Jesusfreakhideout.com Music News: February 2003

February, 2003

*Tuesday, February 25th, 2003*

Shaohannah Chapman is home from the hospital! Steven Curtis Chapman and family are thankful for your prayers and the SCC events in LA, Seattle and Minneapolis are to go on as scheduled. After nearly 2 weeks of fever and fever spikes reaching dangerously high levels, Shaohannah Hope Chapman was discharged from a Nashville hospital late on Friday evening. Shaoey's extended illness is blamed on an aggressive and serious infection in her neck that gave doctors fits. Finally after almost a week on antibiotics and other medications, Shaoey's fevers remained in control, and doctors gave the ok for her to head home. Sincere thanks from the Chapman family for all your prayers, and for your continued support as Shaoey heals up at home over the next week or two. With Shaoey's condition stabilized and her at home, it allows her dad, Steven Curtis Chapman to go back out on the road to pick-up his schedule for this week as planned in LA, Seattle and Minneapolis; as well as appear at re-scheduled events in Dallas, Houston and Atlanta the following two weeks. The SCC crew offers their sincere apologies to all those effected by the postponements and appreciate your understanding. For more info, visit stevencurtischapman.com

Amidst the band's current membership turmoil, P.O.D.'s newsletter has released an update on their latest recording... "P.O.D. are currently in Los Angeles finishing work on the lead single for The Matrix Reloaded. We can't wait for you to hear what Jason Truby and the boys have been up to... this stuff is insane.... "menacing and supernatural." The film people have their jaws on the floor. Next month, P.O.D. will film the video for the single... which will no doubt be one of the hottest videos you will see this year." The guys were also treated to a surprise visit in the studio by Billy Graham's son Franklin Graham and Greg Laurie! We'll keep you posted as we hear stuff on the band!

Audio Adrenaline releases their amazing new album Worldwide today! If you are lucky enough to catch The Go Show in the next couple of days, you might be disappointed to find that bassist Will McGinniss is not on stage. Well, Will is home in Nashville as we speak awaiting the birth of his third child! Word has it that the new baby McGinniss could enter this world any day now! Also, rumor has it that today is also Will's birthday! Stay tuned for more details on the birth...

Greg Long was interviewed last week for the syndicated radio program Soul2Soul. The hour-long program, which airs March 8th, will showcase the upcoming Discovery House Music release David: Ordinary Man...Extraordinary God, which also features Bob Carlisle, Scott Krippayne, Steve Camp, Clay Crosse and Russ Lee.

Jump5 has found it and they are going to talk about it! An NIV Devotional Bible specifically designed to help ‘tweens’ (kids 8-12) survive and discover the challenging and exciting time between childhood and adolescence. “We are so excited about being asked to partner with Zonderkidz, the children’s division of Zondervan, on The Edge. It’s written specifically for ‘tweens’ and is a great resource for finding out answers about God, friends and life in general,” explains Libby Hodges of Jump5. Nick Barre, Senior Director of Artist Development at Sparrow Records agrees. "The partnership with Zonderkidz’ The Edge Bible and Jump5 is a perfect fit. Both parties are committed to reaching tweens with the Gospel. The peer-to-peer relationship that Jump5 has with their audience makes their participation with The Edge Bible meaningful and significant."

*Monday, February 24th, 2003*

Jars of Clay was honored last evening with another GRAMMY during “The 45th Annual GRAMMY Awards” held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Receiving the award from the Recording Academy for “Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album” for its fourth and critically acclaimed 2002 release, The Eleventh Hour, this achievement marks the band’s third consecutive GRAMMY. As Jars of Clay celebrated the win from stage in Minot, ND during its current 40-plus city tour, Essential Records President Robert Beeson read an acceptance on behalf of the band, “Many thanks to all of you, our musical peers, who have shared with us your lives whether messy or complicated or victorious. Your transparency through your music gives us all the confidence to walk out on those ledges with you. Thank you for supporting us beyond music and into the arena of raising awareness for the HIV AIDS emergency in Africa. Music and passion find a true companion when they lead us to a genuine response for people in need. God Bless you. May your art provoke a better world. Thank you — Jars of Clay.” Jars of Clay won its first GRAMMY for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album in 1997 with its Platinum-selling recording, Much Afraid, followed by a second win in the category in 2001 for its Gold-selling, If I Left the Zoo. The band also received a GRAMMY nomination for "Rock/Gospel Album of the Year" in 1995 for its RIAA certified Double Platinum and self-titled debut.

Looks like Third Day snubbed the greatness of Audio Adrenaline's Lift and TobyMac's Momentum to take their first ever GRAMMY home for themselves for "Best Rock Gospel Album" with their 2001 record Come Together! Congratulations guys! You had some stiff competition! Other nominees in that category were Jennifer Knapp and surprisingly hip hop duo Grits. Third Day is currently poised to release their second worship project next week on March 4th, entitled Offerings 2: All I Have To Give. Preorder now and get a free EP (a must-have for true 3D fans!) Also look for their second live DVD, The Come Together Tour in stores this April!

Five of the top rock, punk and hip-hop acts from across the Christian music spectrum hit the touring circuit with a big bang last week as the See Spot Rock Tour sold out its first full weekend of shows on the scheduled 45-city tour. The tour that Pollstar magazine labeled “ambitious” features an all-star lineup that includes heavy-duty rock favorites OC Supertones, Relient K and Pillar, along with hip-hop head John Reuben and critically-acclaimed newcomers Sanctus Real. Even in the midst of a winter storm blast that hit the upper east coast of the United States over the weekend, the See Spot Rock Tour sold out four shows Feb. 14-16, in major markets like Detroit, Mich.; Lancaster, Pa. (where an added second show also sold out); and Philadelphia, Pa. (which sold out and is being rescheduled because of weather). Ticket sales continue to rise as the high-octane tour moves into major markets such as Grand Rapids, St. Paul, Nashville, San Antonio, Oklahoma City and on to the West Coast in the coming weeks. The tour runs through early May.

Grits will be releasing a dvd single that will include videos for "Here We Go," "They All Fall Down," and exclusive video commentary. John Reuben will also be releasing a DVD single the same day that will include videos for "Doin¹," "Do Not," and a special service announcement from Mr. Reu. So mark your calendar, because on June 24, you can get both of these DVD's for $6.99 each. Also, rumor has it that Gotee might be releasing a DVD collection that features the staff's favorite videos...

Gotee Records Studio Update: Dj Maj is in the studio working on his new mixtape album titled The Ringleader. It will feature Toby Mac, Kirk Franklin, Grits, John Reuben, LA Symphony, Pigeon John, Verbs, 4th Ave. Jones, Out Of Eden and many more. Look for it to hit stores this summer. The Katinas are currently submitting demos that will create a new album that will hopefully hit around the end of October. Finally, Jeff Deyo is in the studio working on pre-production demos for a new album that will hopefully be in stores sometime in early 2004. Why the delay? Deyo and his wife recently had their first child...

Plumb's official site, plumbinfo.com is featuring a new song entitled "Real" from the artist's long awaited third release Beautiful Lumps of Coal which graces shelves March 25th on Curb Records. Be on the look out for a JfH review soon! Also, if you'd like an early copy of the record, you can think up the funniest caption possible for our current contest and perhaps you'll come away with the record before anyone else!

Solid State Records has announced a new artist, Canada’s very own Figure Four. Besides releasing an "incredible" debut on Facedown Records, Figure Four has been making a name for themselves touring all over the world both headlining as well as playing support for the likes of Hatebreed and others. The band is currently finishing up recording their Solid State debut entitled, Suffering The Loss. To check out rough mixes to to of the latest songs visit: http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/469/figure_four_204.html

Bride has taken time off from touring to write songs for a new CD, which should be released later this year. Some of these new songs have been recorded for demo purposes in order for the band to critique their own work. But what better way to get an opinion than to ask "the fans" what they think about the new material? Bride has posted a new song (demo only) entitled "Revolution" on their web site for immediate download. Visit the www.bridepub.com and follow the instructions at the top of the page in order to preview a new song. Bride wants to hear back from you! So, take the time to cast your vote once you have heard the song. Other songs may be posted in due time for you to download.

*Friday, February 21st, 2003*

On Wednesday we reported the exit of guitarist Marcos Curiel from the hard rock powerhouse P.O.D. MTV released a report later that day with Marcos' response to an email vocalist Sonny Sandoval sent out the day before announcing Marcos' resignation. The plot thickens as Marcos claims he was kicked out, and management called him up to do it. Curiel's interview with MTV has the guitarist revealing that he left partly because he was tired of living a facade lifestyle where he was different on stage and in the spotlight than when no one was looking. Commenting directly on Sandoval's letter, Marcos told MTV, "The thing that's really bugging me out is the e-mail is portrayed all holy and sh**." (referring to the line "Please continue to keep P.O.D. and Marcos in your prayers. All our love is yours. Be blessed.") The band already has a replacement guitarist in Jason Truby of Living Sacrifice fame. Curiel comments, "...I found out they had another guitar player already. I was like, 'Whoa.' They've been plotting this for a long time." For the full article with a more in-depth look at the situation, visit: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1470028/02192003/pod.jhtml

Due to the hospitalization of Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife Mary Beth’s adopted daughter Shaohannah, Sparrow Records has announced the postponement of the instore signings and golden ticket events in both Dallas and Houston originally scheduled for this week. Over the last week, an infection has caused Shaoey dangerously high fevers, and though initial treatments have stabilized her, they have not been entirely successful. Shaohannah remains hospitalized while doctors analyze next steps. Sparrow Records and Steven are both very sorry for any inconvenience this will cause, and thank you for your continued prayers for Shaohannah and the Chapman family. The rescheduled dates are for March 6 & 7. For more info, visit Sparrowrecords.com In other SCC news, his current radio single, “All About Love,” the title track from his current release on Sparrow Records, became his 40th song to hit No. 1 when it did so last week on both the CRW and R&R AC charts. The single actually reached the No. 1 slot on CRW’s AC chart faster than any other song, making it to the top in just six weeks. All About Love has already scanned over 100,000 units in just three weeks of its release, placing it at #42 on Billboard’s Top 200 Chart.

EMI Gospel's Aaron Neville is on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight! Released January 28, Neville's latest record, Believe debuted at #2 and is currently at #7 on the Billboard Top Gospel Chart!

Uprok Records’ Peace 586’s new single “Love’s Still There” debuted at #9 on R&R Rhythmic charts. The song is striking a chord with radio and fans alike. CHR format stations are getting into the act even with a few stations adding it already prior to the CHR release date. If you havent added the track yet, be certain to give it a good listen and add it right away to rotation. Response has continued to be tremendous on the single. His third solo effort, Generations, releases this coming Tuesday, February 25th on Uprok Records. Check out the new Peace 586 e-card for Generations! http://www.uprokrecords.com/peace586/movie.html

MTV is debuting Stacie Orrico's newest video "Stuck" right now! Visit http://www.mtv.com/music/video/premiere/stacie_orrico/ to check it out! Stacie's long-awaited self-titled sophomore record releases on Virgin/Frefront Records March 25th!

*Wednesday, February 19th, 2003*

Frontman Sonny Sandoval for hard rock powerhouse P.O.D. made this announcement last night about some big news concerning the band's current membership, "It saddens me to say that Marcos is no longer with P.O.D. As some of you may have already heard, Marcos has chosen to pursue his own vision apart from P.O.D. Never have we imagined P.O.D. without him, but we now know this vision is bigger than the four of us. I feel that there are still so many good things in store for those of us who have put our lives on the line for what we believe in. As for P.O.D. we will continue with the amazing privilege that has been put before us. Only because of God’s grace and goodness can we look toward tomorrow. Currently we are writing the lead single for The Matrix Reloaded. We will soon begin writing our third full-length record for Atlantic Records. Coming alongside of us is a long time friend and talented musician and songwriter, Jason Truby. He brings an excitement and a fire to the table that will take P.O.D. to the next level. Through great challenges come great rewards and we're more confident now than ever of where we are going."

Everyday Sunday dined in Hollywood recently while out visiting the director of their new video for their hot single, "Wait." After getting wind that the after party for the World Premiere of new movie Shanghai Knights was nearby, the boys jumped at the chance of meeting one of their favorite actors, Owen Wilson. Sure enough, the band was able to catch the Shanghai Noon star as he was coming out. "We were on our way home from our video director's house and stopped in Hollywood to eat," commented frontman Trey Pearson, "It was ubelievable timing." Catch the band touring the country on select tour dates! For more information, visit everydaysunday.com!

Andrew Peterson readies for the Feb. 25 release of his third label project, Love & Thunder, with the support of a multi-faceted marketing effort. The Watershed/Essential Records campaign includes billing on Nichole Nordeman's 25-city "Woven & Spun" tour, media and radio exposure as well as favorable positioning at Christian retail. Andrew Peterson joins Sparrow Records female vocalist Nichole Nordeman on tour this spring to major markets including Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee, San Antonio and Phoenix. The tour launched Feb.7 in Leawood, Kan., to a standing room only crowd and will run through early May. Concert-goers will experience an evening of fun and worship, opening with music from Peterson's upcoming album. The singer/songwriter will also perform solo shows between tour dates.

Bleach's Jared Byers is getting rid of his old cymbals on EBAY soon. Keep an eye out if you are interested in those suckers. There is no better way to adorn your walls that with an old cymbal from Mr. Byers. If you want to know exactly when he is going to put them up, email him at jaredtheteensensation@hotmail.com

As the March 18th release of WOW Worship nears, Provident Music Distribution sets it marketing strategies in place. Provident’s campaign centers around the 33-song value of the double CD and the major artists involved in the project. For the first time in the series, WOW Worship appeals to both the praise and worship buyer and the contemporary Christian music buyer by offering 30 worship songs performed by today’s top Christian artists, including seven exclusive new recordings and three bonus cuts. The $23.98 WOW Worship double CD/Cassette features 30 powerful worship songs from today’s top Christian artists including seven new recordings commissioned especially for this project. These new cuts include Jars of Clay, “Be Thou My Vision”; Caedmon’s Call, “Majesty”; FFH, “Better Is One Day”; Mark Schultz, “Shout To The Lord”; Joy Williams, “Hungry”; NewSong, “You Are My King”; and 4HIM, “Thy Word.” In addition, three bonus cuts have been added to the project highlighting three emerging artists: Big Daddy Weave, “Audience Of One”; David Crowder Band, “Our Love Is Loud”; and GlassByrd, “I Stand Amazed”.

Pat and John formerly of Klank have a new project with hip-hop producer Taiwan Green A.K.A. Mr.Fingaz. New York based 54 aims to create a new sound blending elements that are melded together to become cutting edge. Their sound has many layers of influence from the beats of underground hip-hop to the introspection of indie rock, from the heaviness of Sabbath to the gentleness of John Coltrane. The band is named to re-live the vibe of famous dance club, Studio 54. For more information, visit http://www.soundclick.com/bands/2/54.htm

*Tuesday, February 18th, 2003*

Third Day performed a post-race concert following the season opener for the NASCAR Busch Series this past weekend at the Daytona International Speedway. Prior to the start of Saturday’s Koolerz 300 Busch Series race, Third Day’s lead singer, Mac Powell, sang the National Anthem broadcast live on FOX Sports. Third Day was part of all promotions surrounding the Daytona International Speedway during Speedweeks, which were attended by over 600,000 fans over 14 days. The Koolerz 300, won by Dale Earnhardt Jr., was attended by over 150,000 race fans while the 45th Annual Daytona 500 had over 200,000 in attendance. Other celebrities present at this year’s Daytona 500 Weekend were Mariah Carey, who sang the National Anthem prior to the big race; John Travolta, Grand Marshall; Wayne Brady, Tony Hawk and Evander Holyfield, who all participated in pre-race festivities. In other 3D news, The Come Together Tour DVD will be available in stores nationwide on April 1st, 2003 on DVD or VHS. See one of the biggest tours of the year and the making of the tour as well as one on one interviews with the band. Get to know the heart of Third Day and catch a glimpse of what is is like to be out on the road with them.

After over 2 years of compiling and assembling a diverse collection of rare audio and video masters, Reunion Records is prepared to release Rich Mullins: Here In America on May 6, 2003. Featuring a 60-minute audio CD and a full-length DVD, Here In America is a virtual scrapbook of sights and sounds that take you beyond the music and into the heart of one of Christian music's most interesting and intriguing artists. With over two hours of previously unreleased material, Here In America is a robust collection of live performances and song demos that provide extraordinary glimpses into the inspiration behind many of the great songs penned by Rich Mullins. The audio portion includes live recordings taped between 1984 and 1987, during the early days of Rich’s career. A highlight of the audio includes Rich teaching a crowd “Awesome God” for the first time, written just a few days prior. Here In America includes original BMG song demos such as “The Lord’s Prayer” and “Never Heard the Music,” both of which have never been released and a live version of “None Are Stronger,” which has not been released before either. The DVD portion of Here in America features both live performances with the Ragamuffins as well as a very rare question and answer session with Rich and long-time Rich Mullins collaborator, Beaker. The live performance section features many of Rich’s best-loved songs performed in front of a studio audience. Featuring extended intros and unique arrangements created by the Ragamuffins, this live concert footage is a great representation of a Rich Mullins concert during the latter years of his life.

Over the weekend, P.O.D. were in Berlin, Germany for the 2003 Echo Awards. (2nd largest music awards show in the world) P.O.D. picked up their first major music award, "2003 International Group of the Year." This was a very special honor for the band considering the other artists in the category: Korn, Linkin Park, Puddle of Mudd, and Coldplay In addition, P.O.D. are up for two Grammy's next week. Also, P.O.D.'s first new song this year has been confirmed as the lead single & video for the upcoming Matrix film, The Matrix Reloaded!

According to CCMMagazine.com, on February 21st, Sixpence None the Richer fans can hear the band on Sabrina the Teenage Witch where they will perform their version of this Crowded House song "Don't Dream It's Over," and even find Leigh Nash giving acting a shot. Check local listings for more details.

This also from CCMMagazine.com... It's a boy for Nicole C. Mullen! "Josiah Benjamin Mullen made his appearance at 3:15pm on Monday, February 10th. Congratulations to Nicole and husband David on the birth of their third child! Jasmine and Max are the proud big sister and brother. Mommy and baby are home and doing great."

Whatever happened to Guardian's former frontman Jamie Rowe and his project Kung Pao Fugitives? How about the Organic Records rock band The Frantics? Jamie dropped the Hideout an email recently to announce his efforts with new group, The London Calling which feature Rowe on vocals and three members from The Frantics - Jon Gilbert, Derek Sorrells, and Matthew Martin. Check out this new rising band and download their new demo track "Supernatural Girl (All About You)" now at TheLondonCalling.com.

When watching the new video for Stacie Orrico's song "Stuck," pay close attention to the track that Stacie and her friends are parading around. That portion of the video was filmed at the exact same location that one of Stacie's favorite movies, Grease, was filmed. "Diane Martel (the video's director) is so creative and has incredible ideas," Orrico said. "She even worked it out for us to film at the running track where the original Grease was filmed. It was a lot of fun."

Jars of Clay debuted last week in the Top 5 on both the SoundScan Top Christian Album sales chart and Top Mainstream Album Sales chart with the February 4 release of its critically acclaimed and fifth project, Furthermore – From The Studio: From The Stage. Ranking in the Top 5 of the Combined (Mainstream and Christian) sales chart, the album also garnered No. 64 on Billboard magazine’s coveted Top 200 sales chart and No. 1 on the Christian Rock/Alternative/Rap sales chart.

Furious? Records is delighted to include the man they call quite simply 'the Grandfather'. After the success of 2001's What Grace, recording has just finished on Graham Kendrick's follow-up studio album Do Something Beautiful. The album is due for release on 5th April [September 2003 in North America] and features duets with Tim Hughes and Darlene Zschech. As ever, graham has a schedule to back up the product, with the coming months boasting a fine spread of appearances. As well as a 11 date tour of UK cathedrals, Graham will also be leading worship at this year’s Spring Harvest [the UK’s leading bible week], where the Do Something Beautiful track ‘How Long?’ will feature as the theme song to celebrate the event’s 25th anniversary.

If you're a TV-watcher, you may have spotted a recent Pepsi commercial featuring a crowd jamming to none other than an MxPx concert!

Auckland, New Zealand marked the February 13th launch pad for Rebecca St. James' schedule of select concert dates throughout New Zealand and her native homeland of Australia. Described as a "mini-tour," the concerts mark the most recent stops on "The Worship God Tour"-a tour that's truly become international in scope. In the fall of 2002, "The Worship God Tour" reached a large part of the continent of Europe-with concert performances in more than fourteen nations over a three week period throughout November and December. In Australia for a brief rest prior to the launch of her next U.S. tour next month (March), the three New Zealand concerts and four Australian performances are "by popular demand" appearance requests that St. James took time from her planned vacation time to fulfill.

Pillar recently returned from a New Zealand/Australia trip and reportedly had an awesome time while over there. A recent newsletter from the band stated: "In New Zealand, a few very cool things happened: 1. We got to see the farmland where they actually filmed Hobbiton in the Lord of the Rings and 2. A fan brought Noah a guitar to play and destroy on stage. Noah played the guitar for "Indivisible" (our last song) and then absolutely wrecked it. We all signed it and gave it back to him. A video camera was rolling on this whole trip (5 hours of footage), so hopefully you will all get to see this on a future DVD."

Studio Report: David Crowder Band, Kutless, Thousand Foot Krutch, and Bleach are all currently in the studio working on new projects for this year. The amazing Rock N Roll Worship Circus is currently in preproduction and looking at a possible September release on INO Records while John Reuben is set to record an album for release sometime this Fall on Gotee Records.

New Ardent Records’ artist Todd Agnew is giving Memphis residents and visitors a taste for more than just barbeque ribs, Elvis and the blues. Preparing for the summer launch of his first nationally released project, Grace Like Rain, Agnew is currently helping to forge a Christ-centered focus among the college-aged culture via his role as worship leader at Highpoint Church in Memphis and The Loop’s Tuesday night Bible studies. Whether in a church, coffeehouse or club, he successfully melds rock, blues, soul and gospel to help fuel inspiration through exalting the Creator. “I am who I am with the gifts God’s given me,” says Agnew. “More than half of the time, that means leading worship, but for the other 49 percent of the time, that means I’m playing on Beale Street or in clubs around college campuses.”

Veteran singer-songwriter Twila Paris is set to release her latest project for Sparrow Records, House of Worship on March 11th. In support of House of Worship, Paris is hitting the road in March for the “I Worship” tour with Chris Tomlin, Don Moen, ZOEgirl, Sara Groves and others, and will be a part of the national “Worship Together” events in Chicago and Vancouver this May. She is also co-hosting the upcoming “Marriage Masterpiece” half hour radio special with Focus On The Family, that includes vignettes and expert advice from Al Jannsen (The author of the book, “The Marriage Masterpiece”).

*Thursday, February 13th, 2003*

We are getting down to the final stretch! A mere 12 days from now, Switchfoot will release The Beautiful Letdown for the world to enjoy. Christian Hit Radio (CHR) already loves the band’s first single “More Than Fine” which took a giant leap from #11 to #4 this week on the R&R Christian CHR Top 30 charts. “More Than Fine” also marks the highest and fastest charting CHR single ever for Switchfoot! So you want more? I’m glad you asked! Below this news blurb you will find a link to Switchfoot’s video “Meant To Live” which also happens to be the first single released to Rock radio. “Meant To Live” debuted at #16 on the R&R Christian Rock Top 30 charts this week.
Meant To Live - .ram [56k],[DSL/T1]; .asx [T3]

Valentine's Day is less than a day away and you can send that special someone a Steven Curtis Chapman All About Love valentine! Whether you want to say “I Love You” or just “Hello”, these cards will brighten anyone’s inbox. Send one now. Just click here and you’ll be on your way. http://ecards.sparrowrecords.com/scc/

The Rock N Roll Worship Circus is back on the road, but not without a slight change. The band made this announcement recently on their site WorshipCircus.com, "As you all probably know, the Circus is back out on the road but this time we had to leave not only our beloved families behind…Solo and his lovely wife Nicole are getting closer and closer to having their baby, and it just wouldn't have been right for him to leave her in this precious time. It was difficult to leave our little brother behind. We've been on the road for 3 years with him, and we love him a ton. Yet, it is the best thing to do, and we as a band are all REALLY excited about this joy that God is bringing into their lives. So what about a guitar player? Well, that's where Eric comes in. Eric (who will be from this point known as "E") is this cat from Longview (which, as you all know, is the center of the universe). He's a rad guitar player and a worship leader in his own church of Northgate City Church. He's been our friend for quite a few years now-in fact, I've actually led worship with him a few times before "the Circus" started. He's got a heart for God that is unparalleled by your typical session guy. And he's been the hugest blessing to us by agreeing to step in for Solo until the baby is born and Solo is able to return to our rigorous touring schedule." The band has also begun preproduction on their next record! They announced before the holidays, "Over the holidays, the Glitter Twins (Gabe and Solo) and the rest of the Circus were hard at work in the studio for their next record. Apparently, the band has over 30 + songs that are written, and around 15 other songs they're still hashing out. At a few of the Circus' latest shows, fans have been treated to some of the new material. Crowds in Mobile, Houston, and Dallas were introduced to "Great Big Love" (with it's 'So Happy Together' vibes), and "NWR" (a new wavey-punk tune)….and both songs have been met with rave reviews! When asked about the direction of the next record, Gabriel commented 'Our Pink Floyd-y stuff got more Pink Floyd, and our Beatles-ey stuff got a bit more Beatles….' No firm release date has been set, but the band says it will be 'no later that spring of 2004, but maybe sooner.'"

The Grand Incredible record, that Supertones' Matt Morginsky and Ethan Luck have been working on, finally has a release date! It comes out June 10th and the guys just put the finishing touches on the record. That finishing touch was Sarah Watkins of Nickel Creek. She is a great friend of the guys and came into the studio to lend her talents on vocals and fiddle to the last song on our record, "California Shore." More on The Grand Incredible soon!

Furious? Records, Inc. announces the signing of its first-ever new artist, Everyone. Hailing from San Luis Obispo, CA, and having performed hundreds of concerts, including a full tour of North America with Delirious?, the band’s self-titled debut album is set to release dually in the US and UK April 8. With producer Julian Kindred (Delirious?, MercyMe, Michelle Tumes) and Delirious?’ Stu G. stepping in as executive producer, the band recently finished recording its self-titled debut at the Sound Kitchen in Nashville. Subsequent post-production of the album was completed at the legendary recording home of the Beatles, Abbey Road Studios, in England. “I’m really excited about this band,” exclaims Stu G. “I’ve been a fan of Jeff’s voice and songwriting for years. They are an inspired mix of heartfelt worship and rock ‘n’ roll. Get ready to be blown away!”

Phat Chance are gearing up for their next album (releasing this Spring). The foursome hasn't revealed much yet... but they say "get ready, 'cause this is some awesome Rock 'n Roll!" Also, the band's days carrying the moniker "Phat Chance" may be numbered! Due to the nationwide release of a "For Better or Worse" comic cracking on the name as part of the strip's joke, the band realizes a change may be in order. "It’s not that we’ve gone from five to a foursome," the band explains on phatchance.com, "It’s not that the new CD we’re now recording is reflecting a more mature 'classic rock' sound than the more 'pop rock' sound of “Without You.” And it’s certainly not that we’re thrilled about the prospect of starting all over again with a new name." Then what is it? Visit this link for more details!

Alabaster Arts, Inc. congratulates management clients Paul Colman Trio and the OC Supertones, who were among the top nominees announced this week in Germany’s CCM Internet Music Awards. The awards are presented by Gospelsite Germany, the largest contemporary Christian music Web site in Germany. Nominated for a total of five German awards including Best International Artist, Best International Pop Album, Best Live Act, Best International Newcomer and Best International Up-Riser, Paul Colman Trio continues its recent streak of accolades worldwide. The Australian trio accepted a GRAMMY Award nomination last month in the field of Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album (New Map of the World) and also garnered Dove Award nods from the Gospel Music Association in the categories of New Artist of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year.

Bebo Norman hits the road on his "Spring 2003" tour, visiting churches, theaters and university campuses nationwide. The tour adds to an already eventful spring for the singer/songwriter, who will contend for seven Dove Awards in addition to releasing a new radio single. Bebo Norman's "Spring 2003" tour kicked off with a sold out show in Winter Park, Fla., Feb. 9 at Killarney Baptist Church. Joined again by backing vocalist and instrumentalist Gabe Scott, Norman will visit 27 cities through the end of March, a jaunt that will take him to the West Coast for the first time since he toured with Third Day last spring. This tour also marks the first time Norman has performed in California since his 2001 "Big Blue Sky" tour.

Bleach is tentatively scheduled to hit the studio for their fifth project in May and June. The guys will be finishing up the writing process over the next few months before heading into the recording process. As for the release date, the guys are hoping to have it out late 2003. Keep your fingers crossed!

*Wednesday, February 12th, 2003*

Derek Webb, singer/songwriter from the acclaimed Christian group Caedmon’s Call, has announced after ten years and with the support of his band mates, has left the group and chosen to focus his endeavors on the upcoming release of his first solo project, She Must and Shall Go Free. This already critically applauded project releases March 25, 2003 on INO Records. Webb produced She Must And Shall Go Free along with co-producers Kenny Meeks, Matt Pierson and Garett Buell. Spring and summer tour plans for Webb are already underway and will be announced shortly.

Jars of Clay is at it again! Wes Cooper of Jarchives.com asked the boys if they had any intentions to self-produce projects in the future. Jars frontman Dan Haseltine responded, "Funny you should ask...We entered the studio this week to begin working on the new record that is said to release in Nov 2003. We are working very fast this time, and are giving ourselves very little time, so we rely mostly on good songwriting and basic producing instincts that we often second guess when given longer recording seasons. So far the songs have all been working with the basic ingredience of acoustic guitars and hip-hop and trance drum loops. Feels like the good ole days :)" Thanks Wes for sharing this with us! Check out the link at Jarchives.com

Stacie Orrico will be stopping by the Dallas, TX studio of the Top 40 syndicated morning radio program, "The Kidd Kraddick Show" to participate in the show's special Valentine's Day episode. Stacie visited the station in January while on her radio promotional tour, and they were so impressed with her and her new single, "Stuck," they invited her back to help them celebrate Valentine's Day on-air! For more details on Stacie's appearance, check out their website www.kiddlive.com and to get a list of affiliates.

Early indications show that Audio Adrenaline's upcoming Spring tour, "The Go Show" could be one of their best-selling tours to date. Co-headlining the show with MercyMe and including special guests Kutless and new Flicker artist The Swift, Audio Adrenaline reports ticket sales for The Go Show are going fast and furious. They have already sold out for the February 22 Baker, LA, date and big crowds are brewing in Dallas, TX, St. Charles (St. Louis), IL, Tulsa, OK and Denver, CO. To see when "The Go Show" is coming to your town, log onto www.audioa.com for dates and details on how to purchase tickets. And don't forget - a free backstage pass to any date on "The Go Show" tour is included in each Audio Adrenaline Worldwide CD, which will be available Tuesday, Feb. 25. Check out our feature review of the album here!

Ever wonder what a touring band does when they are not on the stage? Well, Tait has made it a tradition on the Winter Jam tour to visit thrift stores in the cities they visit. Any of the members of the Tait band can be caught in any given thrift store trying on clothes and parading around the store. Speaking of shopping, new guitarist Justin York recalls a recent embarrassing shopping moment while making a stop at an Urban clothing store. "Anyone in that store could tell we don't frequent these trendy places when Lonnie yells across the store to the sales person, 'You got any of those Country/Western shirts here?'"

The Benjamin Gate's lead singer, Adrienne Leisching, will be featured in a set of ads created by Audix microphones. The ads will feature Adrienne performing with her Audix microphone and will run in a variety of Christian music magazines. Another ad featuring Adrienne along with other female rockers like Ani DeFranco, Alanis Morrisette, and Garbage's Shirley Manson will appear in a magazine for women in rock music called Women Who Rock. Look for the ads to hit the stands soon, but in the meantime, here's a sneak peek of what you will see... http://www.forefrontrecords.com/images/news/tbg_audixad.jpg

The "Evening of Compassion With Geoff Moore" events to raise awareness for Compassion International, have been a huge success so far. After just the first three shows, which included special guest Word Records artist, Racheal Lampa, 213 new child sponsorships were committed. Given the success of the first few events, Compassion International and Geoff will work together to extend the series to add 10 more events before July 1st, 2003, and will include other special guest appearances. Pictured is Geoff and Rachael as they perform to an intimate crowd in support of Compassion International. http://www.forefrontrecords.com/images/news/geoff_compassion.jpg

According to their official site, the new Viva Voce album is done & currently being mastered! Emily Lazar @ The Lodge in NYC has taken the daunting task of applying the final glue and we couldn't be happier. The band insists they will try to have an MP3 at VivaVoce.com as soon as possible, as well as news about when it will be released, where to find it, etc.

Superchic[k] is currently featured in the spring issue of TIGER BEAT, stating, “They’ve declared it their mission to turn popular culture and high school cliques upside down with their cool kick-butt songs.” Superchic[k] lead guitarist/vocalist Melissa Brock will be featured in an upcoming issue of MARIE CLAIRE magazine, and will head to NYC in 2 weeks for a photo shoot with this leading women’s magazine.

Nashville-based nominees for the 45th Annual Grammy Awards gathered Monday night at the LOEWS Vanderbilt Plaza for a reception in their honor. The Nashville chapter of the Recording Academy sponsored the event which hosted artists including those in the Country and Gospel categories. In attendance included nominees TobyMac, Jars of Clay, and Third Day to name a few...

*Thursday, February 6th, 2003*

Four-time Grammy Award winner Steven Curtis Chapman’s thirteenth studio release, All About Love, debuted at #12 on Billboard’s Top 200 Chart in its first week of release. Scanning 51,421 units out of the box propelled All About Love to the top slot on Billboard’s Top Christian album chart and makes him the #1 selling artist at Christian Retail. #12 on the Billboard Top 200 chart is the highest debut chart position ever for an album in Sparrow Records’ history and for a Christian artist in the month of January, a traditionally slower month for retail traffic.

Stacie Orrico's new song "Stuck" is the #1 Most Added in next week's issue (2/14) of R&R Magazine's POP/CHR Mainstream chart in its first week. The single picked up a total of 73 adds in its first week (70 POP/CHR format). This marks a first for any single released to mainstream radio from a Christian artist! Stacie's brand new self-titled release will be in stores March 25. Over the past few months, Stacie has been busy preparing for her sophomore release with part of that preparation including the production of a video for "Stuck." Although Stacie has had her share of photo shoots and videos, she said making the "Stuck" video, which was directed by Dianne Martel (Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Snoop Dogg), was a whole new experience! "I've never had so many costume changes or so many people working on my hair and make-up before!" The video will be serviced to major mainstream outlets such as MTV and VH1 soon.

Furious? Records Inc.’s multi-million selling Delirious?, heralded by tens of thousands worldwide as Christian music’s best live rock worship experience, releases its first live double-CD, Access:d: live worship in the key of D, April 8. With 26 tracks, Access:d, pronounced “accessed,” spans the breadth of the band’s best-loved fan favorites, present and past. Featured on the recording is such Delirious? classics from Cutting Edge as “What A Friend I’ve Found” and “I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever,” the latter boasting some vocals sung by Martin in Spanish, next to crowd-pleasers like “Deeper,” “History Maker” and “Sanctify.” More recent gems from Glo and Touch include “My Glorious,” “Investigate,” “Touch” and “Fire.”

Known to be a prankster himself, Audio Adrenaline frontman Mark Stuart was on the receiving end during a recent visit to the ForeFront Records office. After chatting with some of the staff, Mark inadvertently left his car keys laying on a filing cabinet. Of course, ForeFront staff seized the opportunity to "get him." His car was moved from the front of the ForeFront building to another parking area. After the car was moved, Mark's keys were strategically placed back on the filing cabinet, and Mark soon picked them up. As he headed to the front door, the staffers ran to the closest windows to catch his response once he realized his car was missing! Needless to say, he was a little surprised and confused! He was a great sport about it and even congratulated the FF staff on such a well-constructed practical joke! Mark was even caught on film at the moment of realization that his car was missing! Check it out... http://www.forefrontrecords.com/images/news/dudewheresmycar_500w.jpg

Get ready, tobyMac is currently digging in to prepare for another solo project. He is planning to take all of February off to write and hit the studio in preparation for a new release.

CCM rock pioneers Petra are currently writing for a rock album due late summer. The fans spoke and the band listened. Everyone has been chomping at the bit for loud rock album from the group and they promise to deliver.

Shane Barnard & Shane Everett have been busy putting the final touches on their next album called Carry Away which is due in stores on March 25th.

Flicker Records’ Rap/Hip-Hop artist T-Bone, Christian music’s no. 1 selling rap/hip-hop artist was invited to present the New Artist of the Year Award at the 18th annual Stellar Awards in Atlanta, GA recently. Gospel music’s leading lady Yolanda Adams was honored as this year’s Stellar Award’s Hall of Fame recipient. The two artists collaborated together on Yolanda’s latest gold-selling album Believe, where T-Bone lent his rap flavor to the song “I’m Thankful.”

Peace 586’s new album Generations is set to release February 25th on Uprok Records. It includes a brilliant collaboration with Christian R&B icon Jon Gibson. Gibson’s appearance on "Love’s Still There" is the album’s first single. It revisits the theme of their first collaborative effort "This is Love from Freedom of Soul"’s 1991 album Caught in a Land of Time. Peace 586 explains, “I said to Jon, ‘We did the 'This Is Love' thing, let’s just piggy back on it and tell ‘em that the love is still there’. He said ‘cool, that’s a good idea’. I wrote the rap verses first and he figured out the structure of the song and it was done.” The song carries the same message as the original, one of simple appreciation for God’s love. It’s the only way that I can best describe our relationship,” Peace 586 says. “After everything I’ve done in my life, I’m still loved by God. All my faults, all the wrong things I’ve done - God still loves me. And if He can love me, He can love anybody else.”