone with their
Christianity or because they mess up. That’s the spirit we’re
combating when we play it. The promise in the end is, “Joy will come.”" - Lacey
(taken from this article)
3.6 What is All Around Me about?
"It's a song about meeting God. I remember looking at a bunch of people's Myspace
when I first saw Myspace and the "Who I'd Like To Meet" the number one thing people
picked was God. I think about that.. I don't know how many times I've experienced
something where I felt like God showed up and saved me or loved me for no reason
sometimes. That's why I sing this song, I sing it to God. It's really intimate as
well, you can think about it as a relationship between two people in love, too. I
never think about it that way.. but what's so cool about that is I think there's
parallels everywhere.. in everything in life. I think that that parallel is something
that God wants to communicate to us, that he gives us relationships like that, an
intimacy like that." - Lacey(on LA Lloyd's ROCK 30)
3.7 What is Red Sam about and why is it called Red Sam?
"It's kinda personal, some of the stuff about it. But its really just about how I got saved,
how I got like, I don't know... I guess when I was 16, before that I was Atheist, and then
I had all these things. Like I was really just kinda studying to figure out what the truth was,
I guess. Then my grandpa was really, well he was having a heart attack at that time, like his
12th heart attack that he had. So I was really upset, and it was like right about that time
when I guess God brought me to a place where I didn't have anything or anybody and it was
the only way that I was ever going to look up and see that the only thing constant and
the only thing I could depend on was God. And that's when all these supernatural things
happened, and he like showed me that he was real and that he really loved me and that he
wanted to do something different with my life and thats why I was alive. And so thats when
I got saved. And that's kinda what that's about." - Lacey (taken from TVU interview)
The title Red Sam comes from Jared and Sameer's names.
3.8 What is So I Thought about?
"I don't know about you guys but I've made a lot of mistakes in my life.
I've hurt a lot of people and I've been hurt by a lot of
people. There's a lot of guys out there that really mistreat girls, and a
lot of girls out there that really mistreat guys. I've
broken promises that I've made to people that I love and to God and everything.
I've messed up a lot, and the point is that if you've
been messed up and made mistakes doesn't mean that you have to keep screwing
up, or that your life is ruined and that you're worthless.
It means that you can start over, you just have to make that decision yourself.
That's what I think about when I sing this song." - Lacey (taken from 04/15/2006 live recording)
3.9 What is Tina about?
"This next song is about a girl that I met when we were on tour...she was burned from her head to her feet. She didn't have any hair, and her nose was burned off, and her ears were burned off, and it was really hard to look at her. And she came up to me directly and she said I wanna tell you my story. She said, 'When I was younger I thought that if I got married and had kids I'd live happily ever after. And then when I did get married I was in love and everything and we had our first kid and we started to fight. We fought every day and it got worse and worse to the point where he was beating me every day. And I didn't wanna wake up anymore.' And she said, 'So I put gasoline over myself and set myself on fire to kill myself.'
And I sat there and I was just looking at her just in shock and I didn't understand why she was telling me all this, because she just looked so honest and vulnerable. And she was like, 'I just wanna tell you because when I was on fire I was burning, I was in so much pain that I prayed for the first time in my life and I said "God if you're real, please take my pain away" and at that moment I went into a coma and when I came to, then I knew, I knew that God was real because he heard my prayer and so I wanna tell you that so that you'll believe in God and that you won't waste your life like I did.'
And that's the whole point of this song, that I wanna tell you guys that you can go through your life and you can go through your emotions and whatever you're doing and not live life to the fullest. And this woman, she showed me her driver's license picture from before she was burned, she was so pretty. She was so pretty she could be on a magazine cover. And at that moment she just looked so beautiful to me because beauty is not about this [points to head/body] and that's what she was showing me, she was saying, she was pleading with me, 'Don't waste your life like I did, use it for God, you know for God' and that's what she was telling me.
So the whole thing was this, she was being selfish and when you're depressed and when you feel like that you think about suicide. You know that's something that I've dealt with my whole life, since I was very small, very little. I always had dealt with that and really it's all about you thinking about yourself. It's very self-centered. And suicide is a very selfish thing and that's what she was showing me is that when she came back was that her life wasn't about herself anymore, it was about everyone else around her. And that's what she was telling me. So that's what I wrote this song about. It's called Tina" - Lacey Mosley (before a performance of Okay/Tina at Six Flags)
3.10 What is Have We Lost about?
"Have We Lost is about growing up realizing you've forgotten your dreams. The end where it says,
"When we were young we spoke in tongues" refers to the faith we have when we're young with all of
our friends and the love that's there and growing up and growing apart and those memories becoming
fuzzier and fuzzier." - Sameer (Passerby Army Chat)
"This next song is a new song. It's about how sometimes we grow up to be people that we never wanted to be." - Lacey (Live in Denver)
3.11 What is Beautiful Bride about?
"Pat started playing this new song, and the words came out all at once. I’d been dealing with a conflict in
my family and this song was born out of that moment. I got a phone call the next day that an amazing
reconciliation had come within my family. Both the song and the situation started out painful and ended
up glorious. This just proves to me how everything can work together for a greater good. Like a family
fight turning into ’Beautiful Bride’, a song about unity." - Lacey (Flyleaf Bio)
3.12 What is Again about?
"If you’ve had the opportunity to come out to some of our shows within the past year you
will have heard the first single Again already! It should hit the radio in the next couple
weeks… But you crazy people seem to know what’s happening with us before we do and I’m not
surprised to find out many have known the lyrics to Again for a year now. :-) The first verse
and chorus did change in the studio! It is a good thing, because the words say better what my
heart meant. It is written for people like me, who feel a restlessness to make the world better
somehow, but are much to small to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. Its to say,
you have the right heart, but you weren’t meant to carry it all. You are so strong, you are able
to handle so much! But you can’t handle everything all at once. Let go! God’s big and He can handle
it all better than you! Its okay to let go and not understand everything. I should start a control
freak support group… Anyone interested? Maybe this song will help us. I sing it to myself “Only
surrender will help you now..” And then I let go." - Lacey (Letter to the fans)
3.13 What is Missing about?
"The bridge says "Down here love wasn’t meant to be for me, all is vanity underneath the sun." The phrase makes you ask
’What would the world be like if we took love out of it?’ Love is painful. It requires work. It’s selfless. Even though
it’s difficult, if you take that out of the earth you’re going to end up with nothing. C.S. Lewis said, ’The only place
in all of the world where you can escape the dangers of love is hell.’" - Lacey (Flyleaf Bio)
3.14 What is New Horizons about?
"'New Horizons' expresses a feeling of looking toward the unknown future with hope. Definitely one of our best and most
joyful songs - I am excited to see how our fans will receive it." - Pat (Blabbermouth Interview)
"It’s a very hopeful song about looking forward. You put aside unhealthy fear. Instead, you embrace excitement
for the future and the unknown. You can only be excited for what’s ahead." - Sameer (Flyleaf Bio)
3.15 What is Fire, Fire about?
"A lot of it is metaphorical. When you’re young, you feel like nothing can touch you or impact you. You
think you’re invincible. A realization that you’re not immortal comes as you get older and progress. There’s
always a battle between the spirit and the flesh. We’re all flawed and corrupted, but there’s redemption
beyond this world." - Sameer (Flyleaf Bio)
3.16 What is Great Love about?
"It’s anthemic and definitive of our sound. The lyrics, to me, admit the need we have for fellowship
with what is greater than ourselves." - Pat (Flyleaf Bio)
3.17 What is Something Better about?
"The song is about finding yourself frustrated within your life or your ability to be useful.
My wife helped me realized that everyone is trying to transform into what they think they should be.
The best good in ourselves is that we share this life with others. Finding grace in someone else is real love." - Pat (Flyleaf Bio)
"It was the first time we'd written together. I was nervous and excited. We all brought ideas in. I liked the
idea behind it. You strive for something better. With this band, we all have an opportunity to be the best
we can possibly be." - Kristen (Flyleaf Bio)
Live Show
4.1 When Flyleaf plays There For You live, Lacey sings lyrics that I don't know. What are they?
When the song is played live, they slow things down during the bridge and go into the worship song "Hungry". More recently, they've ended
the song with "How He Loves Us" by John Mark McMillan. Sometimes Pat will sing back up harmony for this song. The lyrics to these parts are:
So I wait for You
So I wait for You
I'm falling on my knees
Offering all of me
Jesus, You're all this heart is living for
Oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves us
He is jealous for me
Love's like a hurricane,
I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
and I realize just how beautiful You are
Oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves us
4.2 What does Lacey sing in the bridge of Fully Alive?
Here she stands today
In her brilliant shining way
Stronger than her pain
In her brilliant shining way
It should also be noted that sometimes, during the last line of the song she sings 'Now she knows how to believe in Jesus' rather than the normal 'futures'.
4.3 When Flyleaf plays Tina live, they open it with lyrics I've never heard before. What are they?
The lyrics are from a Flyleaf song named "Okay" that hasn't been recorded to my knowledge. Normally only the first verse and chorus
are played, but the whole thing has been played live before. The lyrics are:
I won't be satisfied with okay
And I can't be okay with alright
So point me to the edge of life
I'll stand up on my toes
Stretch my fingers out to there and bring it back here
It's too important for us to forget
We'll unify our thoughts
God will hear and save
God will hear and save us
All together standing up on our toes
Reaching for the very thing I don't know
So catch it as it pours
We know what we need
Don't get tired when you're running back to show them
It's too important for us to forget
We'll unify our thoughts
God will hear and save
God will hear and save us
Sometimes for the lyric "Like their own dung sprayed with purfume", Lacey says "Like their own shit sprayed with purfume" or "Like their feces sprayed with purfume" during the live show.
4.4 When Flyleaf plays Justice and Mercy live, they open it with lyrics I've never heard before. What are they?
The lyrics are from a worship song called "I Love You Lord". Lacey sings these lyrics before they begin Justice and Mercy:
I love you, Lord
And I lift my voice
To worship You
Oh, my soul rejoice
Take joy my King
In what You hear
Let it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear
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