Since All Together Separate started out as the praise band for a local Thursday night Bible study, it is perhaps fitting that, five years later, the group is now the praise band for Harvest Crusade Youth Nights. But a quick listen to its self-titled debut CD will convince anyone that Ardent Records’ new soul/funk/rock/jazz band isn’t defined by its ventures in praise & worship. Not only is the music marked by an amazing diversity, the band members are a pretty eclectic group as well.

There is little reason the four 20-something friends should have ever gotten together, but the members of All Together Separate say their faith has become their common bond. The diversity of the group’s interests extends past the variety of musical flavors on the CD. Just ask these guys what they’d be doing if they weren’t living the record-deal dream, and you’ll find them everywhere from the college campus to the streets. "God gave me music from the very beginning," explains bass player Charles Rumahlewang. "For me, I don’t think there are any other options."

However, front man Dex Alexander says he would be a philosophy professor. "No doubt about it, when the band thing is over, I am going back to school," Alexander says. "I’ll get a masters and a doctorate in philosophy and teach ethics. Because Christianity impacts lives, changes lives and directs people in how to live, I think the greatest need for Christian philosophers is in the area of ethics."

Drawing on his home life to formulate his answer, guitarist/vocalist Andrew Shirley says, "I would work with handicapped children." Shirley’s younger brother has Downs Syndrome. "I grew up taking care of him a lot, and I was always around his friends and his classes in special education. My heart is really just bent that way. I find that it is very satisfying to help care for these handicapped kids that most people don’t know how to deal with."

Perhaps the most intriguing answer comes from drummer/percussionist Ben Rayls, who studied psychology in college. "I’d study forensic psychology, be in some branch of law enforcement," he says. "I’d be one of those guys who does hostage negotiation or maybe a profiler, one of those guys who gets into the mind of a serial killer."