Rez Band, Cornerstone & Superdrag

JOHN HERRIN (REZ BAND, JESUS PEOPLE, CORNERSTONE) - John is probably one of the most influential figures that people are not aware of. He has been in the background of everything but something tells me he has really been the guy who held a lot of stuff together. Glenn Kaiser is the most known member of REZ (we will be interviewing him soon) but John was right there with him. He is still a member of JPUSA (Jesus People USA) and he runs the MASSIVE Cornerstone Festival.

John still looks the way he did 30 years ago, a rockin' sweet beard, long hair and big smile. He has a great raspy voice and EXUDES that sweet hippie love that the world is so lacking today. REZ was a ministry band that started, not to make money, but to spread the message. Their goals were to play for as many people as possible and get enough money to have gas to get to the next town. He had some AWESOME stories about the good old days when they would roll up to a town, set up the tent and rock until people stopped coming. He recounted spending 4, 5 even 6 days in one small town with thousands of people sometimes showing up. Their music was considered WAY too hard for mass consumption and the only Christian distribution at the time was for straight up gospel but when they finally recorded an album (thanks to a generous donation of a friend) a small, unknown label released it. It was a hit in the Christian market and it really helped open the door for others to walk thru. As a band, they never shied away from controversial issues. By now, we have all heard of the horrors of apartheid (you kiddos who are too young to know, look it up) but it was not Bono or even Peter Gabriel before him to first tackle the issue, it was Rez Band. Make you wonder doesnt it? Where are the Christian bands that are on the forefront of real world issues NOW? John set the stage for the REZ story and I am sure Kaiser will bring it home when we talk to him.

CORNERSTONE FESTIVAL - Technically, this is more from John's interview but it is really a separate topic. I have to be honest, I was a youth group kid and I had NO IDEA this world existed. Turns out that while I was at the Mabee Center at ORU kicking it to CARMAN'S "Witches Invitation" there were 40,000 kids in a field in Illinois banging their head to underground Christian music that I had never heard of. Just about every single artist we talk to has something good to say about Cornerstone and its significance. It was the ONE place where a hard rock band, that was used to playing basement shows for 100 kids, could come play for 10,000 plus screaming, fanatical, on fire for Jesus, die-hards. This last year was my first time to go and I found that besides bands, they have speakers, prayer tents, cold showers, a sweet lake, copious amounts of dust, a film festival and the most impressive collection of porta-potties I have ever seen. It was really crazy but also, really awesome. Beside the 300+ bands that officially play, there were little unsanctioned "generator" stages all over the place. It was intense but fascinating. This year "Underoath" put on a crazy show but I have countless interviews with people that cover just about every memorable event ever at C-stone.

I also encountered my first in-person protester who stood outside the gates of C-stone with a sign that read "Cornerstone Dishonors God." He was soft spoken but stubborn and I caught several fairly intense interactions with festival goers on tape. His take is still that the Devil is using this music and it has invaded the Christian world. One kid (with seriously, the sweetest beard yet) was very intense with the protester, "God says, 'I am not an electric guitar?!?!'... rock'n'roll is just a thing!" The protester went on to say that there should be a clear division between secular and Christian music and just when I thought the guy was actually going to make a compelling argument, he decided to bust out with, "women preachers are against biblical teachings and...oh by the way, all Catholics are going to hell." Great dude, there goes my Mel Gibson endorsement.

John also talked about how the JPUSA bus broke down outside of Chicago so they decided to set-up shop there and in 1984 they decided to start Cornerstone. Word got out and it just got bigger and bigger. Many bands launched careers thru Cornerstone and many kids got to exposed to tons of great music (and dust) they would have never heard. In the words of Carman, "Satan, Bite the Dust!" http://youtube.com/watch?v=SswiYEXZrIg

JON DAVIS (SUPERDRAG) - First off, I loved the power-pop sounds of Superdrag (word on the street is that they may be getting back together) and when they fell off the map, I wasnt sure why. When I caught up with Jon at Cornerstone, he had plenty to say. I was not familiar with the story but he said he had become a very dark person and had a terrible addiction to "many" things but alcohol had a stranglehold on him. He said that he was driving one night and reflecting on his life and realized he had hit rock bottom. He said he cried out to God and felt his prayers were answered. Almost immediately, he was able to get his life on track and even though things were going well with Superdrag, he said his heart was no longer in it. "I just didnt feel right getting up there singing songs I wrote when I was drunk or partying, when that part of me was now dead and gone." He said he didnt feel that Superdrag was going to cause him to fall back into that life but he did feel that he would never have peace or passion continuing on with the band. Since he was the lead singer, lead guitar and main songwriter...that meant the end for Superdrag. He said it was rough on his band mates but they ultimately understood. Jon speaks of the peace and humility he has now. He makes most his living from being a studio musician or background guy in other bands and his solo stuff is very much about his newfound faith and the gifts he feels God has for us all. If the rumors of Superdrag re-uniting are true, maybe Jon is ready to step back into that role, with new songs that speak more about who he is now. Because he is a phenomenal songwriter and musician, I am sure he will be welcomed back with open arms, even by those who dont "get" his new lifestyle.