Rock Rebel

Author Mark Joseph, a music industry insider who has followed the lives of many devout performers knows first hand the issues involved in being an artist on either side of the sacred/secular fence, and his first book, The Rock & Roll Rebellion-Why People of Faith Abandoned Rock Music and Why They're Coming Back (Broadman & Holman) seeks to find a novel solution to resolving the conflict between rock and religion.

Joseph acknowledges that today's popular music often doesn't reflect the views of churchgoers, but he thinks it's because people of faith "abandoned their calling and chose to huddle together in the corner . . . playing inspirational music for each other as they cursed the darkness."

Joseph critically examines the retreat from pop culture of artists like Al Green, B. J. Thomas, Mylon, Richie Furay of Poco, Dan Peek of America, Dion and dozens of others and reviews the backlash by many Christians directed at performers like Donna Summer, U2, Alice Cooper, Gary Cherone of Van Halen and Lenny Kravitz-artists who refused to retreat into the Christian music market. This latter group, according to Joseph, has the right idea.

Joseph dreams of a world where most of the devout perform for the mainstream culture, praising the efforts of crossover acts like Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Jars of Clay, dc Talk, MxPx and Sixpence None The Richer, and a new crop of spiritually informed artists like Creed, Collective Soul, Chevelle, Kirk Franklin, Hanson, The Tories, Full On The Mouth and Burlap To Cashmere who have avoided the subcultural approach altogether, choosing instead to participate in the mainstream music culture and letting their music reflect their beliefs.

Check out Mark Joseph's new book: Faith, God & Rock 'n' Roll