When David Bazan, Pedro the Lion's founder, guitarist, and vocalist, attended Northwest College, he formed a unique bond with one of his professors. The small Christian liberal arts school would construct and deconstruct the entire belief system of its students every three weeks.

Correspondingly, every three weeks, the students would learn a set of four hymns, which they would sing every day before class. Bazan looked upon his classmates with disdain, because they did not respect the professor he deeply admired. Of the songs, they learned only the words and the melody, but one particular foursome of songs stayed with Bazan.

"They changed everything I believed about music, about faith, about self-centeredness, everything," said Bazan.

After teaching at Northwest for 25 years, that professor died last year, and his funeral drew nearly 1,000 people. "At the funeral we all sang those four hymns," said Bazan, "He never wanted us to drag the tempo, because they were really joyful songs. I didn't cry, but it was profoundly moving because of what I knew about him, what those songs meant to him, and what I learned through singing those songs."

Music has wrapped itself around emotion, knowledge and spirit throughout Bazan's life. When Bazan listened to his mother sing at church, he prayed the entire time that she would hold her composure. The songs she sang moved her to tears.

"She has the most honest voice and delivery I have ever heard," said Bazan. His father majored in music theory and as a pastor, always played the piano at church. His humility has influenced the way David approaches his music.

Pedro the Lion just released their first full-length album, It's Hard to Find a Friend, in September. They play stripped-down straight-forward intelligent ballads, with intelligent yet approachable personal writing that quickly engages even the most detached listener. He relates complex problems such as drug addiction, in a starkly simple manner. The line, "It makes me feel so good to always tell you when you're wrong; the big man that I am to always have to put you down," describes an often-replicated, rarely-admitted relationship problem. Somehow, Pedro the Lion manages to share the discovery of infidelity sounding incredibly pained without sounding incredibly pathetic.

The single "Big Trucks" best exemplifies the directness and honesty of their music. The ballad depicts a conversation between a boy and his father based on a conversation Bazan had with his father. At the time, Bazan challenged his father on the way his father's boss treated him.

"I got all idealistic, but my father said, 'You don't know where he's coming from and why he's reacting to me in this way, and your attitude is not the best for this situation' and that stuck in my head. I see a red flag go off when I see myself reacting like that again."

"I built a song around that. In the song, the father uses an illustration of cars to prove his point." Bazan recorded that song, and the entire album with Jonathan Ford, who has since moved on. Pedro the Lion originally contained four friends of Bazan; they eventually dropped out to pursue other aspects of their lives. Bazan wanted to make a career out of music, and needed people around him with the same desire.

This summer, he enlisted Josh Golden (bass) and Ben Brubaker (drums) to join and support the album with live shows. Golden had dabbled in guitar. He once traded Violent Femmes and Ramones T-shirts for a guitar, learned the first line of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" then played for his own enjoyment. A few years ago, he heard a Casa Recordings compilation on which Bazan appeared.

"There were two songs on it that David did that paled everything else," said Golden. "My goal was to play with him if I had the opportunity."

So upon graduating from Northeastern University with a degree in physical therapy, Golden, with Bazan along for the ride, made the trek from Boston. "I may have moved here and played in a band just for fun, but now it,s a career move," said Golden.

Brubaker had seen the music as career business when hanging around touring bands. After a self-described miserable experience at Ballard High School ("I would go home every day for lunch and eat alone.") Brubaker traveled constantly to sort out the overall picture of his life.

"Traveling makes you feel like you never want to be confined, but there is a limit to depth of friendship and how good you can get at something by doing that," said Brubaker.

While taking art classes in Maine, he decided to return home this spring, upon which he met Bazan through a mutual friend. "Before I met David, I was so amazed by the thoughtfulness both musically and lyrically of Pedro the Lion," said Brubaker. "When I met him I was searching for something to commit to," said Brubaker. He banged on pots and pans as a child, but Brubaker had no true percussion experience. One night Bazan described his vision of the perfect drummer for Pedro the Lion, that night Brubaker lay awake thinking how he wanted to become that drummer. The next day, Bazan questioned their friend Melissa about Brubaker and decided to have him join the band.

Bazan cared more about ideals, goals and dedication than sheer skill. Brubaker began taking drum lessons immediately. A few weeks later he found himself in
front of 2,000 people at the Cornerstone Festival in Illinois. They could have spent several months practicing, but in its new incarnation, Pedro the Lion pushed forward.

"I think the pressure pulled something out of us we would not have found otherwise," said Bazan. This October, the band found themselves playing KCMU's Live Room, along with KNDD's Young and the Restless Show. As Brubaker and Golden learn the 20-song backlog of Pedro the Lion material, the bands clings to original arrangements. "We're playing at the limit of our abilities, every time we play live we know we're pushing the envelope," said Bazan.

Upon completing their fall tour, Pedro the Lion plans to record an EP and release it on Made in Mexico records. The Seattle label allows them the creative freedom and integrity they find in acts such as Fugazi and Loreena McKinnit.

Through hard work, they believe they can turn playing music with friends into a steady income. Financial rewards aside, music sings a different siren call to Pedro the Lion. "All art affects us in different and profound ways; a newscast affects us because it presents information," said Bazan. "Song is my favorite because the melody and the lyrics can present information in a way nothing else can. It's so very powerful a medium."

Pedro the Lion's songs draw their power from the honesty and openness of their messages. People will flock to them to hear someone verbalize their inner feelings so acutely. Perhaps their music could affect someone as those four hymns affected Bazan.