Can I Get A Witness

About a year after Jars Of Clay’s crossover hit...

deeholloway — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 16:02:00 -0400

About a year after Jars Of Clay’s crossover hit ‘Flood’ made it onto mainstream charts, DC Talk also had a song make it onto secular radio with their song ‘Just Between You And Me’. And how did it make it? If you’re an owner of Jesus Freak, you’ll know that the radio version and the album version are different. How? The bridge.

‘In my pursuit of God/I thirst for holiness/As I approach the Son/I must consider this/Offences unresolved, they’ll keep me from the throne/Before I go to him, my wrong must be atoned (aka. Matthew 5:23-25)

A little theologically heavy for radio rotation. A quick omission for the airwaves, and everyone is down with the DC Talk!

This live version is great. Both versions speak much truth. Vertical forgiveness and horizontal forgiveness are both essentials.

- Dalton

The abstinence movement had a very strong voice in Rebecca St....

deeholloway — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 18:10:00 -0400

The abstinence movement had a very strong voice in Rebecca St. James. She remained chaste until her wedding day, when she married, wait for it, the bass player from Foster The People (???) Wonder if he waited too …

- Dalton

"We know exactly where you are and you’re gone, my friend"

deeholloway — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:20:00 -0500

“We know exactly where you are and you’re gone, my friend”

- DC Talk, My Friend (So Long), Supernatural, 1998

Pretty sure most Christian males who remember LaRue remember...

deeholloway — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:15:00 -0500

Pretty sure most Christian males who remember LaRue remember Natalie. If you were like me, you hoped that, just maybe, she’d play a show in your city, see you in the crowd as she sings this song, call you out and marry you on the spot amongst a great crowd of witnesses …

Word on the street is that she’s happily married today. *sigh*

Dalton

10 Reasons Why The Newsboys were the Best Christian Band of the...

dmash24 — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:34:00 -0500

10 Reasons Why The Newsboys were the Best Christian Band of the 90’s….

1. 5 Kiwi Guys in one band….a phenomenal idea for fans in Canada and the States (please just speak to us in your accents).

2. They shockingly released more than one good album.

3. Peter Furler’s baldness and intense eyebrows were a signature trade of the band.

4. They successfully used the word “hell” in a Christian song and about Breakfast nonetheless!

5. Phil Joel’s long curly blonde locks inspired many guys to take up playing the bass and grow their hair out just so they could do his “hair flip” in between chords.

6. They did a tour in a dome….who does that…..ok….this was not in the 90’s but still, AMAZING!!!!!!!

7. Peter was not the only one could sing….really and truly when more than one guy in your band can sing, it just elevates your group into another category. In case you’ve only heard Peter sing then please check out the song “Entertaining Angels”.

8. The band toured in Canada more than twice. I’m sorry but if you want to make it in Christian music and refuse to regularly visit your Christian brothers and sisters in the North then you just haven’t really made it. Plus you’ll be labelled a music snob and no, I’m not naming any names!

9. This band is lyrically superior to many of the “we love you Lord” type of bands! It’s easy to write a popular song in Christian music when most Christians think any song that declares their devotion to God is a hit. Not to say that it’s not heartfelt but the Newsboys had song after song that introduced complex and well thought out lyrics. In case you don’t believe me….please listen to “Reality”, “Take me to your leader”, or “Hallelujah”!

10. The Newsboys managed to increase their popularity while impacting thousands of hearts with their music and testimonies. I can’t think of one scandal in the life of their band that caused people to question their witness. In a day and age where eyes are everywhere, this certainly should be credited to the character of the guys.

As most of you probably know, Peter Furler stepped down as lead singer of the band a little while ago and Micheal Tait took over the role. Yes….Micheal Tait from DC Talk. In case I’ve just shocked some of you with this news, you should really check out some of their new stuff, it’s not half bad! It’s certainly not the Newsboys that we grew up with and remember, but those growing up in this decade won’t know the difference. Alas, the real Newsboys will live on forever in my heart and my itunes and there’s no doubt that “I AM NOT ASHAMED” to be a lover of this Kiwi band!

~Darcie

This band really deserves a bigger post than this, but for now...

kovacsjared — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:40:55 -0500

This band really deserves a bigger post than this, but for now enjoy one of the most unknown and under-rated bands of the late 90’s early 2000’s.

Before I fell headlong into Christian Music, my friend Rod made...

deeholloway — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:16:00 -0500

Before I fell headlong into Christian Music, my friend Rod made me a mixtape (an ACTUAL one). I remember there being two artists on it. First was Blood Brotherz, a dancehall Christian reggae duo, and these girls. First exposure to Out Of Eden. Great introduction!

Dalton

So….are there actually people who like these...

dmash24 — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:44:11 -0500

So….are there actually people who like these guys?!?

I’ll own this comment,

Darcie ;)

"Go West Young Man."

dmash24 — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:27:00 -0500

“Go West Young Man.”

- M.W.Smith

Discovering My Roots with Plumb...

dmash24 — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:23:00 -0500

This blog has been inspiring me to get in touch with my roots. This past weekend I’ve been rediscovering my love for Plumb, not the fruit, the singer. Actually Plumb is the stage name for singer/songwriter Tiffany Arbuckle Lee. I became a fan when I first heard the song “Stranded” off her second album that was released in 1999 entitled “candycoatedwaterdrops”. Take a listen to this classic christian song (Stranded)….you’ll love it and yes it is available on itunes.

Plumb has been mainly known for her Christian alternative rock music but some of her more recent stuff and remixes have definitely been “danceable”!

In fact if you’re interested in hearing some of her new stuff, you can go to Noisetrade.com and download her career sampler or you can just click here and it will take you right there.

P.S. If you haven’t discovered NoiseTrade yet, you really must do so….you can check out a ton of new artists just trying to get their music out there and download a sample of their songs for free! I don’t know about you but I LOVE free music! :)

If you’re interested, you can also find out more about Plumb here.

Any other Plumb lovers out there?

Yours Truly,

Darcie

Introductions: Jared

kovacsjared — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:43:04 -0500

My story is like others who have grown up in a Christian home. I grew up in church. I went every sunday, sunday evening, every youth group meeting, and everything else in-between. My experience was probably a bit heightened because my Mom was the children’s pastor and more often than not I was volun-told (uuggghhhh… love ya Mom!) to help out at church. Further, I’m the youngest of three children. My sisters were very involved in church and youth group, which also meant that they were indoctrinated in the Christian sub-culture that seemed to explode in the 90’s. My sisters would discover new Christian bands and bring them home for our family to enjoy…. or should I say, THEY enjoyed.

My earliest memory of Christian music was when I was 5 or 6 years old and my sister Jessica first discovered Newsboys, Not Ashamed. I loved that album when I was a kid! I remember just dancing away like a typical 5/6 year old does. It was my JAM!

I followed my sisters taste of music until I was about 9 years old. I remember the day like it was yesterday… At the time my oldest sister was really into Jars of Clay’s self titled, debut album. Like any good younger sibling I liked it as well. One day my Mom took the three of us to our local Christian book store and while I was there I listened to an album that would forever change my musical life! The album was a tribute to Petra called Never Say Dinosaur. I looked at the artists that contributed to the album and one of them was by Jars of Clay so I instantly went to the track and hit play. What I heard was what I thought a reinvented, better than ever, Jars of Clay. This was a very good thing, I thought, and excitedly went to tell my Mom and sisters. Much to my surprise when my sisters came and listened to the track they pointed out to me that it wasn’t Jars of Clay that I had heard but a new band called MxPx. This moment WOULD forever change my life and taste in music for a life time.

From that moment on I looked for bands that I thought were the odd balls in the world of Christian music and I fell quickly in love with almost anything that Tooth and Nail Records put out. I was your typical punk Christian kid.

I am excited to remember all those punk bands I used to love, like or wish I didn’t listen to but did, and must confess.

To hell with the Devil!

Jared

There’s no doubt about it….Amy Grant was the BIGGEST...

dmash24 — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:47:44 -0500

There’s no doubt about it….Amy Grant was the BIGGEST thing to hit Christian music in the late 80’s and early 90’s! With hits like “Baby, Baby”, “Every Heartbeat”, and “Love of Another Kind” who can deny that this upbeat, curly-haired fashionista who could actually sing filled the boom boxes of living rooms everywhere?!? She’s even recently made a comeback to the Christian music scene with her popular hit “Better than a Hallelujah”.

I suppose it might help that she’s married to country music heartthrob Vince Gill, at least that’s what my Mom thinks of him.

But please, Can I Get A Witness and testimony to the number of male hearts that Amy “set in motion” in the 90’s?!?

Oh and Amy, thanks for making me believe that “love will find a way”.

Your fan forever,

Darcie

Everyone needs to remember this mullet, the MWS power mullet.

landscapegta — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:35:55 -0500

Everyone needs to remember this mullet, the MWS power mullet.

Jared

landscapegta — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:33:31 -0500

…now where is Jared?

Introductions: Allan

landscapegta — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:32:00 -0500

My first exposure to christian rock was at a very early age when my cousin introduced me to DC Talk’s Jesus Freak; I was hooked instantly. DC Talk was my addiction and it had to be satisfied so when I had my eye on their Intermission: Greatest Hits cd for my eighth birthday and got the Exodus mixed cd instead you can imagine how disappointed I was. It would make due for the now with one DC talk song, ‘My Will’. This also gave me great exposure to other artists like Michael W. Smith, Chris Rice, Cindy Morgan, and more. All of these artists would become integral to my christian music experience.

Not long after I had saved up enough money to purchase intermission though and happily spent my earnings, and it was well worth it. Over the next decade this cd was easily my most played with an extensive period of time (probably three years) where I averaged playing the album once per day. In some ways I feel sorry for some of those around me for the extensive repetition, but this much exposure to DC Talk’s brilliant lyrics and entertaining music is beneficial for everyone. This early fascination with their rock albums lead to a later love of their rap albums with one of my favourite songs becoming ‘I Don’t Want It”.

I, like Dalton, grew up in the Ottawa area so CHRI 99.1 was a staple for my christian music growth. It was a fantastic station for exposing me to a plethora of christian music with the different interests of the DJ’s and had the wonderful opportunity to attend the studio with my youth group where we all got to pick a song we wanted to play…I, of course, selected Jesus Freak. This period of time was also dominated by a lot of Newsboys, Thousand Foot Krutch, Pillar, Jeremy Camp, Starfield, Delirious (Love Falls Down is a wonderful song), Chris Rice, Steven Curtis Chapman, and more.

It was not until university that I discovered my love for 80s hair metal which began with my discovery of a Petra cassette tape at my parents home. I had a 91 GMC Sierra which only had a cassette player so this would have to make due…and it more than sufficed. Growing up in a small town I had an appreciation for classic rock and so after listening to Petra I became excited about what other christian classic rock I could find. Attending Tyndale University at the time I also had a friend who was passionate about classic rock trying to find everything I could on youtube. I remembered a friend from youth group back home who had introduced me to White Cross and this was a fantastic re-discovery, especially with the amazing guitar licks of Rex Carroll. It was also exciting to hear the testimonies of how many lives their music and mission had changed. Other hair metal loves were Ken Tamplin, Bloodgood, Bride, and Ransom, among others.

I am excited to be able to relive the highlights of my Christian music experience through this blog, and will hopefully be a wonderful and nostalgic reminder to you as well.

Further Introductions: Darcie

dmash24 — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:41:00 -0500

I consider myself a connoisseur of Christian music. I grew up on the classics.

Friends are Friends Forever by Micheal W. Smith became my theme song when I moved away from my best friend at the tender age of 4, almost 5.

I saw DC Talk live for the first time at a Billy Graham Crusade in Buffalo and the image of Micheal Tait’s 90’s hair will never leave me….I officially became a Jesus Freak that day.

Steven Curtis Chapman inspired me to want to live “The Great Adventure”!

I’ve been waiting faithfully for my future husband right along with Rebecca St. James. Oh shoot….I guess she just got married. Well…her song still lives on.

And I considered the Newsboys to be the first “christian mainstream” band I listened to because they said the word “hell” in their breakfast song…..yeah, I walked on the wild side!

I’ve had the letters “P.K.” stuck to my back for most of my life. In case you’re not familiar with the significance of those letters, they stand for “pastor’s kid”. If you’re part of the PK club then you’ll understand everything that goes along with those two simple letters. I’m fairly sure being a PK alone makes me an expert when it comes to Christian music but I look forward to stepping back into my childhood and teenage years and reliving the Christian songs that were hot and the ones that were, um, not! Trust me, once you get started you won’t be able to stop!

Yours Truly,

Darcie :)

Introductions: Dalton

deeholloway — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:16:52 -0500

‘You remind me of Sugar Bear’

That is one of my earliest memories of Christian music. I was at some city-wide youth or worship event in Ottawa, Ontario (my hometown). We were hanging out either before or after the event, and some youth leader from another church, after introductions, made that comment. I had no idea who he was talking about. I did my research and found out he was talking about Otto Price, DC Talk’s premiere bassist, now producer. It just so happens that I also play the bass and am built a bit like Otto. I even have Zilch … on tape!!!

I came in on Audio Adrenaline, Delirious, V*Enna, Larue, etc., but made my home in Gotee. I would check the site at least once or twice a day, see what’s cooking in ‘The Kitchen’ and devour all releases (Grits, Knowdaverbs, Out Of Eden, Katinas). I’ll be taking some time to reminisce on some of these releases as well as many others that were the soundtrack to my adolescence.

Until next post!

Dalton

"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats."

landscapegta — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 09:51:20 -0500

“There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.”

- Albert Schweitzer

How Did This Come About?

deeholloway — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:48:00 -0500

The idea of this blog is very fresh, not even a month old. We’re currently students at a University in Toronto. All four of us were deep into study mode, preparing for imminent death from the exams that were looming. In between study breaks, I played the Newsboys current song God’s Is Not Dead (Like A Lion). That opened up an 8 hour conversation on Christian music that we grew up on. We took turns playing youtube videos of Christian songs we loved back in the day as well as the ones that really shouldn’t have seen the light of day.

‘I’m sure there are others out there who would love to get in on this,’ we thought.

So welcome to the conversation. Can I Get A Witness: Christian music we loved, liked and wish we could forget.