Full Name:

Miguel Angel DeJesus 

Michael Kevin Johnston 
 

Birthplace:

Miguel: Santurce, Puerto Rico

Michael: Tifton, Georgia 
 

Birth Order:

Miguel: Oldest of two

Michael: Youngest of four 
 

Current Pets:

Miguel: Grommit (a cocker spaniel puppy)

Michael: none 
 

Favorite all-time pet:

Miguel: Boliche (dog)

Michael: It’s a tie! Lexie (dog), Scout (horse) 
 

Indulgences (Guilty Pleasures):

Miguel: When I’m home, I’ll take my stepson to school in the morning, and then while my wife is at work I love watching the People’s Court. I am hooked. [Michael chimes in: “We’re going to start calling you Rain Man!”] I’m not saying that I happen to see it while flipping channels, I actually look forward to it!

Michael: The only thing I can think of that I actually look forward to like that is “The Simpsons.” But I don’t necessarily feel guilty about it!
 

Thing about you that drives people crazy:

Miguel: My snoring. Nobody wants to stay in a hotel room with me. The other guys flip quarters or do rock/paper/scissors to see who is going to get stuck with me!

Michael: I would probably have to say that sometimes I have no concept of time [Miguel interrupts: “YES!”] I just lose track; I don’t know what it is.
 

When you were a child, what was your dream vocation?

Miguel: When I was real little I wanted to be a doctor. I remember playing with those little doctor’s kits. I also used to love playing with that game, “Operation”, where you had to take out the bones.

Michael: I still want to be a cowboy. Where I grew up was a very rural area, and I was too young at the time but there were a couple of years where my brother would go over to the rodeo arena and ride steers. I would always go and watch.
 

Something that makes you want to climb the wall:

Miguel: When ska fans wait in line for 20-30 minutes after our show, just to tell us that we would be cool if we would wear ska [clothing.] They are the coolest fans if you are a ska band, but many of them will go out of their way to tell you that you’re not cool because you’re not ska.

Michael: This whole trend of the cartoon character Calvin urinating on things drives me crazy. I would like to be a part of starting some legislation to eradicate that. That’s just way, way, way over the line.
 

An Embarrassing Moment:

Miguel: I’ve fallen a couple of times on stage – on my butt, legs up in the air. I trip over anything – cords, monitors, you name it.

Michael: Most recently, I was in a business meeting and the people from my record company came in the restaurant and I introduced one of the ladies as someone else. That was pretty embarrassing.
 

Most memorable vacation:

Miguel: My recent honeymoon (I got married February 5, 2000.) We went to Crested Butte, Colorado.

Michael: My best friend is Todd Olsen from The Waiting. He and I went to Costa Rica a couple of years ago to go surfing.
 

What book(s) are you reading now?

Miguel: I’m finishing The Brothers Karamazov, by Dostoyevsky 

Michael: I just got finished with Roaring Lambs, by Bob Briner 
 

All-time Favorite TV Show:

Miguel: The Incredible Hulk. I still watch reruns. 

Michael: The Andy Griffith Show 
 

Fast food chain that knows you by name:

Miguel: Taco Bell 

Michael: Wendy’s 
 

Movie you couldn’t bear to sit through again:

Miguel: Wild, Wild West

Michael: Two If By Sea 
 

Best practical joke ever played on you:

Miguel: One time we played a gig on Halloween night, and the hotel where we were staying was right next to a haunted house. So the next morning one of the doors into the haunted house was still open, even though it was officially closed. One of the guys went in there and hid, and then two of the other guys called me and said, ‘Hey, let’s go walk around in that Haunted House and see what’s in there.’ So they took me there to scare me, and boy did they! [Michael adds: “Miguel can scream like a girl.] I ran so fast when he jumped out at me!

Michael: I can’t think of a time when anybody has played a practical joke on me. I really can’t. People have hid and jumped out to scare me and stuff, but nothing major. I’ve been a part of a pretty elaborate practical joke, though. We have a friend that came up to stay with us because he was going to take the PCAT at Emory University (which is close to where we lived.) When he went to bed we let him sleep for an hour and a half or so, and then set the clocks forward, woke him up, and told him that he was going to be late if he didn’t get in the shower. It was really funny… I had a hard time keeping a straight face because there were guys in the kitchen fixing waffles and cereal; another guy was in the bathroom shaving. We had a videotape of Mickey Mouse cartoons playing because it was Saturday morning. Even though it was dark outside it never dawned on him until he got in his vehicle and was backing out. He looked behind him and there was a guy running after him to tell him.
 

Who, besides a blood relative profoundly influenced your life?

Miguel: I’ve never met this guy but I’ve read his book. J. I. Packer wrote a book entitled Knowing God. And outside of reading the bible, it’s been the most life-changing experience I’ve ever had. I read it about eight or nine years ago, but I still go back to it frequently. It gave me a desire and a hunger to keep seeking after God’s truth.

Michael: I really feel blessed to have a lot of great friends. I think my friends have affected me a lot. I would have to say that when I met Danny Stevens, he was the first person my age that had a real passion for getting to know God and being a disciple of Christ. I think seeing that in him, and the friendship that developed in us has been a turning point. It gave me some encouragement and direction I needed to focus on my relationship with God.
 

Favorite Holiday:

Miguel: Christmas 

Michael: I love Christmas – I have a fairly large family, which has left me with a lot of special Christmas memories. And I love Christmas music. My favorite Christmas disc is the Elvis Christmas record -- My mom always had that record playing.
 

One thing most people don’t know about me is:

Miguel: Most people don’t know that I helped my dad build a race car. I love racing. I got an 8th place trophy once!

Michael: That I was on a championship air rifle team. 
 

You are having a dinner party where you can invite any four people
who have ever lived. Who would you invite?

Miguel: C. S. Lewis, My grandma – she died in ’93, Jonah, and Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons)

Michael: One of the things that I enjoy most is getting a couple of people together and then observe their interaction. So I could go the route of inviting my mother and Elvis… but I’ll say George MacDonald, C. S. Lewis, John Lennon, and David Wilcox.
 

Thing you’ve always wanted to do but have never gotten around to:

Miguel: Lately I’ve been thinking that I’d like to fly a plane. 

Michael: I really, really, really want to hike the Appalachian Trail. 
 

I wish my parents had named me:

Miguel: I don’t think I could get a better name than Miguel Angel DeJesus

Michael: Joaquin
 

For the life of me, I can’t:

Miguel [for Michael]: For the life of him Michael can’t propose to his girlfriend. [Ed Note: At this point there is dead silence on Michael’s end of the phone. Eventually, Michael says, sheepishly, “I have nothing to say. It’s not totally untrue.”]

Michael [for Miguel]: Miguel can’t stop watching People’s Court.
 

If I wasn’t making music, I’d be:

Miguel: Very, very sad. 

Michael: I would like to try to teach others what I know about music.
 

When I have a few days off from the road, you’ll find me:

Miguel: Watching People’s Court [laughing]. 

Michael: Either at a music store or at “The Farmer’s Market.” 
 

Favorite pastime on the bus:

Miguel: Watch Simpson videos, play video games, play CD’s and get into good intellectual/theological arguments with each other. 
 

Musical influences:

Miguel: Cheap Trick, Spanish Salsa music, The Samples 

Michael: David Wilcox, The Waiting 
 

What was on your lunchbox when you were a kid?

Miguel: The Six Million Dollar Man 

Michael: Snoopy 
 

What is your all-time favorite song from your repertoire why?

Miguel: Monkey’s Paw 

Michael: Clean – from the new record 
 

What are your plans for this fall?

Michael: We’re releasing a new record on September 26, and will be starting a tour the very next day with The Waiting, Jeni Varnadeau, and Fred Herring. Coming to a city near you!