The Prayer Chain was one of the best “christian” alternative rock bands of the 1990’s, leading influences for a lot of modern bands. Their first album was recorded with Steve “Skinny” Hindalong at Neverland and was entitled The Neverland Sessions. This was their first release, independent. After signing to Reunion Records they put out The Whirlpool Ep and started touring, while focusing on their first LP Shawl released in 1993. After extensive national and international shows they started working on their soon to be masterpiece Mercury, which was released in 1995. This album, which some say “you can hear the band breakup as the cd is played” was their last cd, not to mention some rarities following. The band did a reunion show in Chicago in 1998 then the Gene Eugene tribute show in 2000, but other than some local california shows and their 2003 reunion show at Cornerstone, they are finished. Here are what the band members are doing now: Tim Taber – Owner of Floodgate Records Eric Campuzano – Plays with The Lassie Foundation and made a solo projet of drones entitled Charity Empressa. Also plays bass with Cush. Played with Starflyer 59. Andy Prickett – Plays with Cush and does extensive recording/producing/engineering. Has also played with Starflyer 59, The Violet Burning, My Brother’s Mother, and others. Wayne Everett – Started playing guitar and started The Lassie Foundation. Played in Starflyer 59 and Cush. Has done some producing also.

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GRAMMY-nominated progressive rock act Leeland has been known to deliver songwriting beyond its years and worshipful rock so genuine it disarms the honest cynic. Often quoted as one of Christian music’s most gripping live bands, the 2006 debut Sound of Melodies and 2008’s Opposite Way quickly established Leeland as a leader in the worship community and beyond. While both previous albums were GRAMMY nominated and drew a combined eight Dove nominations, Leeland’s measure of success has always been the human heart. And now Leeland’s third album, Love Is On The Move is a landmark in the deepest sense.

“During the past year, God has caused a total shift in our thinking and the way we approach our ministry,” says Leeland keyboardist Jack Mooring. His brother, the band’s principal songwriter, lead singer and guitarist, Leeland Mooring begins to explain, “For awhile, we were just this band from Baytown, Texas, and all we saw was our little church where God had been doing awesome and incredible things. But He’s really been opening our vision to all the hurting people, especially the poor, around the world and making it clear we should help by being a part of spreading His kingdom.” Leeland goes on to quote from 1 John 3:18, “Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions… [NIV],” and he profoundly states: “If we’re not loving people, then we’re just making a bunch of noise.” That’s quite a statement coming from a leader who’s influencing a new generation of worshipers. And that’s precisely the point. “We don’t want to sing another song if we’re not taking care of the poor. If we’re not being the hands and feet of Jesus, we might as well just stop making records and go home,” says Jack.

This very idea is the heart behind Leeland’s new project. With passion and conviction Leeland has transformed its sound into a call to action; asking followers of Christ to be the hands and feet of God.

“Worship, justice and action are not separate,” explains 21-year-old Leeland. “They are united. They work together. When you have an amazing encounter with God and you experience His love during worship, the fruit of that should be your life overflowing with action and love – justice – to the world around you. … That’s why Jesus said [in Matthew 25] on the Day of Judgment people will say, ‘God, when did I ever see you naked, or hungry, or thirsty or in jail?’ And He’ll say, ‘Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me,” and to others God will say, “Whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for Me.’”

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Ten Shekel Shirt is a rock band from New Haven, CT. The band was formed in 2001 by Canadian singer/songwriter Lamont Hiebert. The band currently consists of Hiebert, Jonny Rodgers, Colin Meyer and Tim Sway.

The latest project Jubilee has received rave reviews for it’s potent blend of rock, faith and social justice.

“Thoughtful, sensitive songwriting.”
Detroit Metro Times

“Melodic rock at its finest.”
The Advocate

“A welcome return. An apropos digest of where Hiebert has been in the last half decade, a sacred ground where more worshipers ought to dare to tread.”
Christianity Today

“Utterly beyond the ken of most pop/rock practitioners.”
New Haven Magazine

After a successful start at a music career – two successful albums (Much and Risk), a #1 radio hit (Ocean) and a Dove nomination – Hiebert put the band on hold to co-found the award winning charity Love146. “Being a spokesperson for a cause was simply not enough. Once I heard about the plight of these children I had to do more to combat child sex trafficking and exploitation, and to care for survivors of this brutal form of slavery,” Hiebert explains.

So it’s fitting that many of the songs on the new album JUBILEE are dedicated to survivors of abuse, exploitation and slavery. The title track Jubilee was written from the perspective of a teen’s first moments in a safehome, It’s Slavery was written to shame men who drive up demand for youth in prostitution, Daylight was written to remind people of faith of their call to social action, and Fragile was written to help address the self-blame that survivors deal with during the recovery process.

Other notable songs from JUBILEE include Wartime Lullaby (heard nationwide in retail stores) and Surprised which hit #1 in Canada (2009). The best “rock song” on the album, Spark, generates the most hits online and receives regional airplay.

Lamont’s solo gigs have included opening spots for Grammy winners, Natasha Bedingfield and John Legend and events with GQ Magazine, the NBA and the International Justice Mission. Hiebert plans to release a semi-live album in late 2009.

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Born in 1998, Oklahoma based Radial Angel has achieved success as both an independent band and as a member of Warner Bros. Records’ Squint division (the imprint that spawned such top-selling acts as Sixpence None the Richer and Chevelle). Their pop driven rock perspective touches almost every music fan in some way and their track record undoubtedly proves that. Over the past eight years Radial Angel has continued to gain fans with their impressive live shows and relevant rock.

In the spring of 2006 “Waiting on Love” the band’s most progressive album yet was released. “Waiting on Love” features crowd favorite “Beautiful” and the band’s ode to touring “Long Way Home.” Since the release, the band has been touring extensively through 2007 and anticipates a busier tour schedule for 2008.

Since the band’s inception, they have released five independent albums and one major label release, with sales topping 35,000 units combined. A few notes of accomplishment, after the release of their independent album, “Self-Titled,” the band was named one of the Top 20 Impacting New Artists by Progressive Airplay Journal. Their major label debut “One More Last Time” was produced by Kevin Lively (Rage Against the Machine, Stone Temple Pilots) and also spawned a radio favorite, “She.” The band’s EP “Summer Fade” produced three radio singles that each hit 1 on radio charts across the country, including a 10 charting on the national R&R chart.

Radial Angel is known for their impressive live performances. Once stated of the band, “They are a must-see if you love the live music experience.” Over the years they have played in front of over 90,000 people. Having been on a nationwide “Acquire the Fire” arena tour as well as keeping their own touring schedule, Radial Angel is a hard-working band by anyone’s standards. The band has also performed at almost every major festival in the United States.

No matter which album you’re talking about, though, one thing always remains the same. The fact is that when you hear Radial Angel for the first time you will notice the band’s intelligent and emotional approach to their sound. For the band, being real is important. “Our lyrics are usually very personal and generally deal with things that have happened to me, us as a band, or someone we know. Our hope, though, is that people will relate to them on some level and that that will bring some kind of emotional attachment for the listener,” says vocalist Jared Taber, the band’s chief lyricist. And, while many bands are content to simply entertain their audience, Radial Angel would rather align themselves with artists who desire to change their world for the better. “We definitely want to make an impact on the world. We feel more like artists than entertainers in that respect,” says bassist Eddie Jones.

An independent band for most of their existence, Radial Angel has seen what life is like as a successful independent band and likewise they have seen what life is like as a major label artist. Through the good and the bad the band has remained true to not only who they are as individuals, but also to what Radial Angel is as a band. Radial Angel has the passion of “Sixteen Stone” era Bush, the soaring vocal melodies that took bands like U2 and Coldplay straight to the top of the charts, and the intelligent and emotional approach that sets them apart from many of their counterparts. Simply put, Radial Angel is a band well worth your attention.

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Further Seems Forever was an American rock band formed in 1998 in Pompano Beach, Florida and disbanded in 2006. Over the course of their career the band experienced several lineup changes, resulting in a different lead vocalist performing on each of their three studio albums. Original singer Chris Carrabba recorded with the band for their first album The Moon is Down in 2001 before leaving to start Dashboard Confessional. He was replaced by Jason Gleason, formerly of Affinity, who performed on the 2003 album How to Start a Fire. Gleason left the band in 2004 due to interpersonal tensions and was replaced by former Sense Field vocalist Jon Bunch for the band’s final studio album Hide Nothing. None of the three vocalists can be said to have recorded more than one full album with the band, as posthumous compilation albums included contributions from multiple singers.

The band’s music is often classfied as indie rock and is frequently associated with the emo genre. They have also been classified as a Christian rock act due to the individual band members’ religious beliefs, frequent themes of Christianity in their lyrics, their association with the predominantly Christian Tooth & Nail Records label, and their performances at Christian-themed festivals such as Cornerstone. Despite these associations, the group often claimed not to be an explicitly Christian band, but rather a rock band with Christian members.

The band formed in 1998 in Pompano Beach, Florida after the breakup of the Christian hardcore band Strongarm. Strongarm guitarists Josh Colbert and Nick Dominguez, bassist Chad Neptune, and drummer Steve Kleisath recruited Vacant Andys vocalist Chris Carrabba to form Further Seems Forever. The first song the new band released was “Vengeance Factor” on the Deep Elm Records compilation An Ocean of Doubt: The Emo Diaries, Chapter Four, which contributed to the band’s association with the emo genre. Their first release was a split EP with fellow Floridians Recess Theory entitled From the 27th State, released by Takehold Records, and soon the band had signed a recording contract with Seattle-based Christian label Tooth and Nail Records. By 2000, however, Carrabba had begun working on his own project Dashboard Confessional and recorded the album The Swiss Army Romance, essentially a solo release which he considered too personal for Further Seems Forever. At this time the band struggled with interpersonal squabbles and difficulties touring, as Dominguez had a young family and was reluctant to tour outside the state. This forced the group to search for several fill-in guitarists to replace him on tour. After returning from a solo tour in August 2000 Carrabba announced that he was leaving the group in order to focus on Dashboard Confessional full-time:

“I knew the only chance I had to make it in the music scene was go out there and do all the legwork to push yourself and make yourself known…I was willing to do that and they weren’t. They were playing music around their jobs, not as their jobs. It was like, if we’re gonna be a band, let’s be a band. This isn’t going to happen by itself.”

Despite this decision, Carrabba joined the band the following month to record their debut album The Moon is Down, released in 2001 by Tooth & Nail. Relations between him and the other band members remained amicable, and Further Seems Forever would later open for Dashboard Confessional on several occasions. In 2005 the band played a reunion show with Carrabba, performing The Moon is Down in its entirety.

After Carrabba’s departure the band recruited Jason Gleason of Affinity as their new vocalist. With Gleason they recorded cover versions of “Say it Ain’t So” and “Bye Bye Bye” for the compilations Rock Music: A Tribute to Weezer and Punk Goes Pop. Dominguez then left the group to pursue a record label venture, Pop Up Records. He continues to run the label with Derick Cordoba, who replaced him in Further Seems Forever. This lineup recorded the band’s second album How to Start a Fire, released in 2003, and supported it with a national touring schedule. In early 2004, however, as work on a third album was beginning, the group had a falling out with Gleason which resulted in his departure. In a 2006 interview he blamed the split on “completely irrational behavior on a daily basis. Mistrust. Fights. Anger. Jealousy. A very unhealthy relationship.” Gleason went on to form ActionReaction in 2005 with his wife Crissie “Bella” Verhagen and bassist Salvatore Ciaravino, both formerly of Element 101. The group released their debut album Three is the Magic Number in 2006.

To replace Gleason the band recruited vocalist Jon Bunch of the recently disbanded Sense Field. With Bunch they released the 2004 album Hide Nothing and continued to tour internationally, performing with groups such as Sparta, Copeland, and The Starting Line.

In 2005 the band played a reunion show with Carrabba at which they performed The Moon is Down in its entirety. That November they announced a hiatus, which was followed by an announcement in January 2006 that their upcoming tour of the United States and Canada with Bunch would be their final performances, as the members’ families and other commitments had eclipsed their interests in the band. As Neptune stated:

“As I sit here reflecting back on my time with FSF, saying to myself ‘what happens when your dreams have come true already?’ Well my answer is ‘it probably wasn’t my dream all along.’ Sure maybe it was part of my calling but the truth is that making a family has been the goal ever since I can remember. My family is what I live for now and I am very glad to do so.”

Tooth & Nail released a “best of” retrospective album that April entitled Hope This Finds You Well, and the band’s final performance occurred on June 17, 2006 at The Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia. This performance was recorded and released as a live album and DVD released by 567 Records in April 2007, entitled The Final Curtain.

Following the band’s breakup Bunch and Cordoba formed Fields Forever, a duo project performing acoustic renditions of Further Seems Forever and Sense Field songs which toured across Europe. Other members went on to other projects, with Kleisath joined a group called En Masse in early 2006, and Cordoba joining Kicked Out Heel Drag in early 2007.

Members of Further Seems Forever:

 - Chris Carrabba – vocals (1998-2001)
 - Josh Colbert – guitar (1998-2006)
 - Nick Dominguez – guitar (1998-2001)
 - Steve Kleisath – drums (1998-2006)
 - Chad Neptune – bass (1998-2006)
 - Jason Gleason – vocals (2002-2004)
 - Derick Cordoba – guitar (2002-2006)
 - Jon Bunch – vocals (2004-2006)

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Nineties rock gave Josh Brown a muse, a voice and stardom. Then it nearly killed him. Now his band is giving the sounds that first inspired him new life on Day of Fire’s third album LOSING ALL, a powerful hard-rock record that explores the real meaning of rebirth.

Brown grew up in Jackson, Tennessee, where he picked up songwriting and a serious drug habit at age 15. Two years later he became the frontman for Full Devil Jacket, and at 22 he scored the big-time record deal. “I thought I was Axl Rose for a short time there,” he laughs. The band toured with Creed and Nickelback and made a splash at Woodstock ‘99, but on his way to major success, Brown had a major crash: a heroin overdose in an Orlando bathroom put his career on hold while he rehabbed and rethought his life.

After several years out of the spotlight, Brown had a burst of inspiration, re-emerged with a new slate of songs and assembled Day of Fire – guitarist Joe Pangallo, his brother Chris Pangallo on bass, and drummer Zach Simms. Brown penned most of their 2004 self-titled debut in his mom’s garage and the band wrote and recorded its follow-up, 2006’s CUT & MOVE, during a brief break in touring. The two albums sold more than 150,000 copies combined, and a few short years later Day of Fire inked a new deal with Razor & Tie, who will release LOSING ALL in 2010.

For Day of Fire, LOSING ALL isn’t about despair and endings, but hope and fresh starts. In the two years the band has been working on the album, everything changed: their business relationships dissolved, and Brown’s eight-year marriage nearly ended, too. “This record was written from a real place, and everybody goes through this at times in life,” Brown says. “I’ve gone through it a couple times where I’ve felt like I’ve lost everything.”

But even when Day of Fire was at a low point, somebody cut them a break: Chris Daughtry, who had opened for them a year before his career-changing stint on American Idol. Daughtry invited Day of Fire on tour and co-wrote three tracks on LOSING ALL, including the chugging, melodic “Hello Heartache.” “He’s the real frickin’ deal,” Brown says.

First single “Lately,” a churning swirl of riffy metal, has Brown growling, ‘Memories cutting like a razor blade/Pushin’ through the pain ’til it fades away.’ So what’s the song really about? “Just letting go of all the crap, man,” Brown says. Simms, who wrote the chorus on the way to a European show during a time of business turmoil, calls the track “a release for me,” and explains, “It’s about letting go of the things that have been clouding your mind, and hopefully will give people a reason to chase their dreams that may have been shattered by someone telling them that they could never achieve it.”

The band didn’t hold back a thing on LOSING ALL, and everyone drew on intense, raw personal experiences for nearly every track: Super-charged slow roller “Airplane” tells of broken hearts and lost love, and the swirling grind of “Cold Addiction” examines the horrors of being trapped inside cocaine dependency. “Landslide” is an awesomely dark groove that could have come from Soundgarden or Appetite for Destruction-era Guns n’ Roses. “Things are changing, and security can’t be in the money in your pocket, you’ve got to find it somewhere else,” Brown says of the track that’s more poignant than ever during the financial crisis.

Day of Fire are true fans of Stone Temple Pilots, Alice in Chains and Nirvana, and those bands’ artistry, emotion and gut-busting power are evident all over LOSING ALL. Without each part of the equation – Brown’s unique growl, Simms’ hyper-energetic drumming, Joe Pangallo’s powerful tones and Chris Pangallo’s beefy anchor – LOSING ALL wouldn’t hit so hard, or be so genuine. “We went for the integrity of true sounds. That’s how we recorded the whole record,” Brown says, noting that all the main tracks were laid down live. The album was recorded in a month near the band’s Nashville home base with Rogers Masson.

Ultimately, though, Day of Fire’s true strength is their sincerity, honesty and ability to grab audiences by the heart. “We have something to say. It’s about love,” Brown says. “We all go through dark times, but we can go through them together – that’s what rock & roll is about to us.”

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To get the real story behind Worth Dying For, the five-member worship band at Calvary Temple in Modesto, California, youve got to dig below the surface. Put aside the status quo, the way its been done, and make room for a deeper calling, a more passionate pursuit than music itself. Birthed in the city-wide outreach of Calvary Temples weekly youth group (”The Stadium”), which is aimed at shaking this generation out of its lethargy and despair, Worth Dying For is more creed than career, more mission than music. And the music—aggressive guitars, searing vocals and heart-provoking lyrics—speaks for itself.

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“I’m trying to write songs that will inspire people to ‘live’ in a way they never have before, to realize that loving everyone, regardless of circumstance, is what it’s really all about. Doing simple things like helping their neighbors, or sitting by a lonely kid at the lunch table at school, or giving someone an open ear–It’s often those little things that let people around us know how much they’re really loved.”
-Seth Mosley, lead vocals/guitar, Me In Motion

Me In Motion
Self-Titled Debut: Spring 2010
Seth Mosley (lead vocals/guitar)
Tim Wilson (bass/background vocals)
Brian Dexter (drums/background vocals)

It’s not that there haven’t been other 3-piece rock bands capable of producing a towering barrage of sound. And it’s not there haven’t been other hard-touring indie outfits that racked up tens of thousands of miles and tens of thousands of fans before they stepped up to the majors and signed a label deal, either. In this particular case though, the thing that really sets Centricity Music’s new artist Me In Motion apart from their peers is the speed with which they’ve reached this point—that and the fact that none of it seems to have gone to their heads.

Formed in mid-2006 by then-nineteen-year-old writer-artist-producer-wunderkind Seth Mosley, Me In Motion had by 2008 already grabbed the attention of GMA producer-of-the-year Ian Eskelin, signed a development deal and began the regular commute from Ohio to Nashville to write and record a full length project. When Centricity Music bought the masters and signed the band in 2009, Seth’s production skills had already so rapidly matured that he was the obvious choice to produce the remaining handful of songs for the band’s self-titled debut. Or, as Eskelin remarked when he heard the new batch of hooky, brit-rock influenced demos: “Dang. Those guys don’t need me anymore.” Flash forward a few short months. Mosley has not only produced the back half of Me In Motion’s record, he’s producing or co-producing several tracks on the next Newsboys album, many of which he also co-wrote. Not to mention the fact that Me In Motion is already signed to tour with the Newsboys.

Okay, time out. Let’s rewind for a second. Who are these guys again? And didn’t anybody see this coming?

“It’s a bit ironic,” Seth laughs, “that the first CD I ever owned was the Newsboys Take Me To Your Leader. I would stay up all night cranking up that thing in my walkman. I was enamored with music and concerts from a pretty young age, started learning guitar when I was twelve and played on stage for the first time at fifteen. I started a little recording studio in my parents’ basement and all through high school I was producing and writing for my friends’ bands, as well as leading worship for youth services at my church.”

After high school, Mosley planned to pursue a music degree in Nashville. In fact, he had already completed a week of freshman orientation when he got a call offering him a full-time studio production job in Ohio. After some intense soul-searching, Seth packed up, left Nashville and took the production gig. It was while working there that he met bassist Tim Wilson and drummer Brian Dexter who would eventually form the remaining two-thirds of Me In Motion.

“Working long days there,” Seth explains, “made me realize pretty quick that there was something deep down inside pushing me toward being an artist. I had so many songs in my head screaming to be heard. I didn’t care if it was ever a big commercial success or not. I just knew I couldn’t spend the next twenty years sitting in a recording studio. Enter Me In Motion. We formed the band, hit the road and haven’t looked back since.”

In Seth’s world, “since” is a scant three years (but hey, in his defense, that’s about 15% of his life so far…). In that short span though, the fledgling band has toured almost full-time, winning over hundreds of audiences with their loud, sweaty, no-holds-barred rock n’ roll stage show that showcases their passionate blend of raw pop and worship and their almost insane level of interaction with fans.

“From the very beginning,” Seth explains, “Tim, Brian and I wanted Me In Motion to be remembered by fans as the band that was always available and accessible. That’s why we hang out at the merchandise table before and after our shows, just to connect with the kids who come out to see us. And it really has a big impact on people when you take that time with them instead of just getting up on stage, playing your set and splitting. It really matters to kids and a lot of them leave messages on our facebook page afterwards to let us know. We also post a new online video content weekly and do a lot of twittering to make fans feel even more a part of our community. One of our primary missions is to make sure that Me In Motion never loses that aspect of who we are.”

Even as they were grinding out show after show and connecting with fans those first couple of years, the band was also honing their chops and defining their sound, ultimately staking their claim in that corner of the musical landscape that includes influences like Jet, Foo Fighters, Switchfoot, Oasis, The Killers, Weezer, The Bravery and the Beatles.

“I don’t think there’s a much better education than what you get being on the road,” Seth says. “A few years of being a traveling band sleeping on couches and floors and hearing so many different life stories has an effect on you. It all figures into what we sound like and write about now. Musically, we’ve landed in a place that’s a lot more straight up rock n’ roll than we would have done before. But that’s because we’ve discovered it’s what we love to play live and we’ve embraced the ‘less is more’ philosophy in a musical sense, just stripping it back and rocking out.”

A huge part of Me In Motion’s unique identity as a group is expressed in their first radio single Losers. The aggressive, groove-based anthem instantly emerged as a huge crowd pleaser and as a song with power to affirm and motivate listeners.

“Losers is a banner song for anyone who has ever felt rejected by their peers,” Seth says, “whether it’s because of how they look, something that’s different about them, or because they’re trying to follow Jesus in a world that looks at that as strange. But the song is also a callout for us to open our eyes and see the ‘least of these’ that Jesus talked about who are all around us. My favorite line in Losers says, ‘Maybe that’s a four-eyed Jesus, coming from a broken home…’. So the song is saying let’s look at people through eyes of mercy and compassion as Jesus would and let’s love them as if they were Jesus because he told us as we do unto them, we do unto him.”

Other standout songs on the project include the Coldplay-esque ballad Back To You (a personalized nod to the prodigal son narrative), the infectious, caffeine-on-eleven rollercoaster ride of Leaving Here Someday, and the energetically bright and dark (uh…you’ll understand when you hear it…) show-opener Gotta Be Something, which sets out to deconstruct our culture’s shallow view of happiness and refocus our attention on something more enduring.

“Gotta Be Something is kind of a manifesto,” Seth observes. “It’s saying that we reject what the world sells us as the definition of what it really means to live life to the fullest. This world’s misconstrued ideas of happiness and success don’t really mean anything in the grand scheme, so let’s stop chasing them. When we sing that it’s as much a reminder to us as it is to our audience.”

That same tendency towards introspective conviction even played into the band’s name choice. Me In Motion was inspired by Russian writer Leo Tolstoy’s quote: “Everybody thinks about changing the world, but nobody thinks about changing himself.” The idea of seeing oneself as a work in progress. Of seeing the sanctification process as a joint venture between the Spirit of God and a human heart emerged early on as one of the band’s central tenets.

“I always find myself going back to the theme of wanting to make a difference,” Seth explains, “to live out our faith, even when it might be the hardest thing in the world to do. My heart for myself, the band, the kids and families that hear Me In Motion’s music is that all of us will be inspired to break out of these little bubbles that we so often find ourselves retreating into and to show everybody a little bit of Jesus’ love every day. It’s a bit of a scary thought because I personally like to have a 10-step guide for what to do and how to do it rather than just a basic rule that says, ‘Alright, get out there and love God and people as much as you can!’ But isn’t that what faith is for at the end of the day? Living a true life of love, I’ve found, is never the easy life. But it’s the real life. It’s the only life that fulfills who we’re meant to be.”

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Before the arrival of Kirk Franklin in 1993, contemporary gospel music leaned toward inspirational quiet storm – ‘positive’ messages alluding to Jesus and a righteous walk of faith set to lightly groovin’ tracks that appealed primarily to adults. Upon the arrival of Kirk Franklin, the music and the culture of contemporary Christianity got an energy boost that could give Red Bull a run for its money! Injecting a vigorous and youthful excitement to faith-walking, Kirk Franklin made it cool to be Christian, placing Godly messages in the same heavy rotation as other urban pop music. Over the last 14 years with hits such as “Stomp;” “Whatcha Lookin’ For;” “Looking for You;” “Revolution;” and “Lean on Me,” Kirk ascended to the upper echelons of gospel and pop. Beyond the music, he’s a highly exalted example of a man who achieved success without selling his soul (literally or figuratively) or his integrity. His messages now inhabit books, an upcoming movie, and he even hosts his own BET talent search program, “Sunday Best.”

Grammy-winning, multi-platinum, crossover gospel king Kirk Franklin is a man accustomed to firsts. For example, he was the first gospel artist to sell over a million copies of his first album, Kirk Franklin & The Family. However, it was the first of a different kind that led him to title his 11th and latest CD The Fight of My Life. It marked the first time that Kirk ever had so much trouble bringing his divinely inspired songs to life…for Kirk was facing an artistic drought the likes of which had never plagued him before.

The album was originally supposed to be the soundtrack for the motion picture “Church Boy,” a story loosely based on Franklin’s life story struggles and triumphs – of the Forth Worth, TX-born gospel star who, against all odds, made a way out of no way. But when shooting for the film was abruptly postponed, the rug was pulled out from under Franklin, affecting not only his life but that of his family and his ministry. “I titled this album The Fight of My Life because that’s precisely what I was in,” he says, still shaken by the circumstance. “I had scheduled two months to devote to that movie. Now that schedule had a giant hole in it leaving me without a Plan B – no vision, no direction – which immediately meant financial challenges for me and my people.”

This uncharacteristic stress also upset the natural order of Franklin’s creative process. “When I do albums, I usually feel ‘pregnant’ with ideas. God would give me pieces of a concept – the theme of an album – then songs would be born from that. This time I felt empty. God was very silent at the genesis of this record… I had singers and musicians flying in ready to work and I wasn’t, which was very costly…and it happened twice! The second time they came, I only had two songs completed: ‘How it Used to Be’ (a song about coming back to Jesus after having been absent awhile) and ‘Hide Me’ (a song of restored faith on which he states, ‘Your delay is not a denial / Your plan is perfect when I’m not’). I was discouraged and depressed. I began to question whether I should do another album, whether I had another one in me…whether I should call McDonald’s to see if they were hiring?!”

Thankfully, brother Franklin’s righteously terrifying ‘Mac Tonight-mares’ finally came to a halt in what felt like his most desperate hour. The empathetic artist who was always ready with that perfect musical word to uplift others was now the one in need of inspiration. “One day walking the streets of my neighborhood,” Kirk continues, “I cried out to The Lord, ‘Help!’ And some way out of my darkness, God started giving me the idea for the song ‘Help Me Believe.’ And from there, the songs slowly started flowing down the tunnel to me again.”

Those songs which now make up The Fight of My Life (the second album from Kirk Franklin’s own Fo Yo Soul Entertainment company – a joint venture with the Zomba label group) are some of the most dynamic and stylistically varied of his storied career, moving from spirited choral passages and jazz-kissed pieces to his signature hip hop praise grooves and even one head-banging rocker! As with all of his past milestones, the thread that holds together The Fight of My Life (written, produced and arranged by Kirk Franklin) is its powerful spiritual messages.

The first single is a burst of affirmative energy titled “Declaration (This is It),” a thrilling gospel-soul take-off on the1979 hit “This is It” by pop-rock superstar Kenny Loggins (who co-wrote the original with Michael McDonald). “As a kid, I really enjoyed that song,” Kirk shares. “When I started recording it, one of the owners of the studio stopped by, heard what I was doing and told me, ‘You know Kenny Loggins wrote that song for his daddy when he was diagnosed with cancer.’ I was floored! I could see why it connected so strong to me. It was born from something powerful. What I’m saying in my version is because we are God’s children and have His Son living inside of us, there’s a lot of junk ‘in the world’ to which we allow ourselves to fall victim. But by the power of Christ we don’t have to. The song empowers people in their faith.”

Another album highlight, “Little Boy,” finds Kirk calling in reinforcement from the great Rance Allen and Isaac Carree to kick a three-prong message to young men, young women and their parents that is graced with a simmering beat, tasty acoustic guitar and muted trumpet, plus a couple of witty topical lyrical ‘zingers.’ “I’m just challenging everybody to do better,” Kirk states. “Christians become a ‘subculture’ when we are no longer informed on current issues. It’s imperative that God’s people be effective and knowledgeable. If we’re in a bubble, we come across as antiquated.” Regarding those lyrical bombs he drops, Kirk volleys, “I say what I feel and let it fall where it may. ..Cuz when something falls that is God-ordained, it falls right!”

Several songs are targeted toward young people. The first, “I Like Me,” is a percussive pastiche. featuring Christian rapper Da’ T.R.U.T.H. “When you’re trying to preach to kids, you’ve got to speak their language,” Kirk says. “Kids like beats…so I had to drop some like they was hot!” The second song is simply titled “Jesus.” Kirk tailor-made it for the BET crowd and hopes they’ll call radio stations to request it. Similarly, “Still in Love” is a weekend roller skatin’, top-down cruiser’s dream. “I’m always striving to make us look cool in the culture,” Kirk shrugs.

Perhaps most impressive is “A Whole Nation,” a song about young men growing up without fathers which introduces galvanizing 11 year-old newcomer Donovan Owens. “He just rolled up on me backstage at an Easter concert in Milwaukee,” Kirk confesses, “singing one of my songs! People come up to me all the time, but not like Donovan. This kid could sing! I had to have him on my album. Sometimes God gives me snapshots of a song and this snapshot was of Donovan being the voice of a little Kirk. But I had to test him first, so I called and asked him about his relationship with his father. I needed him to sing this song from a place of honesty. When I saw that he could do that, I said, ‘Here we go!’”

“I Am God” features Kirk’s frequent collaborator, Christian rocker TobyMac. “TobyMac is the one in that Contemporary Christian Music world that I have the closest relationship with,” Kirk states. “He’s halfway black and I’m halfway white, so we’ve got that special thing goin’ on…been friends for about 12 years now. This is my first rock song that I feel I got the closest to right because I used real rock players. I taught the song to TobyMac’s band.”

With all the contemporary amenities covered, Kirk still delivers some of his most awe-inspired songs of comfort and reassurance ever with “Still (In Control)” (featuring Melvin & Doug Williams, a.k.a. The Williams Brothers); “It Would Take All Day;” “Chains” (featuring singers Melonie Daniels, Sheri Jones-Moffett and gospel marvel Nikki Ross); “Hide Me” and “He Will Supply.” Most profound is the album closer “The Last Jesus” which – after all of the spiritual fortification and nurturing of the songs before it – turns the table and challenges the listener to strive to reflect God’s will and Jesus’ mission. Over a soothing acoustic music bed (including poignant whistling on the outro), the phenomenal chorus reads, “If I say I love Jesus / But you can’t see my Jesus / My words are empty / If they can’t see Jesus in me / No more excuses / I give myself away / Because I may be the only Jesus they see today…”

Reflecting on this exceptional collection, Kirk muses, “These are things that I feel every day. People need honest transparent leadership – leaders who are not afraid to admit, ‘I’m jacked up’ or ‘I made a mistake, only follow me as I follow Christ.’ So it’s important to me that the culture sees that there is a large community of God’s people in entertainment, political and sports arenas striving for a level of Godly excellence that makes The Father happy.”

The Lord has blessed Kirk Franklin to be not only a commercial success – the biggest selling gospel artist in Soundscan history with over12 million albums sold and over 20 1 singles at Gospel radio, plus 5 Grammy Awards; an American Music Award; 34 Stellar Awards (gospel); 12 Dove Awards (CCM); 4 NAACP Awards; 2 BET Music Awards, and a Soul Train Award on his mantle – he is a hero and example to anyone who thinks their life is beyond redemption. To hear his testimony is to hear that of a man who’s risen from the bleakest streets to the highest heights. Deeper still, he understands that the literal fight of his life is a battle done daily.

“For me success is very personal,” Kirk concludes. “This January (2008), I will have been married 12 years. I have kids that know me and love me. I’m not only married I’m happily married (check the verse in “I Like Me” where he speaks on that)! I’m a Black man in my 30s still hungry for The Lord and still hungry for God to knock down the stuff I see in me that still ain’t right. That’s the thinking I choose to keep in close contact with in terms of how I define ’success.’ I’ve been working on me – and there’s a lot more work to be done.”

Spoken by a man as accomplished as Kirk Franklin, that statement challenged us all. And his latest masterwork, The Fight of My Life, will be the stirring soundtrack for winning the fights of our lives.

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From the wreckage of roughly 20 nameless and faceless Los Angeles bands, Neon Horse arose as a collective of session musicians, home studio producers, waiters, postal workers, and bartenders who found a commonality among themselves as background players in the big picture of the L.A. rock scene. Literally hundreds of shows at clubs like The Troubadour, Spaceland (Silverlake, CA), The Viper Room, The El Rey, The Knitting Factory, etc. in various forgettable bands (or even more forgettable sessions) makes for a tough and realistic view of a working musician’s life, and the eventual members of the Horse were all looking for something new. After passing each other at dozens of shows – sometimes only to lend a hand with a busted chord or broken string, sometimes to keep an eye on the gear in the parking lot – and sharing countless tables for after hours war stories, the rather clichéd “inevitable” occurred and Neon Horse was formed. Initially, the members played as a group only in their spare time, and didn’t really start writing music until… they met a man named Norman. In December of 2005, after an incredibly predictable event at the (now defunct) nightclub “Teddy’s” inside the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, the fledgling band first met their unpredictable singer – at the time, he was standing in the hallway, with a four-foot length of chain in his hand. After some uncomfortable conversation, the band realized Norman was just locking up and the police were not called. A brief and uninteresting chain of events led to an invitation to rehearsal. After two songs the lineup was settled and Neon Horse was formed. Citing influences broad in range – from the Rock of AC/DC, Oingo Boingo, and even the Stooges to the Sass of Depeche Mode, Bauhaus, and the Eurythmics – the band set out to make music they could play with a straight face, and that would allow Norman to exhibit his wide range and… personality. Eclectic and manic, Neon Horse is a band of Rock and Roll roots in the purest form: An ever changing, mercurial, addictive – and at times, slightly bizarre – continuation of Rock’s re-inventive nature. Choosing to use the anonymity that had been their most recognizable common experience, the band elected to maintain a simple understanding: Beyond the logical necessity of establishing Norman as the face of the group, they simply prefer to be known as: Neon Horse.

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