Rock Rebel

RELEASE: 2003
AUTHOR: Mark Joseph
PUBLISHER: Sanctuary Publishing & Baker Publishing Group

Mark Joseph’s book FAITH, GOD & ROCK ‘N’ ROLL is an outstanding overview of
Christians in the contemporary mainstream popular record industry. However
deep your knowledge of this subject may be, Mark takes you deeper and
further in understanding the groups and individuals who have broken into
the
mainstream audience. He covers acts such as P.O.D., Creed, U2, Lenny
Kravitz, Jessica Simpson, Lifehouse, MxPx, and many, many more.

You don’t even have to be a music fan to appreciate the book. It is very
readable and informative.

There is only one slight critique: Mark seems to insinuate that all
Christians should be in the mainstream record industry, ignoring the fact
that God calls people to different areas. Those who are on Christian labels
are discipling and building up the church and have just as important a role
as those who go onto secular labels.

Even so, I understand Mark’s point of view My father starred in over 50
movies and on Broadway. He was always dismissive about regional and local
theatre. “These people can’t act,” he’d say. “The direction is terrible.”
However, “those people” they were serving another purpose. They were
getting
the community involved; they were helping people to discover drama; and,
they were doing something that the big Broadway shows couldn’t do –
reaching
local audiences. The same is true of the Christian music industry. However,
this line of criticism has gone on too long.

"As Christian artists influence pop culture as never before, leave it to
Mark Joseph to not only spot the phenomenon, but document it in painstaking
detail. This book picks up where 'Rock and Roll Rebellion' left off. A must
for brave believers who, in the spirit of Christ, want to understand and
engage the wide world rather than shrink from it."
--Lou Carlozo, writer, editor, Chicago Tribune

"An engaging read about engaging culture. Mark Joseph makes the case for
musicians who rock our world while shaking up conventional ideas about
whether or not "people of faith" should be immersed in mainstream culture."
--Jody Hassett, ABC News

"It's easy to assume that rockers who feel equally at home in the secular
and spiritual arenas are still a rare and isolated breed. But Mark Joseph
shows just how commonplace this phenomenon has become right under our
noses,
concentrating not just on the usual suspects (U2, Creed, P.O.D.) but also
some lesser-known lights (Dashboard Confessional, Pedro the Lion). And he's
not afraid to ruffle feathers among those who would marginialize this
music,
be they gospel partisans who want to claim it for their own ghetto or
old-school rockers desperate to keep 'the devil's music' unstained by
God-fearing upstarts."
--Chris Willman, senior writer, Entertainment Weekly

Mark is president of MJM Entertainment Group, which has a great daily
eNewsletter, and has had a varied career in the entertainment business as
a
multi-media journalist and entertainment executive. He is the author of THE
ROCK & ROLL REBELLION. He lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife and
children.

Mark’s book is must-reading, and its perspective is refreshing. MOVIEGUIDE
recommends that anybody interested in popular culture get a copy.

Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287
Grand Rapids, MI 49516
U.S.A.
(616) 676-9573

SUMMARY: Mark Joseph’s book FAITH, GOD & ROCK ‘N’ ROLL is an outstanding
overview of Christians in the contemporary mainstream popular record
industry. MOVIEGUIDE recommends that anybody interested in popular culture
get a copy.

You don’t even have to be a music fan to appreciate the book; it is very
readable and informative. There is only one slight critique: Mark seems to
insinuate that all Christians should be in the mainstream record industry,
ignoring the fact that God calls people to different areas. Those who are
on
Christian labels are discipling and building up the church and have just as
important a role as those who go onto secular labels. Even so, Mark’s book
is must-reading, and its perspective is refreshing. MOVIEGUIDE recommends
that anybody interested in popular culture get a copy.

Mark Joseph's new book is called "Faith, God & Rock 'n' Roll: How People
of Faith Are Transforming American Popular Music." The book profiles how 25
bands of faith are coming back to mainstream rock and taking over the rock
business; and how sex, drugs 'n' rock and roll are being traken over by
songs with religious themes. This book is a sequel to The Rock & Roll
Rebellion

"From his daily MTV show 'Total Request Live' ('TRL') Carson Daly not only took the requests of MTV viewers, but helped to set a tone for what was and wasn't cool in the world of pop music. But long before MTV shot him to the top of the pop music heap, Daly had once considered becoming a Catholic priest.
" 'When I was a high school senior, entering a seminary and serving God full time was definitely on my mind,' recalled Daly. 'When I was offered a partial scholarship to L.A.'s Loyola Marymount University I decided to go, figuring that I would major in theology. ... By then I'd decided against the seminary figuring I could apply my strong moral beliefs more effectively outside the priesthood.' ...
"The transition from wannabe Catholic priest to MTV star was not an easy or expected one, particularly in an age where people of faith often discouraged the next generation from populating cultural outposts like MTV."
- Mark Joseph, from his new book, "Faith, God & Rock 'n' Roll"

What do U2,Dashboard Confessional, Destiny's Child, Sixpence None the
Richer and Lenny Kravitz all have in common, despite their musical
differences? At some point, each artist has professed faith in a higher
calling and has allowed spirituality to infiltrate his /her music and
public life, often catching the attention of Christians and peaking the
curiosity of non-believers. It's with this thesis that veteran journalist
Mark Joseph, author or 1999's The Rock & Roll Rebellion (Broadman & Holman)
exhaustively chronicles the impact such artists have had in both mainstream
and contemporary Christian music circles.

Joseph gives readers an all-access pass to the successes, struggles and
sustaining elements of several key artists on the cultural forefront.He is
to be applauded for his candid take on the perception of Christian artists
by the mainstream culture in the capture titled " A Lion's Roar." His
discussion with pensive Pedro the Lion figurehead David Bazan is both
challenging and insightful for readers, as it discusses the delicate
balance of artistry and spirituality.
-Andy Argyrakis