38th Parallel is a band of made up of Christians who write from their experiences as Christians. They got their start at Frank's House of Rock in Des Moines playing with both Christian and non-Christian bands. During the early days 38th Parallel played at various bars, clubs and even frat parties. These "secular" venues gave the band a great opportunity for their music to influence more than just a Christian based market.

"We want to avoid being boxed in," said Shane Moe, the lead and rhythm guitarist for the band.

Their goals with their debut album Turn the Tides which was released in July, 2002 were simple. "We want to draw kids to God," said Shane, "And make sure our music is an open door for a kid who is turned off to God or doesn't like Church."

They want their music to come across in a non-threatening way that opens listeners minds to discussion and spirituality. Shane said in the studio the band made every effort to use words that would not turn people off to God. On the same token, they were careful not to use words that would offend Christians.

Musically, the band wanted to have an album in which every track was "single worthy," said Nate Rippke, who shares lead vocals with Mark Jennings.

38th Parallel has been compared to Linkin Park numerous times, but perhaps only for the visual reasons. According to Nate it is more than having two lead vocalists. He believes that almost every song by Linkin Park is well written and single worthy and he feels his band shares that same writing technique.

Their music is stylistically diverse. They use metal guitar riffs, with a combination of singing and rapping. Their music is extremely energetic and well written. It could be played for anyone and it wouldn't be in-your-face Christian rock, yet the lack of obscenities would set it aside from much of the music the mainstream is used to.

Nate likes to think of their music as being "smart and intelligent, not cookie cutter at all."

They are an extremely humble group of musicians. Nate's favorite aspect of being a "rockstar" (as I called him) is performing for a big crowd of fans who know the music and love it. "We do it for a higher pupose," said Nate.

Shane shares that the same perspective when it comes to being a rockstar. His favorite aspect is influencing kids, who God isn't their thing, the after they hear their music, he seems so much more approachable.

The band has grown a lot since the release of Turn the Tides and Nate said the next album will be much better. Their faith in God is the common thread that holds the band together. Even though each member wants to be doing different things, they all believe their current path is the right one to follow at this time.

A year from now the band hopes to be playing more secular focused shows as well as gaining popularity among Christians and non-Christians. "We want to be acceptable to both markets," said Shane, "We're playing with Everclear soon."

By: Adam K. Zakroczymski III - Senior Editor / CEO