Bono Testifies: From "Bono-In Conversation With Michka Assayas: Excerpts:

"I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to be finally be my judge....It doesn't excuse my mistakes, but I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity...

I love the idea of the Sacrificial Lamb. I love the idea that God says 'look, you cretins there are certain results to the way we are, to selfishness and there's mortality as part of your very sinful nature and let's face it, you're not living a very good life are you?' There are consequences to actions. The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That's the point. It should keep us humbled. It's not our own good works that get us through the gates of heaven.

The secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: he was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy had a lot to say long the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Mu hammed, Buddha or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn't allow you to do that. He doesn't let you off that hook. Christ says: 'No, I'm not saying I' m a teacher, don't call me teacher. I'm not saying I'm a prophet. I'm saying 'I'm the Messiah. I'm saying: 'I am God incarnate' and people say 'no, no please just be a prophet. A prophet we can take. You're a bit eccentric. We've had John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey. We can handle that. But don't mention the "M" word! Because you're know we're gonna have to crucify you a. And he goes: 'no, no. I know you're expecting me to come back with an army and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the Messiah.' At this point everyone starts staring at their shoes and says 'Oh, my God he's gonna keep saying this.' So what you're left with is: either Christ was who He said He was-the Messiah-or a complete nutcase, I mean, we're talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson."

DEVELOPING.....

Jewly Hight, Nashville Scene writer responds:

Thanks for your thoughtful response, Jay. Points taken.

It’s true that CCM artists, managers, label executives etc.—not the GMA board—vote for nominated projects based on popularity, and yes, that is driven by album sales and radio spins. However, potential for popularity and success within the gospel music industry is partially created by the industry’s climate, and the current climate is rather stifling. (Regarding popularity, Buddy Miller and Ben Harper were at least deemed worthy of Grammy nominations by an awards organization that has less gospel music categories and far more voters than the GMA.)

Sure, Miller doesn’t have “the slightest interest in a Dove Award” and his latest album, though it received Christian distribution, didn’t garner much interest—but why? The industry, in its current state, embraces a fairly narrow range of musical styles. Heavy hitters in CCM generally fall into rock, adult contemporary or pop/urban stylistic categories. With the exception a handful of artists, such as P.O.D., Sixpence None the Richer, and Switchfoot, most popular gospel music acts don’t devote the majority of their resources to exposure at general market outlets. They mainly play churches and Christian venues, record for Christian record labels and seek spins on Christian radio stations. In light of this, no, the Doves Awards isn't the place for Miller, Harper and others like them...yet. Those artists wouldn’t want to become a part of an industry that pulls them away from their general market audience anyway. That’s a loss for the gospel music industry.

The point is this—that Miller and Harper were honored in gospel categories by the Grammys, and not by the GMAs is significant as the symptom of a larger problem.

-Jewly

By Jay Swartzendruber,

Editor, CCM Magazine

Two key points were ignored (or simply missed due to ignorance) in this Nashville Scene article...

One, the GMA board that sets the criteria does NOT nominate artists. The GMA's 4,000+ voting members (artists, labels execs, managers, retailers, radio programmers, etc.) actually select from dozens of submitted (by record
labels) artists and albums in each category--the top 5 or 6 vote-getters are then officially nominated. In other words, like most other similar award shows (Grammys, Oscars), it's about POPULARITY within the industry more than
anything else (such as artistic quality or spirituality).

Secondly, why in the world would an artist who didn't give a rip about sales in the gospel market have the slightest interest in a Dove Award? Why invite them to a party they don't want to be at? Think about it, The Dove Awards is
literally the "Gospel music distribution network's awards show."

And by the way, Buddy Miller's latest album was indeed distributed into the Christian market. (Funny how the article didn't mention that either--as if it wqs blown off because it didn't have distribution.) Apparently, it wasn't
nominated simply because it wasn't popular enough among the 4,000+ GMA voters to make it into the top 5 of its category.

The Nashville Scene should know better.

From Marshillreview.com

Pop-Punk Overexposed:
Searching for Meaning Behind the Veneer of Pranks, Nudity, and Rebellion

By Louis R. Carlozo

Among the more recent DVDs to hit music store shelves nationwide is Riding in Vans with Boys. The featured artist, Kut U Up, is a pop-punk act proclaimed as "definitely NOT the latest 'buzz-band' with major label backing, [but] more the garage band next door with a healthy dose of 'Jackass' mixed in."

Plucked from obscurity by Blink-182, Kut U Up hit the road for the former's "Pop Disaster" tour in the summer of 2002 with Green Day and Jimmy Eat World. Kut U Up might've been newbies, but they were not to be outdone by their established peers. Armed with video cameras, Kut U Up filmed their frat boy-flavored hijinx; the final product earned this ringing endorsement from Revolver magazine: "Avoids stereotypical 'life on the road cliches,' concentrating instead on such life-affirming antics as drunken male bonding, spur-of-the-moment tattoos, and drinking bird dropping-laced orange juice."

Sound appetizing to you?

Riding in Vans with Boys could be laughed off, laughed at, or dismissed as another chunk of modern-music detritus. It could be treated warily for its bold PARENTAL ADVISORY EXPLICIT CONTENT warning. No matter your take, consider this: The DVD represents a pop cultural thumbprint of sorts. Through it viewers and listeners not only glimpse four prominent pop-punk bands but also a broad swath of the musical genre. Featured on the soundtrack are 17 acts, including Ween, Taking Back Sunday, Alkaline Trio, and Further Seems Forever (take note of the latter band, as we'll return to them later).

Granted, I have no desire to watch lads ingest fowl waste. I don't like profanity in my music, either. But I can't slam the genre or its musicians outright, as this leads to three egregious sins. First, it reeks of judgment, lumping all pop-punk artists into one barrel full of bad apples. Second, it fails to adequately examine the pop-punk subculture or its roots-which are, I submit, worth examining; to study a subculture, in both its appealing and off-putting facets, is to discern its unique value system. And third, it stands opposed to Christ's call to go into the world with love made visible. As Jesus might've said today, "Love your pop-punk neighbor as yourself." Or, to paraphrase Bob Dylan, "Don't criticize what you can't-or won't-understand."

A Little History
As I compose these words, a photo of the late, great Joey Ramone sits near my computer screen. He's standing next to a space robot, his right fist raised in the air, and it's hard to tell whether the look on his face is a typical smile-for-the-camera grin or his gabba-gabba-hey smirk on the edge of laughter. I'd like to think it's a bit of both.

As lead singer of the Ramones, Joey (born Jeffrey Hyman) fronted a band that that would prove seminal for every single pop-punk band that exists today. The Ramones-who took their name from Paul McCartney's onetime pseudonym Paul Ramone-crashed the mid-1970s at a time when music was complacent, boring, in a post-Beatles breakup funk. The pop charts, such as they were, were dominated by uppity artists with abilities far beyond the normal wannabe kid-yet for all its technical prowess, much of the sound these yo-yos made betrayed a polyester sheen, a serious lack of soul.

A big hit in 1975, for example, was Michael Franks' "Popsicle Toes": a hipper-than-thou smooth-jazz ballad that pimped soft-core lines such as "You got the nicest North America this sailor ever saw/ I'd like to feel your warm Brazil and touch your Panama."
Before pop-punk, there was punk rock, and at punk's birth stood the impossibly tall Ramone: a gawky figure in torn jeans and shoulder-length hair who looked more like a music fan than some disco clown, glittery space face, or prog rocker noodling an endless, pointless solo. The Ramones' appearance at London's Round House on July 4, 1976 is recognized as the dawn of punk rock; it is said that Joey himself yanked future members of the Damned, Stranglers, and Sex Pistols through the Ramones' dressing room window so they could see the show. Also on the scene: a very young Joe Strummer and Mick Jones who were timid about going public with their nascent band the Clash until Ramone & Co. urged them, in a casual conversation, to just go for it-stressing that if the Ramones could hop on a stage, anybody could.

Interestingly enough, at least one element in the Ramones' story parallels the gospel. Just as Jesus restored the Good News to the people at a time when Pharisees placed barriers and impossible-to-follow laws between mankind and God, so the Ramones and punk gave popular music back to the populace, ripping it from the hands of smarmy record moguls and a regal court of chart-reading music snobs. True, punk messages were often far from edifying-the Pistols sang of outright anarchy, and Johnny Rotten bragged of being "an antichrist." But the energy from the explosion, aside from its destructive thrust, had an inspirational current, too. Among those listening to Ramones with perked ears and pumping heart was a teenage Paul Hewson, now known to the world as U2's Bono.

For Bono, the Ramones were not merely an inspiration, but the major one: "This was the best Punk Rock band ever, because they actually invented something," Bono wrote in Time magazine following Joey Ramone's death in 2001 from lymphatic cancer (he was 49). "There were great bands like the Stooges and the MC5, but I think that they were still blues bands. The Ramones were actually the beginning of something new. They stood for the idea of making your limitations work for you. In film jargon, they would be 'a pure situation.' They talked like they walked like they sounded onstage. Everything added up. That takes an extraordinary intelligence to figure out.

"When I was standing in the State Cinema in Dublin in 1977 listening to Joey sing and realizing that there was nothing else [that] mattered to him, pretty soon nothing else mattered to me. If they remind me of anything now, it's that singular idea. It travels further and deeper than the baggage of possibilities you pick up along the way."

This history is important, because like U2, today's pop-punk bands derive much inspiration from the Ramones. It may be difficult to fathom why U2-so revered for their spiritual depth-covers a song called "Beat on the Brat" on the Ramones tribute album, We're a Happy Family. But to read the lyrics like "beat on the brat with a baseball bat" at face value is to miss the point: a good part of punk lies in its adolescent cheekiness, its refusal to take itself too seriously.

This attitude, in fact, represents the major ideological thread connecting the first-generation punks of Joey Ramone's time and pop-punkers of today.

Also contributing a track to Family is a band revered by today's collective: Green Day (they cover "Outsider"). The Oakland-area trio didn't invent pop-punk-but it's worth noting that they've been lauded as "the godfathers of the movement" in a Pop Disaster tour review posted on Launch, Yahoo's music site. And Green Day's 1994 breakthrough album Dookie marks an essential touchstone for comprehending what the music's all about.
A year after its 1994 release on Reprise Records, Dookie was certified platinum-nine times (it sold 10 million copies by 1999). Musically there's nothing revolutionary going on here: Billie Joe Armstrong's voice sounds like something between Joey Ramone mumble and surfer-dude babble. And the songs resemble second-generation Ramones: loud, fast, and unabashedly dumb. The themes include the usual teen grist of boredom, leaving home, and paranoia, along with a ditty about a suicide bomber with dynamite duct taped to his spine. The title? "Having a Blast."
The album's first single, "Longview," became a Billboard Modern Rock chart-topper. Here's a sampling of the lyric, which revolves around nothing more than a kid channel-surfing at home: "Twiddle my thumbs for just a bit/ I'm sick of all the same old s--t/ In a house with unlocked doors/ And I'm f---ing lazy."
In many ways, today's pop-punk isn't all that different. There's a huge stress on energy, volume, and lyrics so primitive that it's impossible to read too much into them. But vital elements have changed from the era of the Ramones and even since the release of Dookie. What, exactly?

The Revolution Is Over
For one thing, pop-punk is now a musical convention; there's not much revolutionary about it anymore. Green Day has been a major act for a decade, and their dawn came 20 years after the Ramones hit the scene. Deconstructing the music for just a sec, you could argue that, if anything, Green Day and many of the bands in their wake have even regressed. Think of "Sedated," the timeless Ramones tune that incorporates a strategic key change. Modulating keys were a hallmark of Ramones music, something that made them stand out. Who in modern pop-punk pack believes in key changes? Certainly not Green Day, who couldn't even manage it between their two biggest hits-"When I Come Around" and "Time of Your Life (Good Riddance)," both remaining in G major.
Another reason why the new music isn't so refreshing is that instead of betraying expectations-as the original punkers did-it now fulfills them. Pop-punk, as a genre, has become well established. Today's music is more marketed than ever; even "alternative" is a niche that is, in fact, anything but. So to be pop-punk, you've got to meet certain expectations: strident, often distorted guitars, snappy rhythms, melodies and harmonies you can whistle in the shower, contained (or even non-existent) solos. Surf to the Web sites for Alakaline Trio and Sum 41 and see if you can tell much difference between the respective songs that greet you there.
Even Sum 41 drummer Drummer Steve Jocz acknowledges the genre's current limitations. "I don't think too many things go out of style. They just start to suck, like bands," he told MTV.com. "Everyone gets a punk-pop band, and they're not that good. Half of them suck. So punk-pop starts to suck, and then it goes away for five years and then it comes back with another band and then it's good again. It just goes away when things get washed out."
Meanwhile, the bottom line is, well, the bottom line: Record company bigshots once baffled by the music have figured out how to harness and hawk it. (Hence Kut U Up's Beverly Hills-based video company, Melee Entertainment, stressing that "they are definitely NOT the latest 'buzz-band' with major label backing.") Suddenly street cred-which should be self-evident-is being sold to the masses with street smarts. It doesn't hurt that the music is inextricably linked with skateboarding culture, making it an easy sell to kids trying to stay in fashion.
So if the music is samey-sounding, what does a band do for that all important shock value?
This is where the bird doo-doo-and-OJ cocktails come in.
The pronounced stress on pranks by bands such as Kut U Up, Blink-182 (infamous for cavorting on stage naked), and Sum 41 has become the scene's hallmark. This has its roots deep in rock history; every rock generation going back five decades has stories of actions that make parents gasp, whether it was Elvis swiveling his hidden hips on The Ed Sullivan Show or the Rolling Stones urinating on a gas station wall when an attendant refused to let them use the bathroom.
But these days it's not only become a game of one-upsmanship, but oddly enough an all-too-common sign of conformity. Being crude and off-color not only doesn't shock-it's become something of a requirement, like a section you must pass to complete the CPA exam.
Nor is this behavior strictly the domain of the boys anymore. Equally unsettling and outrageous are groups such as Sahara Hotnights and the Donnas, who both offer an odd twist on women's empowerment via acting very naughty. The Donnas disc Spend the Night is rife with songs about having sex and getting stoned/drunk (The chorus of "Pass It Around": Why don't you pass it around?/ Don't bring the party down.)
"The rebellion of some of these young punk bands isn't really rebellion, it's just silly," writes Mark Joseph, author of The Rock & Roll Rebellion and the recently published Faith, God, & Rock 'N' Roll (Sanctuary Publishing). "It's a surface rebellion, but it's not a deep rebellion…The question always boils down to what is rebellion. Is it silly poses with Jack Daniels bottles and wearing socks over your private parts, or is it a thought and a willingness to hold to unpopular beliefs?"
"When Hell is fun… Sum 41 will rock the earth," says the flashing banner on the band's Web site. Indeed it was not so much the Canadian outfit's music but its madcap antics-captured on an electronic press kit featuring drive-by supersoaker shootings-that started a feverish bidding war between American record labels. Rolling Stone has labeled Sum 41 "the J.D. band of a 'Jackass' nation." Toilet dunking became as much a band trademark as its sound.
But that's not to say that the band-just high schoolers when they got signed-hasn't shown signs of growing up. Sure, the cover of 2002's Does This Look Infected? displays a ghoulish, grinning guy picking at an impossibly scarred face, but the album also contains a few surprises. "Hell Song" was inspired by a female friend of the group who contracted HIV (Sum 41 has paid all of her medical bills). And "Still Waiting" delves into some unexpected philosophizing on the chorus: So am I still waiting for this world to stop hating/ Can't find a good reason, can't find hope to believe in.
Singer/guitarist Deryck Whibley, who wrote the song after September 11, told MTV.com: "It's not directly about 9/11 or the war on terrorism. It's about the war on everything. It's about the world as we know it. It's no secret that the world doesn't get along and there's all this hatred. It's everything to do with how this world functions."

Where Is There Hope?
Whibley is asking the same questions any seeker would dare ask. Saved or sinning, we are all of us on a spiritual journey, and the Sum 41 singer has peered into the mystery of faith with a thoughtful, if flat-sounding, declaration: Where is there hope?
Christians should have much to say here. But in the music world, we spend practically all of that time saying it to each other, singing it to each other, and showing it to each other. (Christian music is, after all, well marketed, too.)
Where are the Christian voices in pop-punk? It's easy enough to say that believers shouldn't delve into this world of booze-swigging, streaking, juvenile behavior-that it's fallen and we need to rail against it. But I will never forget what the late Bob Briner, an Emmy-winning TV producer and author of the book Roaring Lambs, once told me: "The worst thing is when we think this is our world and get mad at the people who are fouling up 'our world.' Can you conjure up a picture of Jesus boycotting sinners, saying, 'Those guys in Jericho are so bad, let's not go there'? You don't see those things in the gospel."
Briner grew up a conservative Christian yet despised the notion that people of faith should respond to objectionable entertainment with wagging fingers, protests, and boycotts. He maintained that believers who take on the likes of Kut U Up (or Marilyn Manson or Eminem, et al) miss the point-even if they get their way. If they want significant change, Briner says, they should write and produce quality works for major labels and worldwide distribution (and not, he added, for the ghetto of Christian bookstores where few will watch and hear).
"God's people do not tell their stories," Briner wrote in Roaring Lambs. "Other people tell theirs… [A] morally neutral [entertainment] medium pumps out what is fed into it." In other words, think of pop-punk as an axe-it can be used to chop up firewood or chop off heads. Just as the blade is not bad in and of itself, it's not the genre that deserves scrutiny-nor the lifestyle associated with it. All that's good or bad about pop-punk stems from the bands-and people-populating it.
Briner regarded entertainment as a mission field where Christians could, if not proselytize directly, at least let their light shine. "We Christians are not [telling] the great stories of faith, brotherhood, courage, and sacrifice," he noted.
Perhaps that's too lofty an order for a genre that prides itself on keeping it brief and simple (or is that simplistic?). Yet that doesn't mean Christians can't go into pop-punk, as in other areas of the world, to pierce the darkness. But remember, Christian music "alternatives"-soundalike bands that sing and play only for the choir-don't count: Rather than meeting the mainstream culture where it is, they instead prop up a subculture for those already inside the church's velvet ropes.
Worthy of more attention are "roaring lambs" that would make Briner proud, such as Anberlin (a pop-punk outfit with vocals reminiscent of Morrissey and the Cure) and Mae (currently on a mainstream tour with Something Corporate). MxPx has also been a flagship in this category: "MxPx has been plugging away for over a decade now, and have managed to earn the respect of the punk rock community," Joseph says. "They established their credibility with their longevity, and have consistently been vocal and unashamed of their faith. It is clearly who they are."
Both MxPx and Slick Shoes have brought a spiritual dimension to the secular Vans Warped Tour-a summertime ground zero for pop-punk culture and music. And there are other signs of hope, if you read between the lines of Riding in Vans with Boys: Zach Lind of Jimmy Eat World has recently announced he is a committed Christian; he's even produced a few songs for the David Crowder Band (a Christian worship group). And what about Further Seems Forever? They're on Tooth and Nail-a venerable alt-rock Christian label with a track record for launching bands such as MxPx into the mainstream-and are scheduled to headline a Tooth and Nail tour.
No word yet on what they'll serve with the orange juice.

[bio] Louis R. Carlozo is an entertainment editor and writer for the Chicago Tribune, a columnist for Paste Magazine, and an independent record producer. He and his wife Amy, a hospital chaplain, reside with their two-year-old son just west of Wrigley Field, where they pray for the Cubs' curse to be broken.

"This copyrighted article was originally published in Mars Hill Review, a 200-page journal of essays, studies and reminders of God. For more
information, please contact 1-800-990-MARS or visit www.marshillreview.com."

Steven Curtis Chapman, Third Day, MercyMe

"I See Love"

Some see a teacher
Standing on a hill
Speaking words of wisdom
Some see a healer
Reaching out his hand
To give sight to a blind man
Some see a dreamer
Wasting his life
On what can never be
Some see a fool
Dying for his dreams

But I see love (I see love)
I see love (I see love)
Light of heaven breaking through
Well I see grace (I see grace)
I see God's face (See Gods face)
Shining pure and perfect love
When I see you
I see love

Some see a prisoner
Alone before his judge
With no one to defend him
Some see a victim
Beaten and abused
With all the world against him
Some see a martyr
Carrying his cross
For what he believes
Some see a hero
Who set his people free

But I see love (I see love)
I see love (I see love)
Light of heaven breaking through
Well I see grace (I see grace)
I see God's face (See Gods face)
Shining pure and perfect love
When I see you

With your last breath
I see love
Through your death
I see love
I see peace in the ???
I see hope in your suffering (I see love)
I see a calm in the center of the storm
I see a Saviour

I see love
I see love
Light of heaven breaking through (heaven breaking through)
I see grace
I see God's face
Shining pure and perfect love
When I see you
I see love
When I see you
I see heaven breaking through
See Gods face
Shining pure and perfect love
When I see you
When I see you
When I see you
I see love
I see love
When I see

Some see Him walking from an empty grave

The July 24th cover Rolling Stone Magazine cover story on Eminem includes this shocker: A look at Em's first album "Infinite" released in 1996 on the independent "Web Entertainment" label. The album includes Eminem's declaration of faith in the song "It's OK:"

"In the midst of this insanity, I found Christianity/Through God and there's a wish he granted me/He showed me how to cope with the stress/And hope for the best/Instead of moping, depressed."

No word on how the rapper has been coping with stress since he changed the direction of his lyrics......

Developing......

Tobymac On CCM: Then & Now:

"It doesn't make sense. It never made sense to us. We have always wanted to go out and tell the world. If you find something good that works in your life, you want to share it with people that don't know about it. Why are you sharing it with people that do know about it?-CCM Magazine, December, 1995

"There is a need for a culture called contemporary Christian music. There are poeple who want to know exactly what their music is going to be....who want to go to a store and know that any cd their kids pick out is going to build him up in his walk."
-CCM Magazine June, 2003

Developing......

VARIOUS ARTISTS – “GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY: THE GOSPEL SONGS OF BOB DYLAN” ARRIVES IN STORES MARCH 25 ON COLUMBIA RECORDS FEATURES NEW VERSIONS OF SONGS FROM DYLAN’S TWO GOSPEL ALBUMS --

“SLOW TRAIN COMING” AND “SAVED” -- PERFORMED BY TODAY’S TOP GOSPEL STARS INCLUDES A BRAND-NEW DUET BY BOB DYLAN AND MAVIS STAPLES ON WHOLLY REWRITTEN VERSION OF “GONNA CHANGE MY WAY OF THINKING” SHIRLEY CAESAR, AARON NEVILLE, FAIRFIELD FOUR, MIGHTY CLOUDS OF JOY, LEE WILLIAMS & THE SPIRITUAL QCS, AMONG THOSE CONTRIBUTING TO THE 11 NEWLY-RECORDED TRACKS THIS COLLECTION MARKS THE REUNION OF DYLAN’S GOSPEL TOURING BAND PERFORMING “SOLID ROCK” WITH SOUNDS OF BLACKNESS

“I like the fact that Bob Dylan couldn’t care less about what people say or think about his music, because you write what’s in your heart.” – Shirley Caesar, the queen of gospel “I think it’s interesting, twenty years now from that time, from that gospel period, there’s now a record with people singing those songs. So, twenty years had to go by for people to become aware of the fact that Bob Dylan is one of our great gospel writers?” -- drummer Jim Keltner Nearly a quarter-century after Bob Dylan’s “Gotta Serve Somebody” cracked the top 30 and garnered him his first Grammy Award, a new album by that name, GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY: THE GOSPEL SONGS OF BOB DYLAN, presents eleven newly-recorded renditions of songs from Slow Train Coming and Saved performed by today’s leading gospel artists, including Aaron Neville (“Saving Grace”), Mighty Clouds of Joy (“Saved”), Lee Williams & the Spiritual QCs (“When You Gonna Wake Up”), the Fairfield Four (“Are You Ready”), and Shirley Caesar, the queen of gospel herself, performing the title track. The compilation allows these songs to be heard finally in a wholly new and fresh context, perhaps the very context in which they were always destined to be heard – as pure, unadulterated gospel music.

The title arrives in stores March 25th on Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music. GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY also includes an unprecedented new duet by Bob Dylan and Mavis Staples of the Staples Singers on his smoking-hot, rewritten version of “Gonna Change My Way of Thinking,” recorded with his 2002-touring band. “The music is great -- it’s uplifting too,” says Joe Ligon of the Grammy Award-winning ensemble Mighty Clouds of Joy, contemporary gospel’s pioneering group, known for its trademark quartet style. Says Ligon, the group’s co-founder and leader since 1955, “The music sounds like back home in one of those sanctified churches where I come from, where everybody would get up, and they would be beating a tambourine, and playing the drums, and all of that’s going on, and the old ladies, and the young people clapping, and people falling out and feeling God’s spirit.”

That spirit is heard in the joyous sound of a revival meeting in the Mighty Clouds of Joy’s version of “Saved” and in the inspirational, soulful testifying by Detroit singer Rance Allen on “When He Returns.” “The writer of ‘When He Returns’ has to have had a real experience with the Lord, because those kind of lyrics do not come up out of just singing and writing,” said Allen, a featured lead vocalist along with Men of Standard on “Something About the Name Jesus” from Kirk Franklin’s 1998 blockbuster album The Nu Nation Project. “It’s powerful stuff, powerful stuff.” It wasn’t hard to convince these artists to take part in this project. Many of them were already familiar with Bob Dylan’s material. Shirley Caesar, whose crowded trophy closet includes 10 Grammys and 17 Dove awards, sang “Gotta Serve Somebody” at the request of Bob Dylan when President Clinton presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Kennedy Center in 1997. Mavis Staples, of course, has been a friend of Bob Dylan’s for over 40 years (as can be heard near the beginning of “Change My Way of Thinking,” when Dylan stops the band in order to give Staples a hearty greeting when she wanders into the recording session mid-song).

Bob Dylan songs were staples of the Staple Singers’ repertoire of “message music” since the early 1960s, and the group – the first African-American performers to record a Bob Dylan song -- helped make anthems out of Dylan songs like “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall” and “Masters of War.” Nor was Aaron Neville a stranger to the work of Bob Dylan; his version of “I Shall Be Released” graced his 2000 gospel album, “Devotion.” He has also recorded a version of “Don’t Fall Apart on Me Tonight,” and with the Neville Brothers he recorded “The Ballad of Hollis Brown and “With God on Our Side.” Formed in 1921, The Fairfield Four – who were recently featured in both the film and soundtrack to “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and in the “Down from the Mountain” documentary and concert tour -- stamp “Are You Ready” with their four-part harmony vocals in the vintage, “jubilee” style the quartet helped to create.

The genesis of GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY: THE GOSPEL SONGS OF BOB DYLAN goes back to 1980, when as a college freshman, executive producer Jeffrey Gaskill attended his first Bob Dylan show. During this period, Dylan had put aside his political anthems and searing personal ballads in favor of set lists drawn almost entirely of songs from Slow Train Coming and Saved. “I recognized he was taking a stand and doing something highly unusual for someone in his position, and I was amazed by that,” remembers Gaskill. “I felt the obligation to entrust these songs to the finest gospel singers to be found.” The album -- produced by Joel Moss, known for his Grammy Award-winning work with gospel singer Cissy Houston -- also reunites Bob Dylan’s touring band from his gospel period, including guitarist Fred Tackett, pianist Terry Young, and drummer Jim Keltner, on a jubilant version of “Solid Rock” performed with Grammy-winning group, Sounds of Blackness, the choir from Dylan’s home state of Minnesota. Also featured is a lead vocal by Regina McCrary, one of the backup singers from Dylan’s gospel albums and concert tours, performing “Pressing On” with the Grammy-nominated Chicago Mass Choir. The album features contributions by organist Spooner Oldham (Percy Sledge, Neil Young) -- also a member of the original gospel touring band – who lends his Hammond B-3 organ to Aaron Neville’s version of “Saving Grace,” and keyboardist Billy Preston (the Beatles, the Rolling Stones), who plays on two tracks, including a rendition of “What Can I Do For You?” by Grammy nominee and Dove Award-winner Helen Baylor. The album also includes a version of “I Believe in You” by Atlanta-based, Dove and Stellar award-winning vocalist Dottie Peoples.

“On this recording, we can separate what Dylan is saying in his gospel songs from the drama of his saying it,” writes author Tom Piazza in the album’s liner notes. In addition, says Piazza, “we see, again, how rooted Dylan is in the grain of American music, the Saturday night/Sunday morning tug-of-war that has lent tension and fire to the fact of the Gospel in the singing of Ralph Stanley, Little Richard, Charley Patton, Muddy Waters, and Hank Williams, among so many others.” For Regina McCrary, who sang with Bob Dylan throughout the original gospel period in 1979-1981, GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY brings things full circle. A lead vocalist with the Bobby Jones Gospel Choir and the daughter of the late Reverend Sam McCrary -- “the Singing Preacher” of the Fairfield Four -- McCrary says, “I don’t think that a song that is written about God -- about his ‘Saving Grace’ or about ‘Serve Somebody’ or ‘Pressing On’ or ‘Saved’ or ‘I Believe in You’ or ‘Are You Ready’ -- will ever die, no matter who wrote them. But because Bob Dylan wrote them and we’re going in and we’re doing them over now, I think that all it does is just remind people that this man is God-gifted.”

GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY: THE GOSPEL SONGS OF BOB DYLAN (CK/CT 89015) Selections: 1. Shirley Caesar, “Gotta Serve Somebody” 2. Lee Williams & the Spiritual QCs, “When You Gonna Wake Up” 3. Dottie Peoples, “I Believe in You” 4. Fairfield Four, “Are You Ready” 5. Sounds of Blackness, “Solid Rock” 6. Aaron Neville, “Saving Grace” 7. Helen Baylor, “What Can I Do For You?” 8. Chicago Mass Choir, “Pressing On” 9. Mighty Clouds of Joy, “Saved” 10. Rance Allen, “When He Returns” 11. Bob Dylan and Mavis Staples, “Gonna Change My Way of Thinking” More information about GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY: THE GOSPEL SONGS OF BOB DYLAN -- including interviews with the participants and photos and links to other resources on the web – will soon be available at www.gottaservesomebody.com.

THIRD DAY TO PERFORM KOOLERZ 300 SPEEDWAY CONCERT BAND JOINS JOHN TRAVOLTA, MARIAH CAREY, WAYNE BRADY AND TONY HAWK FOR DAYTONA 500 WEEKEND EVENTS; MAC POWELL SINGS NATIONAL ANTHEM LIVE ON FOX SPORTS DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.

(February 10, 2003)

The Koolerz 300 NASCAR Busch Series (race date Feb. 15 at Daytona International Speedway) recently announced that four-time GRAMMY nominated rock band Third Day will perform a post-race concert at the track following the season opener for the NASCAR Busch Series.Prior to the start of the Koolerz 300 Busch race, Third Day's Mac Powell will sing the national anthem which will air live on FOX Sports.

"Daytona has successfully added extra amenities year after year for our Speedweek ticket holders," said Robin Braig, Speedway President. "This high energy concert is a tremendous entertainment value that we believe will enhance Saturday's racing experience. In addition, Third Day's talented lead singer Mac Powell will honor us with his talents for our national anthem for the Koolerz 300."

Immediately following Victory Lane activities for the Saturday, Feb. 15 Koolerz 300 NASCAR Busch Series race, Third Day will perform in the tri-oval area of the Speedway. The Koolerz 300 will begin at 1 p.m. EST and will be broadcast live on FOX Sports. In addition, Third Day has been invited to lead Chapel services on Saturday for the Busch Series Drivers and Teams and also on Sunday for the Winston Cup Drivers and Teams. In promotion of Speedweek events, Third Day, Daytona International Speedway and Chevrolet have teamed with radio stations in Florida to give listeners a chance to win a trip to the race and to meet Third Day. The six stations include, WBGB and WROO in Jacksonville; WJLF in Gainesville; Way FM in West Palm; WJIS in Sarasota/Ocala and WPOZ in Orlando. Each station will have two Grand Prize winners that will receive tickets to the race, a meet and greet with Third Day after the concert, Chevrolet racing gear, a Third Day Rock Block (a block of CDs), along with other prizes. Each station was given Third Day CDs, product and Chevy racing gear for in promotion of the contests. The partnering radio stations are equally excited about the events and the partnerships.

Andrea Kleid, promotions director for West Palm's Way FM notes, "Our listeners are so excited about the opportunity to see Third Day at the Daytona International Speedway. We've combined it as a Valentine's Weekend package, and the response has been wonderful!" Third Day has been part of all promotions surrounding the Daytona International Speedway during Speedweeks, which will be attended by over 600,000 over 14 days. Other celebrities attending Daytona 500 Weekend include Mariah Carey, performing the National Anthem at the Daytona 500; John Travolta, Grand Marshall Daytona 500; Wayne Brady, who will wave the green flag to start the 45th Annual Daytona 500 and Tony Hawk, who will participate in pre-race festivities for the Daytona 500.

Rockrebel.com Top Albums Of 2,002

1. Johnny Cash 'The Man Comes Around'
2. Lauryn Hill 'MTV Unplugged No. 2.0'
3. Chevelle 'Wonder What's Next'
4. Sixpence None The Richer 'Divine Discontent'
5. Grits 'The Art Of Translation'
6. 12 Stones '12 Stones'
7. Jars Of Clay 'The Eleventh Hour'
8. Ralph Stanley 'The Very Best Of Ralph Stanley'
9. Project 86 'Truthless Heroes'
10. Lifehouse 'Stanley Climbfall'

Bigoted Blender Magazine Takes On Sixpence None The Richer's Faith

Blender Magazine takes a shot at Sixpence None The Richer for its faith:

"They took their name from a religious essay by C.S. Lewis-wussies!"

On sale at newsstands now.

Publisher: Malcolm Campbell (212) 372-3886

All Star United On Flipside Of Recent USA Today Article With New Album, Revolution,

Furious? Records USA’s Grammy-nominated All Star United releases Revolution, its first new album in nearly four years, on November 19. Presenting a strong Christian message with Revolution, All Star United finds itself on the flipside of a recent USA Today article, entitled “Music In A New Light,” which details growing trends of Christian artists who try to avoid the “Christian” pigeonhole to pursue mainstream aspirations.

“It wasn’t too long ago that we would have been a part of that trend,” explains lead singer/ songwriter and founder of All Star United, Ian Eskelin. “For a lot of Christian bands, going mainstream seems like a natural next step, but it didn’t feel right to us. I admire bands that crossover, but for us, the Christian message is what flows out naturally. It is an inherent part of who we are.”

Five No. 1 singles, a Grammy nomination, international touring, and other successes in the Christian music industry prompted All Star United to pursue the mainstream arena. Eskelin even penned and independently produced an entire mainstream album, showcasing the project under a new band name with intentions of abandoning the All Star United moniker. The project generated much interest in New York, Los Angeles, and London; however, Eskelin began having mixed feelings about the mainstream project and wanted to take time off to contemplate the band’s platform. Already tired and exhausted from extensive touring, the band collectively decided to take some time off, each member going his own way in time. After much deliberation, Eskelin canned the mainstream project, penning what would become Revolution in its stead. Refreshed from the time off and energized by the renewed vision, Eskelin recruited three new “All Stars” and hit the road again, even recording some of Revolution in hotel rooms with an iBook. Already, Revolution is turning heads at radio. All Star United recently completed a two-week radio promotional tour that stopped in a number of major markets including Louisville, Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, Chicago, Wichita, Oklahoma City, Amarillo, Lubbock, Abilene, Dallas, Houston, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Birmingham. Promoting its first-ever AC single, “Sweet Jesus,” the band garnered a significant number of adds in its first week and continues to gain momentum. Among the stations that added the single are Houston’s KSBJ, one of the largest Christian AC stations in the United States, and WJQK in Grand Rapids, MI. “… ‘Sweet Jesus’ brings us the fresh, modern sound we're looking for, without sacrificing the message to the gods of ambiguity,” says Jim Beeler, KSBJ Music Director. “I recently shared a meal with these guys, and got to know their hearts. They are for real. Now we need to share their music with our listeners." "I really believe in this song, lyrically and musically. This is the sound of Christian AC radio today," exclaims WJQK’s morning host, Tommy Dylan.

JARS OF CLAY APPEARS ON FOX MORNING SHOW AND MEET TELEVISION LEGEND DICK CLARK WHILE IN CHICAGO FOR THE ELEVENTH HOUR TOUR STOP

While in Chicago, IL for a date on the successful The Eleventh Hour tour, multiple platinum and multi-GRAMMY winning band Jars of Clay performed three songs on the local FOX morning show. After their television performance and interview, members ran into the legendary Dick Clark who was also visiting the FOX studios for interview segments. The group talked music for a while and wrapped up their time with a photo. Pictured (L-R) are: Dan Haseltine, Matt Odmark, Dick Clark, Charlie Lowell and Stephen Mason.

P.O.D. Gives Wide Ranging Interview To Re:Generation Quarterly

In a surprisingly candid interivew conducted in Singapore with RQ writer Hwee Hwee Tan, P.O.D. weighs in on numerous topics including a stunningly harsh opinion of Zomba/Silvertone alt rockers Jars Of Clay.

"Arrgggghhh!," said band member Wuv when asked his opinion on the band. "You can quote me on that: Jars of Clay-arrggghh!"

The story is featured in the upcoming issue of Re:Generation Quarterly....

Sixpence None The Richer's "Kiss Me" was a massive #1 pop hit in over a dozen countries and their follow-up single, "There She Goes" went Top 10. Eearly signs are that they may have their third hit on their hands. R&R (the charting guide that Casey Kasem uses for American Top 40) listed Sixpence's new single, "Breathe Your Name," as the #1 MOST ADDED SONG by Hot AC stations last week. 36 stations added the song out of the box! (U2's "Electrical Storm" came in second with 20 stations.)

Word from Sixpence's publicist, Ken Phillips, is that two of the major stations immediately on board "Breathe Your Name" are Los Angeles' own Star 98.7 and KBIG 104. Go Sixpence!

--Jay Swartzendruber

SIXPENCE NONE THE RICHER COMPLETE FINAL TRACK FOR “DIVINE DISCONTENT” WITH CROWDED HOUSE CLASSIC “DON’T DREAM IT’S OVER”

BAND JOIN FORCES WITH U2’S BONO TO HELP SPREAD AWARENESS ABOUT DATA

September 17, 02 - Sixpence None The Richer have completed production on their forthcoming CD release Divine Discontent with the Crowded House classic “Don’t Dream It’s Over.”

Band leader Matt Slocum notes that “My first introduction to the inimitable and brilliant songwriting of Neil Finn was hearing “Don’t Dream It’s Over” on the radio in my early teens, and I became an instant Crowded House fan. In covering such a pop classic there is always the challenge of answering the question – how can we possibly make this any better? The challenge is especially difficult when the production minds of Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake have crafted the arrangement and sonics on such a high level. Producer Rob Cavallo and Alan Sides came to the table and helped the band to deliver a version that I hope will make Neil proud. I think Leigh Nash’s passionate vocal is what makes Sixpence’s version ultimately unique; the phrasing and range of Neil’s melody fit her voice perfectly.” Leigh adds “ I have been inspired by the beauty and simplicity of Neil Finn’s voice for a long time. Recording “Don’t Dream It’s Over” was a pleasure for me and I hope we’ve done the song justice.”

Divine Discontent is slated for release on October 29 with “Breathe Your Name” being the first single and video. “Breathe Your Name” will be in-stores on October 1. and will contain the unreleased non-album track “Northern Lights” as the b-side. In addition, Sixpence None The Richer is one of the first bands to publicly sponsor U2’s Bono in his DATA initiative for Africa. The members of Sixpence will be the first artists to include a paragraph about DATA with sponsorship information in their Divine Discontent liner notes.

Matt Slocum says “Seeing the devastation caused by the AIDS virus in Africa, as well as the seemingly unending debt that continues to drive the African government to plunder its natural resources for more interest payments, compels one to speak up and advocate the need for all citizens of the world to unite in helping Africa. Please visit datadata.org to see how you can join Bono’s DATA organization to help advocate debt relief and raise awareness of the current epidemic of AIDS that is threatening to wipe out an entire generation of Africans.” For more information on DATA, you can check out the liner notes in the forthcoming Divine Discontent CD or visit www.datadata.org & www.jubileeusa.org.

Jars Of Clay To Tour With The Elms

Following a successful spring tour, two-time GRAMMY-winning and multi-platinum-selling Jars of Clay gears up for the fall leg of The Eleventh Hour Tour, featuring special guest The Elms and a tour partnership with international relief organization World Vision. The fall tour will visit over 40 cities from October through early December with intimate performances in 3,000 - 5,000 seat venues. Special ticket pricing for fans and sound check meet-and-greet events enhance the appeal of this tour which launches in Detroit, Michigan on October 3. (The first segment of dates are listed below. Venues and additional tour dates to be announced soon.

"Working with Jars' vision and personality, the detail of this tour really makes sense. The band favors spending one-on-one time with the audience and everything from ticket pricing to the new sound check meet-and-greets are set up to allow for that proximity," notes David McCollum, Rendy Lovelady Management.

It is well known that Jars of Clay supports humanitarian efforts through its musical platform and the partnership with World Vision on this tour is not surprising, considering the AIDS initiative World Vision has assumed in the past few months.

"We have always supported those who are in need and those who can't help themselves. We're aligning with people like World Vision and DATA because they are able to give legs to the idea of battling the pandemic that has overrun Africa," remarks Dan Haseltine lead singer, Jars of Clay. Jars of Clay's self-produced and critically acclaimed The Eleventh Hour has generated two number-one singles including, "I Need You" and "Fly" and has been covered by media outlets such as the TV Guide Channel, The CBS Early Show, Music Biz Magazine, Teen People and both CNN's "Music on the Road" and "Headline News."

A special note by CNN's Lindsey Brien concluded that "the band has found an audience with their subtle message and their not so subtle guitars," adding, "their fans continue to support the band faithfully." Jars of Clay, honored in many musical genres including pop, rock and gospel, continued to tour through the summer, following the successful 50-city spring leg of The Eleventh Hour Tour. Jars of Clay headlined a number of fairs and festivals in addition to performing with Sheryl Crow on numerous dates of her summer and fall tour. Jars of Clay will release its first DVD, "11 Live: Jars of Clay in Concert", in mid-September. The DVD, also available on VHS, features two hours of performance footage, including a full-production concert set and an intimate acoustic set, plus behind-the-scenes interviews with the band.

The Elms have received credible praise for their distinct sound and probing lyrics. Following the widespread critical acclaim of their debut album The Big Surprise, The Elms will release their highly anticipated sophomore album TRUTH, SOUL, ROCK & ROLL on October 22nd which features the talents of producer Brent Milligan (Seven Day Jesus, Chasing Furies), and engineers Richard Dodd (Sheryl Crow, Delbert McClinton, Wilco) and David Bianco (Tom Petty, The Black Crowes). The Elms' album also caught the attention of legendary guitarist Peter Frampton who invited the band to join him on several tour dates in August and September 2002.The Elms single "Hey, Hey" was the band's first music video and has received consistent airplay on MTV2's "120 Minutes".

The Eleventh Hour Tour Fall 2002 with special guests The Elms (tour dates tentative and subject to change) October 3-Detroit, MI; 4-Cedarville, OH; 5-Bluffton, IN; 6-Erie, PA; 7-Providence, RI; 10-Washington, DC; 11-Columbus, OH; 12-Cincinnati, OH; 13-Merillville, IN; 16-Toledo, OH; 17-Champaign, IL; 18-Cedar Rapids, IA; 24-Fresno, CA; 25-Perris, CA; 26-Sacramento, CA; 27-San Jose, CA; 30-Salt Lake City, UT; 31-Flagstaff, AZ; November 4-Oxford, MS; 6-Auburn, AL; 7-Hattiesburg, MS; 8-Columbus, GA; 9-Valdosta, GA; 13-Charleston, SC; 14-Florence, SC; 15-Raleigh, NC; 16-Charlotte, NC; December, TBA ©

Rockrebel.com's Top Picks of 2,001

1. P.O.D. "Satellite"

2. Creed "Weathered"

3. Buddy & Julie Miller "Buddie & Julie Miller"

4. U2 "All That You Can't Leave Behind"

5. Lenny Kravitz "Lenny"

6. The Tories "Upside Of Down"

7. Vigilantes Of Love "Summershine"

8. Bob Dylan "Love & Theft"

9. Jennifer Knapp "The Way I Am"

10. Alice Cooper "Dragontown"

Feature stories on artists and the music they make.
November 05, 2001, 11:00 AM

Creed Has 'Weathered' Success
By Larry Flick

At a time when far too much current rock music is steeped in anger and darkness, Creed frontman Scott Stapp thinks that it's time for a little light. "I don't see the merit in wallowing in misery," Stapp says. "When I'm dealing with a heavy issue or something that stirs my anger, I don't want to stay there. I want to get out. I need to believe that there's eventual relief from the pain." That philosophy has been the fuel driving the act since its 1997 Wind-Up debut, "My Own Prison," through its 1999 mega-smash "Human Clay" and the forthcoming "Weathered" (due worldwide Nov. 20).

Although Stapp asserts that he and guitarist/songwriting partner Mark Tremonti do not create music with the intention of directly affecting the thoughts and emotions of their fans, it's becoming an increasingly welcome by-product. "The words I write, I write for myself," Stapp says. "The idea of those words connecting with people who are also searching for light at the end of the tunnel is gratifying. This band has seen a whole lot of the country over the past few years, and it's been sad to feel the tension and anger among kids. If one of our songs can help break or relieve some of that tension, that's a staggering, truly humbling gift." As the overall demeanor of the U.S. evolves in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Stapp says he sees one potentially positive result being a palpable shift in attitude among young adults. "It's a little sad," he muses, "to think that something so huge and horrifying would have to happen in order to jolt people into reconsidering the way they view the world. But it's happening, and that's what counts. People -- kids, in particular -- want to have a good, positive future, and they're going to reach beyond the anger or whatever has been dogging them to get there." Whether or not Stapp, Tremonti, and drummer Scott Phillips are comfortable with the concept, Creed contributes to that emotional shift by offering music that seems to be extending a proverbial hand of hope to its audience. "My Sacrifice," the single that previews "Weathered," firmly proves that point with a pervading tone that is, by turns, intimate and warmly empathetic to the innate, almost primal need for human connection. It effectively ups the ante of plaintive hits of "Human Clay" -- "With Arms Wide Open" and "Higher" -- as Stapp's simple-yet-well-drawn prose is complemented by a grinding, funk-spiked groove and appropriately heavy guitars that will likely draw fond comparisons with Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir."

"That song is driving people crazy," says James Lonten, manager of a Borders Books & Music in New York. "The second it hit radio, we started getting requests for it in our store. 'Weathered' is going to be the rock record to beat this quarter, without a doubt. The single has a recognizable sound, which is good, but it's also easily one of the band's strongest songs." The beauty of this project is that it's not limited to mainstream audiences: Indie-rock fans are also showing interest. "Creed will never be mistaken for an underground favorite, but they have a heavy sound in a lot of their material that draws the interest of kids who like their rock music to be extra-aggressive," says Marlon Creaton, manager of Record Kitchen, an indie retail outlet in San Francisco. "This new album has a nice bit of word-of-mouth building because of the single. It has a pop feel, but it's not too light. The guitars are hot." Radio is having an equally positive reaction to "My Sacrifice." Since its shipment to rock radio in early October, the track has become a runaway smash. It's Creed's ninth top-10 entry on the Billboard Airplay Monitor Active and Mainstream Rock Charts. It is the band's eighth top-10 hit on the Heritage Chart. Such positive initial response to the single is encouraging to Stapp, who believes that Creed has hit its creative stride with "Weathered."

"Everything about this record is turned up a few extra notches," he says. "The uptempo songs rock harder than anything we've imagined doing, and the softer, chilled songs have more depth, more complexity. We went for broke on this album-no boundaries, no limits." Part of what makes the record work is the fact that the band waited until after their nearly two-year tour supporting "Human Clay" before writing or recording new material -- a move that Stapp believes allowed the band to "breathe and think and evaluate the lives [we've] been leading. I'm proud of the fact that we've previously been able to write good music while traveling from one city to the next. There's a very specific, special energy going into the songs when you do that. But I honestly prefer to be able to concentrate on nothing more than the ideas at hand without outside distraction." In crafting the tunes on "Weathered," Stapp and Tremonti often locked themselves in a room and "freestyled" ideas until something would gel. It is a style of writing that Stapp admits requires "immeasurable, unbreakable" collaborative trust.

"And the thing is that Mark's like my brother. We have this unexplainable connection. I can be fearless and free in front of him in a way that I'm not able to be with almost anyone else in my life." In fact, he notes with a smile, he and Tremonti have a code of priorities: "God, family, and Creed-nothing has or will ever come before that, and nothing will ever come between Mark and me. We're as tight as two people can be." It is the result of their intense bond that Stapp believes he has the courage to dig as deep as he does in his lyrics. "If I was standing in the room with anyone else, there might be some inhibition. But I'm compelled to try to keep up with Mark when we come together to write songs, to give as much as he does from the heart." One of the pair's more combustible collaborations on "Weathered" is "Who's Got My Back," a tune that saw Stapp tracing the Cherokee portion of his heritage. "Every time I heard the intro to the song, I envisioned a tribal Indian chant," Stapp says. "That sent me on a mission to get more information on my background and reconnect with that part of my history." He eventually found a reservation-and Bo Taylor, a man fluent in ancient Cherokee chants. "It had to be ancient, not modern; there's a huge difference between the two," Stapp explains. "We brought Bo into the studio and played him the music. He caught the vibe immediately, stepped up to the mic, and belted out four or five different chants. The first chant he did is the one that we used on the song. It's so moving to me. It literally brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it." The band's pride in the final outcome of "Weathered" has made the prospect of diving back into the industry's marketing machine seem less arduous than it might otherwise be.

"We're actually anxious to get back out there and promote this record," the singer says. "This was originally going to be a March release, but none of us thought we could wait that long." The linchpin to Wind-Up's marketing strategy is the Internet-rooted Creed Pager. Upon visiting the band's Web site (creed.com), one can download the pager, which offers a free, timed-out download of "My Sacrifice," as well as exclusive video footage of the band in the studio, up-to-date band news, and tour announcements. The pager will also have interactive elements that will allow fans to communicate with the band directly via online postings and E-mail. "That's the best part of doing this: having a direct line to the fans," Stapp says. "Having the chance to hear their thoughts and address them in a personal way that's validating for everyone involved-especially the band." In addition to the pager, the band will bolster interest in "Weathered" by making the standard round of TV, radio, and press appearances. Already locked in are spots at the Billboard Music Awards and VH1 Honors (both in early December). In addition, the band has been confirmed to appear Nov. 17 on "Saturday Night Live." Other high-profile performances are to be confirmed shortly. The band is also expected to journey to Europe for a series of promotional appearances shortly after the release of the album. (Wind-Up is distributed in the U.S. by BMG, with Sony handling the label elsewhere in the world.) The performances that come with such an extensive promotional tour will provide an opportunity for Creed to test-drive new material for a 2002 headlining concert tour that is expected to keep the band on the road for at least a year.

"Live performance is one of the many areas where Creed excels," Wind-Up president Steve Lerner says. "They take their songs to an incredible new level of intensity. This new album is going to sound amazing live." Creed's reputation for passionate live shows has led to consistently sold-out events. During the past two years, the band has played to more than 2 million fans worldwide. "We were out on tour for a long time, and wherever we went, there were people telling me how much certain songs meant to them and how they felt so close to them," Stapp says. "That means more to me than any other kind of attention. It's important to feel as if you're doing something worthwhile, and in this band, I feel like I am." Stapp believes that being road animals has helped establish Creed as a band of substance. "You can't hide anything onstage. There are no filters, nothing to hide behind. It's just you, your songs, and the audience. Our mission is to take people on a full-range journey of emotions." And right now, that journey is punctuated by a desire to lead their fans toward the bright conclusion, one that Stapp explains "is intended to leave you on the positive end of a catharsis. I'd never suggest denying the pain. Just understand that pain should not be an indefinite emotion. It should be momentary. You should come out on the other side, better or smarter for it in some way."