Who are the current members of the Prodigal Sons ?

Greg Hobgood and J.R. Barbee are the Prodigal Sons . Greg is the one that makes all of the hardcore beats and sounds for your listening pleasure . I (JR) am the one that leads you into a worship service to give ALL praise to our Father God .

What made you want to record dance music ?

Well , Greg and I were in a band in 1988 called Resolution . We did cover songs of Depeche Mode and New Order . We did not go anywhere with that , so we started DJing house parties . Greg and I did this for a couple of years and we were not happy . Our lives were going no where and we had hit the bottom . So Greg and I gave our hearts , our minds , and our lives to Jesus Christ . He then in return put a NEW sound in our hearts , and we became the Prodigal Sons . We had always wanted to do dance music . Like the first time I listened to Kraftwerk (back in '82) , I knew I wanted to do that type of music . Dance music has been around for a real long time , and it will be around 'till Jesus returns .

How does the secular world react to your music ?

Sometimes better than the Christian world does . The secular world is searching for truth , and they are open to many types of teachings , even about Jesus Christ . When we do secular raves , we have people come up to us after the show and ask alot of questions about Christ and about being a Christian . I am talking about kids that are into drugs , homosexuality , witchcraft , and whatever else they can get themselves into . The world is hungry for the Word of God . We as Christians need to HOG the Truth , but give it away to others . It's time to wake up , and share Christ with those who have not heard the Good News .

What bands influence you ?

There are alot of bands that have influenced us . Like 808 State . When we first started the band all of our stuff sounded like 808 State . In '92 we opened up for them at a rave in L.A. . There were over 18,000 kids there and we preached the Word . Bands like LFO , CJ Bolland , HIA , FSOL , Underworld , Richard H. Kirt , N-joi , Orbital , and a whole lot more have influenced our sound . There are those who have influenced me to be a worship leader . Like Dennis Jernigan , Steve Green , Michael Card , and John Michael Talbot . Greg and I don't only like techno music , but alot of different types of music as well .

Finally , what are your future plans ?

It's hard to say . Whatever God wants us to do , we will do it . It looks like the Prodigal Sons will be around for some time now . We feel He has much bigger plans for us . We are planning to go to other countries . We are missionaries to the "Rave" world , and we've got a big job ahead of us . Pray for Christian dance music and N-soul records .

Thankyou so much for doing the interview .