Jesusfreakhideout.com Music News: April 2001

April, 2001

*Friday, April 27th, 2001*

The Gospel Music Association week came to a close last night with the 32nd Annual Dove Awards! The winners have been announced on several sites on the net including the ceremony's official site (click here). Third Day cleaned house snagging Group of the Year, Artist of the Year, Praise Album of the Year (Offerings), and Rock Recorded Song of the Year (with "Sky Falls Down"). The band was also featured on the City on a Hill worship project which also one a Dove for Special Event Album of the Year. Other winners were Steven Curtis Chapman for Male Vocalist, Nichole Nordeman for Female Vocalist and Plus One for New Artist. Congratulations to all the winners!

SHINEmk's second album is almost done. Gotee Records' Todd Collins will produce 4 songs for the band. The release date will be September 11th.

Sparrow Records artists, The Waiting will finally release their new project this Fall. Mac Powell of Third Day and Michael Johnston of Smalltown Poets will be guest vocalists on the record.

The Tooth and Nail Tour is off and running. The line up of bands is .rod laver, Calibretto 13, Ace Troubleshooter, and Slick Shoes.

*Thursday, April 26th, 2001*

Kevin Max has recently rested up for GMA Week. He was recouperating from having his wisdom teeth removed over a week ago. Kmax has kicked off GMA Week a bit differently than everyone else. He celebrated it with a birthday party for his wife, Alayna, and her twin sister, Audra.

Tait just finished up a very successful promo tour across the country and is excited about the release of their first single. “All You Got” hit radio airwaves last week. Tait’s debut album, Empty, will hit streets on July 3rd. According to Michael, he named the band after his father. Michael lost his father to cancer, and he wanted to do something to honor his memory and the impact his dad made on his life.

Look for tobyMac to be one of the presenters at the Dove Awards. tobyMac and Cassidy Rae, one of the co-stars of the teen movie Extreme Days, will present “New Artist of the Year.” tobyMac is also still sitting at the top of the charts. His current single, “Extreme Days,” has been #1 for four weeks in a row.

Platinum-selling and chart topping vocal group, Point Of Grace, announces its first headline tour in over two years. The group's Free To Fly Tour is in support of its sixth and already critically acclaimed Word/Epic Records project, Free To Fly, which releases May 1. Beginning in September and continuing in the spring of 2002, the tour currently includes over fourteen states this fall alone and visits such major markets as Minneapolis, Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, Dallas/Ft. Worth and Chicago, among others. Award-winning Essential Records artist FFH will join the tour as a special guest.

This Saturday, April 28th, Stretch Arm Strong is going to be shooting a video for the "For the Record," a song off their new record A Revolution Transmission that's going to be out July 3rd. Visit www.stretcharmstrong.net and go to the garage section where you can download the new MP3 as well as the lyrics to the new song. Don't let your first 15 minutes of fame pass you by!

The Solid State tour is quickly coming together as we speak! ZAO, Luti - Kriss, Stretch Arm Strong and Living Sacrifice are going to be playing shows together for the entire month of June. Keep an eye on Solid State's tour page here for more details!

*Tuesday, April 24th, 2001*

Atlanta rock band Third Day is celebrating yet another milestone in a year already filled with accolades and success: the band's critically acclaimed, best-selling, and GRAMMY and Dove Award nominated recording, Offerings - A Worship Album, has been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales in excess of 500,000 units. Essential Records, Provident Music Distribution and Creative Trust honored Third Day for its landmark achievement during this year's Gospel Music Association Convention with a special Gold Celebration event, Monday, April 23, in Nashville. Their recent tour logged an amazing 22 sellouts out of 28 ticketed events. The average attendance for this tour was 3,239 enthusiastic fans. Many of the tour markets' attendance figures doubled from concerts in the same city one year ago, such as the concert in Atlanta showing 400% growth. Congrats guys!!

Pillar will perform at the 32nd Annual Dove Awards. Heavy bands don't usually get to perform at the Dove awards so this is quite an accomplishment. Their second radio single, “Live for Him” is now #1 on the PAJ Rock Chart. Look for the band coming to your state soon wit the Festival Con Dios tour.

Although Big Tent Revival is no more, fans can get their last taste of the band with Big Tent Revival Live. The record comes out on May 22 and it features live performances of their hit songs.

On the heels of their #1 debut hit, "Broken Tape Decks," Squint Entertainment's hip hop group L.A. Symphony is partnering with the NBA (National Basketball Association) and Yahoo! Sports for the three-month Rhythm 'n Rims Tour. The Yahoo! Sports NBA Rhythm 'n Rims tour is the NBA's premier interactive basketball and music event, bringing the thrill of NBA basketball, the fun of Yahoo! Sports and the latest music to fans all over the United States. L.A. Symphony will perform at 11 of the tour's 14 stops, including the two cities hosting the NBA Finals in June.

Calibretto 13 is releasing an EP in June with 6 songs that should have been on Enter The Danger Brigade. This record will only be sold at www.toothandnail.com.

*Wednesday, April 18th, 2001*

UPDATE:LaRue's "Jaded" Video will be shown on The Disney Channel! The video has been selected to air after winning the "Pick-It" or "Kick-It" contest on zoogdisney.com.

Plankeye's new song, "When It Comes", has been picked by MP3.com to be included on their radio show 'The Download'. 12,000-plus alternative bands were left out of this show and almost 200 radio stations participate in the program across the country. You can click here to listen to the show: http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/118/alternativemp3com_radio.html

We have some recent chart toppers! Congrats are in order for Lifehouse. The lead singer of this mainstream band with a Christian message, Jason Wade, got married, while his hit song "Hanging By A Moment" cracked the Billboard Top 10, and the album No Name Face has been certified platinum (1 million album sales)! Whew! Congrats are also due for Toby Mac, who received his first solo number one song with "Extreme Days" in the CHR rock charts! And finally, congrats are in order for Leigh Nash for cracking the Billboard Dance top 5 with the band Delerium for "Innocente (Falling In Love)" from Delerium's album, Poem.

Leonard Ahlstrom, a long-time member of Newsong, has decided to leave the group to become the president of Tribe Records. This is the record label that is a part of Clint Brown Ministries in Orlando, Florida. More information will be given out later.

Fine China and Puller have recently been featured on Abercrombie and Fitch's official website in their music section. You could vote for either of them, The Stereo, Fuzz Townshend, or Micro Mini, as best MP3. The Fine China was "We Rock Harder Than You Ever Knew" from their record When The World Sings.

Inpop Records has decided that they will release an album for the Festival Con Dios in May. The album will have music from the Newsboys, Audio Adrenaline, The Supertones, The Elms, Switchfoot, T-Bone, Earthsuit, Superckic[k], Tree63, and many others. Speaking of the Supertones, the band have signed a multi-year artist management agreement with Nashville-based Alabaster, Arts, Inc., effective immediately. The new agreement comes just as the Supertones are completing the last leg of the 60-city "Loud and Clear Dance Party USA" tour with supporting acts Switchfoot and Relient K. More than 60% of the tour's shows have been sellouts. Their former management was Davdon Agency. The reason for the switch was not given.

The Deadlines are back in the studio, (check out the STUDIO DIARY at thedeadlines.com for the latest!) Here's what the band has to say, "The new album should be out sometime this fall with all new songs performed by the deadlines fabulous new members in our own renegade rock and roll style. And to answer everyone's burning question, yes we dropped the horror business and are pursuing straight up rock and roll with a 60's feel and the Deadlines spin on it...110% less blood and guts with twice the rock!"

*Thursday, April 12th, 2001*

The Gospel Music Association has announced that Superstation WGN will be the only station to premiere the airing of the 32nd Annual Dove Awards on Friday May 4th at 8 PM, Eastern. PAX TV has been dropped from airing the show. Money was a key issue in this departure.

LaRue's brand new video "Jaded" is currently on the "Pick It Or Kick It" poll at ZOOG Disney! If over 50% of voters choose to Pick It, then it will be added to the ZOOG playlist. Go now and vote!!! http://disney.go.com/disneychannel/zoogdisney/music/index_frame.html

Fanmail is already ready to record their next project which they hope will be out in late August. Their Tooth and Nail contract is up so this new record will be out through Foor Door Entertainment. Foor Door will release a twelve song compilation called "What's Behind Door #4 Volume 1" featuring new music from Value Pac as well as many other bands.

On May 22, Hangnail will release their new album Facing Changes with an additional Hangnail Unplugged CD. The first 5,000 copies will be free with the purchase of Facing Changes, so get it quick! But if you miss this opportunity, you can buy it at toothandnail.com. You can also catch Hangnail playing many festivals this summer.

Newsong has recently developed a new "boy band." This will be a pop band of five guys whose mission will come from 1 Timothy 4:12. "Let no one think little of you because you are young, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity."

Word Records announces the signing of 16-year-old Texas singer, songwriter and guitar player Paige Lewis. Referred to as simply "Paige," she will release her self-titled debut for Word June 19, 2001. In addition to the team at Word Records, Paige is managed by Mike Atkins Management, a division of TBA Entertainment, which is also home to Point Of Grace, Jaci Velasquez, 4HIM, FFH and Wayne Watson. The William Morris Agency will handle booking performances for Paige.

*Tuesday, April 10th, 2001*

UPDATE: RAZE founder Ja'Marc Davis, has been released from jail on a $44,000 bond. This is a drastic change from the $550,000 that the bail was formerly. He was arrested March 1st in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on charges of sexual crimes (we've decided it's not necessary to specify further). Keep praying for everyone involved in this situation. As far as the band, their future is up in the air as the tour has been cancelled and the band is currently taking a break.

Delirious? have just finished their video for the upcoming single "Waiting For The Summer" in a London studio, directed by Andy Hutch. The video is of five men who get caught in a suitcase and go to a warmer climate. The guys were cramped in a small box playing their instruments while being kicked around. The video will be on the UK only single on June 4th.

dc Talk is gearing up to release Solo: Special Edition on the 24th. For those who don't know, the album showcases 2 new songs from each members' forthcoming solo projects this year and one new live recording of a U2 cover song. You can catch an early review of the album here at the Hideout here, complete with sound clips. The band will be performing at many of the major festivals with each member doing roughly a 20 minute solo set and ending with the trio regrouping as dc talk for a set.

The Echoing Green are almost done with Music From The Ocean Picture, their upcoming release. They hope it will be in stores by Christmas. While you wait on this project, you can check out their new single "Supernova" on 12" at their website, www.echocentral.com

As they wrap up their final week on Carman's "Heart of A Champion Tour," ZOEgirl graces the cover of POLLSTAR! You can read the featured article on their site. They also find their album still on the Billboard Heatseekers chart at #26 after 30 weeks on the chart! Last week the group spent hours rehearsing with Tony Michaels, who recently choreographed Jennifer Lopez's recent video and moves for N'Sync as well!

Relient K is back at it again. Their new record will be out on August 28 from Gotee Records. Some of the songs will be "Pressing On", "May the Horse Be With You", "Less Is More" and "Down in Flames". More news will be coming soon.

Inspired by the chorus of new companies (Grassroots Music, INO/M2.0) that are taking a non-traditional business model for themselves, industry veteran Bruce A. Brown (known from work with CCM Magazine), along with his wife and partner Donna Brown, have announced the formation of Jabez Management in hopes of being "mold-breakers" in the management world. The company's name, Jabez, comes from a little-known prayer by a man Jabez in I Chronicles 4: 9-10: "And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, 'Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!' So God granted him what he requested."

*Sunday, April 8th, 2001*

Want to win some money and have fun at the same time? Here’s what you need to do: Make a music video to the song "Big House" from Audio Adrenaline’s latest album, Hit Parade (family members and pets are also welcome to participate)! The deadline for entries is May 15 so hurry up and get the parade started. The full contest details and entry form can be found at forefrontrecords.com or YouthLeaderOnline.com. Prizes are: 1st place - $300; 2nd place - $200; and 3rd place - $100!

Big Idea Productions recently announced that it is in production on its first full length theatrical release, Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie. Jonah will be released sometime in 2002. The animation and the story line will be more complex then the videos. More details of this movie will be out this spring. This is a movie not to be missed by any fan of the VeggieTales.

5 Minute Walk Records is proud to announce a new album and Fall tour from Five Iron Frenzy. The album is currently slated for an October 23 national release date. The tour will lead up to the release and will feature our good friends Relient K, John Reuben and Ace Troubleshooter. The tour kicks off in mid September and runs through the beginning of November. Each show will include a live interactive drama that they want you to participate in. 5minutewalk.com will have a call sheet for the various roles by June and you can sign up for a speaking part in the play. There will be around 10 speaking roles, but everyone should participate in the play by being a part of the worlds largest "Sock Puppet Choir." That's correct - they need everyone to bring a pair of sock puppets for the sing along part of the play. The socks will be donated to local homeless shelters after the show, but will serve as the choir throughout the evening.

Atlantic Recording artists, Plus One, have just finished taping an episode of CBS's Touched By An Angel. They will be the main actors in the episode as well as have two live performances of "The Promise" and "When Your Spirit Gets Weak." The episode will air on Easter Sunday, April 15 at 8PM Eastern. They have also recently gone gold selling 500,000 of their debut cd, The Promise.

*Monday, April 2nd, 2001*

Third Day has announced on their official Web site, thirdday.com, that they are planning to shoot a feature-length VHS/DVD of the Offerings concert experience. The video release will only be available on their website. Pre-orders are planned for April 14. The band says that cool things never seen from Third Day will be on this special not-to-be-missed video.

Switchfoot recently received a write up in the March issue of the teen magazine BOP. The magazine called the group's third album Learning To Breathe buzzworthy. BOP mainly covers the more well known secular groups like N'Sync, Pink, and Destiny's Child. Earthsuit also gathered the glance of a secular publication. The band was in Teen People where they talked about how they got their start as a band in a Bourbon Street coffeehouse. Look for them in your hometown on their "Do You Enjoy the Distortion Tour" with Ill Harmonics and Forefront Records' latest new artThe Benjamin Gate.

Kirk Franklin will join Deborah Cox, AZ Yet and Trin-i-tee 5:7 on the soundtrack for the upcoming movie "Kingdom Come." The movie stars Whoopi Goldberg, LL Cool J, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Toni Braxton and is due out on April 27. The movie is a comedy about a family who comes together to remember one of their dearly departed.

Here's a P.O.D. in-the-studio update! For the past 2 months, P.O.D. have been secluded in a rehearsal studio in San Diego writing material for their new record for Atlantic Records. Recently, the boys began a fast as they continue writing and seeking inspiration for what is being labeled as their "most powerful" record yet. They also recently started 3 weeks of Pre-production with Howard Benson, who they are co-producing the record with. They begin tracking in Los Angeles on April 9th.

Having firmly established itself as a premiere label in breaking new artists, Rocketown Records has signed its first truly "new" artist in two years, Shaun Groves, whose debut project, Invitation To Eavesdrop, will release worldwide on July 17, 2001. Since its launch in 1996, Rocketown has garnered New Artist of the Year Dove Award nominations for Chris Rice, Watermark and last year's winner Ginny Owens.

Check out the Carman pay per view concert special on Easter Sunday at 5 pm and 8 pm Eastern Time. The show was taped at the Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas from the "Heart of a Champion" tour with ZOE girl and Russ Lee. Also, if you haven't yet, check out Carman's new movie in select theaters now, Carman: The Champion!

The Echoing Green have decided to re release their formerly limited edition and out of print Science Fiction record. The band has reissued the album in the form of an MP3.com CD. It has all the tracks of the original, a new song, and is a reasonable price. Go to MP3.com to get yours today.

Well, it looks like MTV can't get enough of new band Superchick! In addition to having their song "TV Land" featured in the first episode and casting special of the new season of "The Real World" on MTV this June, their song "Get Up," will also be in the show's end credits!

April 9th through May 3rd, Solid State hard rockers, Embodyment will be in studio recording their next record called Hold Your Breath. Watch for this by the end of the summer...