So what were you doing last Thursday night at 10 p.m. ET/ 9 P.M. CT?

Don't bother trying to convince us that you were helping your roommate with the dishes or slaving away at your homework (yeah, right!). We know that in the real world, most folks spend their Thursday nights glued to the TV set. Yes, that's right-Thursday is officially ER night.

Thus, many a man, woman, and child has spent many an hour gazing spellbound as the fictional medical drama unfolds. You've dreamed about being on staff at the now famous County General Hospital, rubbing elbows with Dr. Greene and Nurse Hathaway. You've practiced tourniquets on your little brother. You've even mastered extracting the wishbone from Parker Brothers' form of Operation.

But now it's time for a real challenge. In honor of the immensely popular medical drama that is ER, we at EXIT have staged our own kind of medical drama. Instead of the usual ho-hum band interview, we have transformed our conversation material into our very own EXIT Emergency Room scenario.

How exactly does that work, you ask? Well, enter the EXIT ER to find out. Our chosen band (The Insyderz) has a particular medical dilemma, and it's your job to diagnose exactly what went awry with this fun-lovin' group.

Ready to don those scrubs? Here's the medical chart for your perusal . . .


Patient-The Insyderz

As part of Christian ska's great triumvirate (along with The Supertones and Five Iron Frenzy), The Insyderz have met plenty of success. Following their debut Motor City Ska, the outfit surged in popularity with everybody's alterna-worship favorite, Skalleluia! Suddenly, Fight of My Life (their third full-length release) found a much wider audience base. And with their most recent offering (the highly anticipated Skalleluia, Too! album), The Insyderz would seem to be riding on Cloud 9.

One minor problem, though-the dreaded symptoms . . .

Symptoms - According to guitarist Kyle Wasil, "there's been quite a bit of blood" involved in recent Insyderz activities.

The horror of it all! So what's the cause, dear reader? That's what you're here to find out! Read ahead to find out all the possible reasons behind the bloodshed. And being that this is a practice exercise (don't try this one at home!), we'll eventually let you in on the secret behind all the bloodletting. But you'll have to wait until the end!

Now, on with the diagnoses!


Possible Diagnosis #1 - Biteous Lippus

Known in laymen's terms as "nervously biting the bottom lip," could it be that the reason behind The Insyderz's symptoms is simply a case of apprehension? Perhaps the group members have just been biting that bottom lip a little too hard in anticipation of fan response to the coming Skalleluia, Too album. After all, their second stab at horn-driven worship is easily one of the most anticipated follow-ups to hit Christian music shelves in a good while.

No pressure.

But actually, bassist Beau McCarthy views the whole thing with a healthy dose of optimism, maintaining, "I think people will really like it."

"The Skalleluia Too! album is another worship album, but I think it's definitely a lot different than Skalleluia! One in the sense of music," Beau explains. "Stylistically, it's extremely eclectic, and I feel that it's just an overall better album than Skalleluia!."

And despite the fact that listeners "are going to be surprised" by the variety of styles and songs on the disk ("a lot of the songs people have never heard of"), Beau and his musical compadres are confident that their work will be well-received.

"It's still us," he promises. "We arranged the songs; we wrote them. I think that it still has the heart of what The Insyderz are about . . . . Some of the stuff is definitely not ska, but there's definitely the punk-ska, hard, edgy stuff that we've always done on there. But there's also stuff on there that's so modern rock . . . and some really chilled, like almost R&B sounding kind of songs." Add to that some "really crazy kind of sound stuff," and you've got a good feel for the creativity that went into this CD.

"We just thought a lot of the tunes came out really, really cool and really worshipful. So they'll speak for themselves. It's just the Insyderz doing worship, and I think people will really like it."

And this confidence is certainly not unjustified. Consider the phenomenal fan reaction to the first Skalleluia! effort. As Beau recalls, its appeal extended to even the most nontraditional ska listeners. "[Both adults and kids] like to listen to those songs together. And you know, we weren't trying to bridge a gap between parents and kids so they could worship. We were just worshipping in the way that we do, that we wanted to worship, in a way that we could express our joy and could express our love of God. Because worship, as far as in the form of music, is that way-it's a joy, and it's a delight. And we felt that that was really expressed in the styles of songs."

Well said. But you might also argue that The Insyderz, in making another worship album, were simply capitalizing on their initial successes and on the incredible market for praise and worship these days. Which brings us to Diagnosis #2 . . .


Possible Diagnosis #2 - Bandwagonitis

Some of you more skeptical readers might assume that The Insyderz's recent blood loss comes from little more than scraped knees. Maybe the band was simply trying to crawl onto the now phenomenally faddish praise-and-worship bandwagon and got a little cut up in the process. It's an interesting diagnosis-after all, why didn't the guys put out another full-length album, instead of simply compiling another collection of p&w tunes?

And though Beau regretfully says, "Aw, man! I really can't fight it if they think that we're jumping on a bandwagon," he does remind us that "we [The Insyderz] have done worship from the beginning. From the first time we played clubs with mainstream bands, we would play worship songs because that's all we knew. That's just what we've done. We're a band that just loves to worship and has loved to take songs that we knew in church and to rewrite them."

"Some people might not think that's the most creative way. And we're not trying to lack in creativity. It's just that this felt like the right move for us at the time. And we have full-length albums out. We love to write our own original music, but we also love to worship."

And that love for worship is what the Insyderz are all about. Not prizing success or recognition, the band instead lists its values as "making sure that we love people everywhere we go, not just the people we come into contact with at our shows. That everywhere we go we have a fragrance about us that is Jesus, that is God and His presence. And that we're true worshipers is another value that we have, that we wanted to be true worshipers in spirit and in truth."

Beau wants people to recognize that "[the band] wasn't just a gimmick, it wasn't just a bandwagon. It was true worship." However, he is also quick to point out "that worship goes way beyond just music . . . . Music is a very, very small form of worship, because worship is daily living, and living in such a way that honors God. That's worship, giving your life . . . . And in that way, we just rejoice: in the way that we've been able to give our lives, in the way that God has wanted our lives."

Kyle Wasil, Insyderz's guitarist, elaborates on this calling from God, saying, "I think God's been able to appoint us to do worship with kids, pretty much enabling kids to worship in a way that they want to worship. I think that that's a privilege. We just feel really blessed to be able to do that . . . . [It's a great thing] each night, to see the kids worshipping the same God that I worship."

But along with the excitement that comes with that worship time, there can also arise some frustration. And that's where Diagnosis #3 comes into play . . .


Possible Diagnosis #3 - Aggressus Frustratus

What happens when nobody's listening? You're up in front of hundreds of people, pouring your heart out to God in a passionate time of worship, when you glance out into the crowd, only to see a sea of blank faces. People are talking, flirting, eating, joking-anything but worshiping. It's enough to make even the most patient person bang his head against the wall in frustration.

So do The Insyderz ever get totally aggravated by apathetic audiences? Surprisingly enough, Kyle answers, "Not really. As far as that goes, I don't expect everybody in there to really be right-on with what's going on. And I don't think it's realistic to expect that, because what I would rather see is the real deal going on in some people. And some people, I'd rather have them not just trying to fit in with what everybody else is doing. I would just rather it be real."

"Like our old drummer Nate would kind of get onto the crowd a little bit if they weren't totally silent the second he started talking . . . and I've really had a more laid-back attitude. The kids are there for a show. They're having fun . . . . And when you're playing a bunch of songs with all kinds of energy, and kids are jumping around and screaming, just because somebody starts talking about God, a lot of kids aren't directly trying to disrespect it. They just don't understand . . . . It's not like their preconceived idea is to dis everything that's going on."

"So I think that in general, if you want perfect stuff like that, go to church," Kyle concludes.

So much for that frustration theory.

So if The Insyderz aren't 1) biting their bottom lips anxiously 2) scraping their knees crawling onto bandwagons, or 3) banging their heads in frustration, then what exactly is the mysterious source behind "the quite a bit of blood" spilled in recent band activities?

As it turns out, my little Doogie Howsers, the real culprit behind the recent bloodshed is none other than our old childhood friend, the rollerskate.

"You know about the whole skating thing, right?" Kyle reminds.

Oh, yeah. The Holy Rollers Tour-bringing rock and roll back to the roller rink. So this fall's run around the country with Five Iron, the W's, and Justin McRoberts is the source of all that injury! But despite the accident-prone nature of the tour, Kyle is quick to point out that it's all "just minor stuff so far" and definitely worth the pain, considering the fun of the tour.

Beau enthusiastically agrees, stating that "the Holy Rollers tour is going great! . . . Being with the Five Iron guys, and The W's, and Justin McRoberts is just a fun atmosphere. Everybody just has a great camaraderie. I think everyone just seems to find a common ground. Everyone is really light-hearted and easygoing and just fun to work with, so it's been a blast."

And with that happy ending, we conclude this episode of the EXIT ER. No guest appearance by George Clooney or riveting dog bite victims-just a great band, fun music, and an awesome message. Now that's real entertainment.