Relient K aims to stretch out on headlining dates

Relient K bassist/backing vocalist John Warne is especially excited about his band's forthcoming tour, if only because it may provide some chuckles for the Christian rock act.

According to Warne, fans should expect to see a "Robin Hood"-inspired stage set-up.

"We haven't quite fluffed it out yet. It's kind of a Sherwood Forest theme. We basically just want to see [singer] Matt Thiessen in tights," Warne said with a laugh.

Relient K's two month tour, which features openers Mae and Sherwood, kicks off March 9 in New York City and wraps up May 20 in Cleveland. The tour supports the group's forthcoming album, "Five Score and Seven Years Ago," due in stores March 6.

"We'll be going all over the US and doing a few Canadian dates, to get the Canadians involved," said Warne, who joined the band in 2004. "We'll be headlining, so we get to play a longer set than we've been used to--which is awesome. We'll play a bunch of new songs, but a bunch of old crowd favorites as well."

The album's lead single, "Must Have Done Something Right," picked up strong support from radio during its initial week out, according to Relient K's publicist, and Marc Webb (Santana, AFI) recently directed a video for the track. Fans can purchase a digital download of the single plus "Fallen Man," a bonus track that will not appear on the album, via the band's website.

"Five Score and Seven Years Ago" is a title reflective of the band's history, Warne said.

"The guys started getting together and playing together seven years ago, more like eight now," Warne said. "This is the fifth record, and it's five guys. It's kind of a cheesy title. It doesn't mean anything. But we had to think of something."

"It goes along with the whole, 'Four score and seven years ago,' but we one-upped the Gettysburg Address," he added with a laugh.

For "Five Score and Seven Years Ago," Relient K worked with producer Howard Benson, whose credits include My Chemical Romance, Less Than Jack and All-American Rejects.

"He's awesome," Warne said. "He's quite a producer. He just assembled his team of awesomeness out there in L.A. They've got the whole package out there. That was just amazing. I learned tons of different aspects. One of the most important was arranging the songs and learning how to put them together in a good form. He helps a lot with melodies and just basic structure of the song. That's the first basic thing when you want to get down in the studio. He's good with that."

The album includes "Plead the Fifth," an eyewitness account of Lincoln's assassination by a narrator of dubious reliability, and the album closer "Deathbed," an epic song that features Switchfoot's Jon Foreman as a guest vocalist.

"He sang a couple of lines in 'Deathbed.' He sings as the voice of God. That'll make him a megalomaniac. The band actually toured several times with Switchfoot kind of early on in their careers. I came in a little bit too late, as I haven't toured with them. But they seem to be real good friends and they talk quite a bit. It's something that's been in the works for awhile."

Relient K also includes lead guitarist Matt Hoopes, drummer Dave Douglas and guitarist Jon Schneck.