Don't ask P.O.D. about their faith no more

P.O.D. try to keep it just about the music and the fans.

They're sick of answering the Christian-rockers question. P.O.D. (that's short for Payable On Death) are Christians. So what?

"How many times can you answer the same question over and over again?" says bass player, Traa, who, along with fellow members of P.O.D., headlines Edgefest on Saturday at the Supertop along with Elemeno P, the Living End, Aaradhna and Nesian Mystik, among others.

"I think a lot of people are just kind of over it, you know?"

He may be right. But you still have to ask about the band's faith because with rousing and spiritual anthems like Alive and Youth Of the Nation it's obvious their Christian beliefs are important. Although you have to give P.O.D. this, they're not ones to preach.

"When we first started out you had the people who were the anti-P.O.D. people - if you want to call them that. Their whole thing was to go out and make us look like idiots. But after a while I think they realised that the music is what P.O.D.'s about, and [the band's faith] just didn't matter any more.

"I think we kind of gained a lot of respect. And these days there's so much processed music around, and so many bands who aren't talking about anything worthwhile, and their music isn't that great, and people have got to the point where if it's good music, it's good music."

On their breakthrough album in New Zealand, 2001's Satellite, which included Youth of the Nation and Alive, P.O.D. had some great songs but their sound was hardly innovative. However, their latest album, Testify, is more of a unique beast and mixes reggae, metal, rap and rock seamlessly while retaining the grandiose P.O.D. sound.

The album is more diverse and as a result, more interesting and features guests like Samoan hip-hop group Boo Ya Tribe and hot new American reggae-rap star, Matisyahu (a Hasidic Jew who performs in full Orthodox regalia).

The latter artist especially is an example of P.O.D.'s aim to evolve their sound.

They were drawn to him for both spiritual and musical reasons. "The thing I like about Matisyahu is his originality. He's got his own thing happening," says Traa.

"P.O.D. has a very spiritual basis, and Matisyahu is singing about something [important], man, he's singing about good things and he's got good vibes. That's what P.O.D. is about and we thought the mix between the two bands would work and we were working on a song that we thought would work with him and we called him up and that's how it happened.

"Our thing, this time round, was to push ourselves musically and explore a lot of different stuff but not move away from what we are inspired to do music for. You know, it's cool to go out and try different things but I think we wanted to try and keep it as P.O.D. as possible as well. We tried to have fun with this album and do whatever we felt."

P.O.D.'s love of playing music, rather than a common belief in God, was why Traa, Sonny (singer/MC), Wuv (drummer) and original guitarist, Marcos (who left the band in 2003 and was replaced by Jason Truby), started P.O.D. in 1992.

They were doing the "rap rock thing" back then and Traa is critical of the bands - he doesn't name names - who used that genre of music later in the 90s just to make money.

"A lot of them made it up for the moment so they could sell albums. When P.O.D. first started we had a certain sound and over the years we've never changed from what P.O.D. originally was.

"We have always done the rap and rock thing and because of that we've been able to stay original because it's not something we made up just so we could sell albums.

"When you keep it just about the music, just about the fans, just about why we started out making music in the beginning, then it simplifies everything."

He pauses, and sounding like a rabid music fan, proclaims: "P.O.D. is sticking to what P.O.D. does even though people think it's over with.

"But it's not over with until we say it's over with. And it's not over with until the fans say it's over with."* P.O.D. play at Edgefest with Presidents of the USA, The Living End, Elemeno P, Thirsty Merc, Aaradhna and Savage, Frontline, Nesian Mystik, and more

Where & when: Supertop, Ericsson Stadium, Saturday

Essential albums: Satellite (2001); Testify (2006)