The Brink was privileged to meet the front man Zack Smith of the folk group The Walla Recovery. New to the music scene, the band hails from Ft. Worth, TX. Here's our conversation with Zack.

Brink: Tell us about your band's name.

Zack: I grew up on a street called Walla Avenue in Fort Worth, TX. When I  
was a child I had certain hopes and dreams that have been lost through  
the process of "growing up." I have often felt that I would be a  
better human being, that is, better acquainted with my true heart, if  
I hadn't. I believe that many of us have similar stories and at times  
feel as if a part of us is missing. Perhaps it's the part that helps  
us come alive and find the strength to live truly satisfied lives.  
Most young children seem to have an innate trust in their caretakers  
and guardians in difficult circumstances, and know exactly what they  
want to become in this world. The Walla Recovery is our own pursuit to  
find and relearn those qualities, and our encouraging others to do the  
same.

Brink: How long have you all known each other? How did you meet?

Zack: We met and began playing music together in late 2001 at our church. I  
was a youth ministry intern at the time, and Brandon, Jonathan, and  
Justin were high schoolers in our student praise team. For more than 3  
years we led worship for their peers on a weekly basis. We often look  
back on those times as foundational to who we are now, individually  
and corporately, musically, creatively, and socially. We found playing  
music together to be something we loved enough to keep going.

Brink: What is your purpose or objective as a band? What do you guys want  
to add to music?

Zack: We have so many goals! We want to create art that brings encouragement  
to those who need a friend, helps people to cast away their fears and  
experience joy. We'd like to fill a void of substance we see in  
popular music by offering well-crafted songs housing intimate  
conversations about our own lives and honest struggles, in hopes that  
people can find them worthwhile to engage with in their daily thoughts  
and relationships. We pursue a peaceful, intelligent presence, and  
excellence, because we believe the endeavor to produce something  
beautiful is difficult, should require our whole hearts, and will  
sharpen us and teach us more about the creator of all things. We'd  
like to become part of a community of people loving one another,  
finding our voice, and speaking the truth.

Brink: What are your thoughts on your latest EP, With Trembling?

Zack: This has been a project in the making for some time. Some tracks were  
written nearly a decade ago, and have been waiting to be refined and  
sent out into the world. It is a collection of related songs written  
during a tumultuous few years in my life, when I had ideas about  
entrusting myself to the Lord, but also found a hard time being  
comfortable with his sovereign will, and more questions and answers.  
Is he good? Will he do what's best for me? Can I trust him? At the  
start you'll find our main character living the best he can on his  
own, self-absorbed and ultimately dissatisfied. At the end, you find  
him open and curious, beginning a new journey toward a kind of death  
that makes way for true life: a joyful sacrifice. The road between is  
littered with events and conversations planned to help him remember  
the only one he can trust. It tells this story in the style of our own  
human history, pointing out creation, fall, redemption, and  
consummation.

Brink: What's your favorite song on the EP? Why?

Zack: Each of us in the band will have a different answer to this, but I  
have to say my favorite is "She Said." Honestly, it's easy to play and  
sing along with, and it speaks intimately about the source of our  
knowing who we are in this life. I often feel as if our songs come  
from outside of us, bearing messages that we need to hear as much as  
we need to relay, and this is especially true on this one. The  
realization it's helped me make has been life changing. A runner-up is  
"The Spoils of Warring Hearts," which is fun to play live, and the  
words really remind me that God loves me more than anything I love in  
his place.

Brink: Is there a band or song that inspires you when the Christian walk  
gets tough?

Zack: You should really check out 'Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken' by  
Indelible Grace (igracemusic.com), sung by Andy Osenga. It's brutally  
honest about how impossibly strong of a commitment is warranted by the  
astounding work of Jesus; thereby, it shines with the promise of grace  
to me. And the melody is enchanting. I can't sing every word of that  
song truthfully, but I pray that I will live in them nonetheless.

Brink: Are you guys going on tour any time soon?

Zack: We hope to be out playing shows later on this spring and summer, and  
we'd love to hear where our listeners would like to see us play, so  
that we can connect with them in their own cities and towns. At the  
start of 2010, we're currently taking a little time to further develop  
our live show and experiment with some new material, as well as make  
connections with as many indie bands and cool listening spots as we  
can. We also have some big secret plans in the works and we're really  
excited about the future.

Brink: Can you share the experience that led you to Christ?

Zack: When I was just out of junior high school I went to a summer camp with  
my youth group. I remember the speaker halfway through the week,  
talking about what you might experience when first realizing that  
you're dead because of your wrongdoing, trapped by a curse you can't  
escape, and that there's a way to live, to be free again, in Jesus.  
Even after attending church my entire life, I knew I hadn't  
experienced anything he was talking about. Grace found me there, and I  
saw the hopeless condition of my heart for the first time. A  
transformation from darkness to light has been taking place ever since.

Brink: How can people who are interested in The Walla Recovery get your EP?

Zack: It's available online at our website, thewallarecovery.com; on iTunes,  
Amazon MP3, and most other digital download stores. We are also giving  
away our previous EP on Noisetrade, and we like to let our Facebook,  
Twitter, and mailing list followers have a free download every now and  
then, too. You can find all the links to that stuff and more at  
thewallarecovery.com.

Brink: If you weren't a musician, what would you be?

Zack: This is so random, but lately I've been thinking about writing. I'm  
finding more and more great writers of fiction who inspire me:  
Tolkien, Lewis, Austen, Rowling. I think it would be fun to be an  
author and sculpt stories that take a while to ingest and people can  
really dive into. If that didn't work out, I think I would have fun  
getting into photography. Just more ways to join a meaningful  
commentary of life and enjoy all the wonderful things the Lord has made.

Check out The Walla Recovery's site: http://thewallarecovery.com

They're also on twitter: http://twitter.com/wallarecovery