On The Cover: CINDY MORGAN A Reason to Live Inser photo of LOST DOGS The Lighthouse July/August 1993 vol2#7 FIRST CALL 4 First Call has recently released their seventh album, SACRED JOURNEY. This trio got their first chance to co-produce their album and found it to be a very rewarding experience. Bonnie Keen talks about the group and their new album, which is a scaled-back project, rich with the vocal harmonies for which this group is famous. LOST DOGS 6 Preparing to release their second album under the moniker Lost Dogs, this supergroup, consisting of Mike Roe, Derri Daugherty, Gene Eugene, and Terry Taylor promises to offer a unique blend of "American" music. THE LIGHTHOUSE talks with three of the four members to find out about the new album and a little more about the band. DAKODA MOTOR CO. 8 They may have had to change their name, but they are the same fun-in-the-Son band. Here's a look at one of Christian music's hottest new groups. 65 DBA 11 This British band is unlike most Christian bands in the U.S. An outreach of New Generation Ministries, they will be heading to the States next year for a tour. MAIA AMADA 12 This New York native is heading to the studio to work on a follow-up to her critically acclaimed self-titled debut. AUDIO ADRENALINE 14 Fun loving Audio Adrenaline has an urgent message for the secular media. Here's a look at the four guys that started a band as a joke, but landed a record deal in the process, and the plans for their next album DON'T CENSOR ME. P.F.R. (PRAY FOR RAIN) 16 This past year's Dove Award winners for Rock Album of the year had to change the name of the band. They are also beginning work on a new album. Here's a look at the three guys that now make up P.F.R. CINDY MORGAN 18 Cindy Morgan has just released her second album. It promises to do just as well as her debut, which earned her the Dove Award this past year for Best New Artist. Here's a little about this very successful 25 year old singer and her new album, A REASON TO LIVE. REVIEWS 21 Reviews of the latest projects by Cindy Morgan, First Call, hoi Polloi, Dick & Mel Tunney, Dakoda Motor Co., Ashley Cleveland, Randy Stonehill, Steve Camp, Bob Carlisle, Glenn Kaiser, DeGarmo & Key, and Newsong, a "Lost Album Review" of Tavanni's URBAN MISSIONARIES, and Mark Lowry's THE LAST WORD video and album. INFORMATION CENTER 28 Get up-to date with new and upcoming release lists, the Top Album list, and find out what back issues of THE LIGHTHOUSE are available. Also, browse the Classifieds and see what's planned for the next few months here at THE LIGHTHOUSE. WANT TO BE INVOLVED? THE LIGHTHOUSE IS IN NEED OF WRITERS. MUSIC REVIEWS ARE ESPECIALLY NEEDED, AS WELL AS ARTIST SPOTLIGHTS AND ARTICLES FOCUSING ON HOW CHRISTIAN MUSIC IS BEING USED IN MINISTRY. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BECOMING A WRITER, PLEASE WRITE FOR A COPY OF THE WRITER'S GUIDELINES. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE ALSO APPRECIATED! EXECUTIVE EDITOR/PUBLISHER: J. WARNER SODITUS EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: BETH BLINN CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER: PATTY MASTEN CONTRIBUTORS: ROGER APPELINSKI, BETH BLINN, BRYAN W. BRENDLEY, SCOTT & MICHELLE DEERING, ANN HATHCOCK, JULIE HENRY, LA'TONYA MATTHEWS, STEVEN C. TIMM SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: $1.25 PER ISSUE $10.00 PER YEAR MAILING ADDRESS: THE LIGHTHOUSE 256 EAST COLLEGE AVENUE SUITE 302 STATE COLLEGE, PA 16801 THE LIGHTHOUSE (ISSN 1070-6690) IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY AND IS NOT INTENDED FOR PROFIT. COPYRIGHT: THE LIGHTHOUSE (c)1993 BY POLARIZED PUBLICATIONS, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. WRITER'S GUIDELINES AND ADVERTISING RATES ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. THE LIGHTHOUSE WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY PRODUCTS OR SERVICES OFFERED IN ADVERTISEMENTS. MEMBER: GMA (GOSPEL MUSIC ASSOCIATION) From the Editor: I suppose I owe you an apology. As you've obviously noticed, the July edition of THE LIGHTHOUSE was combined with the August edition to form this double issue. This was not intentional and I don't ever plan to do that again. Due to several problems and the plans for the change in style of the magazine, I had to either put out a smaller July issue under rush conditions, or wait. I hope that this doesn't disappoint you too much. I do hope that you are pleased with the new format of the magazine. We are working diligently to continue improving things, and, as always, I would really like to hear your comments--the mailbox was rather empty lately. Make sure that you make note of the new address for THE LIGHTHOUSE--that's right, the move also created a few problems. I happened to be telling a woman about THE LIGHTHOUSE a few weeks ago while I was holding a picture of D.C. Talk. She caught a glance of the photo and with a surprised look on her face stated, "They look like rockers!" I agreed and explained about the various forms of Christian music and how D.C. Talk was a Christian hip-hop/rap group. Her face got more and more puzzled and concerned until she finally blurted distastefully, "Christian Rap? Isn't Rap about all that bad stuff?" This came a time when I was really puzzling over my purpose. I've been doubting the usefulness of this publication especially since someone recently asked me, "So, you're in competitions with CCM?" I was blown away. I had never thought of it that way. I had to explain that I certainly don't see it that way (I think people should read as many magazines about Christian music as they can). I think I have a totally different purpose for writing. My conversation with that shocked woman reminded me of why God called me to do this--to change attitudes like that. When people ask me about certain types of music being "bad," I remember a statement by Christian rapper Roc-T, "The devil didn't make jack! God created everything, the devil perverted everything." I hope that Christian music is reclaiming musical styles created through God's blessing. The devil certainly didn't create any of this, even though he would like us to believe that. These conversations reinforced my goals. I am writing to share with people a different perspective on Christian music. I am trying to focus on the PEOPLE that are making the music and the ministry that is going on. I hope that this will be informative and be able to show people the importance of Christian music-- especially in youth ministry. I hope to be adding sections soon that will be of assistance to youth leaders and pastors in how they can use Christian music as a part of youth programs. Please offer any ideas that would help in this area. I printed a letter from Doreen Crandell. I hope that you will take time to find out a little about this group that has become a supporter of THE LIGHTHOUSE. Things are busy here more than ever, but it's nice to sit back and look at the wonderful things that have happened over the past few months. I want to offer my sincere thanks to the Creation '93 press staff (Karen, Rick, Tom, Ashli, and Kay) for all their wonderful help at the Creation festival, John Palpant and Eikon Marketing for the designing the new logo and offering some wonderful advice, Andy Taylor from CKCU-FM in Canada for doing me a big favor, and Beth Blinn for taking on some more responsibility lately. God Bless and I hope that you will enjoy. By the way, for the State College area readers--make sure you attend this year's Summer Celebration August 28 (call 814-237-6716 for details). I'll be there with plenty of cassettes and CD's to give away, and I'll also be the emcee! Hope to see you there. --WARNER Dear Friends of THE LIGHTHOUSE: It's very strange indeed to have the opportunity to address you in this way. However, I am grateful for the chance to share a few thoughts with you today. In February of 1988, two people had a dream of establishing a contemporary Christian radio station in the State College, PA area. Many had talked of the venture, but no one had pursued. These two dared. A frequency was available, assigned to Boalsburg, PA. The two took the initiative to establish a company (Baseline Incorporated), assign a board of directors, and file the necessary paperwork to start the process to obtain the license from the Federal Communication Commission. Less than one year later, the legal process for the station was bogged down with five applicants- -each with their design for the future. The officers of Baseline, Inc. pursued the station through the legal process until it became evident (to them) that the Lord no longer wished them to continue toward the radio station end. The license was granted to one of the other applicants in 1991, but a station remains "non-existent" to the area at that location on the dial. While the radio station dream is currently at rest, Baseline, Inc. has moved into different avenues of pursuit. Baseline has worked in the past five years to bring contemporary Christian artists such as GEOFF MOORE AND THE DISTANCE to central Pennsylvania, has brought Bob DeMoss of Focus on the Family affiliation to Bellefonte to present his "A Generation at Risk" seminar, has sponsored a state-wide conference for youth leader training, and has worked with THE LIGHTHOUSE to reach out with information on Christian music today. Baseline is still seeking ways to be of service in the State College/central Pennsylvania area. With a statement of service "to help those who help youth," Baseline is moving ahead to equip Christians for service in the Lord's work. I, like you, have been able to enjoy the result of the work that is necessary to complete each edition of THE LIGHTHOUSE. I've learned about the people behind the music--and been exposed to some artists that I would probably pass by in the local Christian bookstore. I've read the music reviews to help me make the decisions in music selections--and do so wisely. I've had the chance to meet with THE LIGHTHOUSE creator and editor, J. Warner Soditus, and learn the heart of the man behind this unique ministry. It doesn't take long to see that there is a sincere desire to share the good in contemporary Christian music through THE LIGHTHOUSE. Personally, I've been involved in youth ministry and been a bit disconcerted at the lack of musical knowledge on the parts of many youth leaders. Teens and young adults rely on music for identity. Too often youth leaders simply haven't "tuned into" what their teens need. Because of this, Baseline, Incorporated, a ministry that reaches to those working with youth, is going to do what it can-- financially--to help THE LIGHTHOUSE. But we can't do it all. Your subscription to THE LIGHTHOUSE is what makes the day-to-day expenses payable. Don't overlook YOUR part in keeping this outreach possible. Baseline, THE LIGHTHOUSE, yes, the body of Christ as a whole entity needs each part to be vital and active. That includes me, my friend, and that includes you. For YOUth, Doreen A. Crandell, President Baseline, Inc. FIRST CALL: The group First Call has just released their seventh album, SACRED JOURNEY. This is yet another step in their musical evolution that began in 1985. Current members Marty McCall and Bonnie Keen were originally joined by Melodie Tunney to round out the trio. All grew up in the church and became Christians at an early age. Their diverse musical backgrounds eventually led them to Nashville where they first met while doing studio work. Each had a renewed desire to pursue studio work after touring with various Christian groups. Showing a great vocal talent together, the trio was signed to record an acapella Christmas album called EVENING IN DECEMBER. From there, describes Keen, "everything started snowballing." Their album was nominated for a Grammy award, and other successes were quickly on the way. To their surprise, and despite their plans to remain close to home as studio musicians, First Call quickly found themselves touring, but with a new appreciation for the road. Explains Keen, "We've ended up traveling now and have ended up embracing and being so grateful for this platform and trying to be as creative with it as we can. I think it's been over a period of the last eight years that we have really come to respect and value and nurture the ministry that God has called us to do." When Melodie Tunney left the band, McCall and Keen were doing some studio work which also involved a Nashville newcomer, Marabeth Jordan, and, as they explain, "things just clicked." Ironically, Jordan had been a roommate of Tunney's younger sister at James Brown University and was a fan of First Call, and ended up being "an answer to prayer" for Keen and McCall. The personnel change also occurred simultaneously with a major stylistic change for the band. They left their primarily inspirational sound to move more towards an aggressive pop style on GOD IS GOOD--quite a bold step at the time. HUMAN SONG continued the trend into a exciting pop album overflowing with rich vocal harmonies. Another significant shift was made, however, with their latest album, SACRED JOURNEY. Says Keen, "We felt very strongly that we wanted to do this album ourselves. It's been eight years that we've been together and doing a lot of studio work and writing and we felt like it was time to get involved on the other side of the board." So, the band "lobbied" for the chance to co-produce the album--and was successful. In addition to co-writing the entire album, they were also given the opportunity to co- produce. States Keen, "That was the most wonderful experience for us--co-producing this album. We learned a lot more about being producers as well as being the artist." And likening it to Jordan having her second child during the making of the project, Keen jokes, "We have a lot more feeling about everything on this record because it felt like having a baby ourselves. We are so proud of it, we feel like it's an even deeper place for us, lyrically and musically." With the added responsibility of production, First Call took some new routes in approaching the album. "We sat around a table," begins Keen, "and all decided what harmonies we wanted to go where before we ever went into the studio to record. We completely mapped out the album together. That's never happened before. It felt like a real growing up process for us. I don't think we're ever going to want to do it any other way--it was so satisfying." The added responsibility naturally afforded some creative freedom, reducing the "filtering" through another producer. "This is the first time that First Call brought our vision of the group directly from ourselves," explains Keen. So the album is much more of First Call than we've ever seen. What does that mean musically? "We went back and said, 'What do people love the most about First Call. Let's just do what people love. People love to hear us sing harmony. What kind of harmonies do we love?' We decided, 'Let's write an album that is so full of harmony that it's very interesting, but it sounds like us just sitting around singing.'" "A lot of our albums have been very produced. This album is very simple. It's much more organic. We did not stack many of the vocals; there's very little layering. Most everything we did was just us, three part harmony, just like you'd hear us sitting around a room. We recorded with a live band instead of using a synthesizer or keyboard; we wanted to use live musicians. We got a great band. We haven't ever done that on a record. You could almost take a guitar player and First Call and it would sound pretty much like the album." The message of SACRED JOURNEY is a logical progression from HUMAN SONG, which addressed many real-life problems that "you think Christians aren't supposed to have" such as divorce and abuse. The band is discouraged that many churches are not effective at helping people deal with these problems. Keen tells, "There's an awful lot of people out there that are hurting and scared and afraid and are probably afraid to talk about it in their church. That's been the biggest heartbreak for us. There are a lot of churches that mean well, but they're not making the atmosphere such that people can really be real. Our prayer is to encourage the body at large to accept each other, problems and all, and be a safe place for people to bring that stuff to God, because that's what church is supposed to be about, not where we go and look like we have it all together, because, really nobody does" Keen continues, "HUMAN SONG opened the door for people to be more real. Our whole point in that album and even in SACRED JOURNEY is that being human is our condition, but God loves us. Our humanity brings us over and over again to understanding our need for God's mercy in our lives. I think that has been a liberating idea for a lot of people. There are a lot of people that want to talk about what's really going on in their lives. I think there's a real need and SACRED JOURNEY really does celebrate the human journey. God has created our lives and made them sacred." "Lyrically, I think because we're parents and we're three people that read a lot and talk a lot about world events and what's going on and having our children growing up and getting older, we seem to be more and more convicted that the lines keep getting blurred everywhere. There are so many blurred lines, so many gray lines, we wanted, lyrically, this record to be even more of a deepening about what we believe--no questions. We wanted to try to make more of a lyrical stand about our faith. I think we accomplished that in a creative way. We feel like God really blessed that and honored that desire." Certainly nothing is more precious to First Call than their families. "We're all immersed in our families," affirms Keen, quickly mentioning her daughter, Courtney (9), and a son, Graham (5). Marty and wife Vickie have two sons, Ben (11) and Peter (8). Marabeth and husband Paul Salveston, who also worked as a recording engineer on their latest project, have a son, Jordan (3), and a new daughter, Sophie. "That's probably the most difficult thing about what we're doing," she continues. "Balancing when we're gone with being home. We're usually gone on the weekends and not much during the week. We have pretty normal lives during the week and we tell our children that we're going to work when we go out on the weekend. Our kids have also grown up around this for so long that they're pretty much accepting of it." Jordan was pregnant during the writing and recording of SACRED JOURNEY, which created some interesting challenges. Keen jokes, "It was awful [laughter]. We hired a fleet of baby sitters to keep our kids and Marabeth was real pregnant. She was an amazing trouper. She wanted to get the album done before the baby came so we all had a real purpose in mind." Jordan also extended somewhat of a trend, as Keen recalls, "Mel [Melodie Tunney] and I both had both of our kids while we were doing records and traveling and Marabeth has done the same thing. It seems to be a legacy of First Call women that you have babies and keep running." However, she feels that this trend may be coming to an end as she laughs, "We're HOPING that's not going to continue." The scaled-back, more live recording of SACRED JOURNEY is enabling First Call to achieve a goal they've had for a while--they have always wanted to "take out a band." Since they want to be able to duplicate the sound of the album in concert, their past recordings were just not practical for a back-up band. Shares Keen, "I think this album is the most feasible album we've ever had, where we could take out several pieces and it would really represent the album. We're really wanting people, when they come to a concert, to hear what they've heard on the album. We wanted to be able to duplicate that." The band is excited to join the Young Messiah tour this fall, especially since they were able to record several tracks on that new album. Then, for next year, they plan to be traveling with MICHAEL ENGLISH, and their band. What kind of crowds will First Call be playing to? It seems their fan base continues to diversify, from an older crowd, attracted primarily during the earlier days of First Call when their music fell more in the inspirational or contemporary arena, to children, attracted mostly during the last few years by the new pop sound of the group. They are now comfortable with the broad range in ages in the crowd, since most people know what to expect at a First Call concert these days. However, when they were first made the shift to the pop music, some people were a little shocked. "I think there was definitely a concern about our last album being too dance oriented," admits Keen. "We did some choreography in the concert early on last year and quickly find out that most people did not want to see us dance. They came to hear us sing. We have a lot of dance and theater in our backgrounds and it felt like the perfect time for us to incorporate that into the concert and we tried and I think a lot of the fans liked it, but some people were real nervous about it. So we thought it's not worth pushing it and we took it out." So, how would Keen describe this trio of Christian music veterans? "I think First Call is three people that love to sing together, love to sing about what we believe. We love to explore the creativity of what that is, if God gives us the opportunity. We love to have a good time and celebrate our lives and we will probably continue to do some unexpected things--I mean that in the best sense of the word. We're always looking for that next way to express what we believe. The message is going to stay the same, we're just going to come at it a different way. That has never changed." --J. WARNER SODITUS When word got out that the leaders of four of Christian music's most respected alternative/rock bands were in the studio together, speculation on what the results would be was rampant. Fans of DANIEL AMOS, THE SEVENTY SEVENS, ADAM AGAIN and THE CHOIR waited with bated breath to see what the collective creativity of Terry Taylor, Mike Roe, Gene Eugene and Derri Daugherty could produce under the moniker LOST DOGS The ensuing release, SCENIC ROUTES, took most of those fans by surprise. Instead of being "alternative," the music was very traditional-- exploring forms of what could be termed "American" music, such as blues, country, bluegrass and folk-rock. It was stripped-down acoustic, recorded over a few weekends in the lounge of a recording studio. Truly a collaboration, with each member contributing music and/or lyrics, the Lost Dogs allowed these four artists to stretch themselves in ways that their original groups wouldn't permit. The experience proved to be such a positive one that they decided to repeat it. LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD is the second offering from Lost Dogs, and will be released sometime soon. I recently spent some time talking to three of the four members. Tracking these guys down is no easy feat--they are all very busy, and setting up a group interview was out of the question. I was able to spend about fifteen minutes each with Terry Taylor, Mike Roe and Gene Eugene, and got their impressions and comments on the new recording and what it's like working with the other members. "EACH ONE OF US HAD SUCH RESPECT FOR ONE ANOTHER THAT IT MADE IT EASY TO OPEN UP AND TO SHARE A SONG."--TERRY TAYLOR Terry Taylor has been involved in the "Christian" music scene for many years--both as a member of bands such as DANIEL AMOS and THE SWIRLING EDDIES and as a producer, working with artists like RANDY STONEHILL and JACOB'S TROUBLE. My interview with Taylor had to be rescheduled-- ironically, not due to his incredibly busy schedule, but to a hungry rodent in my neighborhood. Twenty- five minutes before I was to call Taylor, a squirrel took a bite out of a power line just down the street, causing a loss of electricity that rendered my cordless phone and tape machine useless. He graciously agreed to reschedule, and several days later we were able to discuss some of his thoughts and feelings on the Lost Dogs. YOU'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS OVER THE YEARS, WITH DANIEL AMOS AND SWIRLING EDDIES. WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT THE LOST DOGS, ABOUT WORKING WITH THE MEMBERS OF THIS GROUP AS OPPOSED TO SOME OF THE OTHERS THAT YOU'VE WORKED WITH? Well, every configuration, every band that you're involved with, there's a different sort of chemistry going on, different personalities. You sort of stir that up and see what comes out. I think that what was most intriguing to me about Lost Dogs was it was a chance to work with guys that I really have admired. There's that little competitiveness that each band has, which is great, because it spurs you on to better than you would ordinarily do. At first the thought of getting together with three other people to write songs was a little threatening, in that, because I admire each of the guys as songwriters, I thought "Well, this is going to be a tough audience, a tough crowd to bring material to." But it turned out not to be. It turned out that each one of us had such respect for one another that it made it easy to open up and to share a song, and everyone was excited and spurred on to really contribute to whatever song it was. So I think that's part of it--the other part of it is because most of us have had some of our musical roots grounded in folk, country, and that sort of thing, and this was an opportunity to take some of the things that we hadn't been doing for years and start doing them again. Since we're all sort of in the rock-n-roll, alternative type bands, it was a chance to sort of lay it back, and get out the acoustic guitars and explore that part of our musical past. Some of us have had songs that we couldn't do with our own bands, and that gave an opportunity to sort of open that up. It was very fulfilling for all of us, in that regard. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THIS RECORD, AS OPPOSED TO THE FIRST ONE? Well, probably a lot of it is a little harder- edged, I think, in terms of the guitars, and that sort of thing. There's a little more electric guitar, a little more edge to it, but I don't think we completely abandoned what we did the first time around, because for one thing, there was such a great response, through letters, towards the first record--it seemed to have struck a chord with a lot of people. And it was refreshing, not only for us, but for them as well, that we didn't go the obvious way, and sort of duplicate what we do in our individual bands, but that we took an altogether different route. I think there was probably a knee- jerk reaction somewhat in the press, because it was considered country music, or a sort of TRAVELING WILBURYS novelty thing that we were doing. But I think that anybody who really listens to the record hears some really serious stuff there, and some really great songwriting going on, and I think that with the second record, we want to continue the tradition, and let everybody know that we were serious about what we were doing. Not that we were going to change with every record, that the next record would be a rock record, and the next record would be some alternative thing, but try and keep it fairly consistent. And we enjoyed the way that we recorded it the first time, which was to go into a room, set up microphones, get our acoustic guitars out, teach everybody the songs and roll tape. HAVE YOU HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE ANTICIPATING WHAT IT MIGHT BE LIKE, A LOT OF INTEREST IN IT? YOU SAID THAT THE LAST ONE GENERATED A LOT OF LETTERS. What's nice about Lost Dogs is that it has such an appeal across the board. I had more kids at Cornerstone come up, little kids, with their folks, and the folks would go "Tell him, Billy, what you like" and Billy would go "Devil Red!" [in reference to the song "Why is the Devil Red" from SCENIC ROUTES.] And then we have our fans who appreciate what we're doing, plus the record was bought by a lot of people who wouldn't buy our individual band records. We have an appeal to a younger crowd, and we have an appeal to an older crowd. It's really that kind of venue that goes across the board. We want to be able to take it eventually, and do a lot of touring, because we are getting more comfortable with that option again... we just enjoy it so much that we want to keep it going, and we know that if we can get into a touring situation, as a band, we'll just really begin to gel. I think that there is a lot of anticipation from people on this next record. People are just sort of waiting to see, "Well, what's going to come out this time?" "WHEN WE WORK TOGETHER, WE ARE MORE SIMILAR, ODDLY ENOUGH, BECAUSE WE ARE JUST ALL BASICALLY LAZY WHEN IT COMES TO THIS PROJECT."- -MIKE ROE I have to admit, I was somewhat nervous about my call to Mike Roe. THE SEVENTY SEVENS have been one of my favorite groups for almost a decade, and I have long admired his musical ability. But what came out of our conversation was the realization that he is just an ordinary guy--blessed with an extraordinary talent. THIS IS THE SECOND RECORDING WITH THE LOST DOGS--WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS ONE? Well, all the songs are new songs--in many ways it's very similar. You've got the same sort of mixture of pop, rock, country, gospel, blues--a lot of American music. This one probably sounds a lot more like a rock album than the last one, which felt a little more traditional... I don't know, it's really hard for me to say, there's so many different things on it. It's just a big grab bag when you really get down to it. YOU GUYS JUST ALL SIT DOWN, AND YOU EACH THROW IN SOMETHING? Yeah, you know, we just sort of volunteer songs that we've had laying around, that maybe didn't fit our own bands, or they might be little pet novelty songs that we've been wanting to do for years, and never really had a vehicle for it. I've got this song called "Jesus Loves You, Brian Wilson," which is kind of a tribute to the BEACH BOYS and PHIL SPECTOR, and it's something that I've threatened to foist on THE SEVENTY SEVENS for forever, I've had it sitting around for a long time. But it was only when this project came up that I decided to do it, because I didn't have any songs ready, and I knew that Terry would love something like this--so I said "What the heck, let's do it for this." And that's kind of how these things come around. HOW HAS WORKING WITH THE LOST DOGS STRETCHED YOU AS AN ARTIST AS OPPOSED TO WORKING WITH THE GUYS THAT YOU NORMALLY DO? It's a lot more informal, it's a lot more fun. Not so serious, kind of a spontaneous, it happens real quick. You can just kind of do it, you don't have to get so uptight about it, it's not so important, it's just fun. And I would hope that sense of fun translates onto the record. Because we go in there, and it sort of doesn't matter--you want to do a good job, but you don't want to be so picky about it, kind of work fast and work smart. DO YOU FIND THAT YOU ARE ALL VERY DIFFERENT AND DOES THAT MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO WORK TOGETHER, OR ARE YOU SIMILAR IN TYPE? When we work together, we are more similar, oddly enough, because we are just all basically lazy when it comes to this project--no one really wants to work very hard, so we goof off a lot... we have fun, and somehow an album comes out in the end. And that's amazing to me. "I GUESS I FEEL LESS PRESSURE ON LOST DOGS, BECAUSE MOST OF THE OTHER GUYS HAVE A LOT OF IDEAS."--GENE EUGENE. Probably the hardest one to get in touch with, due to the demand for his recording and engineering skills, I was finally able to reach Gene at--where else--the studio. He graciously disconnected his call-waiting so that we wouldn't be interrupted, and proceeded to take a few minutes to talk about the group that he was instrumental in forming. WHAT DREW YOU TO BE INTERESTED IN THE LOST DOGS PROJECT TO BEGIN WITH? I don't know, it was just an idea that we had been kicking around for a while. I guess just a chance to do something with some people other than the people that are in my band, and also, we kind of, at the time, thought "Well, this would be a good way to promote all of the bands, and maybe do some gigs where we didn't have to do the whole big band thing, just take our acoustic guitars," and it was, just like an angle, to do something else. HOW DID YOU DECIDE WHO THE PLAYERS WERE GOING TO BE? Well, me and Terry, we were the ones who originally thought about it, and Derri we thought about right away, and then, I guess Mike was just the obvious guy, because he's on the same label as the rest of us, and he's like, a singer in a band, like the rest of us, and we just called him up, and he was into it. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS PROJECT? I don't know, I guess I don't know the project--I haven't lived with it long enough to really answer that question. I guess it's similar in that it's song- oriented--like a songwriter's record kind of thing. I think it might be a little more "poppy" and a little less country-ish. A little bit. WAS THERE ANYTHING ABOUT THE REACTION TO THE LAST RECORD THAT SURPRISED YOU? Well, it immediately got pigeon-holed as a country record. I thought that was a little surprising, because it has as much of blues and folk influences as it does country. I was a little surprised that people that liked it sometimes didn't even know about our bands at all--we'd get letters from people, and they had no idea about these other bands we are in. That was a little surprising--I thought it would just be the people that liked all of the bands. And, I was surprised that I was able to work so well with everyone else, and stuff--I'm usually more of an on-my-own type of guy. HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE LOST DOGS, COMPARED TO WORKING WITH YOUR OWN BAND, ADAM AGAIN? The recording process is a little different, in that we are all sitting around with acoustic guitars and doing it, basically doing the songs live, right after we learn them... I guess I feel less pressure on Lost Dogs, because most of the other guys have a lot of ideas... in my group, I feel responsible a lot of times for coming up with the direction and the lyrics--I'm the lyric guy in that band, and it's the hardest part for me. So in the Lost Dogs, Terry's mostly the lyric guy, and everybody else writes their own lyrics to a couple of the songs. I like that part of it, I like someone else doing that, in this case. It's a whole different musical thing, to me it doesn't sound anything like what I do musically with ADAM AGAIN. Unfortunately, Derri wasn't available to give us his take on the recording of the second Lost Dogs project. But from what can be gleaned from talking to Gene Eugene, Mike Roe and Terry Taylor, it appears that the fans of Lost Dogs can look forward to another scenic trip through American music culture, hosted by dogs that "bark the Nicene Creed and dream of bones to eat." --BETH BLINN DAKODA MOTOR CO. Hailing from Lajolla, California, one of Christian music's newest groups has burst onto the scene, bringing a unique brand of fresh and fun music, classified by some as "surf rock." The beginnings of Dakoda Motor Co. actually come from guitarist Peter King's brother, who told King that he could open for his band, MARY'S DANISH, at their concerts. King had been friends with Davia Vallesillo for several years, and the pair decided to pursue the offer. At one of the band's gigs, they met Chuck Cummings, now their drummer. Chuck, the only member with an extensive musical background, was playing for the house band on a cable television talk show. He met King and Vallesillo and, having just left another band, immediately joined them. Soon after that, they found Derik Toy as their bassist. He had known Vallesillo from college but was actually referred by a neighbor. Toy explains, "I just played bass in my room all the time. I never played for a band that did anything until a guy that lived upstairs from me heard me and told them I played. Luckily they thought I was good the first time we played." Vallesillo was baptized as an infant in the Catholic church. She never attended church as a child, but says, "I always knew about God," although she "never even heard of the word Christian until I was about 16." At that time her sister was going to college and Davia would often visit her sister. Davia says she "pretty much did whatever" her sister did, and this included accepting Christ when she joined her sister at church. "I always knew there was God... it was really easy for me to accept [Christ.]" King shares a story similar to Vallesillo, in that he always knew about God, but had never engaged in a personal relationship. He attended church with his mother until he was about two years old, when his alcoholic father stopped them from attending. Peter shares, "I just grew up thinking there was God and He loved me. Which was really enough for when I was thirteen and was told about Jesus, that I got saved. I knew God was good and the Devil was bad. When someone told me I needed to repent and get saved, that wasn't a problem for me. She [mother] did put a little trigger in me by taking me to church." King is already known worldwide in surfing circles from his successful traveling with the World Professional Surfing Tour. He has been featured on the cover of SURFER magazine three times and on numerous posters due to an ongoing endorsement contract with the California clothing company Billabong. His surfing work and, more specifically, surfing videos, gave him an way to promote some of the early work of the band. He remains, for now, better known for his surfing than his music. "I never thought of myself as a musician," he begins. "I still had no idea that there were any bands out there that were Christians." His only exposure to contemporary Christian music was an ALTAR BOYS tape. "When I found out there was the Altar Boys, I couldn't believe it. I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever heard. They sounded like THE RAMONES [his favorite band] and they were Christian. I grew up far removed from the whole scene, so it's interesting and unique to be in it now." Traveling on the surfer's tour afforded King some unique opportunities to fellowship and witness. He tells, "I went pro and I was a Christian then--very excited about God. I used to travel with a couple other Christian buddies and we used to tell people all the time about Jesus. We'd tell other surfers on the tour. I used to bring a guitar and we'd have Bible studies on the tour. I was one of the first surfers to put a cross on my board. I used to get photos in the magazines and it would have the cross on there. I got on the cover of Surfer Magazine about 3 times. I would always have a cross or 'Jesus rules.' I'm very well known in the surfing industry for being a Christian and being a pro surfer." It has also permitted him to travel to schools and speak with kids as he signs autographs of his surfing posters. Derik's story of growing up is somewhat different than that of Davia and Peter. "I grew up in a Christian household," he begins. "My parents were Christians." However, the music that they played and pushed his way was not very uplifting. They told him, "'This is what we grew up listening to, this is cool music.' My mom's a musician, so she's always been able to look at music as, 'The lyrics aren't good, but as a musical content, it's very good.' That's what I grew up listening to and up until I started playing with this band I had no idea there were Christian bands." The influences he now brings to the group lie in "old disco-funk stuff" and punk. Cummings, the only married member of the group, clocks in as the oldest member of the group. King remarks, "Elliot's 18, I'm 25. Davia's 24, Derek's 22, and Chuck is 34. The average age of the band is 24.6," to which Chuck interjects, "I feel a lot older. I almost got kicked out of the band because of that. They wanted the average to come in around 22 years. I kicked it up a bit over 24--I got permission to stay." Being a little older, and (possibly?) a little wiser, Cummings has adopted a role almost like a father. He says, "I don't like to look at myself as a father figure in the band, although Peter calls me Dad all the time. I think that the good side of that is that I've been around this industry for a long time. I've been involved in it and I know a lot of people in it, I know how it works. I know all the little idiosyncrasies about it. If anything, I can bring that knowledge to the band and help them to not make the mistakes that a lot of other bands have made because they simply don't know the system and the machinery, and how it works." In this respect, Chuck is happy to offer the band advice, since he is concerned with keeping the group accountable and away from major blunders. He feels, "Christians are very well known for shooting their wounded. That is never more present than it is in the music side of the Christian lifestyle. That's the only thing that I try to do. Sometimes it might come off as being a little over protective or overbearing but it's all done just for the sake of what I've been through as a Christian in this industry and not wanting the band to go through the sufferings and mistakes that I've been through and seen others go through. It's all through a learning process. A lot of times I feel like that's why God's even placed me in the band--just because He's allowed me to go through all the stuff I've been through so I can help somebody through that hasn't been through it yet." For Cummings, he can't see himself doing much else but music, except surfing. From his early days throwing food and banging on his high-chair, his mother always said that, "I'd either being a drummer or a carpenter. I ended up being a drummer... I think God's been able to utilize that desire to play and use it for His glory." And joking, he adds, "I'm not trained in anything else. And with this kind of haircut I'm probably not going to get a job except at a warehouse." For Vallesillo, singing with the band is more than she ever could have expected. Always wanting to be a singer, she never thought that it could happen. However, when Derik is asked if he thought he ever thought he'd be in a band such as this, he jokes, "I did. When I was 14 years old I pulled out my VAN HALEN DIVER DOWN album cover and I told my Mom I was going to play for a crowd that big someday. [Speaking of their main stage performance at Creation '93] We did last night for the first time." King originally chose the name Dakoda for the band because he felt it "was a cute name for a girl. I don't have a girl, I have a band. It doesn't mean anything. With a 'ta' it's the Dakota Indians." However, that's where the group ran into problems. It seems that a Pennsylvania band has a trademark on the name "Dakota." Peter explains, "About a week before our record was scheduled for release we found out that there was a band that owned a trademark that was Dakota. There's a law that says if it sounds the same, you can't change the spelling." This phonetic requirement in the trademark law meant that they had to immediately find a replacement name. They had recently been picked to perform a song for a commercial for Chevrolet's Camaro. They beat out approximately forty other bands with one of their songs that had been condensed to the required sixty second format. This lead to the choice of adding "Motor Co." to the previously announced "Dakoda." States Cummings, "We already had an established base and we'd been in magazines as Dakoda, so we wanted to keep that in there as the main focus and Dakoda Motor Co. seemed to fit with the Camaro commercial." The trademark problem caused a few months delay in the release of their debut album INTO THE SON. The difficulties and delays did manage to teach the group patience. Cummings shares, "When we first got signed, we thought that with all the hoopla and hype, that the record would come out right away. A lot of it has been being patient and allowing the machinery that's in place to release albums and do promotion to work itself out." Vallesillo adds, "I feel like God's putting us through this for lots of reasons that I don't know yet. I feel like for myself to just stay humble through it all, [since] it's so overwhelming and neat. It's really neat but I want to stay reachable and humble--to be real and be ourselves and not turn into something fake." Touring with the band now is Elliot Chenault, who they refer to as "Eli." Dakoda Motor Co. first met Eli at a New Year's Eve show, where Chenault decided to pursue some of the Lord's promptings. Cummings laughs and jumps in, "He came up to me and started talking to me and said, 'You're gonna think this is really weird, but I've been really praying and God told me to come up and talk to you about playing guitar for your band.' I went, 'OKAY.'" After some kidding by the rest of the group, Chenault explains, "I felt like God really wanted me to talk to them. He wasn't saying, 'You will play with them.' He was saying, 'Get a hold of them and see what they think.' I prayed about it for a long time, like seven months, I kept talking to Chuck at different gigs and finally they auditioned me and it worked out." Not wanting to miss a shot to poke some more fun at Eli, King jokes, "I got a letter from Elliot telling me what you just heard. It's like some girl who walks up and says, 'I think God wants me to marry you.' But we tried him out and he's great." Prior to this summer's festival circuit, most of the Dakoda Motor Co. performances were at clubs in their California area. Dakoda often opened for King's brother's band, who he states is "completely secular--they're not a Christian band by any stretch of the imagination." However, they have been very accepting of the Christian message. "They love having us open for them. They don't care one bit [that we're Christian.]." "Everyone is really preaching when they sing," King continues. "No matter what you're saying, you're preaching something. We're pretty confident in what we believe, so we get up and sing it. They like that as opposed to being real insecure. We're pretty bold. Our set is our set and our words are our words. Davia doesn't hold back and they respect her for that." Cummings interjects, "I think the thing that I see with this band that's different than other bands is we really really enjoy being out and playing and using the gifts that God has given us to play, but I think rather than calling ourselves a ministry or just a musician band, we just let the music do the talking most of the time and we just get out and play and have a good time." King adds, "I think they [secular crowds] like us more. A lot of times when we play for churches, we're playing for youth groups. When you go into a youth group, the kids aren't the ones who wanted the band, the youth group leader is the one that wanted the band to come. They kind of feel out of place and don't know how to accept it. When we go play in the clubs those are music fans. They're there to hear a band play--they like us." "Like Peter said," says Chuck, "there are people that are really into music hard-core that go to these clubs and a lot of them don't have a perception of Christ or Christianity, but they can see the inner conviction that we have. They almost approach it as a free speech issue. They think, 'This band's really singing about what's in their heart and that's cool. I don't necessarily agree with it, but that's cool.' I think that's what's really neat about playing in clubs. We've been able to find a really favorable response across the board wherever we go." For the members, Dakoda Motor Co. is not the only ministry they work with. Peter tells, "Davia and I lead worship on Tuesday nights at a Bible study we have called Surfer's Fellowship. We invite all the kids from the High School and we do worship for an hour. We have free pizza for homeless people and someone shares a message for half an hour or forty minutes." "A lot of our music," he continues, "is worship songs that we sped up, that we originally wrote a lot slower. We said, 'Chuck, play the drums really fast!' It's fast music. Not every song has to be a worship song. A lot of songs are experiences we've had in life, relationships. If you're honest in that, I think that's just as spiritual a song as a 'worship' song just to God." What is important to learn from Dakoda Motor Co.? Says King, "Just to be yourself. God created you and has a plan for your life. You can't beat it and it's not hard to do. He's going to give you the power and strength to do it. Especially if you pray God's will in your life, that's the best prayer right there. Then you're honest in that, let Him take things out as He sees. You have to totally trust Him. It's silly to be a Christian and not trust God. We try to sing about hope and things that are real to us. " Cummings adds, "I think it's hard, too, because a lot of kids, when they become a Christian, they're so open to all different kinds of perspectives from other Christians and a lot of times it gets confusing because they think, 'I have to be this way,' or, 'my youth pastor says I have to do this,' or 'I can't wear my hair like this.' The important thing is establishing a strong foundation with God. But also, like Peter said, be yourself and don't allow yourself to necessarily be so manipulated by one individual, because that individual is just a man. If you start looking to that one person for all of your guidance, all of your Christian input, then all of a sudden, you're following that one person instead of following Christ. It happens all the time with kids. I think that's one thing we try and stress--just be yourself and be in tune with God." Dakoda Motor Co. is receiving strong backing from their record company, Myrrh Records. Myrrh is releasing three videos to accompany their debut release. The video for "Sondancer" is an effort by King, who edited a Billabong video of his surfing. The band will also be publishing a quarterly newsletter to help fans keep up to date with the band (the address is on their album jacket). They also plan to have another album out by this time next year. Content to see how their careers with Dakoda Motor Co. go, they haven't set goals for the band. Peter cracks, "My goal in life is to own a house. They just don't give those away--I just found out. [laughter and pause] If we could make money as a band, that would be great. If not, that's great too. I don't have any long term goals for the band." Being a little more serious, he concludes, "I think God's blessed us with this opportunity and as long as we're good stewards with all He's given us, He'll probably continue to bless the project or until He decides it's time to finish. I don't necessarily think we need to be a band for 42 years and save 32 million people. The band isn't Billy Graham. As long as He wants to bless us with this, that's great. I know He's going to be there for me and this whole band for our whole lives. Right now, He's letting us have fun and goof around doing this stuff." --J. WARNER SODITUS 65 dBA is a common sound level quoted in residential noise ordinances. This rather tight restriction was placed on a British band in 1990 as they prepared to play their first concert. Since the group hadn't really chosen a name and they thought that this ordinance sounded as good as any, the name 65 dBA stuck, despite making much more noise than a mere 65 dBA. Their United States debut album, THE GREAT AWAKENING, was one of extensive musical diversity, which is a result of the differing musical tastes of the bandmembers. Each member has used their musical training in various forms with different bands and they feel that it is very natural "to express our Christian faith through the music we play and we feel that our love for Jesus will find expression in all different areas of our lives--including our music." Adding to their diversity is the fact that they grew up in various areas of Britain such as Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Leicester, Taunton, Maidenhead, and Bristol. The base of 65 dBA is in New Generation Ministries (NGM), a group founded by Ray and Nancy Goudie. After being leaders of the music ministry team of the British Youth For Christ for several years, they formed the band Heartbeat and left their salaried position to begin their faith-based ministry to participate in evangelism, training, worship, media, and mission. They adopted the name NGM in 1989 and Heartbeat completed their work in 1991. With that chapter of their work finished, the Goudies are working on a new youth musical/presentation to help realize their burning desire for revival and their desire to see "a new outpouring of His Spirit in the nations of this world." NGM also recruits, trains, and places bands and youth teams in locations to work with local churches in evangelism and discipleship; they have already placed bands in Swindol, Bristol, Southampton, and in Brussels. 65 dBA and the Belgium-based Rhythmworks are two of these bands that have been serving for several years are creating a major impact in Europe with recordings distributed by Word UK. Bandmembers Stu Robson (bass/vocals), Shaz Sparks (vocals), Robbie Bronnimann (keyboards/vocals), Phil Ball (drums), and Danny Budd (guitar) responded to NGM's call to find musicians interested in working in music evangelizing on the frontline. Beginning as one-year volunteers, they have extended their service and ministry as a vital part of NGM as 65 dBA. Their U.S. debut was released in the United States through Integrity Music. Through several meetings between Ray Goudie and Mike Coleman and Don Moen of Integrity, a real bonding occurred in the sense of a mutual excitement that God would touch many young people through a partnership. THE GREAT AWAKENING was in a sense a concept album that also featured other musicians from the NGM family, extending the diversity of the album even further. It is a continuation of the "Revival" themes expressed by Heartbeat in "Heal Our Nation" and "Tears From Heaven." The project was an integral part of the recent ministry tour of the UK sharing the same title. Ray and Nancy Goudie took to the road with 65 dBA, Eils, and a multi- media show for most of the early part of this year. 65 dBA is currently involved in various youth concerts organized to reach the unchurched youth of Britain. They see the kids dealing with rejection and hopeless which has lead to "bondage to sex and drugs and much more." Using contemporary music, they are able to reach the kids on their level, "We use music as a vehicle to convey the reality of God's love and to demonstrate His power. And of course, we enjoy the music that we play and sing." They approach concerts very carefully paying close attention to the make-up of the audience, spending much time in prayer to discern the best methods to use for that show. Usually their concerts are for unchurched youth and are much more than a concert--they are truly multi-media events. Besides music, video and movie projections are usually used along with interactive competitions and other activities. They take the end of the concert to put together "all that had been communicated during the evening." This culminates in offering an opportunity to respond for a five-week "find out about God course." Breaking down their message to the core, they condense tit to the simple sentence, "God thinks you are great and really loves you and longs to have a friendship with you." Their ministry has seen hundreds of people respond and then move out to the world to make disciples. Also encouraging is the emotional and even physical healing that has come from their ministry, even a man that was healed from a hole in his heart. God's faithfulness has been readily apparent to them through their work and they humbly state, "We believe that what God says, goes!" Some favorite Scripture verses that they share are Matthew 6:19, Romans 8:28 and 8:37-39, John 15:16, II Corinthians 1, and Acts 2, especially verses 17-21 which was a major inspiration for THE GREAT AWAKENING. Their next release, due in early 1994, will sacrifice some of THE GREAT AWAKENING's various stylistic dimensions for more continuity with more of a band sound--more Dance and Pop. Following this release, they are planning a tour of Europe in May 1994 and the U.S. for June and July of 1994. Hopefully they won't face any strict noise ordinances of 65 dBA on these tours. --J. WARNER SODITUS MAIA AMADA Maia Amada's critically acclaimed debut release has given her many opportunities to perform across the country. But what is most important for people to know about her? "I'd like people to know how to pronounce my name," jokes Amada. "I've had people call me Maria, or Mia, and I say, 'No, the name is Maia, M-A-I-A.' So fine, we get Maia right, and somebody announces "That was Maia Amanda", and I say 'No, it wasn't, it was Maia Amada, and that's A- M-A-D-A--No N.'" Maia is of Spanish descent, but was born in Scarsdale, New York and grew up in a very creative family. Her father is a graphic artist, her mom works for Conde Nast Publishing, and her brother is an independent record promoter. "Everyone in my family was somehow related to the arts, and everyone was musically inclined," she says. Music was just a natural part of her childhood. She began singing when she was three years old, and made her first semi-professional performance when she was ten. She says teachers and classmates used to be stunned when this little girl would step up to sing and this big voice would pour out. She recalls early performances where the power of her voice would literally shake her small frame. When she became aware of her natural talents, she was drawn to the people who performed that big, emotional style of music. She counts SARAH VAUGHN, SHIRLEY BASSEY, BILLIE HOLIDAY, CHAKA KHAN, and PATTI LABELLE as her primary influences, but maintains that her style is definitely her own. "There's not one person that you'll hear in my voice, but a bit of everyone," Maia says. "I think we all borrow from everyone as we are learning--of course we never stop learning, but once you get beyond that you develop your own style. When you hear my voice you may hear little pieces of SHIRLEY or CHAKA or PATTI, but you can't pinpoint it to one." Maia developed her own style by amassing a wealth of experience at an early age. One of her teachers was so impressed with young Maia that he wrote a couple of songs especially for her to perform during a school play, just to showcase her incredible voice. Not long after, she found herself singing commercial jingles and traveling with Broadway shows while being taught by a tutor. At 15 she received a call from someone recruiting talent for a new band. Though initially hesitant, she decided to take the job. Little did she know it would be in that band she would meet her future husband, drummer, and principal lyricist Alan Pugielli. It was also then that the classically trained performer broadened her talents by singing pop music. However, it was when she and Alan found the Lord in 1980 that her music really began to have a direction. They began singing in churches and traveling with their pastor. "I really felt the Lord was telling me I needed to get out from behind the church walls and take the message out to the public," Maia says. With her Word debut release, Maia is taking the message of Christ's love to the public by wrapping her unique vocal power around a set of well crafted tunes. Alan and his co-writer Nelson Miranda wrote all but one cut on the disc, with Maia contributing her writing skills to the tune "What's A Heart To Do." She is presently writing and recording a new project although she admits, "I can't tell you when it will be released, because I really don't know for sure." She does, however, divulge that the album will be a little harder with more of an edge but still based in R&B. Amada also jokingly shares that her husband may "let" her put a few songs that she has written on the album. "As far as a theme is concerned, I'm not quite sure- -I think perhaps--on the first album, we talked about the love of God, and how is love never fails, love is for always, how you can count on him through circumstances. Perhaps, the second album is putting that love into motion--putting wheels to the words. It's one thing, as Christians we have a responsibility to let people know about God's love, not just let them know about it, but how to get it. This seems to be the direction that we're going in, I think." Like all performers, Maia finds her touring schedule to be very taxing. Fortunately for her, she has a very supportive husband. "Fortunately, my husband is a great spiritual leader in our home, and he comes with me as often has he can, and that really helps. My management is Christian, the people that I surround myself with are Christians, they love the Lord, and they constantly, always keeping each other in check and that is really important, really important to keep each other in check. The first thing that I want people to say when Maia starts goofing off, is to say 'Hey Maia, you're goofing off,'" She also extends her support group to her church, where she is also involved in other ministries. "There are many different ministries within the church that are all very effective on the street," relates Amada. One of their most effective is summer music ministry. Since people tend to congregate on street corners, sit along the sidewalk, and hang out open apartment windows to stay cool, they take advantage by playing music on street corners. Continues Amada, "Any day during the summer, our church comes out, and what we're doing is just letting people know about the gospel, and that there's a church that teaches about the gospel right there in their neighborhood." Music is not the only street ministry supported by Amada and her cross-cultural church. They also have an "Iron Team" of powerlifters who lift over 700 pounds without the use of steroids. They also sponsor activities for children including puppet shows and skits. Unlike most Christian performers who play for predominantly Christian audiences, that is slightly foreign to Maia. She explains, "I'm not used to performing in front of, or singing for, all Christians. My audience is definitely a non- Christian audience, but the same message comes across. I've been doing that for years, and I think the Lord says you've got to be really grounded and have a good solid foundation in order to have that type of ministry, because it's really hard. It's very discouraging at times, because sometimes there's just no response from people. Yet at other times it's such an overwhelming response, and you've got to be ready to handle that as well." "My responsibility is to show them the love of God, and then, from there, someone can take them by the hand and personally show them a church, and have that pastor nurture them. I could never do that. That's not how it was for me, you know, I came into the church and then from there went out, but I come back every Sunday, if you know what I am saying, and I think that that is important, that people hear of the love of God, but then find someplace to let that seed to grow." "I don't do anything to purposely be thought of as a rebel, necessarily. I don't think that I'm a rebel at all, but some people might think so because I'm a little different looking--I think this is just where the Lord has told me to be, and it's taken me all this time to get here because I believe he's readied me for where I am right now today." "Young kids, young people are constantly worried about, they want to be different, they want to be unique. I say 'You want to be unique and different? Follow the Lord with all of your heart and soul, and body and mind, and the whole deal--and that is different, and that is so unique, compared to your other friends who might not be doing that. That's really unique.' And the Lord will honor that." With the schedule she keeps between her musical career and family, it's only natural that her biggest struggle is to remain focused. "I'm still a mom, those are still my responsibilities, I won't, I'll never give those things up. I waited eight years to have my daughter, Amika, I'm not going to give that up." "So just keeping focused and having Him remain the one who's always in control, having the Lord remain the one always in control, it's something that I've learned. As long as I'm doing things, you know, and keeping my eyes focused on him, the doors will continue to open. Wherever the Lord wants me to place my feet, I will. I'm looking for footprints, trying to keep my eyes on Him." --J. WARNER SODITUS AUDIO ADRENALINE One of the most energetic groups in Christian music today is aptly named Audio Adrenaline. The four members of the group, Mark Stuart (vocals and rap), Barry Blair (guitar/ vocals), Will McGinniss (bass), and Bob Herdman (keyboards and effects), should have no trouble keeping any further musical success in perspective since they consider it a "joke" that they got together in the first place. Herdman begins the story of how they met at Kentucky Christian College in Grayson, KY almost three years ago, "The whole thing was a big joke. These guys were in a college band. I helped write the song 'DC-10' and put it on the air. Kids loved it and I thought, I'd like to write another song like that, so I wrote 'My God.'" Herdman decided to spend some of his savings on recording the song and talked the others into participating. Continues Herdman, "We recorded it and somehow we got it on a compilation CD that went around to radio stations. All of a sudden all these stations started playing it and we started getting calls from record companies." This song, most easily described as an aggressive cross between speed metal and rap, packed an equally aggressive, bold message that other religions were not what they claimed to be, and that faith in Christ was the only true religion. It charted and quickly gained the attention of ForeFront President, Dan Brock, who happened to hear it on a college radio station while riding in his car. ForeFront's Ron Griffin, tracked down the band and quickly got them in the studio. Herdman laughs, "We were Education majors and Bible majors and we were going to be high school Chemistry teachers. These record companies started calling and we were saying, 'We're still in school and we don't really want to be in a band.' Then we realized that the Lord must have called us into this. So I quit school. Bill and I dropped out and Mark and Barry graduated and we started doing this, and here we are." Amidst the surprise at their musical success, they are not really surprised that they are serving in a ministry. Even without a national contract and national touring, the desire to ministry was there, as McGinniss tells, "we could still keep a small ministry together and go to camps, which we had been doing for about five years. We felt like we were called to do some kind of ministry, but we never knew it would grow to this scale, or we ever could have foretold we'd be here." The spontaneity in embarking on their musical career created an interesting musical situation. Each member has musical tastes that barely, if at all, overlap that of the others. The result was combined musical influences from heavy metal to rap to country. They worked to narrow down their musical efforts into what they call NuRock. Stuart explains, "It's just a combination of what's happening in music all over the world. There's alternative, techno, and hip-hop, it's just a mixture of all elements of all modern pop music. There's so many different areas of music that we try to cover. That's why we call it Audio Adrenaline. We all come from those different areas of music. We just try to portray what each of us represents." Taking what might have been a stumbling block in the studio, Audio Adrenaline has turned this diversity into a major asset in concert. "It does break down walls though," Stuart continues. "We're very energetic and there's usually a mosh pit and there's stuff like that that goes on at our show. There's also people that dance at our show. At our show, we break down those barriers of art. People take pride in who they are artistically. They say, 'I'm a Alternative kid,' or 'I'm a hip-hop kid.' We like to say, 'We like to say, 'We're all God's kids.' We try not to have any barriers in our music. It's a lot of fun." "We're trying to reach young people. It's not a specific, moshing, head banging audience or a hip- hop audience or an alternative audience--just pop youth in general. We often get categorized in all three categories because we have a variety of styles because we come from different backgrounds and try to throw it all together." The group has had the opportunity to tour with GEOFF MOORE AND THE DISTANCE which was a valuable introduction to the Christian touring schedule. They enjoyed and appreciate the time that they spent "learning the ropes" from a more experienced team of individuals, as well as the friendships that were formed during the time there. The time also showed them the need to remain open and accountable with each other to be as effective as possible during the challenges of road life. While many secular performers and celebrities are denying their function as role models in our society, Audio Adrenaline recognizes this major gap in out pop culture. "I think the farther along we get, there's more of a call in our lives to be more spiritual," shares Stuart. "Because, I don't know if you've seen the Charles Barkley commercial where he says, 'I am not a role model, I'm not paid to be a role-model. I'm paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court.' I think, if you're put in a position of being up front, you should live a life in purity. That's very hard to do. We can't be pure, we all sin, but we're forgiven through Jesus. You can still take on the responsibility of being a role model for young people. I think that goes hand-in-hand with what we do. The farther, the more exposed we are, the more pure we need to be. You can feel the Lord, when you're in front of people, you need to be on track with who I am in our relationship, because they'll see right through it." It is important for kids to have an alternative to secular music, as Herdman states, "There has to be an alternative for those kids to listen to. For me, you can't really be edified listening to [most of secular music]. For me, it's a great substitute for Christian kids that they can get a spiritual message and listen to the music they like. That's a real high for me; that's giving someone something that I wish I would've had more of when I was a kid." "Our main objective, continues Herdman, "is to proclaim the word of God with a challenge--He is number one in our lives. We want kids to hear the kind of music they like most, but with a clear Christian message." Most pressing to the group is their belief that the Christian industry has been "censored" by secular media. Stuart explains, "I truly believe that this country is still Christian but the media has created a facade like [Christians are] not the majority, liberalism has taken over. It really isn't, it's just who has control of the media." This is the core of the new project soon to be completed by Audio Adrenaline called DON'T CENSOR ME. Continues Stuart, "It's speaking out to secular media, like MTV and regular radio stations, about them censoring Christian art." Since Christian bookstore sales are not included in best-seller lists and in radio charts such as Billboard rankings, the group sees this as censoring. Stuart continues, "The Christian groups that are really selling well would be on the Top-40 Billboard but they don't recognize the Christian bookstores, but I think that's censorship. Another way we're being censored is radio stations and MTV won't play music or videos that are created by Christian labels. They're afraid of Christianity." In discussing the content of the album, Stuart says, "Most of it deals with being bold and evangelistic in a country where we're being censored. Another song along those lines is 'It Might as Well be Us.' The lyric on the chorus is, 'Who you gonna listen to, who you gonna trust, if it doesn't really matter, it might as well be us.' So many kids we talk to say, 'I listen to secular music.' We're saying the lyrics are pretty weird and they're not edifying the Lord and [they say] 'it doesn't matter, I just like the music.' So that's our question to those people. If it doesn't really matter what the lyrics say, then put us in, because it does matter--we think. If you can even sub-consciously listen to our lyrics, then it'll make a difference in your life. There's a song called 'A.K.A. Public School.' It says, 'Government funded, paid in full, also known as your public school. They paid to put you in the classes, it's your chance to reach the masses.' I think the public school system is the biggest mission field around the world today. There's tons of places to go and be a missionary, but for a young person to stand and say, 'I want to be a missionary in my public school,' has probably had the most impact of any mission field." Stuart also feels a sense of urgency with the project in that, "I really feel like we're a generation from Christianity being extinct if we don't take this seriously. You can see in the media and what's going on in the White House and government that we need to start taking this seriously or we're going to get wiped out. We're going to become a minority." They are a group with an energetic musical base and now promise to add a great deal of urgency to the message--something for kids to be excited about. And probably the best compliment they could get comes from ForeFront's Ron Griffin, "Audio Adrenaline is the perfect mixture of the heart of a pastor with the energy of a 16 year old!" --J. WARNER SODITUS P.F.R. (Pray For Rain) Faced with an interesting trademark technicality, the band that won this past year's Dove Award for Best Rock Album has to change their name. So now Pray For Rain has become.... P.F.R. Lead singer Joel Hanson explains, "There's a group in California named Pray for Rain. They do TV and movie soundtracks and their lawyer got a hold of us right after we were nominated for the Grammy award and said, 'Congratulations, guys, but you need to drop the name.'" The discouraging part of the problem is that the group followed standard trademark searches and obtained a valid trademark for their name. Hanson continues, "We trademarked the name, but they've had it for seven years and have a number of projects under that name, so by common law, if we try to continue to use the name, they could sue us or ask us to pull the product from the shelves. We don't want to do all that. So we were willing to compromise and come up with a name that wouldn't go that far from the concepts we already had." So they agreed to adopt the name P.F.R. Hanson jokes, "P.F.R. means Pray For Rain, we just can't say it." But where did the original concept arise? Drummer Mark Nash recalls, "We needed a name. We were called Inside Out for a while. With being signed, we needed a name. I was looking at some poems a friend of Joel's wrote and found it in there." While they admit the origins of the name are less than inspiring, Hanson shares how they have been able to use the name to begin interesting discussions, "People have asked us a lot, 'What does the name mean?' Pray For Rain means absolutely nothing to everybody most of the time, so we can say this--the cleansing that comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ. When the mighty storm comes and washes away all that stuff, the storm is hard and there are some things that are lost, but when it's gone, things grow again and things are clean." The trio remains based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, near where they originally met. Joel and Mark met at a Christian summer camp where they both served as counselors. Joel was also interning as a youth pastor at a church two hours away, which is where he first met guitarist Patrick Andrew--at the time, Mark and Joel had just begun playing some small concerts. Joel tells, "Patrick was following some girl around at the youth group--a true story, he'll admit it. Pat started playing with us and two weeks after Pat played with us, he became a Christian." The band remains tied to the local youth groups in Minnesota, since they made such an impact on the lives of the members. Hanson takes the opportunity to joke about how that they use music for the youth groups, "Mostly like a drug to subdue them." Nash, pondering a little more seriously, recalls that it was his youth pastor that started him playing music for the youth groups, "He found out that I played drums, he played guitar, another guy in the youth group played bass, and another friend of ours played piano. From there, we started learning songs and then in the summers we'd do little mini-tours. It started with bands and then people would sing solos and do drama and puppets. He [youth pastor] went to this other church, the church we go to now--they're actually on tour now; that's another thing we do. We help the bands there. There's maybe 15 bands there now. We help them with songs and last year we went out on the tour with them. That's how we're also involved." Andrew jokes about the origins of the group's progressive rock sound, "God in His infinite wisdom must have gone, 'Okay, these three guys would make an interesting group,' and took three guys who didn't listen to any of the same stuff and put us together. He knew what He was doing. We had no idea." They have turned this possible dilemma into an advantage, as Hanson shares, "A lot of people are interested in our music because it is a little bit different. Therefore, we get to talk one-on-one with a lot of people and share our faith and they ask how we became Christians, so God has opened a lot of doors just because what we do is a little bit different--it's not the same old thing. That's exciting for us too because we have that opportunity." Hanson began playing guitar at the age of five, which apparently set the stage for his life. The primary songwriter for the group and only married member of the band, he remembers listening to FOREIGNER and NIGHTRANGER as early influences. Nash began drumming at age seven, and counts RUSH's NEIL PEART, THE POLICE's STEWART COPELAND, and PETRA's LOUIE WEAVER among his early influences. Before forming Pray For Rain, he played in a Minneapolis garage band in the vein of Twin Cities-based groups HšSKER Dš and THE REPLACEMENTS. First trying out a guitar in the sixth grade, Andrew quickly switched to bass the following year. "Two of my uncles are bass players," shares Andrew, "so think l had it in my blood." He played in a 1960's cover band, but left the group after meeting Joel to join the early foundations of P.F.R. Nash knew he would pursue a career in music. "I just never thought about doing anything else," he states. "There was no question that I would be doing this, in my mind--that was obviously God." However, the story is significantly different for Hanson. Despite his strong musical tendencies from an early age, he was concerned with his ability to keep a strong marriage along with a music career. "I got married before the group got started doing what we do," he recalls. "I really questioned if I could keep the integrity of my marriage intact and be gone a lot, which is a hard thing to do. It's really hard to leave every time. We see ministry happen every time we go out and we see people get saved and we talk to people who have heard our music and it's meant a lot to them. At this point I don't think it would be right not to go do what we do because God's using what we do. If it becomes evident that that's not happening any more, then I think all of us would want to pursue other things and let God do what He's going to do with us in other parts of our lives." Perhaps their most widely recognized song is "Do You Want to Know Love," known for the vocal effects in the first verse. The song begins with a BEATLE-esque nasally-sounding vocal that has caught a bit of attention. Since the studio effects can't really be duplicated live, Hanson was caught in "a panic situation" the first time they performed it live. Their solution was to use a small plastic megaphone to imitate the sound. And, being fun and energetic, Hanson chose to throw the item at the crowd at the end of its use in the first verse. However, one time he hit Ronnie Cates' (Bassist for PETRA) wife "right in the head," remembers Hanson. "So we decided not to use that any more." That has left him scrambling for a plastic or paper cup before each concert since "they don't fly as well." What may get lost in the silliness of the performance of the song, though, is the message. Hanson shares, "Love present in relationships between husband and wife, between boyfriend and girlfriend, and other friendships in general, is not the same kind of love God has for us. That seems to be a theme that runs through the songs we write--that there's one eternity, there's one God, and there's only one kind of true love." For the past year, the touring by the band has all been in a Suburban along with two crew members. It's fortunate that this has helped deepen some great friendships, that were formed before the group began. Nash explains, "Joel and I were good friends before we ever entertained the idea of becoming a group. When we met at the camp, we were friends. Our brains were in the same universe, not necessarily this one, and we just got along well. After a year, Pat joined us in that universe." Hanson quickly adds, "That doesn't mean that there's not tension. We all don't like the same kinds of things. We don't live on the same schedule, I'm married and these guys are just homeless bums [laughter]. Actually, you guys have a home now--Mark and Pat live together. Can you imagine being on the road together and then living together?" For Andrew, this is not the most difficult struggle. Although he admits "the Suburban got smaller" each time they went out, what challenges him the most is keeping this new career in perspective. "I think [my biggest struggle] is keeping my priorities straight between my ministry and my personal relationship. It gets confusing to make sure our ministry is not taking over our personal relationship with Christ." The group has recently begun pre-production on a follow-up album to PRAY FOR RAIN. Nash simply says to expect "fun." Hanson, becoming slightly more descriptive says, "It's a little bit harder. I think it's going to be more of a rock and roll type, more rock and roll than the last album." And, being understandably confident in their unique and full sound from simply guitar, bass, drums, and an occasional keyboard part, they emphatically state that they album will contain no samples or sequencing and that P.F.R. albums "never will." "True love is a theme we used a bit on this last album and it'll follow through," adds Hanson, briefly mentioning the album's content. Andrew, stepping in to take some song writing responsibility, shares that he's writing about "having a deeper faith and trusting God." Despite an unfortunate name change, the group seems poised to proceed back into the "sequencer/sample" saturated music world, armed with only their guitar, bass, keyboard, drums, and some fine vocals--and they appear to be set to make another big impact. --J. WARNER SODITUS CINDY MORGAN New Artist of the Year--quite an honor. But, after the year Cindy Morgan just had, it's hardly a surprise. From four number one hits (including a duet with Carman) to being the first debut artist to perform on THE YOUNG MESSIAH TOUR to netting five Dove Award nominations (including Female Vocalist of the Year and Contemporary Album of the Year), it was an exciting and successful year for this 25 year old performer. That's not bad, considering two years ago she was working in an clothing store, and singing on sound-alike demos at a Knoxville recording studio. Morgan got an early start in music at her home near Knoxville, Tennessee. Her parents were both songwriters and there was always music in the house. Learning to play the piano by ear at age 11, Morgan soon realized that music was "the only thing that I wanted to do." After high school, she took the first significant step in realizing that dream. She entered a competition at The National Mountain Music Festival at Tennessee's Dollywood. Morgan was selected as the winner out of 7,000 contestants and from there, she began working at Dollywood and as an in-house background vocalist at a studio in Knoxville. The studio work exposed her to some more urban and R&B sounds that appealed to her more than the country that she had previously worked with, sounds that were very apparent on her debut release REAL LIFE. Her parents and five brothers and sisters remain a vital part of her support network, completely supporting all she has done, although remaining somewhat naive about the Christian music industry. She jokingly shares, "If you can believe this, my family's never been to Nashville where I live. I've lived there for two years. If they came here [speaking of the Creation festival], I think they'd pass out. Because they're just such small town people and I am too." "Mom sang and traveled a lot when we were young, and Dad gave up what might have been a promising career in Nashville--turned around and never looked back, because he had a family at home to support," Morgan shares. "He went to Nashville with a demo when I was about five and took it in to RCA. They wanted him to spend the night and play his demo for some guy in the morning. He said, 'I can't afford a hotel room and my family's back [at home.]' [The person told him], 'If you're going to do music, you've got to learn to do that.' He said, 'I can't do that. I have a family.' Unfortunately and fortunately, he surrendered and sacrificed his career to give me a normal childhood." When asked about the person who has made the biggest impact on her life, she wastes no time in telling about her father. "He's just been an incredible example in me and an uncompromising person. He's not perfect, which is maybe what I love most about him, because he doesn't pretend to be perfect." And, on the lighter side, "He was a Volkswagen mechanic for years. I drove Volkswagens most of my life; I went through about four of them." With that in mind, Cindy used her inherited gift for songwriting to pen a tender song on her new album, "Someone Believes In You," inspired by the sacrifices made by her parents on her family's behalf. The faith of her parents also made an impact on a young Cindy Morgan. She recalls, "It's funny, I don't ever remember not knowing the Lord. My parents were really strong Christians and I think I remember that I walked up the aisle when I was about five. It wasn't like that's the first time that I knew Him. I've always known the Lord." They nurtured her childhood faith to maturity and have firmed a foundation to keep her on track in the midst of her new "celebrity" status. As you might expect, despite the music industry success, there have been personal struggles for Cindy. "Professionally, it's been a great year," she begins, "personally, it was hard... looking back in my diary, I can see how God used difficulties in relationships to make me grow. My perspective is so much different because I had to go through hard times emotionally. It's probably the same thing that everyone that's 24 goes through--not being happy with where you're at and just dealing with life. The same things everyone else deals with--the challenges of living and not understanding why some things happen and some things don't." "I think that one thing that's real dangerous and in Christian music and Christianity, period, is that we give people the impression that if you're a Christian that everything is perfect and everything is easy and you don't have any problems and you shouldn't have any problems or you're not what you say you are. It's my desire to present my life in a very imperfect and a very real way to let them know I have problems and I struggle with my relationship with the Lord on a daily basis and that it's okay to struggle." "The thing that I've been trying to struggle with the most and learn about the most is contentment, being content with what you have. Today, I'm not completely happy with what I'm doing, because I don't think you can find contentment in your career. Contentment is in the Lord. If I've learned anything, I think that's it--this job cannot make me happy. Except for her diary, there's probably no place where these struggles and lessons are more apparent than in her new album A REASON TO LIVE. "That's exactly where all the songs came from," Morgan confirms. "They're about some things I and some friends close to me went through and how we don't have the capability of understanding what this life is really all about--why things happen." "The writing on the album is a lot about my journey through this last year and some real hard times I had to go through and some real hard lessons that I had to learn. When I'm sad about something, that's probably when I do my best songwriting. My A&R director calls my songs the 'razor blade songs' because they're so depressing. It sounds like I'm about to end it all when I'm writing. I rarely write happy songs. They're real introspective, real analytical about life. When I wrote 'How Can I Ask for More?' I was at the breaking point. I was just very depressed. But what's great is that the Lord comes in and gives you hope. In the Bible it says that it's good to be sad. It's good for your heart to be sad because it makes you think and makes you appreciate things." "I think the overall message in the record is through the questions and the problems and the 'Why's' of life, that no matter what, that there's a reason to live. We find that reason in Jesus Christ. I just felt like it was keeping with everything that the record was about. It was the obvious title. We never even bounced around any other ideas." While the songs may have come out of tough times, they are not dark; they share a great hope. "The hope in that is that we don't have to understand to know that Jesus loves us and that there's hope in Him. To me, those songs aren't unhappy songs, they're about real life. I think they're hopeful. I think they're realistic" What else keeps her balanced? "My church... writing prayers in my journal ... and accountability. Several good friends, holding my feet to the fire. It's important to me to keep my life open to a few people... to make sure I'm not hiding anything." Despite her very energetic performance and stage presence, away from the energy of the concert, Morgan is not always the outgoing person you'd expect. Morgan admits, "In a room of strangers, that's where I tend to be really shy, because I don't know what to say. I've always been shy in that way. I had to learn to communicate with people." Somewhat surprising as well is the importance Morgan places on the slower and quieter portions of her concerts. "I think that my real ministry time is when I'm at the piano and the songs that I just play piano and vocal. Hopefully, when I've got a couple records under my belt, I'll have more songs that I can just sit down and play." Morgan cites very few goals for her near future. She naturally wants to improve her songwriting, singing, and communication, but also desires to "lose self to where the Lord is really on the forefront of my life." This fall she'll be taking her message on the road with Petra and P.F.R. Besides her introspective analysis showing God's hope, she also has a message for teenagers from her own teen years. "I was a very overweight teenager. I felt very insecure about my appearance, about who I was and kind of let the world beat me down a lot. I would really encourage teenagers that no matter who they are or what they look like that they need to find a contentment within themselves and with the Lord. And to make wise choices along the way because the decisions of today shape tomorrow. It's so easy to say, 'I was young, that's why I did this.' It still changes you. It still makes an impact on your life. I would say to just be careful about the everyday choices." Naturally struggling to remain a "normal person" among her accumulating accolades, Morgan affirms, "My happiness better not be wrapped up in that, and I can't build my life on it... it could be gone tomorrow. All the great things that have happened... as I look back on them, they've all been gifts from God, and I'm so thankful. But success has not made me happy--it's made me grateful." Well, a quick listen to her new album will show that there should be many more great things to come for Cindy Morgan. --J. WARNER SODITUS REVIEWS: Cindy Morgan A Reason to Live (Word) The latest album by Cindy Morgan, A REASON TO LIVE, is the sophomore project on the heels of her debut REAL WORLD, also with producer Mark Hammond. The album shows a slight change in style from her debut, which showcased a number of highly upbeat danceable tunes, focusing more on ballads and mid-tempo music. While this change may be disappointing to those who were anxiously waiting a new album of dance tunes from Cindy, there are a number of quality songs on this latest work to keep them grooving, keeping the heavy R&B influence, although some are at a different, slower tempo. While the stylistic change is obvious, some of the other factors that influence the sound and direction of the album must be noted, and these include the theme, the level of production layers, and the way Cindy Morgan fits into the album as a whole. A REASON TO LIVE has lyrics that are deep and insightful with enough complex ballads to capture the listener in an intimate setting of expression. Thematically, the main focus of the album is that of life and it's short comings, pains, and joys. A subtheme that runs throughout the album points out that true living and life is found only in God and in an experience of His love. The title track is a slow piano ballad that shares about the many things that people dream about accomplishing in the future or wishing that they had done in the past instead of realizing that they need to live in the present. It's a cautionary song about how it is easy to miss out on living in the now. The song points out that "You can turn back to all the memories, but you can't turn back the clock. You can make life all it can be, but you can't make it something it's not. Yesterday is Yesterday, and tomorrow's still a day away, so what do you say there's a reason to live today" As with many of the pieces where Cindy Morgan sings while playing on the piano, this song takes a simple melody combined with Morgan's distinctive voice to produce a touching, soft piece. Another of the strong piano pieces, "Someone Believes" is dedicated to Morgan's father and tells of the many unseen, unheralded sacrifices made by caring people that set the stage for others to go on to greatness. The combination of simple chords and her outstanding voice make this a quietly passionate testimonial to the deeply sacrificial giving that allows others to live well. This is definitely a Father's/Mother's day request classic. These pieces are some of the best songs on the album, showcasing the ability, vocal range, and lyrical depth that make Morgan's music stand out from a lot of other artists. Her talent at taking simple and soft melodies and producing powerful, touching music is quite special and it adds to her appeal as an open and quietly passionate musician. This ability carries over somewhat to the other, faster pieces, although the higher amount of production does influence the sound somewhat. A song which is an example of this is in the R&B styled "Love's Still Love" which points out the true aspects of real love, namely God's unconditional love and constant faithfulness. This song is a strong statement of the permanence of this love, comparing it to the temporary, conditional love we usually experience in life. A section of the lyrics states that real "Love will endure, Love believes in you, Always forgives, always is true. Love knows no wrong, always understands, it heals the heart, given half a chance... in spite of us, Heaven's love is faithful... Love's still love." This song correlates with the slow R&B ballad "Let Somebody Love You," which is a quiet plea for a lonely person to let someone else get close enough to love them. Both songs showcase a strong bass rhythm section and are some of the few pieces which are danceable in the same style as much of Morgan's REAL LIFE work. Unfortunately, these are also pieces where some of the production is a little heavy at times, sometimes to such a degree that Cindy's voice is almost swallowed by the layers of synthesizers. This factor is one of the aspects of the album that was not handled as well, and in places smothers the strength and fullness of Morgan's voice when it should be coming through clear and strong. This isn't a major error in the album, but it does detract a bit from the listening experience. It does serve to underline the appeal of the piano based pieces like "Someone Believes, " "Storybook," and "I Will," where the full range and clarity of Morgan's voice is easily heard. A REASON TO LIVE is an impressive second effort by the team of Cindy Morgan and Mark Hammond. While there are some difficulties with over-production, the Morgan manages to avoid the standard trap of pumping out a retread of her debut album by changing focus slightly. This change provides a better picture of some of the talents of Cindy Morgan that attracted listeners in the first place, while at the same time confirming the original hopes in her ability to do more works of a similar depth and high level of quality. --SCOTT DEERING First Call Sacred Journey (Myrrh) SACRED JOURNEY is the latest work created by First Call, and represents a change of pace stylistically for the band, as well as an effort to experiment with a different approach to producing their albums. The goal of this album was to create an album with more of a "live" sound to it, losing some of the layers that are usually added in production. This has changed the feel of the album in the direction of a lot of their earlier albums but provides the listener with some interesting examples of the broad range of harmonies and style combinations the band is adept at. Initially, the band seems to wander randomly from styles that include pop, country, rock, and worship music, but because of the presence of excellent harmonies and strong themes, the album commands the listener's interest. One of the major themes explored in this latest effort is freedom in Christ, and the greatness of that liberty in the light of God's love and mercy. The song "Freedom" clearly expressed this, stating, "Where there is faith you can move any mountain, where there is hope you can learn to believe. Where there is love there is strength you can count on. Where there is truth, truly there's freedom.." In, "Lazarus Unwound," First Call expands upon this theme by pointing out the special help believers can offer to one another to achieve the fullness of their freedom in light of God's deliverance, "Follow the voice of my salvation. I'm still tied up head to toe. God send me brothers and sisters to loose me and let me go... What a day for a true believer." This album follows the perspective of that of a believer reveling in God's grace throughout the album, with an intimate sharing of that believer's testimony about God. Another underlying theme of SACRED JOURNEY is that of love; God's special love for his people and the special adoration that He receives in return from sincere, grateful hearts. The title track, "Sacred Journey" outlines a manifestation of this love by describing the close presence of the Lord in the midst of all the aspects of a believer's journey forward with Him. This presence is experienced in "every road, every stream, every prayer, every dream, You are there my Lord." The song "Evidence of Love" parallels this theme by describing the love that is "written in the colors of a thousand autumn twilights, painted in the eyes of a child..." Lyrics like these are pretty common on this album, and while they are at times penetrating and at other times challenging, their main characteristic is that of Truth. For those who have come to enjoy the vocal gymnastics of earlier First Call albums, SACRED JOURNEY will be a welcomed addition to their collection. Comparable to SOMETHING TAKES OVER with more of a country flair on songs like "Freedom," plus a large number of ballads like "Sacred Journey," "Thank You Lord," and "Evidence of Love" which range from worshipful into pop. The variety of styles on this album is a little confusing at first ("Lazarus Unwound" is reminiscent of the acapella style of TAKE SIX, while "Under the Water" recalls the Celtic style of IONA), but the strong harmonies in each song provide continuity and a point of reference. While this album is not as "produced" as GOD IS GOOD album, the band scores in terms of harmony and thought- provoking, insightful lyrics. The band achieves their goal of creating a more "live and unplugged" sound and a showcase of harmonies. --SCOTT AND MICHELLE DEERING hoi Polloi Spin Me (Reunion) The newest effort by hoi Polloi, SPIN ME, rates as a solid album with a combination of deep lyrics, hard-hitting guitar work and the throaty vocals of Jenny Gullen. The tone of the album is best described as "gritty and tough" and for fans who eagerly awaited an album that captures more of the live sound of this group, this should be a keeper. For the newer fans or those looking for good rock, this album also manages to give a good introduction to the group's high energy, highly danceable style, and solid focus. This is an album that should please most rock fans while packing enough hop to be a good dance album as well. Stylistically the album alternates from fast, rocky song to slow ballads, while maintaining a folksy, introspective tone similar to some classic MARGARET BECKER. In terms of lyrical content, one of the main strengths of SPIN ME is the lyrical depth of virtually all the songs. These thought-provoking lyrics focus on God's desire to have a relationship with man, and the myriad ways in which mankind stumbles, strives, and struggles to respond in return. None of the lyrics on this album could be considered fluffy, and leave the listener thinking about life and choices long after the song is over. A good example of this is the title track, which involves the search for meaning and justice in a world filled with the "noise" of fashionable causes and a blur of movements with solutions that stand in contrast to the unshakable truth of the imminent return of Jesus as Judge, "Kingdom rise, kingdom fall, King coming to end it all, Play the part to fill the void, The beat goes in an endless noise." Several other tracks like "Lies in the Temple," "Love for the Living," and "Back to Zero" are equally as stark and point to the reality of our need for God in everything. The band carefully wove this theme throughout the album. They also prove that they have lost none of their ability to jam on songs like "Back to Zero" and the opener "Dance." On the more "rocky-folk" side of the album, hoi Polloi has a fair number of ballads including a new version of the 60's hit "Turn, Turn, Turn" based on Ecclesiastes, which is a decent effort and managed to put a fresh spin on this classic rock song. Other melodious tracks like "Take Me Home," "Angel," and "Show Me" are some of the more introspective, folksy songs on the album, but hoi Polloi manages to deliver quality music with enough rock to keep you grooving long enough to listen and think. With the strong lyrics, vocals, and tight music of SPIN ME, hoi Polloi manages to combine some rock and "rocky-folk" tunes into a collection that's fresh and interesting to listen to. --SCOTT DEERING Dick & Mel Tunney Left to Write (Warner Alliance) This album is the second album from the husband and wife duo of Dick and Mel Tunney, after Mel Tunney's three album run with FIRST CALL. Like their first, it features Mel as a solo vocalist and Dick playing keyboards. The musical backup is provided by veteran studio musicians such as Leim, Hemby, and Brigdarnello. Background vocalists include Bonnie Keen, Mervyn Warren, and Donna McElroy. The musical base of the Tunneys has been evident since the days of FIRST CALL. Any inspirational song on those first three albums was probably written by them. They are also talented at doing upbeat praise songs such as "Let there be Praise" which they wrote for Sandi Patti. The musical style of the album is again in the inspirational vein, but perhaps a bit more upbeat this time, with a few more drums, and a quicker pace, including one instrumental piece, "Horizons." A chorus of children including the two Tunney children join the opening cut "Perfect World." "When I Look At You" is a love song written for a friend's wedding, and is appropriate, touching, and romantic. All the memorable songs from this album are on the first side, including "We Have It All", a catchy chorus that is talking about how Christ meets all our needs. "I Want To Know Christ" and "To Be Like Jesus" are introspective to a degree, focusing on the vertical aspects of a relationship with God. There is a bit of spoken banter between the Tunneys before "Pilgrim's Progress." This song focuses on the other main theme of their songwriting--putting their personal experience with Christ to work in everyday lives. Apart from the instrumental and the remake of the old hymn "My Faith Has Found A Resting Place", the second side comes up a bit short. The tunes of "If You Are My Friend" and "Left To Write" are similar to each other and both are slow and repetitive. The lyrics of both are inward- directed, one describing how friends should respond to each other, and the somewhat ambiguous lyrics of the other thanking God for the gift of music. The effect of the two songs is an anticlimax to an otherwise exciting album with a great message. The debut album of the Tunney's, "Let the Dreamers Dream," carried more lyrical originality and a deeper message than this one, but this one is still a quality album that will give lots of good listening. Given the songwriting material they started with, they produced and performed it very well. This is probably also the type of album which, although it does not make you say "wow" at the first listen, will eventually grow on you and become a favorite. --STEVEN C. TIMM Dakoda Motor Co. Into the Son (Myrrh) Dakota Motor Co. (formerly Dakoda) is one of the newest rock bands to appear on the Christian rock scene, and they easily make themselves stand out with a sound that is both distinctive and fresh. In terms of musical style they combine 90's head-banging rock with late 70's and early 80's rock, while adding a touch of the blues and surf music to round it all out. The mix is very smooth--one minute you can be thrashing to an interlude of staccato drums and electric guitars, and the next minute be bopping your head to a melodic California crusing song and not miss a beat. Throughout the changes, the lyrical content is not compromised a bit nor is it anecdotal or trite. Songwriters Peter King and Davia Vallesillo make a powerful duo, and artfully steer the lyrics away from the standard and the drab and into the realm of poetic and vivid imagery. For baby- boomers of yesterday or the twenty-somethings of today, INTO THE SON is an album that skillfully meshes 3 decades of rock styles into a new blend that is sure to be enjoyed by a lot of people. One of the aspects that makes this album attractive is the use of strong imagery combined with simple expressive lyrics. In the song "Grey Clouds," Vallesillo, handling lead vocals, describes the faithfulness of God in tough times using a metaphor for cloudy days and the hope of sun (or more directly the Son). "Grey clouds in the sky, clutter up my mind. Blue skies aren't a part of me, as far as I can see. You are the light, guide me through the night..." Imagery relating to God and aspects of nature, particularly using the comparison of Jesus, to the sun, run through several songs on this album like "Wind 'an' Sea" and "Ocean Seems" which give the album an earthy feel that's appealing and refreshingly honest. The main theme of this album is Jesus; who he is, what he has done, and what he still does for those who trust in him, and Dakota Motor Co. skillfully communicates this from a perspective that is both fresh and novel. The lyrics tend to be simple, but the addition of solid acoustic and electric guitars, tight drum work, and an occasional harmonica, transform something that would otherwise sound a little bland to an enjoyable experience. One of the key strengths of this album is that the band is in a field all by themselves in terms of style compared to the rest of Christian music, and the change is very refreshing. The music is actually a lot of fun, a quality sorely lacking in a lot of other genres, while at the same time it sacrifices none of the same truthful retelling of the Gospel. This is an album for anyone interested in new and interesting sounds, or just some good cruising music for the car. --SCOTT AND MICHELLE DEERING Ashley Cleveland Bus Named Desire (Reunion) Ashley Cleveland's debut album, BIG TOWN, didn't receive any airplay on Christian radio, to my knowledge. But that's not surprising, given several facts about it--it was released on Atlantic Records, a secular label; not all of its subject matter dealt directly with God; and Cleveland sounds nothing like SANDI PATTI. Possessing a raw, gutsy, and impassioned voice, Cleveland is far from what most listeners of contemporary Christian music are used to. She writes honest music, being as comfortable with singing about her feelings for her husband as she is with singing about her relationship with God. Fortunately, this type of writing has become much more acceptable in the Christian music scene over the last few years. Her second album, BUS NAMED DESIRE, is released by Reunion Records, and differs somewhat from her first project. Musically, BIG TOWN had a distinct R&B feel, while BUS NAMED DESIRE leans more toward the pop arena. Produced by Cleveland's husband, Kenny Greenberg, and Wally Wilson, the album still has some bluesy attitude, but not as much as the last one. Lyrically, the subjects remain nearly the same. Cleveland sings about love, both human and divine, although this album has less overt references to God. One of the standouts is "Henry Doesn't Care " in which Cleveland writes about the innocence of her son, and how she wishes that he wouldn't learn how to build walls to protect himself against the world's pressures and hurts. Some of the other highlights in include "Better You Get Ready," "Feel Like Falling," and "Water." After listening to this album, it is clear why Cleveland is respected by her peers, both in the secular and the Christian music industry. --BETH BLINN Randy Stonehill Stories (Myrrh) Randy Stonehill has been around the Christian music scene long enough to be considered one of the founding fathers. Known for his off-beat personality and thought-provoking (although sometimes wacky) music, many of his songs feature a storyline, illustrating pieces of his or other's lives. Which leads us to STORIES, a collection of Stonehill tunes that he has recorded over the years, plus two new cuts. Acoustic in vein, the songs clearly show how Stonehill achieved his position in the history of contemporary Christian music While I have always appreciated Stonehill's sense of humor as evidenced in songs like "American Fast Food" and "Cosmetic Fixation," his story-songs were usually the ones who spoke to me the most. Stonehill has a penchant for illustrating individuals who are in hurting situations and showing how God has love and compassion for those individuals. The cuts "Rachel Delevoryas," "Starlings," "Weight of the Sky," and "Christmas at Denny's" are the most obvious examples of this. All are about individuals who are battling against the harsh elements of the world, be they physical, mental, or emotional, and of the One who can heal those hurts. The arrangements are very sparse, with Stonehill performing "Weight of the Sky" acapella. "Bells," "Coming Back Soon ," "Letter to My Family," "Turning Thirty," and "Singing in Portuguese" are all snapshots of Stonehill's life, and how various incidents have affected his walk with God. "Charlie the Weatherman" and "I Thirst For You" are the two new songs, produced by Terry Taylor and recorded with the Lost Dogs (Mike Roe, Terry Taylor, Gene Eugene and Derri Daugherty). They fit smoothly in with the others, both musically and lyrically. The album concludes with an acoustic version of "Hope of Glory" that pulls the themes of the album together with the reminder that the central theme of our lives is Christ and his compassion and love for us. --BETH BLINN Steve Camp Taking Heaven by Storm (Warner Alliance) Steve Camp's music. When I think about it, the first thing that comes to mind is a series of songs with an up-tempo, driving beat usually coupled with some incredible piano licks. The words pour out from Camp as if he were a man possessed (with the Holy Spirit, of course). In short, those albums were a roller-coaster ride of epic proportions. For those who have listened to JUSTICE and CONSIDER THE COST, you know what I mean. For those who haven't, they would certainly be valuable additions to any mature Christian's music library. Mature is the key word here. Camp has always targeted more established Christians with his musical challenges, and challenges they are from songs like "Do You Feel Their Pain?" to "Shade for the Children." Camp bangs away at the Christian's comfort zone challenging them to lead a life filled with complete surrender to the cross of Christ. Camp's musical and lyrical style has changed a bit with the release of his new album, TAKING HEAVEN BY STORM. The tempo of the songs has come down quite a bit and headed towards the R&B, with the exception of the title track. I feel as if the message of the album is reflected by the barren tree on the cover--no gloss, no hype--just a message that Jesus is all there is, with no need to fill time with rousing choirs singing backup or raging piano solos. The hard-edged challenges are gone but the words are still directed at mature Christians, and still with a firm Biblical base. Topics he addresses are spiritual inadequacy ("Give Me Some Time"), commitment to God and spouses ("I'm Not Ashamed" and "I'm Committed to You"), and God's love and faithfulness ("The Love I Found in You," "All Things For Good," and "In the Hands of God"). Overall, being a Camp fan for many years, I was not expecting this from his latest project. I think I need some time for this album to grow on me. It is always strange when an artist changes an enjoyable style, but I'm sure it continues to be for the glory of God. --BRYAN W. BRENDLEY Bob Carlisle Bob Carlisle (Sparrow) Bob Carlisle has recorded his first solo album, notably leaving behind his work with THE ALLIES, both literally and figuratively. He has put away the rock style for an intimate soul album that draws from some older soul and R&B and mixes in just a little pop to create his "blue-eyed- soul." His gritty, expressive voice is the perfect springboard to send his message in this medium. While his vocals may sound a slight bit like MICHAEL BOLTON, the musical setting is completely different. While Carlisle was not involved in the writing of six songs on the project, you certainly can't tell from listening. In the album jacket he states "it comes directly from my soul," and he means it. There is sweat and passion flowing through the vocals all through the album. It's such a joy to hear the vocals that you might ignore the instrumentation, but it's top notch as well. The B-3 organ by Mike Escalante is excellent! His main message is about a deeper commitment to allow Lord to use us as servants. Songs like "Mind, Body, Heart and Soul" ("Take me anywhere You want me to go"), ""Use Me," "Every Step I Take," and "Giving You the Rest of My Life" show a deep and sincere desire to be used as the Lord's servant. Carlisle turned the production reigns over to Bill Deaton (7 tracks) and Charlie Peacock (3 tracks) who also helped write several tracks. The presence of Peacock is noticed primarily in the arrangements of the strong background vocals of Vicki Hampton, Chris Rodriguez, Lisa Bevill, and others. For me, the standout was the final track--and it is worth waiting for! Carlisle sings over a piano accompaniment in a very simple yet touching remake of Erick Nelson's "Goin' Home." The message is direct and serious, appropriate for any committed Christian, and the music is perfect for anyone who enjoys some good soul music. --ROGER APPELINSKI Glenn Kaiser All My Days (Grrr) ALL MY DAYS--SONGS OF WORSHIP AND WITNESS is the latest offering from Glenn Kaiser, who is best known for is leadership of REZ BAND and his blues work with DARRELL MANSFIELD. This time around, Kaiser has recorded an album of praise and worship music, a lot of which is used by the organization that he is a part of, Jesus People USA. It compiles songs written one-at-a time from Kaiser's quiet times with the Lord spanning the past 20 years. Over six years of intermittent studio work culminates in this unique project that serves a very important function in Kaiser's mind--praising and worshipping God. There is also a songbook available. Judging by his past work, I was expecting this record to be somewhat different, more along the lines of what STEVE HINDALONG and DERRI DAUGHERTY had done with the AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS recording, but more in a blues vein. Instead, it was more along the lines of Michael Card. That's not saying it's bad, just more traditional than I had expected. As a whole, I enjoyed the album. Primarily acoustic, Kaiser and company make good use of touches of other instruments, including the violin and dulcimer. Several of the cuts featured the Grace and Glory Choir, that added nicely to the production. I especially like "All My Days" and "Lord of All." And "Wedding Prayer" is sure to show up at a few nuptials over the next year. --BETH BLINN DeGarmo & Key Heat it Up (Benson) DeGarmo and Key are a landmark in Christian rock music. Over the years they continue to endure together, with such fun things as solo projects and assorted books on the side. Over the years they have experimented with some slight musical variations, but overall D&K is well-known for pumping out fun, yet still scripturally sound and spiritually challenging songs. Their new release, still on Benson after all these years, HEAT IT UP, is rife with pretty "cool" pictures of DeGarmo and Key looking like they've just stepped out from the fiery furnace, toasted instruments in hand. The album kicks off with a catchy tune entitled "God Good, Devil Bad" that describes an encounter in a Nassau bar with a man who has tattoos of both Jesus and the devil side-by- side, and telling him that he must be confused--you can only serve one. This begins one of several references to the people that are out to make Christians look foolish or that mock Christianity outright by wearing crosses simply as adornments, etc. This is never more prevalent than in the song "I Use the J Word," a powerful tribute to the" one name under heaven by which man might be saved," used today more as a curse or a joke rather than the name of the Savior. Several tracks come as the mini-stories that D&K are famous for, while the others are outright assurances and slight twists on scriptural themes, such as in "Selective Amnesia" which shares the fact that God remembers the sins of his children no more. "It's my Business" takes a firm stand stating that it's our business to watch each other for accountability. Gone are the pop sounds of THE PLEDGE and GO TO THE TOP, back is the rock. Key jams on his Strat, while DeGarmo wails on the B-3 Organ and even joins with some lead vocals in spots. Their time spent exploring the pop arena pays high dividends, with some excellent pop hooks being flawlessly integrated into the rock style, creating some catchy choruses that are hard to forget. Even the ballads drop a little of the pop style for a more rock feel. The album is an all out return to the more rocking days of this pair's fifteen-year musical past, but shouldn't alienate any of the pop fans from the past years due to some memorable hooks and ballads. --BRYAN W. BRENDLEY AND ROGER APPELINSKI Newsong All Around the World (Benson) ALL AROUND THE WORLD, Newsong's latest release holds songs that are fresh and crisp with a prevailing theme revolving around the idea of sharing the Gospel "all around the world." This message is set in an adult contemporary style with upbeat tunes bordering on pop and light rock and with ballads almost falling into the inspirational category. One of the highlights of the collection is "Reach Out, I'll Be There." Minor changes were made to the 1960's golden-oldie, to use this popular secular song to share a contemporary Gospel message. After you've heard Eddie Middleton's rendition, you'll may never listen to the original FOUR TOPS' version without thinking about Christ's invitation to "reach out" to Him. Another special song is the quartet's tribute to Billy Graham. If you ever have the opportunity to attend one of Newsong's concerts, you'll be stirred by the video presentation that they show as they perform the ode. One of the most charming songs is "Fingertips & Noses," which is inspired by an actual school in Kentucky for special children. The excitement and anticipation they demonstrate repeatedly upon hearing of Jesus' return should be the way we "more mature Christians" feel regarding the second coming. A poignant ballad, "From This Moment On," reassures the new believer that even though there will be times of doubt and confusion on the road of faith, Christ will see us through. The upbeat "Field of Faith" tells us "There's a great big world out there with a great big need." "Simple Things" reminds us that a childlike faith is all that God asks from us. If lyricist Eddie Carswell keeps turning out this same high quality as always, no doubt these real life soul winners will impact the contemporary Christian music world for a long time. --JULIE HENRY Lost Album Review: Tavanni Urban Missionaries (Broken) The dynamic husband and wife duo Stephen and Linda Tavani is responsible for the delightful album URBAN MISSIONARIES. Linda is better known as "Peaches" from the former duo Peaches & Herb. In the meantime, Stephen wrote and produced for SMOKEY ROBINSON on the hit "Love Don't Give No Reason." This is their first Christian album together, which contains smooth flowing ballads with a hard-driving contemporary R&B/pop sound. This couple probably could have continued in the secular industry, but they have obviously felt a calling to minister to youth and troubled people. Although Tavani penned all of their lyrics, Bill Schnee produced, and Michael Omartian arranged (and played keyboards on) most of the songs. Tavani has done an exceptional job at bringing out the light of Christ to others. The main message presented is the truth of the Gospel, targeted in a straight-forward fashion to anyone who will listen. "Give Me Jesus" describes how one can have everything on this world but how worthless is it without the Lord. This fresh album is one to listen to anywhere. --LA'TONYA MATTHEWS Video: Mark Lowry The Last Word (Word) Anyone need a laugh? Mark Lowry will deliver with his new release THE LAST WORD. As with his last two recordings, Mark has combined personal stories of his life with a lineup of seven unique songs. His stand-up comedy is represented much better on the video better than the audio although the material is the same since the video captures Mark's personality and his crazy expressions. The first song "If Your Heart Belongs To Jesus" is an upbeat reminder of our kinship through Jesus Christ despite our diverse backgrounds and church denominations. He continues this theme into his first story, "Presbyterian Baptismal." In the next story, Mark shares about being a single adult in "Praying To A Single Adult." He shows us that it is okay to be single because Jesus was a single adult. Following this, Mark shares "Baby Why Not Me," which is a parody of AMY GRANT'S "Baby Baby." The song is about Solomon and how Mark is trying to get tips (and "pick-up-lines") from the man with over 700 wives. The only problem is that Solomon tells us in the Bible that his women had "a tower for a nose, legs like cedar trees, and teeth like sheep." This is obviously not a 90's kind of woman--but the song certainly is creative. The next three stories are about Mark's personal life. "The New Dentist," "The Old Sanctuary," and "All Mama Ever Wanted" show how a hyperactive child got through childhood by torturing all those around him. "The Last Word" reminds me of a Carman-style tune that tells of a conflict with Satan wanting the last word. We must fight to give Christ the final word and dominion in our lives. "Fritzy and Helen Hanft" is a story about Mark's neighbor who thought that Mark would never make anything of his life. "I Know, I Know" tells us that God can and will use us if we are submitting to His will. The next stories, "Flying With A Baby" and "Life Backwards" talk about reality of everyday life. Mark tells his theory that the life cycle is backward and that we should go from death to birth. Sounds good to me! At this point in the video and audio, the laughter stops and an altar call is given for those who do not know Christ to accept Him as Savior and Lord. Mark then sings two beautiful songs that he wrote. "Rest In The Arms" gives us the calm assurance of our Heavenly Father holding us for eternity. Would you trade anything in this world for a glimpse of Jesus? Mark expresses his desire to give any of this world's pleasures "For A Glimpse Of You." The audio ends with a reprise of "If Your Heart Belongs To Jesus." An extra treat is in store for those who view the video with a guest appearance by Bill Gaither, Michael English, and Sandi Patti. This concept tops off a great recording for Mark Lowry. I would highly recommend this video or audio for anyone who would like to lighten your day with laughter and reassure the soul of rest and peace in the Heavenly Father. --ANN HATHCOCK NEW RELEASES MICHAEL CARD COME TO THE CRADLE ASHLEY CLEVELAND BUS NAMED DESIRE FIRST CALL SACRED JOURNEY ANNIE HERRING ALL THAT I AM CINDY MORGAN REASON TO LIVE JOHN MICHAEL TALBOT MEDITATIONS IN THE SPIRIT AUGUST RELEASES BELIEVER DIMENSIONS BETRAYAL THE PASSING Steven Curtis Chapman THE LIVE ADVENTURE (AND VIDEO) KARTHI CHELLAPPA KARTHI JIM COLE MERCIFUL GOD DIG HAY ZOOSE MAGENTAMANTALOVETREE JON GIBSON JG DALLAS HOLM COMPLETELY TAKEN IN BETTY GRIFFIN KELLER BETTY GRIFFIN KELLER ANDI LANDIS STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND RICHARD SMALLWOOD SINGERS LIVE SCOTT SPRINGER HELLO FOREVER THE WINANS ALL OUT SEPTEMBER RELEASES 4HIM SEASON OF LOVE CARMAN THE STANDARD ERIC DARKEN A DRUMMER BOY'S CHRISTMAS CYNTHIA WILSON FELDER NEW SONGS OF ZION KATHY LEE GIFFORD CHRISTMAS CAROLS KURT KAISER CHRISTMAS FAVORITES PATRICK KAVANOUGH A TASTE FOR THE CLASSICS GEOFF MOORE & THE DISTANCE EVOLUTION STRAIGHT COMPANY SO EXCITED ACAPELLA TAMPLIN TAMPLIN TWO HEARTS GIVE'EM THE WORD VARIOUS THE NEW YOUNG MESSIAH MICHELLE WAGNER HEART OF THE JOURNEY SCOTT WENZEL HEART LIKE THUNDER WHITE HEART HIGHLANDS BRETT WILLIAMS & IN REACH POWER & PROMISE OCTOBER RELEASES ANGELO & VERONICA A & V SUSAN ASHTON UNTITLED ANDRAE CROUCH UNTITLED AL DENSON REASONS GLAD ACAPELLA HYMNS IAN ESKELIN BRAND NEW LANGUAGE DON FRANCISCO PROMISE AND COVENANT BEBE & CECE WINANS FIRST CHRISTMAS NOVEMBER RELEASES STEVE TAYLOR UNTITLED DECEMBER RELEASES BRIAN BARRETT UNTITLED LISA BEVILL UNTITLED BRIDE UNTITLED ALLISON DURHAM WALK INTO FREEDOM P.F.R. (PRAY FOR RAIN) UNTITLED TWILA PARIS BEYOND A DREAM PHILLIPS, CRAIG & DEAN UNTITLED BACK ISSUES June '92 HEATHER & KIRSTEN, JAG, LISA BEVILL, JON GIBSON, RICK ELIAS, Vireo Records, Lion & Lamb July '92 MIKE-E, NEWSBOYS, STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN, D.C. TALK, WES KING, Pakaderm Records September '92 RICK CUA, E.T.W., RHYTHM HOUSE, DAVID AND THE GIANTS, Why a Lighthouse? November '92 LARRY HOWARD, PETER SHAMBROOK, LUST CONTROL, SUSAN ASHTON, FIGHTER, "Started as a Whisper" December '92 BRYAN DUNCAN, MARK FARNER, TOM MCCAIN, WHITE HEART on TALES OF WONDER, "Dancing in Heaven" January '93 PHIL KEAGGY, D.O.C., Updates on HOI POLLOI and THE NEWSBOYS, "The Door of Heaven," TWILA PARIS on A HEART THAT KNOWS YOU and "Destiny" February '93 WHITECROSS, HALO, SARDONYX, Urgent Music Group March '93 GEOFF MOORE AND THE DISTANCE, PHILLIPS, CRAIG & DEAN, AVB, MID SOUTH, A Look at the First Year of THE LIGHTHOUSE April '93 KAISER/MANSFIELD, STEVE CAMP, ROC-T, KARYN LIST May '93 RACHEL RACHEL, CODE OF ETHICS, S.O.H.L.4UR TRIBE, RON DAVID MOORE June '93 OUT OF THE GREY, A Look at Quest for Freedom, KEITH BROWN, MICHAEL ANDERSON, GLAD, TERRI LYNN Prices are as Follows: 1: $.75 2: $1.50 3: $2.00 4: $2.50 5: $3.00 6: $3.50 7: $3.75 8: $4.00 9: $4.25 10: $4.50 Please allow 2 weeks for processing. CLASSIFIEDS: - LIGHTSHINE MAGAZINE- Lightshine is sent out to many people who really need to be encouraged and challenged by the Gospel. Hundreds of secular bands and their fans receive the magazine free of charge. If you share our sense of urgency for reaching out to this culture, join us in this endeavor. A tax- deductible donation of any size will tap you into the Christian metal underground and be a blessing to those without the Light (2 Cor. 4:4-6). P. O. Box 456 Paradise, PA 17562 (717) 397-7217. THE SACRIFICE MAGAZINE: c/o Scott Hileman, Rte. 1 Box 596, Jonesboro, IL 62952 (bi-monthly $11.00 U.S.). "FUNKY NEWS LETTER FROM HEAVEN" issue #2 "The Rock-n-Roll Tribute/Creation 1993 special issue" will be out near the end of August. Interviews with The Brave, Guardian, Crashdog, and Dakoda Motor Co. Also includes tons of artwork, 30 or more demo & album reviews (40 pages.) Send $3.50 to: F.N.L.F.H., 1752 N. Atherton St., Lot 149, State College, PA 16803. UPCOMING FEATURES: MARGARET BECKER, TWO HEARTS, THE PRAYER CHAIN, WHITE HEART, THE STAND, JULIE MILLER, JI LIM, AND TAMI GUNDEN Top Albums 1. LE VOYAGE, Sandi Patti, Word 2. FREE AT LAST, D.C. Talk, ForeFront 3. HOPE, Michael English, Warner Alliance 4. CHANGE YOUR WORLD, Michael W. Smith, Reunion 5 THE ABSOLUTE BEST, Carman, Sparrow 6. THE GREAT ADVENTURE, Steven Curtis Chapman, Sparrow 7. ONCE IN A LIFETIME, David Meece 8. SOUL, Margaret Becker, Sparrow 9. THE BASICS OF LIFE, 4Him, Benson 10. CONGRADULATIONS 2 YOU, various, Inter'Linc 11. TAKING HEAVEN BY STORM, Steve Camp, Warner Alliance 12. HEAT IT UP, DeGarmo & Key, Benson 13. A HEART THAT KNOW YOU, Twila Paris, Star Song 14. SET ME FREE, Acappella, Word 15. FACE THE NATION, 4Him, Benson 16. NU THANG, D.C. Talk, Yo! Forefront 17. AMERICA'S 25 PRAISE AND WORSHIP CHORUSES, various, Brentwood 18. 4HIM, 4Him, Benson 19. MOMENTS FOR THE HEART, Ray Boltz, Diadem 20. MERCY, Bryan Duncan, Myrrh