April, 2003
Last week, merely 7 days since the release of FFH's fourth label project, early sales reports
indicate that Ready to Fly is flying off store shelves. The project claimed key positions atop
multiple Christian SoundScan® charts: No. 2 on both the Top Christian Albums and Top Adult Contemporary
Albums charts in addition to No. 5 on the Overall Top Current Contemporary Christian chart.
Ready to Fly produced the band's highest debut sales numbers to date.
FFH's impressive retail standings reflect the group's swelling popularity since 1998. Nina Williams,
Essential Records' vice president of marketing, comments, "FFH consistently produces quality music that
resonates with listeners, and this week's numbers are a very positive reflection of that impact. We are
thrilled to be in continued partnership with the group's music and ministry."
The O.C. Supertones' Ethan Luck had this update on the band's newest project,
"Starting in May/June we head to California to start working on a worship record. This is something we
have talked about forever. As all of you know, worship is a big part of the Supertones.
So we feel it's necessary for us to do this. If any of you are thinking, 'Oh great, the Supertones are
basically jumping on the worship album bandwagon.' Think again, although we are doing a few cover
songs, we are recording mostly original worship songs that we have been writing.
We are recording in Orange County so it will be nice to hang with our families during the
recording process."
On June 24, tobyMac releases Re:Mix Momemtum which is
just that - tracks from tobyMac's solo debut that are mixed up, hyped out, and turned around.
This record wasn't made in the typical "remix" fashion. Here's what tobyMac says about making Momentum
Remixed when he sat down to talk to ForeFront/Gotee Manager of Retail Marketing and Sales, John Allen.
John asked, "You are very "hands on" with the production of your albums. How do you get "hands on" with a remix record?"
"It's a little freaky for me," admitted Toby. "Because of my familiarity with remixes and having them as a
part of my life I am very open to it and excited to see what they (the producers) come up with. Since I'm
working on my new record at the same time, I'm trying to stay very hands off. The only hands-on
portion of this process is actually going to be quite interesting. We're taking a bunch of producers
and going to have each remix the tracks so we will have like 3 versions of each song and I get to pick
the one that's hot. So I get to listen to like three versions of 'Irene,' and pick the one that I like
without even knowing who did it."
P.O.D.'s newest member Jason Truby speaks! In a recent newsletter from the band, he addressed the fans
for the first time... "Warriors - greetings from Little Rock, I've been home for a
few days to rest before going back to CA to finish writing
the new album. I wanted to let you all know how awesome
everything is going. The guys and me have been catching
up on old times and preparing for the vision ahead. We did
the video for "Sleeping Awake" and are now reviewing the final
edits. It is amazing. We have been writing new material and
already have 11 songs completed. We are excited for you all
to hear them. Thank you for supporting us and me. I am
honored to be apart of this family. P.O.D. will never let you
down - The biggest days are ahead. God bless, Jason"
It has been a week of #1's for Newsboys. With over 31,500 albums sold its first week,
Adoration: The Worship Album was the #1 selling CD at Christian Retail, #1 on the Overall Christian
Albums chart, and #33 on Billboard's Top 200. In addition to sales success, Newsboys continue to dominate
the radio charts with their first single "He Reigns" claiming the #1 position on the Adult Contemporary
(AC) charts for 5 consecutive weeks.
In addition to their sales and radio success for Adoration, Newsboys were surprised with gold
plaques at a recent show in Nashville for their RIAA Gold certified album Shine...The Hits. The
Newsboys were presented with the plaques backstage at the AmSouth Amphitheatre where they played to crowds
in excess of 12,000.
Currently, Newsboys are performing on 12 Teen Mania "Acquire the Fire Events" in front of 8,000-18,000
ttendees each weekend through May as well as at all the major summer festivals.
Rebecca St. James did something highly unusual this week: she officially took two days "off!"
Last week's Gospel Music Week provided a record setting pace even for the vivacious Aussie, often referred
to within industry circles 'as the hardest working woman in Christian Music.'
A major emphasis for Rebecca's GMA 2003 schedule was television.
Rebecca set a whirlwind GMA Week pace, capped by her hosting Thursday night of the "34th Annual Dove Awards"
pre-telecast at Gaylord Arena in Nashville. The two hour telecast kept Rebecca onstage much of the time
in the presentation of presenters and Dove Award winners. A few nights earlier, she had officially kicked
off the GMA Week activities on Sunday night by anchoring a major two hour telecast for the Trinity
Broadcasting Network (TBN) from the annual Worship Service at the historic Ryman, featuring
Michael W. Smith and an all star choir.
Rock quartet Pillar has quite a few things to celebrate these
days. The band, hailing from Tulsa, OK captured their third Dove Award at the 34th annual ceremonies
in Nashville last week. The Dove was awarded to them for their highly successful recording Fireproof
for Hard Music Album of the Year which has sold 150,000 plus domestically.
“We felt honored to be placed in a category with so many passionate and hard rocking bands at the Dove
Awards this year,” Kalel, bass player for Pillar said. “It’s awesome to be recognized by your peers and
industry folks for the work we’ve done. Pillar couldn’t have come this far without everyone’s support
and we’re excited to see the doors God will continue to open with our signing to MCA Records along with
our partnership with Flicker Records and Chordant Distribution.”
On the heels of Pillar’s current success, MCA Records (Universal Music Group) pursued and signed the band
to a multi-album deal with Flicker Records/EMICMG retaining worldwide Christian distribution rights.
Fireproof will re-release nationwide June 10th completely re-mastered and re-mixed by mainstream
rock powerhouses Mudrock (Godsmack) and Rich Costey (Audioslave, Rage Against the Machine, Hoobastank, and
Sum41).
Only 5 weeks after releasing The Beautiful Letdown, Switchfoot
keeps rocking with national TV exposure, amazing tour and radio success and has also caught the eye of
MTV2 and Much Music.
Switchfoot makes their national television debut on May 5th by performing on
The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborne! Check local listings for details… Also,
Switchfoot’s “Meant To Live” video has also caught the eye of Much Music and MTV2! To watch the video, click here!
Here's the latest from Five Iron Frenzy... "We have officially
decided that the name of the last FIF album will be The End Is Near. This is the album we are in
the studio recording right now, and it should come out around June 18, but it will ONLY be available at our
shows for quite some time. We've been working hard on this CD and I think there is no question that it will
be our best. The songs are coming together really well, and we are very excited about them.
Douglas TenNapel will be doing the art work, he is the person who has done the work for several of
our albums... Also, as I mentioned, we are in the studio again, and you can watch us working by going to:
http://www.onewaystudio.net/webcam.html
Point your browser there and watch us make some rock and roll!
Don't forget that Cheeses Of Nazareth which is our B-sides, demos, rarities and joke song album, will be in stores on April 22."
Ardent Records’ rock band Skillet performed music from its
upcoming studio project during the label’s Late Night Showcase held during last week’s Gospel
Music Association events in Nashville. The new tracks offered such titles as "Energy," "Smile Again," and "Imperfection".
Additionally, the band’s front man, John Cooper, performed
“Kill Me, Heal Me” from the band’s 2001 critically acclaimed album, Alien Youth, during the EMI
Songwriter Showcase. Skillet was also honored during the Dove Awards ceremony as its third consecutive
No. 1 hit single, “Vapor,” from Alien Youth, was nominated by the Gospel Music Association in the
“Hard Music Recorded Song” category.
Fans of the band Evanscence will be shocked by the latest interview with the group that appeared in the April
18th issue of Entertainment Weekly. In an article by Chris Willman, the author writes, "Last year, the duo signed
with New York-based Wind-Up Records. That's been a blessing, since the label did put together that Daredevil
deal, but something of a curse, because Wind-Up includes spiritually inclined acts Creed and 12 Stones; religious
conspiracy theories abound. 'There are people hell-bent on the idea we're a Christian band in disguise, and that we have some secret
message,' says [Amy] Lee. 'We have no spiritual affiliation with this music. It's simply about life experience.' The perception hardly came
out of nowhere: Lee and [Ben] Moody discussed their faith in some early, pre-Fallen interviews, which they now count as youthful
indescretions. More recently, Wind-Up made a deal to distribute the album at Christian stores. 'I'm not ashamed of my spiritual beliefs,
but I in no way incorporate them into this band,' says Moody. 'We're high on the Christian charts, and I'm like
What the f--- are we even doing here?' Adds Lee, 'I guarantee that if the Christian bookstore owners listened to some of those
songs, they wouldn't sell the CD.' I suggest that, after this interview, that may no longer be a problem. 'Thank you,' says
Lee. An even touchier subject is whether Lee and Moody are following in the tortured romantic footsteps of the White Stripes-soldiering
on musically after a breakup. Moody has been quoted saying they were once betrothed, but no insists he was fibbing. 'J---- Chr---, no. Can
you imagine being a band with someone you were once engaged to? Our band is much more important than a romantic relationship, and besides,
I can't f---ing stand her. But I love her!' 'In that can't-standing way,' says Lee."
Middle digits are exchanged, and the playful antagonism continues as Moody bemoans his inevitable "Mr. Cellophane" staus alongside his highly photogenic ex/not-ex. "I think
you'll see me in the next video," he announces. "I did write the music and all. I'm gonna be there for the
editing, so I might slip in a shot here and there." The bill arrives, and Moody can't help but make a parting
plea for equal time. "Give me my moment. I'm like the guy who was crucified next to Jesus. All I want you
to do is remember me." Lee laughs: "Just what we need -- some biblical quotes."
VH1.com recently reported this story on P.O.D.,
"Guitarist Marcos Curiel's controversial departure in February raised questions about the San Diego
band's future, but they were quickly answered when former Living Sacrifice axeman Jason
Truby joined the group to write a song for The Matrix Reloaded and was a perfect fit.
"With Jason, it's like a fresh new vibe for us," drummer Wuv said on the video set Saturday for
the soundtrack single, "Sleeping Awake." "It's something that's welcome and something that we've
been yearning for for a long, long time. So it's working out great."
So great, in fact, that the new P.O.D. have already penned 11 songs for their next album, due November 4.
"We've always been like family, so it's jelling up great, and then musically it's jelling up even better,"
said Truby, whose previous band toured with P.O.D. years ago. "It's a blending, not a changing.
I bring what I have to bring to the table, without [compromising] what they are, and it's working
out really well."
Singer Sonny Sandoval described the new material as more mature. "I actually thought that with him coming
in we might have problems being a little bit too heavy, but the stuff's not really coming out like that,"
Sandoval said. "I mean, the guitars are heavy, but it's still very melodic, still very beautiful.
I think with Jason's influence it actually drives us to step it up a notch."
"When he came into our situation and became our guitar player, it was almost as if he had always been
there," bassist Traa added. "We are so comfortable with him playing it's unbelievable, on top
of him being an amazing guitar player."
While P.O.D. said Curiel left to join another band, the guitarist insisted he was kicked out,
at least partially for differences in religious beliefs.
Sandoval, Wuv and Traa described the situation as heartbreaking and said they are still
supportive of Curiel despite his remarks that P.O.D. were not as righteous as their reputation.
"I love Marcos," Sandoval said. "He's my bro. I've known him for a long time. I thought that this
would make him happy to do what he wanted to do and he was doing it and all of a sudden he didn't sound too
happy to me. But you know what? Our friendship and all that stuff, it's bigger than that. I'll be better. Right now, I just think it's a healing process."
Part of the process for the remaining members was throwing themselves into recording
"Sleeping Awake". The Matrix Reloaded producers originally asked for a remix of a previously
recorded song for the movie, but P.O.D. suggested doing something new, even if they only had a week to write
and record it.
"What turned them on to us was a lot of our biblical concepts and themes, and this movie has a lot of
biblical themes, and so they wanted to keep that vibe," Sandoval said. "I kind of got the concept from
Daniel interpreting King Nebuchadnezzar's dreams in the Old Testament and ... then all of a sudden
I go back and watch The Matrix again and that's what Laurence Fishburne tells Keanu Reeves,
that the Matrix is a computer-generated dream world. So I was like, 'I'm onto something.' "
The Wachowski brothers, who created The Matrix and its sequels, had ideas for a video, but scrapped
them when director Marc Webb submitted his treatment, which creatively portrays P.O.D. in parallel
universes.
"The Matrix has a lot of references to other classical literature, so one of the things I kind
of picked up on was this life through the looking glass thing, this 'Alice in Wonderland' thing,"
Webb explained. "I kind of like the idea of doing something that happens on the other side of the glass.
So we decided to do a concept with two identical performances on either sides of a mirror."
Webb even configured the cameras so the two shots look like reflections of each other. In one the band
is playing right-handed, in the other, left-handed.
"One setup is like the Nebuchadnezzar, which is the ship from The Matrix in the real world,
and the other side is this kind of The Matrix reality, which is a little bit more stylized,"
Webb said. "Everybody's wearing black and is cool. They move a little bit faster and look a little
bit glossier and do some crazy, crazy stuff. We're doing some stunts with the guitar player smashing
his guitar against the bass player and Sonny does some stuff with blocks."
Webb's original treatment required the bandmembers to shave their heads, but that concept was
quickly vetoed.
"I've been growing these dreads for six years," Traa said. "No way!"
More info on the Dove winners!
Sparrow Records recording artist and ”songwriter/singer” Nichole Nordeman,
as she nicknamed herself that evening, walked away with top honors garnering seven Dove Awards at the
34th Gospel Music Association’s annual presentation, held in Nashville, TN.
Nordeman nabbed trophies for Female Vocalist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of
the Year (for “Holy”) - with the award going twice to Nordeman as songwriter and performer, Pop/Contemporary
Album of the Year (for Woven & Spun) as well as Special Event album of the Year (for her participation
on City On A Hill-Sing Alleluia) and the evening’s final award, Song of the Year (for “Holy”).
Nordeman comments about her numerous awards, “It continues to be a strange experience to write songs with
such a personal message to share and then be awarded for them. I am so humbled and grateful and reminded how God uses each of us. This is an unbelievable pleasure.”
The Dove Awards will air on Saturday, April 19th at 9 pm EST/PST on PAX TV, also with broadcasts on the Trinity Broadcast Network.
On the heels of celebrating their fourth RIAA gold certification earlier this week for Third Day,
Essential Records’ rock band Third Day was honored at the 34th Annual Dove Awards with three Dove
Awards in multiple categories including their third consecutive Group of the Year trophy.
Third Day also garnered a Dove Special Event Album for their contribution to Essential Records’ project
City On A Hill – Sing Alleluia. The band received their third Dove of the evening for Rock
Recorded Song. The group-penned “40 Days” also offered each band member a Dove honor for their role as
song writers. This is the fourth consecutive year where Third Day has been honored in this category.
“It’s a complete honor for us to win Group of the Year for the third year in a row. We’re also really
excited about receiving a Dove again for Rock Song of the Year. We absolutely don’t take any of this
for granted. It’s such a blessing, and also a reminder, that so many people are so supportive of what
we do as Third Day and how they have allowed us the opportunity to have great impact around the world,”
commented band member Tai Anderson.
Audio Adrenaline took home the award for Rock Album of the Yea
for their late 2001 release Lift. The band also delivered an awe-inspiring live performance of
their first cross format hit song, “Ocean Floor”. The band is currently on tour promoting their new record,
Worldwide.
“My heart was pounding when they called our name,” says Audio Adrenaline lead singer Mark Stuart of their
Dove win, “It’s always good to be encouraged and uplifted by your brothers and sisters in Christ.”
This year tobyMac took home the Dove for Short Form Video for
“Irene” which appears on his Grammy nominated debut solo project, Momentum. tobyMac is currently
working on his June 24 release, Re:mix Momentum.
ForeFront Records President Greg Ham said, “Having so many artists recognized with nominations by the
association is a great achievement for our record label. We are especially proud of Audio Adrenaline’s
accomplishments over the past year. With a career spanning more than a decade, these guys have never
strayed from their mission to minister and provide hope to the youth.”
Other highlights of the night included Rebecca St. James hosting
the pre-show, tobyMac presenting the award for Group of the Year to Third Day with legendary singer,
Aaron Neville and Michael Tait joining Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant and others in a tribute to
Michael W. Smith's popular song, "Friends."
Reunion recording artist Michael W. Smith was honored
at the 34th Annual Dove Awards, the Gospel Music Association’s annual awards celebration. Smith,
celebrating his 20th year in Christian music, walked away with six Dove Awards including, for the second
consecutive year, the prestigious Artist of the Year award and his first Dove for Male Vocalist of the Year.
Smith also received two Doves for his contribution as both artist and producer on the RIAA certified
gold Worship Again, in the Praise and Worship Album category. He earned another two statuettes
as artist and producer in the Long Form Music Video of the Year division for the platinum certified
Worship DVD/Video. Following the presentations, Michael’s career Dove Award count is 40.
Essential Records' Paul Colman Trio took top honors at Wednesday
evening's 34th Annual Dove Awards ceremony held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville.
Less than a year since the release of its debut label project, New Map of the World, pc3 walked
away with the coveted New Artist of the Year title. The award ushers in the close of a phenomenal debut
year for the band.
The band's inclusion among leading new talents Big Daddy Weave, Daily Planet, Jeff Deyo,
The Rock 'n' Roll Worship Circus and SoulJahz validates many years of hard work for the Aussie imports.
"This win is particularly meaningful to us because it has been so difficult getting to where we are
today having started out in Australia," says frontman Paul Colman. "Not only does this award validate
to our wives, who we uprooted from their homes and families, that our music is affecting people,
but it also serves as a platform for spreading our message about being reconciled to God and to each other."
Well, the results are in on the 34th Annual Dove Awards! The biggest surprise (or is it?) would
probably be Nichole Nordeman's amazing take of winning a total of seven awards! A very pregnant and joyfully emotional
Nordeman accepted the Song of the Year & Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year for her runaway radio
smash hit "Holy," as well as Songwriter of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year
for Woven & Spun! Other notables were Michael W. Smith for Artist of the Year and Male Vocalist of
the Year along with awards for his Worship longform video and Worship Again project.
Third Day snagged a few honors themselves with Group of the Year and Rock Recorded Song of the Year for "40 Days".
Other big surprises was the well-deserved Rock Album of the Year award for Audio Adrenaline's 2001 album Lift,
Paul Colman Trio snagging the coveted New Artist of the Year award, Jars of Clay grabbing Modern Rock/Alternative Album of the Year
for The Eleventh Hour, and Rap/Hip Hop/Dance Album of the Year going to Grits for The Art of Translation.
Three artists were also honored for their addition to the Gospel Music Hall of Fame including Amy Grant,
Pat Boone, and The Blind Boys of Alabama.
For a complete list of winners, surf on to http://www.doveawards.com/categories/.
And if you couldn't watch the live webcast last night, have no fear! You can catch the festivities on TV
on PAX TV: Saturday, April 19 at 9 p.m. ET/PT and on TBN: Friday, April 25 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and again on Saturday, April 26 at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT
Personally, we want to congratulate Audio Adrenaline on their win and although the Rock N Roll Worship Circus only
took home an award for Recorded Music Packaging of the Year, they're still New Artist of the Year in our eyes! Congrats
to all the winners!
Rebecca St. James could be seen hosting early portions of last nite's Dove Awards, but that's not the only
exciting thing going on for Rebecca right now. She has a new hit titled "I Thank You" currently streaming its
way up the national charts. The immediate success of the song, with the sincerity and heartfelt gratitude
of its message lead to a bit of divine inspiration: A special re-mix of "I Thank You" was engineered by
the singer's label, ForeFront Records, to include the voices of Americans from all walks of life-expressing
their thanks to our nation's military.
The special version of "I Thank You" was initially premiered to immediate positive reaction from listeners
this week on KLOVE Radio's national network of more than 150 stations. Well-known KLOVE air personalities
Jon & Sherry Rivers, hosted St. James on-air from Nashville's pre-Dove Award GMA activities.
St. James had openly dedicated her current song to the coalition troops shortly after their war efforts launched. She has used her platform with national radio and television to issue a call to America to not only pray for the welfare and safety of the troops-but to 'go the extra mile' in support of the "Adopt Our Troops" campaign. The campaign has been launched by the Presidential Prayer Team, of which Rebecca, at 25, is the youngest member of their Honorary Committee.
Surf over to Forefrontrecords.com to hear the remix now!
Gotee Records' recording artist Jeff Deyo has unveiled the
first leg of the upcoming Pure Worship Tour. Joining the Dove's New Artist of the Year nominee on this
Coast-to-Coast exploration will be co-leaders Rock 'n Roll Worship Circus and Jonathan Lee.
"We have decided to do something very focused and definitive," explains Deyo. "Many concerts and tours
incorporate "worship" as a part or a segment of the experience. But, we wanted to put together a
worship tour/conference that is completely and totally nothing but worship-people coming together to
love and KNOW their God through prayer, worship through singing, shouting, kneeling and more.
We're calling this gathering Pure Worship 2003. It's a place where people of all ages, races,
and denominations can join together to seek the Lord-intensely and passionately!"
The "Pure Worship 2003" Tour will be separated into two parts. The first section will be an afternoon
mini worship seminar given by Deyo, his worship band, and the other worship leaders on the tour. \
This seminar is specifically taylored for passionate worshipers of any type-whether they be
laypeople, worship leaders, members of worship teams, bands, musicians, or pastors. The Pure Worship
seminar will incorporate a total of three hours of intimate teaching and question time with a worship
leader track and a musician track. It will include sessions titled: "Being Real and Anointed,"
"What Is Modern Worship?," "Being a Lead Worshiper and a Non-Performer," "Writing Powerful
Worship Songs," and "Maximizing Your Gear for Worship."
This week, delirious.org.uk reported this interesting tidbit on the great UK modern worship pioneers...
"Whilst in the studio working on their new album, Delirious? have
taken a brief break from recording their own songs and instead turned their hand to their first ever cover
version! But the track is not destined for their own album, instead Delirious? have been invited to
contribute a song to a forthcoming collection of U2 covers.
Delirious? have apparently recorded their own version of the 1984 U2 song 'Pride (In The Name Of Love)'.
Their cover version of the track will appear on an American compilation album which features other artists
covering classic U2 songs. Also lined up for the album are Californian rap-metal group P.O.D. singing
'Bullet The Blue Sky'. (which originally appeared on the band's 1999 album Southtown)
While Delirious? have been featured on compilation albums before, this is the first time the band have ever
recorded a song they didn't write themselves. Musically, Delirious? have often been compared to U2,
making them an ideal band to cover a U2 song."
In 1996 southern rock band Third Day released its first major
label project. Last evening, Essential Records announced that the self-titled album had been certified
gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) denoting sales in excess of 500,000 copies.
This certification marks the fourth gold record for the GRAMMY and Dove Award-winning band in less than two
years. Time, Come Together and Offerings have also reached gold status and the
band is currently approaching four million in career sales.
During Essential Records’ Gospel Music Week Evening Concert, before a packed house at the historic
Ryman Auditorium, Essential Records president Robert Beeson and Terry Hemmings, former president of
Reunion Records and current president and CEO of parent company Provident Music Group, surprised
Third Day members with a gold-album commemorating the landmark event.
20 years ago multi-platinum and award-winning artist and composer,
Michael W. Smith, launched his recording career. In recognition
of his accomplishments over two decades, Reunion Records is celebrating with an extensive retail campaign
that highlights Smith’s various milestones as an artist. The Bigger Picture promotion is scheduled
for national retail impact on June 3 and will run through July 31.
Promotional end-cap kits will feature product including the best-selling worship series, Worship,
the Worship DVD, and Worship Again. Also featured are some of the best-selling titles
in Michael’s catalog, offered at a special price of only $9.99. Titles include Change Your World,
Go West Young Man, The Big Picture, I 2 Eye, Project and Michael W. Smith 2.
The centerpiece of the campaign is a new DVD also called The Bigger Picture. The DVD project
comprises, “This Is Your Time,” “Cry For Love,” “Psalm 139/I See You” live concert footage,
video commentary, a behind-the-scenes family tribute produced by Michael’s oldest son Ryan, and,
available for the first time, “There She Stands.” This video collection is only available on this
DVD premium and will be offered free to consumers purchasing any participating CD in the promotion
while supplies last.
Multi-Platinum selling, multi-GRAMMY Award winning band Jars of Clay
(Essential/Silvertone) is drawing to a close its successful, Spring 2003 tour that continues to fill concert
venues nationwide.
Launched in Grand Rapids Feb. 12 and concluding in West Palm Beach April 12, the band has garnered
significant media exposure in every tour city. Coverage in newspaper dailies alone is amassing more than
three million in circulation and growing.
Partnering with label mate and Dove Award winning Caedmon’s Call to visit 40 plus cities on the select
college tour, referred to by promoters as the “thinking man’s pop tour,” Jars of Clay performed in
support of its critically acclaimed 2003 release, Furthermore—From The Studio: From The Stage.
In addition to packing venues, Jars of Clay appeared for several bookstore signings. One of Jars of Clay’s
largest Borders Bookstore events in Knoxville, TN saw more than 800 people attended to hear the band
perform an acoustic set.
The Bleach boys are right in
the middle of writing for their fifth record. "We
are tentatively scheduled to record here in Nashville an amazing studio
called the Dark Horse," announces the band in a recent newsletter. "Neil King
(Green Day, Elvis Costello) is scheduled to engineer the record. We are
very excited about this record and will keep you guys up to date as much as
we can. It is very tentatively scheduled to be in your hands on October
21st, 2003!"
Here's the latest on Pillar...
"The new re-mixed and re-mastered "Fireproof" single is going to mainstream radio April 28, 2003.
We know a few mainstream stations already got a hold of it early and are playing it. We will have an audio
clip of the remixed "Fireproof" posted in the down load section of www.pillarmusic.com very soon.
If you are extremely impatient and want to here it now MCA Records is offering the full down load
at the link below. When you go to this page it says “Buy Now”. Since the new re-mixed Fireproof isn’t
out until June 10,2003 this “Buy Now” link refers to the current Fireproof album. We hope
to leak small clips of other remixed songs to you soon. We really want you to hear how much better
the songs sound and the little extras we added (and the big extra added to "A Shame").
Re-mixed "Fireproof" download (full).
June 10, 2003 is the day our re-mixed Fireproof album will hit stores nationwide.
Fireproof will be available at all major record stores
(Best Buy, FYI, Wherehouse, Tower Record, Walmart, etc) in the rock section. The album is completely
re-mixed and is off getting mastered right now. We should have the finished album in our hands any day now.
The first 25,000 Fireproof records sold will come with a new full length Pillar DVD.
At first the DVD was going to come with every re-mixed Fireproof album sold, but MCA really wanted to
reward the true hardcore Pillar fans who will show up at the stores on the morning of June 10. MCA
actually just requested all the stuff we have been collected for the DVD just this last week so they
can begin working on it. We are going to try and post some clips from the new DVD on www.pillarmusic.com
so you can see how important it is that you own it.
Rebecca St. James is taking seriously her commitment to
support the coalition troops in their current Iraq campaign.
The singer is using her platform with national radio and television to issue a call to America to not only
pray for the welfare and safety of our troops-but to "go the extra mile" in support of the "Adopt Our Troops"
campaign. The campaign has been launched by the Presidential Prayer Team, of which she is the youngest
member of the Honorary Committee.
At 25, Rebecca particularly feels a strong alliance to the countless scores of those from her own generation
who are overseas fighting the war. She has openly dedicated her current single at radio, "I Thank You"
on ForeFront Records as a source of encouragement to remember the troops with gratitude.
"In a generation in which many young people grew up on video games, the harsh realities of a world at war is something that countless millions of people are facing for the first time and finding quite overwhelming. It's literally a time like no other in history and seeking God in prayer on behalf of these men and women is extremely important," she noted.
Pop foursome FFH recently performed its first military concert
for an audience of 3,000 at Fort Jackson Army Post in Columbia, S.C. The evening's offerings included
classic FFH tunes, a sing-along to "America the Beautiful" and "The Star- Spangled Banner" as well as a
free copy of an FFH album. Most momentous, however, were the 175 soldiers who prayed to accept Christ.
Jeromy Deibler of FFH comments, "The soldiers were so appreciative of us just being there that they clapped
and sang every song like we were the Beatles. In the middle of our set we sang 'America the Beautiful'
during which the entire group of soldiers, all dressed in their standard issue fatigues, stood to their feet
and belted out like it was their personal theme song. We followed it with 'The Star-Spangled Banner,' which
we were barely able to get through. Those songs never had more meaning to me than they did at that moment,
and I will never sing them the same way again." Chaplin Arthur Pace, project manager of the event comments,
"The purpose of the concert was to try and provide something uplifting, of a spiritual nature, to the
soldiers who, when they complete their training, will go off to war. That reality is causing a lot of
anxiety for these young eighteen and nineteen-year-olds, many of whom are experiencing a spiritual
crisis and starting to rethink their relationship with the Lord. We really didn't know what to expect
as far as the turn-out and response to FFH's performance. FFH gave a call that really reached them,
and we were thrilled at the number of people who wanted to know the Lord."
In less than one week (on April 8th) Newsboys’ Adoration: The Worship Album
will be released to the world. Even before its release, Adoration has already seen massive radio
success with the first single “He Reigns” reaching the #1 position for two weeks on EVERY AC & CHR CHART
in the Christian music industry, which consist of Radio & Retail (R&R), Christian Radio Weekly (CRW),
and Broadcast Data System (BDS) and PDAdvisor (PDA).
“The listeners response to ‘He Reigns’ is overwhelming,” says Grant Hubbard, Sparrow Records VP
National Promotions. “Radio listeners have compared this song’s success to Newsboys
multi-format hit ‘It Is You’.”
Reuniting with producer Steve Taylor (Sixpence None The Richer) Adoration
blends moments of personal and corporate worship to lead listeners on a unique worship journey.
Featuring original worship songs as well as worship favorites, Adoration is a striking
collection of songs that will surely stand the test of time.
Stacie Orrico is about to live the American Dream
– on the small screen that is! On April 16 and 17, Stacie will be taping an upcoming episode of the popular
NBC television series, American Dreams. Not only will she be able to sing on the show, but she
will also get the opportunity to showcase her acting skills as well with a small role.
(http://www.billboard.com/billboard/daily/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1848557)
Speaking of the small screen, don’t forget to catch Stacie on MTV’s Total Request Live (TRL) on Thursday,
April 3. Stacie will be stopping by the NYC studios of TRL for an interview and to say hi to her new fans!
Be sure to set your VCR’s to catch this historic moment – April 3, 4:00-5:00 EST!
Rebecca St. James and the rest of the Wait For Me/Worship
God Tour recently performed in front of their biggest audience since the tour has been on the road.
When the tour stopped in Chicago, they were excited to learn they were going to play to a sell-out crowd
of more than 4,000 fans! In other RSJ news, the Grammy Award winning singer had an opportunity within the last several weeks to talk
to key contacts in Washington about the President's initiative on abstinence-a platform on which she has
developed a strong international voice of influence in taking the message to her generation.
As a follow to her meetings in Washington, this week Rebecca St. James will be featured in the nationally
distributed Abstinence Education Update, a weekly e-mail publication that is distributed to more than
700 abstinence education providers, supporters, and administrators across the United States. The
publication is an informational service from the Office of Representative Dave Weldon (R/Florida)
and is provided as an informational service to individuals and organizations involved in promoting
abstinence education to adolescents.
Luis Palau’s Beachfest took place in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida this past weekend and more than 300,000
attended the two-day festival to catch some of the biggest names in Christian music and to hear Luis
Palau speak about the Gospel. According to South Florida’s major daily, The Sun-Sentinal,
tobyMac stole the opening night show… “Christian hip-hop icon
tobyMac put out a clever, energetic synthesis of secular sounds on Saturday night. His updated praise
and worship contained the rhythm, lingo and first-person braggadocio of hip-hop, minus the profanity.”
Check out what else The Sun-Sentinal had to say about tobyMac’s performance…
http://www.landrudesign.com/DefaultFrameSet.htm?Gallery_Palau_ftlauderdale.htm~LandruMnFrm
In other tobyMac news, keep an eye out for a remix album of his 2001 record Momentum hitting shelves
June 24th!
The latest project UK to receive the D: branding is already sending out the shivers.
Even though it’s early days for the new project from Delrious? –
producer Julian Kindred (Delirious?, Sonicflood, Mercy Me) suggests that studio sessions are due to be
wrapped up towards the middle of the summer, with the album’s release hoped for by the end of the year –
the untitled album has immediately generated a life force of its own: defiant, epic and bold,
this is Delirious getting all the paints out of the cupboard. This is a flagship band heading forward at
full speed, and the results cannot fail to satisfy. More information will follow soon,
but you can also keep up to date via www.delirious.co.uk.
The band have also been spending a little time of late dipping their collective toe back into the waters
of live performance. With two dates at the end of March in North America the Littlehampton five got
a chance to turn up the heat in front of 40,000 fans at two Acquire The Fire events! Also, don't forget
the band's new live worship project Access:d releases next Tuesday, April 8th!
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