"And then it takes tons and tons of polishing," says Hinton. And while it may be true, he says, that "every song is a gift. We have to take the gift and polish it. It's rare to ever be given a polished stone."

The men work well together, they say, because they act as each other's editors. "We're each other's sounding boards," says Randle. "And the end becomes greater than the sum of the parts."

Both Hinton and Randle have paid their dues in the field. Both grew up with music, and played in a number of bands in high school and college. Hinton has played and recorded as a solo artist. But they've also enjoyed coming together, finding someone else that shares not only a passion for writing but a similar way of looking at life.

And they both enjoy performing. "It gives us a chance to tell our stories," says Hinton.

Joshua Creek has performed at everything from firesides and girls' camps to opening for the Bellamy Brothers at the Sandy Amphitheater. Their most recent appearance was at the 18th Annual Timpanogos Storytelling Festival.

Sometimes it is just the two of them, but they often perform with a five-piece band that includes Ron Saltmarsh, lead guitar; Jim Hollister, drums and percussion; and Dave Despain, keyboards. With the band, Hinton plays guitar and sings lead vocals; Randle plays bass and sings backup.

"That is fun for us to hang out with musicians we respect so much," says Hinton.

But a big part of the joy of performing is the audience connection, they say. They may not have set out to change lives, but they have.

"It's fun to play when you have material that you know is connecting with people on an emotional level. That's the big payoff in all this," says Randle, "when we have people come up and say 'that song turned my life around' or 'I pulled to the side of the road in tears when I first heard that song."'

It's often hard for songwriters to know the impact they have on people; they put their songs out there, and who knows where they will go. "Every song has a different meaning for different people," says Hinton. "People often connect in different ways than we thought they might. Sometimes it's totally different."

So, when those times come along when they do hear what one of their songs has meant so someone, "You feel, 'wow!"' says Randle. "But you also feel humble that the gift you've been given can do that, and you feel a responsibility to take care of that gift."

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E-mail: carma@desnews.com