DC Talk, Stryper, Sixpence None the Richer & Underoath

I am fresh off NAB where I got my nerd on and then chased it with a trip to GMA where I got my Jesus on. GMA was still buzzing over BIO so I guess that is pretty cool. Here is some more wrap ups from other interviews we have done.


KEVIN MAX (DC talk) - K-Max as he is now called (isnt that a Kevin Spacey movie?) is a great interview. He has a mesmerizing speaking voice and speaks poetically. You can tell he has been worn down a little by the "machine" that is CCM. He echoed the sentiments of many, that we get too caught up in Christianese and the Jesus language as he put it. Why must every song be about Jesus? What about our lives, our struggles, our walk? He also had some great stuff to say about Larry Norman, who he is friends with. DC Talk did a pretty famous cover of Larry's "Wish We'd All Been Ready." He also commented extensively on "Jesus Freak" which was the song that really introduced the youth group crowd to "rawk" I still remember hearing that song and looking around at the other kids in youth group thinking... "uh... this is like.. umm... cool... can we really get away with listening to this?"

LEIGH NASH (Sixpence None the Richer) - What a doll of a person. The ultimate sweetheart but not without an edge. She was very open about her experiences. Many people dont realize that Sixpence toured with POD and the like for years, the sound may not have been as rocky as some but they were in the scene. She talked of being frustrated that they were often seen as "not Christian enough" for many people. Her best story is about the time she basically witnessed to David Letterman on national TV. If you havent seen it, http://youtube.com/watch?v=qJDldjmb_04 check it out...

UNDEROATH - We interviewed Underoath the week after they shook up both the Christian and general markets with a STUNNING first week of almost 100,000 records. This was #2 on Billboard and less than 3% of all sales were thru Christian outlets...all this from a SCREAMO band. They are energetic and legitimately talented and their story should inspire any band. They built an audience on the streets. There is not many places to take this genre of music so they took it to the streets and played over 1000 shows over the course of a few years and their audience responded...BIG TIME. These guys were headlining the Warped Tour and, believe it or not, rarely catching much flack for their faith. They are just too real. They said they never really felt any tension, they just go out and do their thing. The only thing at all that one might find a little frustrating about the younger bands like Underoath, is that they have little to no knowledge of the bands that paved the way for them. Maybe they will watch this movie and figure it out. I cant say I blame them... I didnt know about many of the bands who paved the way either until I started this Project.

Check out this article about Underoath, their new DVD and tour: CMJ Article

MICHAEL SWEET (STRYPER) - Many people like to remember only the cheesy side of Stryper and forget the massive cultural impact they made. Remember, they did this in an era where there was no crossing over, they started in the general market and never, at any point, were endorsed by the church. This did not stop them from being wildly successful. According to Michael, at first MTV didnt want to play their music video but they decided to give it a try and the response was huge. In fact, Stryper's first video was the first video to be "retired" from the request show at the time and they went on to have several videos be number one for so long that they had to be retired. Michael is pretty soft spoken but he provided some great history of the genre.

MORE TO COME!