Yesterday BREATHEcast reintroduced punk, reggae, rap band Pax217 to our readers via an interview with frontman David Tosti. In part two of our profile Tosti sheds some light into the creation of both the band's full lengths and some of the "high's and lows" of what was going on behind the scenes during their creation.

When asked what was the most memorable thing during the recording and touring process of Pax's self-titled debut in 2000, Tosti said, "Just absolutely the highest high."

(Photo : Pax217)

He continued, "Just doing something that you're so elated to be doing. To be 16 years-old and my brother 11 and to be playing shows with the Supertones - Making a record with a massive producer in L.A."

"This is actually happening right now!"

He recalled one of the best feelings was going out and touring the record day after day while selling merch and then coming back home to a hero's welcome. He said everyone came out and celebrated the fact that they "made it."

The album was a success for the young rockers as it spawned hits such as: "A.M.," "Sandbox Praise," and "Prizm."

Pax followed with the much more polished, produced, and perfected Engage in 2002, or at least that is what everyone thought, as Tosti's sentiment was a bit different.

Regarding the record, he said it was the "Toughest, hardest, completely stretched to all ends, difficult, stressful thing that I've ever done." He was sure to express "It wasn't a low, it was just extremely difficult on every level."

"We struggled through...it was like saying you're gonna dig and find some gold, and you're six inches in and you hit rock," he explained. "You know there's gold down there and you've got metal shovels and rock. Just slamming this rock as hard as you can and you've got no other tools and you're trying to figure out 'there has to be a way to get to this treasure'...That's what it felt like."

Tosti said at the time no one else was writing lyrics and melodies, but musically they wrote a lot of it together. He said a lot of it was just "pounding it out" and jamming on the instruments, which is something he is not used to. Tosti said he does not normally just sit down with three chords and write a song - he develops them more.

This method of songwriting caused a lot of strain in his creative process. "They are recording guitars right now, and I've got two hours and I'm supposed to sing this song, and I have no words or I have no melody, or I don't know what the chorus is yet."

(Photo : Pax217)

Tosti admitted that his breaking point came when he was just walking down the street kind of reflecting and giving himself a break.

"I'm in San Francisco making a record. This is supposed to be amazing...I think I'm going to have a heart attack," he admitted.

There were outside problems as well, which was touched on a bit in yesterday's article. They had some problems with their label and were going back and forth with lawyers. He also explained that the producer they were using was swamped with a lot of work, and the guy that was set to mix the album bailed on them five days prior.

Two particularly rough days involved a flurry of recording, traveling, and playing shows. Tosti and bassist Josh Auer finished the record at 2 a.m. and immediately went down to their apartment to pack. From there they took a cab to the airport, and then flew to Philly to jump on a Supertones and Slick Shoes tour. Pax217 had a show that night.

They were jetlagged, tired from recording and not sleeping, on the phone with the lawyers, and then had to start a tour with one of their high-energy performances. "I remember going, 'Oh my God. I'm going to play a show right now?' I just finished making the toughest thing of my life and I didn't even have a nap."

Overall Tosti loves his creation and holds the challenge of making it as a badge of honor. "There's a hundred and one thousand things I don't like about the record, sonically, mixed, tones...but I'm so proud of that record."

Engage had some great tracks as well with "Tonight," "Voices," and "Yesterday" becoming fan favorites.

During all that time Tosti kept the big picture in mind. His passion and love was to play music and play it well to try and "engage" audiences and captivate people with his art. Even now, all these years later, he still relishes and takes serious every compliment or story fans share with him on how the music may have helped them get through something.

One such story happened fairly recently. The song "Free to Be" off their first record was written about a house fire that Tosti, Josh, and others almost died in. He was playing it for his girlfriend and her mother, and told them about the story behind it. He then went to go check his email, and there was one from a fan explaining how that song changed his life.

The fan said, "Songs like 'Free to Be' helped me in my life...I have a lot of anxiety and I listen to that song a lot and it helps me." He could not believe that an 18 year-old song is still making an impact on people.

"That's the beauty of creating things. When we are all in our zone creating...we do stuff that other people notice," he said.

He compared it to his daughter drawing something and saying "'Hey daddy look at this' and I say 'Oh my gosh, that's amazing'. That's why I did the music. That's why it mattered."

(Photo : Screencap)

This concludes part two with Pax217's David Tosti. Be sure to check back with us tomorrow where Tosti dives into his ideas of the Christian music industry and how it was being on a label. Read part one here.