It's interesting how the Jars of Clay guys attack their food. Stephen Mason (22), the bassist with the sideburns, pounces on the satay, waving the stick about like a mad symphony conductor. Chattering away non-stop, he tries to steal a peek at my interview questions. Sly fella! Sweet-tempered lead vocalist Dan Haseltine (24) munches on chicken crunch, waiting patiently for a lull in the conversation to add his two cents worth. Keyboardist Charlie Lowell (24) pokes at a nacho with his fork, his other hand playfully grabbing my question list. Guitarist Matthew Odmark (23) holds the ends of his buffalo wing with both hands and quietly nibbles away like a chipmunk.

We're enjoying lunch and some chit-chat with Jars of Clay at Planet Hollywood and it's apparent these lads are as different as um... the way they eat! Steve and Charlie are talkative, lively and they'll answer every question you ask. Dan and Matt are quieter, perfectly content with sucking on ice cubes, adding little thoughtful comments now and then.

Contrary to what some people think, this bunch of Christian rockers aren't prissy or worse -- a dead bore! Friendly, charming and ever-mindful of their P's and Q's, the Jars are pretty wacky and always game for a laugh!

Not convinced? Check'em out!

LIME: Hi guys, ready for some juicy questions?

All: (Enthusiastically) Yeah!

Steve: You know, it's so funny how people keep expecting us to be ultra-serious. Yesterday, every question this reporter asked was about our religion, about it's impact on showbiz, blah blah... heavy stuff! Finally we told her, "You know, you can ask us silly questions, we don't mind!"

LIME: Erm... here's one: how do you keep from falling asleep in church?

Charlie: (Guffaws) We're honestly not home that often, so going to church is such a big treat! We'll never fall asleep!

Steve: Yeah, the church we go to is not the solemn, preachy sort. We wear jeans and tees and the pastors talk about their personal experiences.

Charlie: It's a great church, but it isn't really beautiful. My wedding was held in a prettier church.

Matt: (Shyly) I'm getting married soon. It'll be at a church in my fiancee's hometown.

LIME: Speaking of marriages, how do you guys keep the spark alive when you're on the road and apart from your wives so much?

Steve: It takes extra effort, but even if we weren't traveling, there'd still be problems in every marriage.

Matt: Lots of phone calls, email...

Charlie: We travel with a laptop. Sometimes, we bring our wives with us. I just got married a few weeks ago and my wife in here in Singapore, too!

LIME: Gosh, is this your honeymoon?

Charlie: No way! We had a proper one, but it's sure fun to have her around.

LIME: You're four cute guys in a band. Do people ever label you a boyband?

All: (Laugh for ages) No, no, no!

Dan: I think as long as people are enjoying our music, we're happy. We don't really think about how they categorize us.

Charlie: But nobody would call us a boyband 'cos we play musical instruments and we're not very good at dancing!

Matt: And we're not THAT cute!

LIME: What do you guys do for fun?

Steve: We go bowling very often. We listen to a lot of music, you'd catch us at Tower Records all the time. We listen to The Verve....

Charlie: ...Radiohead, Sheryl Crow.

Matt: And Sting! He's amazing.

LIME: You opened a concert for him, didn't you? How was it?

All (Loudly) It was great!

Steve: Yeah, they gave us free tickets, so after our part was done, we went right out to catch his gig. We're such fans so it was a real honour to perform with him. That was one of the highlights of our career.

LIME: Who'd you most like to work with?

Steve: U2, Sheryl Crow, Sting....

LIME: Who'd you like to be stuck in a lift with?

Steve: Sean Connery [Old actor famous for playing the first James Bond]. I'd just listen to him talk. About anything!

Dan: Er... my wife?

LIME: We hear you guys have a 'no profanity' rule when you're on stage. Off stage, what happens if you're having a bad day and someone makes you really, really mad?

All: (Shamefaced) Oh yeah, we swear.

Steve: I think that's one of the greatest misconceptions about us. It's not true that when you're a Christian, you don't get frustrated and mad at people.

Charlie: When we get really mad, we don't kick stuff or anything, but we sort of seethe inside until we cool down. There's a kind of understanding in the band that if say, Matt, is having a crappy day, we'd give him space and not bug him. It's kind of like a marriage.

Dan: (Sadly) I've said cuss words on stage before. I felt real bad about it.

LIME: If you weren't in Jars of Clay, what would you be doing now?

Steve: (Cheekily) Probably sitting in Starbucks, drinking coffee and thinking about what I'd like to be doing. Haha! Maybe I'd be a manager at Denny's or be in a sales position 'cos I talk a lot. Or I'd have a radio talkshow!

Charlie: I'd probably be teaching high school or music to elementary school kids.

Matt: I'd be a teacher, too.

Dan: I'd have a camp for kids. It's a long time dream of mine.

"Saints or sinners?" (How many of the Seven Deadly Sins are the Jars of Clay guilty of? They 'fess up!)

PRIDE --- Steve: I suppose as performers, it's pretty inevitable. We struggle with the issue of pride all the time. We want to remain humble folks and not be swell-headed about our success.

COVETOUSNESS --- Dan: When we notice that other bands have nicer guitars, boy, do we feel like grabbing them!

ENVY --- Charlie: Sometimes I look around and spot a fella with a great body. He's probably worked out really hard while I've been lazing about. Yeah, I admit I get envious of his bod.

WRATH --- Matt: Like, I'm having an awful night and right before a show, one of my guitar strings break. That gets me all mad! Dan: I hardly ever get mad, but when I do... The rest: Arrghh!!

GLUTTONY --- All: We're crazy about Starbucks Coffee. Soon as we touched down in Singapore, we started asking if there was a Starbucks around!

Er... that's gluttony, innit?

SLOTH --- All: We're too busy to be lazy!

LECHERY --- Charlie: Heh, heh, heh! I just got married, I'm allowed to be lecherous! Seriously, I think it's something everybody struggles with. Especially guys, because we're er... scientifically proven to be more prone to it. We try to face it honestly and talk it out!

"In the beginning..." * Four American college-mates Dan Haseltine, Charlie Lowell, Steve Mason and Matt Bronleewe (later replaced by Matt Odmark), united by their love for Christian contemporary music, form a band. * Calling themselves Jars of Clay, they win a gospel music competition in 1994. Pretty soon, record companies are banging on their hostel room doors in a bid to sign them up! * Their curious moniker comes from a Bible verse which describes humanity as frail "jars of clay." * Their debut self-titled album, released in 1995, sells two million copies. Hits 'Liquid' and 'Love Song for a Savior' top the Perfect Ten charts. Old rocker Sting invites them to be his opening act. * In 1996, they win Perfect Ten's Discovery of the Year award. * Their new album Much Afraid debuts at No. 8 on the Billboard charts. Their most recent hit, 'Crazy Times', has already hit No. 1 on the Perfect Ten charts!

Much Afraid is out in the stores.