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By ERIN JOHNSON
YOUTH CORRESPONDENT
According to singer Ryan French, it's been four years, but guitarist Jonathan Wiley says it's more like three and a half.
But although they may not agree on how long they've been together, the members of Absolute Zero do agree on one thing: If you're not doing something for the right reasons, then you shouldn't be doing it.
The local Christian-rock band, which began at Fredericksburg Christian High School, consists of five members who are all certain about why they're doing what they're doing.
And with a MySpace page that boasts more than 1,300 friends and 20,000 song plays, they're obviously doing it right.
They call their music "funkternative," reflecting its many different influences:
"[Keyboardist and guitarist] Thomas [Franks] is classically trained; [bassist] Tim [Wirtila] and [drummer Jonathan] Tanks, they like hard-core stuff," said Wiley.
"Basically we all threw that in a blender, and it comes out funkternative."
On hearing Absolute Zero's recently released "The Veritas" EP, new listeners might be shocked to know that each song is by the same band. "That's Love," one of the standout tracks, starts out with just the piano before going all-out with its rock vibe.
The songs all have a different tone and send off different sensations. But it's their focused message that Absolute Zero is intent on delivering to their fans. That message is that Jesus is here, and he's not going anywhere.
"Some Christians don't realize that Jesus Christ is a real person," said French.
"He's here with us, and he is my best friend. He's just as real to me as Jon [Wiley] is, and you are--I can talk to him about anything, and he's always there for me."
For French, singing about God also means living a holy life.
"A teacher of mine once told me, 'You can't lead people to a place you've never been,'" he said.
"If I'm not in the Bible daily and talking to my God daily, then I won't be able to bring others to worship."
Though he speaks about his faith with confidence now, it took a lot of searching before French and his bandmates were able to find their true purpose.
"At first, we were just five [or] six dumb kids who wanted to play music," he said.
"After a little bit of maturing and college experience, we realized that our purposes were a little bit more than that--the reason we do what we do is because we want to worship our lord, Jesus Christ. We're trying to spread the Gospel."
If there's one thing that comes close to Absolute Zero's religious zeal, it's their love of making music.
"Basically, at least me and Jon, we know that music is our talent and we can't live doing anything else," said French.
As with many local high school groups, establishing their reputation was another challenge for Absolute Zero. The band said they got where they are by never turning down a show.
"We've played 12-year-old girls' birthday parties," said Wiley. "They were fun, actually--I played a guitar on someone's trampoline."
Unfortunately, the group has also begun facing some of the same challenges many local high school bands face--namely, college and other bands.
Since graduating from high school and losing some of the original members, Absolute Zero has been moving toward an "extended hiatus," said Wiley.
The band will perform on Saturday at Evergreen Church's all-ages Halloween party to benefit a Chinese orphan. They will return on New Year's Eve as part of the First Night festivities before taking at least a six-month break, added Wiley.
Tanks and Wirtila are currently switching on and off between Absolute Zero and another local band, Midnight Rider.
Both French and Wiley started out attending Christopher Newport University, but French decided to transfer to Liberty University because of its ministry program.
"When I was at Christopher Newport, I got into some stuff that wasn't so good," he said.
"I got to a pretty low point, and I was just like, 'What are you dong? You're being so dumb,' talking to myself. I felt God tugging at my heart, and he was like, 'This isn't what I have for you; I have something so much better.'"
Though they are unsure what the future holds, Wiley said Absolute Zero's members are certain to continue making music and spreading the Word.
"In a couple years, God willing, we're still gonna be doing what we love to do--just playing music. [But] whether we're just doing acoustic shows or whether we have a full-scale band together, we definitely want to finish out college."
As some of its members pursue other interests, French said the band still hopes to continue playing shows and testing different people out. But they're not planning on recruiting just anyone: "We could have someone who's freaking amazing on bass, but if they're doing it for the wrong reason "
For more on Absolute Zero, visit
ERIN JOHNSON is a sophomore at Courtland High School.
