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Biography (courtesy of Flicker Records)

Songs are like people they'll never be perfect.

With songs, you can write and rewrite, compose and rearrange, fiddle and twiddle and drive yourself mad striving for the perfect element that says exactly what you want to say. And still fall short.

With people, you can coax and cajole, reason and argue, plead and meddle and work yourself into a lather trying to make someone see the error of their ways. And still fall short.

It's when you come to that realization, that moment of clarity that nothing on this plane of existence can be perfect, when you accept that songs and people will always fall shortthat's when you start communicating. Everyday Sunday has reached that place.

Welcome to Anthems For The Imperfect.

"Perfection. It's not something any of us can reach at this point," says Everyday Sunday lead vocalist Trey Pearson. "I think it's a matter of finding out what you believe in and standing for it, going at it with everything you have and being passionate about it. If you really believe in something and care about it, you're going to be passionate about it."

Passion for their craft, for their God and for the people they come in contact with is what drives the members of Everyday Sunday: Pearson, guitarists Andrew Martin and Jason Siemer, bassist Dan Hunter and drummer Chris Hines. This young band of musicians from America's heartland has taken the experience of traveling all over the country to heart, touring in support of their Flicker Records debut Stand Up, and rechanneled those moments into Anthems For The Imperfect. The band's latest edition is a taut, 12-song collection of modern rock dedicated to gathering believers and encouraging them in times of both struggle and celebration.

"This whole album in general is trying to be something people can relate to. It's a very anthemic record, something we stand for, that we feel sums up who we are as people, as men of God, and as a band," Pearson says. "Jason just one day came up with the idea of 'anthems for the imperfect,' which pretty much sums up everything we are. I think everybody can relate to that, and that was the point."

The men of Everyday Sunday are unafraid to let it all hang out, be it their emotions or their penchant for driving rock. Guitars crunch and chime, cymbals crash and basses thump, from the very first moments of "I Wish I Could Say," Anthems For The Imperfect's opening track. From there, Everyday Sunday takes you on a journey both inwardly and outwardly focused, from the direct challenge of "Bring It On" to the wrenching story of "Gypsy Girl," from the admiration portrayed in "Herself" to the quiet nature of "The One."

"One of the first songs we wrote was "Bring It On" and it's about just getting to the point where we don't care what anybody thinks anymore. We're doing it because it's what we feel like we've been called to do," Pearson says. "You can either join us or not worry about it. It's the jumping off point of where creating something anthemic came from.

Pearson continues, "I wouldn't be quick to jump in and say 'The One' was a worship song, but the whole song is directed to God, and trying to describe what I'm feeling inside. I'm overwhelmed by how it came out, by what I was able to express."

Expressing emotion and a heart for today's youth generation comes easily for the band known as Everyday Sunday, who grew up out of a youth group in the central Ohio city of Columbus. In the years since forming, recording their well-received indie project Sleeper, joining the Flicker Records family and creating two projects for them, Everyday Sunday has honed both their live performance and songwriting skills. They know both the perks and pitfalls of being on a stage or having their music exist on a CD, and understand the pressure the spotlight can bring.

"But you start with the realization that no matter what you do, there are always people looking at you," Pearson says. "For us, it might be on something of a different level, what with being a band, playing on a stage every night and being on the radio. But at the same time, whether you're a teenager in high school or you're a door salesman or some guy in a band, there are always people looking at you. You're always going to be making an impact on somebody's life. It's deciding what you're going to do with that power."

As with many second records, the timeframe for the creation of Anthems For The Imperfect was compressed, brought together in the midst of Everyday Sunday's relentless touring schedule. But the band made the conscious decision to not stop the writing process after the first record, continually creating new songs in the midst of learning the ropes of being a full-time band.

"The biggest difference with this record is that it has a whole lot more attitude," Pearson says. "We've all lived on the road together for the past couple of years, which is a completely different situation than for our first album. We all worked part-time jobs and did the band thing on the side then. Everything for this album was written over the past year and a half, where I wrote half of the first record in high school and then revamped a lot of it.

"We have two guitar players now, so I think we were able to do a lot more this time around," he adds. "We're a modern rock band, but melodies and hooks have always been very important to us. We were able to work more with guitar melodies and do more intricate arrangements by having two guitar players."

But where the creation of rock music in the studio can sometimes get bogged down with throwing everything possible at the track, then sorting out the live show ramifications later, Everyday Sunday took strides to make sure the live side wouldn't suffer, either music-wise or message-wise. "I think we always have our live show in mind when we write music. It's very important to have that kind of energy that really grabs the crowd," Pearson says. "As far as relating to people lyrically, to me the best way to do that is honesty - being as real and honest as you can be, baring it all, putting it out there. When you do that, you find a lot of people who feel the same way and can relate to that."

Existing as a working band within Christian music is frequently about more than just being a rock star. It's about being a counselor and a friend and a role model, albeit from a distance, to those who come in contact with your music. The men in Everyday Sunday take all of those roles to heart, and get to that point only through an intense amount of self-examination.

"You find out what you believe in, and then you go at it with everything you have," Pearson says. "That's the only way you can stay real, because you'll always find people who are different and are going to test what you believe or what you think.

So while their lives are no more or less perfect than anyone else's, this is the life Everyday Sunday has been called to for this season. "The things we've experienced together as a band on the road, the people we've met, the things that have happened in our own lives, and seeing the things that have happened in other peoples' lives" Pearson reflects. "It's been a blessing we can't forget and wouldn't trade for anything, and I think that affects every part of our lives."

They've chronicled their impressions on Anthems For The Imperfect. The songs aren't perfect. Neither are the guys in Everyday Sunday. But there's power, honesty and encouragement in the striving, and that's what they hope you'll take away from the experience.