Thousand Foot Krutch frontman Trevor McNevan underwent an emergency appendectomy this past weekend in Seattle, Wash., as the band was preparing for an appearance at the Creation Northwest festival. McNevan is also a member of FM Static.
There’s no word on when he will be back with the bands.
Claude Deuce, the man behind Deitrick Haddon, Big Al and Tonex, is stepping out from behind the board with his debut CD, “Claude Deuce, The Young Elder.” BET will preview the video “It Ain’t Over” tonight on its Video Gospel show. Deuce displays a velvet voice that blends well with his smooth jazz style of praise and worship music. If you missed the debut, here’s a link on YouTube.
Deuce describes his music as “urban hymnal … Reality & Beats, my R&B.” On the track “4 Who U R” you can hear one of Deuce’s influences — Stevie Wonder, old school. “Don’t 4get” is Deuce’s favorite on the CD because of the variety of arrangements and “hot” vocals. Deuce is an accomplished musician — drums, sax, base guitar and keys — and with influences as Wonder and Kanye West, he is sure to be an influence in his own right.
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Glory Revealed II is bound for numerous Dove Awards, Special to The Denver Post
Throw twenty-plus artists in a secluded rustic Georgia mountain lodge and what you get is a CD that is a slice of Americana — music that exudes its bluegrass roots with an underlying dash of rock and it’s all based on Scripture.
“Glory Revealed II: The Word of God in Worship” is the latest project of Third Day’s Mac Powell on Provident Label Group. With Powell’s name stamped on it, along with such artists as Natalie Grant, Mark Hall, Matt Maher, Jason Crabb, Amy Grant and Brandon Heath, this CD is sure to garner plenty of Dove Award nominations.
By breaking away from their respective styles of music the artists reveal their range and comfort with the old-style bluegrass and country genres complete with banjo, mandolin and a fiddle.
Sara Evans, who performed at Tuesday’s Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game, teams with Bethany Olds for “There is a City,” a traditional bluegrass tune. It is my favorite on the CD, bringing back memories of sipping sweet tea on the front porch of my parent’s Virginia home on a hot summer muggy night. It’s a song that will not get the radio airtime that the first track “How Great” with Powell, Shane Everett, Jonathan Shelton and Brian Littrell will surely garner, or Mark Hall’s and Trevor Morgan’s teaming up on “Rejoice in the Lord,” but “There is a City” is worth finding.
The CD is filled with gems like “There is a City,” leading the listener on a spiritual journey through the Deep South.
Jonny Diaz holds the No. 1 hit on Christian music radio with “More Beautiful You.”
Can you imagine being on the path to a professional baseball career, a path that is lined with million-dollar contracts and beautiful women? The riches of this world at your beck and call? And then just giving it all up for God?
That’s what Jonny Diaz is all about in a nutshell. He is from a family of baseball players — his older brother Matt plays for the Atlanta Braves — so the athletic gene runs in his family. But as Diaz says, God had a different plan for him besides running down fly balls in right field. A plan that has Diaz’s single, “More Beautiful You” at No. 1 on the AC Indicator Charts (Radio & Records Music Tracking/Billboard).
Jonny and his brother Matt, who plays for the Atlanta Braves.
With a baseball scholarship to Florida State University in hand, Diaz (pronounced DIE-ez) began feeling God’s pull during his freshman year in 2002.
Looking for something to do this weekend that won’t set your pocketbook back? “Rally in the Rockies” runs June 19–21 in Rifle at the Garfield County Fairgrounds. The God Rally Project event features live music — including Big Daddy Weave, Building 429, Tammy Trent and others. For more information, visit www.godrally.com
Dan Haseltine of Jars of Clay lights up the stage at the Gothic Theatre. Photos by Eliza Marie Somers (To view a slide show of the concert click here.)
The Gothic Theatre is the perfect setting for a songwriters’ band like Jars of Clay. The art-deco venue is intimate with a sound system that captures the smallest details to perfection.
Jars’ “Two Hands” tour blew into Denver on June 4, and after the concert lead singer Dan Haseltine said it is probably his favorite venue in the metro area. It had to be one of the best shows that I have seen at the Gothic since Joe Jackson a few years back.
Oz Fox of Stryper married Hookers for Jesus founder Annie Lobert this past weekend in Las Vegas. Lobert worked as a Vegas hooker for 11 years before overdosing on cocaine and turning her life over to Jesus. Here’s a link to the story on CNN.com
Jars of Clay, a three-time Grammy Award winner, will play the Gothic Theatre tonight. Photo special to The Denver Post.
Overcoming the internal conflicts that are in all of us is the overwhelming theme from Jars of Clay’s new single, “Two Hands.”
The band will bring its “Two Hands” tour to Colorado this week, playing in Grand Junction on Wednesday and the Denver area’s Gothic Theatre on Thursday.
The “Two Hands” chorus resounds, “I use one hand to pull you closer, the other to push you away,” and resonates in all of us, especially our daily relationships.
“Two Hands is about that inter wrangling that we all do,” said guitarist Stephen Mason said. “We struggle to believe that we can do good. We question if we have what it takes — to follow through. And the truth is we don’t. If that makes sense? But if we rely on our faith, we are able to reconcile.
“And we have to try. Don’t worry about the consequences or doubt. We all have that. We are human and will always have that but we need to push through that. One human can make a huge difference in another and in a community.”
Special to The Denver Post
Today, Tuesday, May 5th, marks the newsboys’ final release with Peter Furler as the band’s lead singer, and the guys stepped back in time with this CD, “In the Hands of God.” The CD features classic rock ’n’ roll newsboys — big guitar riffs, driving drums and some quirky, pop lyrics thrown in for fun — all with a message.
Furler will remain as the creative force behind the band with Michael Tait of dc talk fame taking over the microphone. According to bandmate Duncan Phillips, Furler is more comfortable in the studio than on stage, whereas Tait loves to play to the audience. But more on that at a later date.
If you are a longtime newsboys’ fan, this CD is a must. The first track, “The Way We Roll,” definitely gets things rockin’ and rollin’. It’s a tribute to the Aussie band’s first years on the road after selling all their possessions to tour the States. “Rewind the clock, we were riding a wave of Oz rock,” gets the song rolling.
“This is Your Life,” is a more melodic tune about being good to yourself as Furler explained — a song about encouragement and forgiving yourself. The CD’s rock worship songs are “Glorious,” which was taken from the Psalms — “Though I stumble, though I fall, You remain glorious, towards your light I come running.” — and the title track, “In the Hands of God,” reveal reflective and thoughtful lyrics and memorable choruses that are easy to belt out with the band.
The quirky, pop “My Friend Jesus,” is a tale of being put on hold by a big company, but trying to remember, “What would Jesus do?” I love the lyrics — “I’ve been waiting for an hour, Now my phone’s losing power, And I’m going to explode.” Funny thing was two days after listening to the CD, I was dealing with the phone company and talked to at least 10 people to get a resolution and was ready to explode. But I recalled this song, and tried to “be the change you wanna see,” and lo and behold I finally got someone to fix my problem.
The CD finishes with “RSL 1984,” as Furler tells about his days growing up a pastor’s son in Australia with strings, keys and guitars a nice accompaniment to the rock base.
By the way, take a look at this earlier story on the band.
Steven Curtis Chapman and his sons backstage at the Dove Awards. Photos by Eliza Marie Somers
I attended my first Dove Awards last week in Nashville and didn’t know what to expect. There was no red carpet to show off the artists. I was told by a PR type a “red carpet just goes against the grain of what the Dove Awards (Christian music) is about.” And now that I think about it, that is so true. The musicians are “pastors” preaching the word of God, so it does seem self-serving to have a red carpet.
What struck me at the Dove Awards backstage was the family atmosphere.
It was an emotional event especially with all the heartache surrounding Steven Curtis Chapman, who won songwriter of the year and artist of the year, and his family. Last May, Chapman’s 5‑year-old daughter, Marie Sue, died after she was accidentally hit by a car driven by her older brother in the family’s driveway.).
Steven dedicated his performance of “Cinderella” to Marie Sue, and was overcome by emotion. (The Gospel Music Channel is replaying the Dove Awards this month Backstage he said he felt like he was among family and friends and felt like he was home and that’s why he broke down.
He also said the tragedy has brought his family closer.
Brandon Heath juggles his awards.
Brandon Heath took home three awards: song of the year, male vocalist of the year and pop/contemporary song for “Give Me Your Eyes.” Being that he’s been singing only a few years, expect more from this artist. He classifies himself as a songwriter first.
Tenth Avenue North, playing at the Denver Coliseum in April, won new artist of the year at the Dove Awards in Nashville. Photo by Eliza Marie Somers
Win one of several CDs that I picked up at GMA Week in Nashville, including Dove Award winners’ music CDs.
Here are some clips that I posted of the new faces musician showcase I attended at EMI in Nashville, Tenn., and if you want a free CD e‑mail me at lsomers@denverpost.com. Let me know in what order you liked Britt Nicole, Sarah Reeves, Josh Wilson, Above the Golden State and Phil Danyew. OH, I got a computer virus from Above the Golden State’s main web page, so if you want to listen to them go to their myspace page. I’m going to alert their PR person so they can clean that up.
Sarah Reeves at EMI studios during a new faces artist showcase. Photos by Eliza Marie Somers
One of the fun things at GMA Week in Nashville is being exposed to young new faces in the music industry. So here are some clips from the showcase at EMI of Britt Nicole, Josh Wilson, Mike of Above the Golden State, Sarah Reeves and Danyew. Enjoy. Tell me what you think.
Britt Nicole
Danyew
Josh Wilson
Mike of Above The Golden State
Phil Keaggy at the Nashville Convention Center. Photo by Eliza Marie Somers
Just want to share some video clips of artists performing at showcases in Nashville, Tenn. Phil Keaggy is an incredible guitarist whose CDs I pop in when traveling in the mountains. This was my introduction to Ashley Cleveland, a three-time Grammy Award winner. Enjoy
Seventh Day Slumber performs at an artist showcase in Nashville. Photo by Eliza Marie Somers
I’m here in Nashville at GMA Week and the Dove Awards gathering up stuff (CDs, T‑shirts etc.) for you. Watch this space for how to win this FREE stuff along with interviews and profiles of Big Daddy Weave, Bebo Norman and Seventh Day Slumber along with newcomers Jonny Diaz, Ben Utecht (yup tight end for the Cincinnati Bengals) and Coloradans Sonflowerz and Stephanie Pauline. Peace
MercyMe found mainstream success with its song, “I Can Only Imagine.” The band brought and its Rock & Worship Roadshow — to the Denver Coliseum on Thursday April 9.
Can you imagine after living in an abandon day-care center eking out a living, you are now at the top of your profession?
That’s exactly what happened to MercyMe after the mainstream success of “I Can Only Imagine,” a song written 10 years ago. To celebrate the anniversary and to help out a cause, the band launched the Rock & Worship Roadshow, which played at the Denver Coliseum on Thursday, April 9 (tickets $10), and released a new CD “10,” a greatest hits with extras.
But it was by a fluke that the band’s founding members first came together on stage. Lead singer Bart Millard was working the video and sound systems while Jim Bryson was playing keyboards for a friend who was leading worship services. As Bryson explained the young woman started getting busy with other projects and asked a friend to fill in for her.
“This girl didn’t think she needed to practice,” Bryson explained, “and she locks up on stage. So we jokingly say, ‘Does anyone want to give it a shot?’ And Bart comes running from the side of the stage and grabs the mike. We knew he could sing because he would mess around in soundcheck. … Then we did this camp in Switzerland. And afterward we both thought how can we do this full-time?”
