Grab the guitar and play along with top Christian bands! Shred those riffs or blast the bass… you add a unique sound to the solid Christian rock. But watch out: if you can’t keep up, the artists will take a break and stop the music. Crank it up and try again - you’ll soon be rockin’ with the best while praising the Lord! 

Bob Singleton is an experienced, classically trained composer and producer with deep roots in rock, jazz and ethnic music.

He is a Grammy®-nominated and multi-platinum album award-winning producer, composer and arranger. His music work includes over 70 PBS episodes, over 30 albums, an NBC network special, and a sold-out Radio City Music Hall run. He has also worked as a composer and music producer for home videos and award-winning commercial & industrial projects (Gold Cindy Award), and worked on award winning theatre and musical productions. Bob has been nominated for four Dove awards in the Children’s Musical Album of the Year category.

He has produced music and soundtracks for hundreds of programs. These programs have appeared internationally and nationally on NBC, PBS, independent TV stations, The Disney Channel, educational distribution, and home video retail sale.

His scoring experience ranges from synthesizers to full orchestra, hip-hop, R&B, rock, symphonic, pop and children’s music. He has written hundreds of songs, commercials and scores for a variety of broadcast and industrial clients.

Bob has also created and produced animated and live action home videos as well as several interactive computer media titles.

Bob started his music career in his home state of California, where he worked as a keyboard player making song demos for a pop song publisher.

He travelled to Texas for college. After graduating with honours in Music Composition from the University of North Texas’ School of Music, he went to work as a recording engineer. His first work was in Dallas, where his ability to read scores in jingle sessions made him one of the top engineers in a busy jingle industry town.

He went on to engineer top acts like Willy Nelson, The Commodores, Amy Grant, and many others in studio and for live TV and radio broadcasts. He travelled and worked in Dallas, L.A., Nashville, Toronto and many other locations.

Bob carried on parallel careers as both a composer and a freelance engineer for many years, until he set up his own production company in the 80’s. He distinguished himself by being a leader in the co-ordinated use of computer compositional tools and audio-video interlock.

Many of his clients were ad agencies whose commercials, needed tightly synchronized scores in a wide variety of musical styles, and major political candidates (like Bill Clements, Gov. of Texas) wanting persuasive musical signatures.

Bob’s client list has included American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, The U.S. Air Force, JC Penney, Gaylord Entertainment, Lyrick Studios, Sony Entertainment, Marvel Animation, and many others.

In the 90’s, Bob became one of the top creators of music for kids in the US. He was a music director on Barney® and Friends for 10 years, and his music for Barney is still heard in over 100 countries, worldwide. He produced over 30 albums for children, gathering a Grammy® nomination, four Dove nominations, a triple platininum album and a platinum album.

While working on the Barney® TV series, Bob started working on computer-based media projects. He collaborated with ActiVision on a PlayStation game, and developed sound tracks for several interactive CD-ROM projects.

He continued with commercial and industrial projects too; picking up a Gold Cindy Award for his work with JC Penney and Henry Grethel Clothing, created music for The Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Sidekicks, and produced for major industrial clients like Interstate Battery Systems of America and World Vision.

Bob is currently writing and creating a wide variety of music and soundtrack projects in his personal all digital production studio, Big Ears Sound. His clients in the new millennium continue to bring new musical variety to his list of accomplishments.

Enya was born Eithne Ni Bhraonain in Co. Donegal, Ireland. Enya studied classical music at college and under private tuition. On leaving college she was asked by Producer Nicky Ryan to join her siblings in their family band. She did so for a short time, but found it too restrictive musically, and so in 1982 she joined Nicky Ryan and Roma Ryan in a creative and business partnership. Enya’s first commission was to write a score for Sir David Puttnam for his film “The Frog Prince”. Then, the triumvirate secured the soundtrack to the BBC documentary series ‘The Celts’.

Enya was then signed up by Warner Music and all three by EMI Music Publishing. The first album of this contract was Watermark with the hit single “Orinoco Flow”. This was followed by Shepherd Moons, The Memory Of Trees, Paint The Sky With Stars, A Day Without Rain, which produced the single “Only Time”, Amarantine, and for Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring the songs “Aniron” and “May It Be”.

Enya, Nicky and Roma were nominated for a Golden Globe Award and for an Academy Award for the song “May It Be” and have also merited many other nominations and awards, including the Ivor Novello for International Achievement. The latest honours bestowed on Enya were two Honorary Degrees, the University of Galway honoured her with Doctor of Music and the University of Ulster honoured Enya with Doctor of Letters.

In one regard, the members and music of VOTA are already familiar to alternative rock faithful, though at the same time, this particular point in time is filled with several groundbreaking firsts. Formerly known as Casting Pearls (but changed to avoid confusion with Casting Crowns), this one time trio of front man/guitarist/songwriter Bryan Olesen, bassist Case Maranville and drummer Scott Rutz has expanded to a four piece (now including guitarist/keyboardist Riley Friesen) and redirected its guitar charged rock to incorporate additional dance elements, while subsequently signing with INO Records.

“It’s a new day and a new chapter for this band,” exclaims an obviously excited Rutz. “We have a new sound, a new direction, a new feel, a new member, a new label and new management, so it felt like our old skin didn’t completely contain what we do now, nor did it do this band justice anymore.”

Outside of ministry intentions, the group’s self-titled debut is loaded with artistic innovation, taking cues from the players’ previous alternative dichotomy, plus additional influences ranging from dance poppers Maroon 5 to ethereal rockers Augustana. Add in a return outing with famed producer Nathan Dantzler (Relient K, Audio Adrenaline, Tree63) and VOTA brilliantly straddles the line of current and timeless. 

“We really tried to throw the rule book out the window with these sessions and we tried to look at each song specifically and give them what they needed,” offers Olesen. “We stretched our limits in every sense even down to the way we recorded. A lot of times a band records the drum tracks, then bass, then guitar and then vocals, but we took it one song at a time, which made the process more expensive, but artistically it was great to freshly move to each element. In the end, all the tracks have a wonderful diversity, which allows you to listen all the way through and put on a nice iPod shuffle mix.”

Adding Friesen not only added an extra layer of paint to the band’s dynamic, but also a brand new instrument in the form of keyboards. Though those sounds appeared on older albums and in concert, they share double billing with the guitars on this endeavour, putting a bit more groove in the step of these Nebraska natives.

“We had honestly been looking for the past three or four years for somebody to fill this part and we knew Riley was a real answer to prayer,” ruminates Rutz. “He fit the profile we were looking for perfectly, we get along so well and he lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, which just reaffirmed it for us!”

Beyond the studio, that fleshed out sound has expanded on stage, leaving VOTA a force to be reckoned with either in headlining, festival or even outreach styled environments such as on its ongoing 180 Tour, a public high school assembly program designed to encourage students in their character and decision making. The foursome’s veteran status certainly doesn’t hurt, with Olesen serving as arguably the most explosive rock n’ roll front man in recent memory.

“Part of what we’re tying to do is take the live show to another level, and now with four members, we’re giving the audience an even more engaging show,” Olesen adds. “We bring all our own sound and lighting on the road and we take the show really seriously, plus its been really encouraging to have support from our fans right from the get go of performing the new songs.”

There’s no doubt anyone leaving a VOTA show will be thoroughly entertained, but outside of a mere performance spectacle, there’s a much more introspective thread that runs through the guys’ sets. Besides showcasing a relatable message that runs the gamut of personal and spiritual relationships, plus being lights in even the darkest corners of society, members’ humanitarian interests are also major components.

“We’re interested in moving beyond just the music, which you can see in something like our partnership with Food For the Hungry and everything that’s continuously being out on the 180 Tour, our commitment to encourage students through the 180 Tour” muses Maranville of the endeavour they started in 2006. “We want to offer students and listeners of all ages to consider how they can make a positive change in this world, whether that be by lending a helping hand or just living a life of character and integrity on a daily basis.”

Olesen echoes those sentiments, also adding the gang’s earned additional wisdom through experience, along with ongoing faith refinement. “We’re not looking to be defined by being musicians and rock n’ roll and we hold on loosely in that sense,” he sums up. “Now that we’re not 16 year-olds wanting to be rock stars, we’re sensitive to where God wants us and I think that’s given us a mature focus to kind of break the mould of going through the motions - whether that be with the way me make music, the 180 Tour and how we interact with everyone we meet along the way.”

Young girls dream about becoming lawyers, fashion designers, nurses or mothers. Kari Jobe knew at 10 that she would be a worship leader.

Raised in a Christian home with a father who was a traveling minister, Kari began singing in church when she was only three. She remembers her mother playing worship music in the house while growing up and even recalls the constant tug inside her toward worship. “I remember hearing a worship song that applied perfectly to a family that I knew and I knew then that I wanted to write songs like that for hurting people… songs that someone could speak to the Lord when they can’t find the words.”

Through high school and college, Kari watched God set the path before her as she began leading worship in various places. She spent time studying at Oral Roberts University, Christ For The Nations and Dallas Baptist University, where she finished her psychology and Pastoral Ministries degree. After graduation, she was hired by the Southlake, Texas-based Gateway Church (Dallas), her home church of six years. It was an opportunity that caught her off guard. “I thought, ‘Are you sure? Me be a pastor?’ But once again God was right on. I saw how God networked my life through ORU, Christ For The Nations and Dallas Baptist, giving me the tools to not only be a worship leader but a pastor.”

A featured worship leader on Gateway Worship projects, Living For You and Wake Up the World, Kari Jobe releases her self-titled debut through Gateway Create Publishing and Integrity Music on February 10th, 2009. Produced by Ed Cash, the album contains a collection of worship pop/folk songs written by Kari Jobe as well as co-writes with worship leaders/songwriters Chris Tomlin, Paul Baloche, Mia Fieldes, Cash and Klaus Kuehn.

The album Kari Jobe features new versions of the popular “Revelation Song”, “No Sweeter Name” and “My Beloved” in addition to new songs of worship birthed from her life and journals. The deeply personal “You Are for Me” is one of Kari’s favourites. “This song is gut-wrenching for me. There are times you are so broken that all you can do is sing over yourself with words like, ‘God is for me.’ But I believe it is one song that people can use to remember that God is for us. So who can be against us?”

Songs of intimate musings are balanced with songs created for shouting. The buoyant “Everyone Needs A Little” bubbles with expressions of love, joy and hope for all and “I’m Singing” conveys a simple happiness of heart in vocal praise to God.

“This album is about hope and life; it’s about lifting the broken off the floor and singing love over them,” says Kari. “The songs create intimate moments and outward shouting, and it’s my hope that these songs find the broken and lift them to a place of praise to God for what He’s done.”

Whether leading worship at Gateway or in other settings around the country, for Kari, the work of ministry always comes back to people. “I am moved by people’s lives and stories, and I am amazed by who God is and who He says that we are. Music becomes a way to minister to people in times of trouble, to lead them to the feet of Jesus who can bring peace, life, hope and healing.”

The arts lured Barry Blaze early in life. Raised around musically gifted parents and family, the need to compose was part of Blaze’s genetic make up.

But as for pursuing a musical career, it was an encounter with God as a young adult that propelled him toward being a professional musician. His conviction to worship God through music began to shape his experiences and led to a series of songs and recordings that launched his musical career in the early ‘90s.

Blaze began writing and recording on his own which evolved into the euro-pop inspired music that became Code Of Ethics. It was a fresh new alternative for Christian music of the time. And after a decade of success in the Christian music industry with multiple top hits such as “Something Real”, “True Love”, “Well Done”, “Sticks and Stones”, “Voice of Reason”, “Soulbait”, and “Hallelujah 2000”, he transitioned from performing for the masses to a focus on playing for an audience of One. In 2001, Blaze put his touring and writing on hold to join the staff of a growing church in North Florida. Learning to lead worship revealed something Blaze knew all along - God had created him to be an artist and worship leader. More importantly, God had made him to help others understand that art and worship were designed to collaboratively reveal God’s glory. And it was back to the writing table for Blaze.

Four years ago, after a life-threatening motorcycle accident on his favourite Florida drive, Blaze found himself with head trauma that included permanent hearing and vision loss. The physical tragedy led to a series of surgeries to partially restore his sight and hearing. Inner healing came as he let fear and vulnerability develop his faith into a first hand experience of trusting God with the good and most trying of times.

On Barry Blaze’s debut solo project, Patiently Waiting, he lyrically invites listeners to join him in an exploration of reverence and gratitude to a sovereign God who is faithful beyond all circumstance. The album’s contemporary melodies deliver an enjoyable blend of pop and praise sharing hope during a time of great difficulty.

The inspiration behind the album’s title track was written during his recovery when Blaze found himself with a medicine-induced sleepless night. The lyrics of the song convey his soul’s deepest wounds during suffering, while the music moves through the sound of peace despite the turmoil.

In addition to launching an independent solo venture, Barry recently completed an all new full-length Code Of Ethics album, entitled Lost In Egypt. About the title song, the singer states, “Only a handful of hardcore Code fans know that this song was written and used as the title of my first demo tape (1989). This song means so much more to me now than when I first wrote it! I have felt a slave to my own sin (as the first verse reads). I think that the older I get, the more I really want to understand and become like Jesus. To do that I must dig out of MY Egypt and stand delivered!”

But the title isn’t the only thing classic fans will recognize. One of the album’s standout tracks is a remake of possibly the band’s most popular song, “Something Real”. “This remake is a shout out to the ol’ school fans,” says Blaze. “It was written with two of my very close friends that I greatly respect and love, Gerald Joseph and James Booth. This was a great time in my life when I survived on peanut butter, ramen noodles and Rock & Roll! I was also on a year long tour with the Newsboys and loving every minute of it!”

But don’t let the retro title or key song remake deceive. Lost In Egypt boasts an array of new songs, from the industrial flavourings of the title track, to the electronic pop worship of “Perfect” and “Beautiful Lamb”, to a unique update of Depeche Mode’s “People Are People”, to the infectious opening track and album single, “Smile”. “‘Smile’ was the last song to be written for this record,” adds Blaze. “My entire family seemed to be inside a long dark valley and one day while playing around with this chord structure the whole song started to emerge. It was like God saying to me ‘just smile for a while and have peace in Me.’”

In addition to completing a new Code Of Ethics album, Blaze is currently leading worship at Edgewater Church in St. Augustine, Florida and is providing consultation and creative direction to church musicians and worship teams.

The term “living legend” gets thrown around quite a bit, but it actually applies to Country Music Hall of Famer Charlie Louvin.

The magical harmonies and depth of feeling found on Louvin Brothers recordings of the 50’s and 60’s inspired a new generation of musicians, firmly establishing the Louvins’ stature as one of the most influential duos in country music history.

In 2006, the Tompkins Square label reached out to Charlie about making his first new studio album in over ten years. They enlisted Mark Nevers, who engineered sessions for many top country artists, and produced Calexico, Lambchop, Candi Staton among others. Guests on the album include Elvis Costello, George Jones, Jeff Tweedy, Will Oldham, Tom T. Hall, Tift Merritt, Marty Stuart, Bobby Bare Sr., David Kilgour, members of Bright Eyes, Lambchop, Clem Snide, Superchunk and more.

Louvin enjoyed the experience. “Mark Nevers is one of the best engineers I’ve ever worked with. My brother and I cut our teeth on some of those old songs and they influenced us tremendously. I’m glad we’re able to remind people of them.”

Charlie was born July 7th, 1927 in Henager, Alabama. He and his older brother Ira worked as field hands on the family farm. In the evening, they would listen to the country hits of the day on their father’s Victrola. Inspired by the tight-harmony duets of The Delmore Brothers, Monroe Brothers and Blue Sky Boys, the brothers began developing a distinctive style called “shape note singing” based on gospel harmonies they had learned in church.

The duo nailed down steady work in the 40’s on local radio stations in Knoxville and Memphis. They also toured heavily in Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee during this period. On one swing through Dyess, Arkansas, Charlie remembers an encounter with a teenager named Johnny Cash. “We were playing with Eddie Hill. I was selling tickets and I saw this young man standing outside alone. I asked him to show me where the bathroom was. As we walked back, he noticed I had two soda crackers in my shirt pocket. He asked me why, and I said, ‘To keep from starving to death.’ I invited him in to the show I could tell he didn’t have any money. Years later in his book (Man In Black, 1975), he said he always ate two soda crackers before he went on stage.” Cash also recalls the date in an intro to his version of the Louvin’s “When I Stop Dreaming” on the recent Columbia/Legacy release, Personal File.

The Louvins scored their first record deal with Apollo in 1947, released a single on Decca in 1949, and recorded 12 sides for MGM in 1951 and 1952. One of those sessions took place with Hank Williams waiting outside for his turn in the studio. Their recording and performing schedule was sporadic due to Charlie’s military service during the Korean War. Upon his return to the States, they began recording for Capitol Records, which remained their label home until the brothers parted ways in 1963.

Marking a shift from gospel to secular material, the Louvins scored their commercial breakthrough in 1955 with the top ten hit “When I Stop Dreaming”. They toured in early 1955 with soon-to-be superstar Elvis Presley as their opening act, and became members of the Grand Ole Opry. From 1955 through 1962, the Louvin Brothers churned out 12 hits on the Billboard country chart, including “I Don’t Believe You’ve Met My Baby”, “You’re Running Wild”, “Cash On The Barrelhead” and “Knoxville Girl”.

Although the Louvins hit machine had slowed by the early 60’s, they instead created a string of themed albums, cult favourites that still resonate with today’s alt-country audience, including A Tribute to the Delmore Brothers and Satan Is Real. By 1963, with a shifting marketplace and interpersonal tensions mounting, the Louvin Brothers parted ways. Ira released his lone solo album, The Unforgettable Ira Louvin, in 1964. He died in a car crash in Missouri on June 20, 1965.

Charlie’s solo career began in 1964 with the top five hit “I Don’t Love You Anymore”, and he followed it with six Billboard-charting singles from 12 Capitol LPs. By the late 60’s, a renewed interest in the music of the Louvin Brothers began to take shape.

The Louvins’ continued legacy is at least partly attributed to Gram Parsons, who, according to legend, paid people to scour L.A. record shops looking for their out-of-print sides. His versions of Louvins classics “The Christian Life” from the Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo, or “Cash on the Barrelhead” from Grevious Angel, serve as the blueprint for so much “alt-country” that was to follow. Emmylou Harris’ first hit was the Louvins’ “If I Could Only Win Your Love”. Uncle Tupelo covered “Great Atomic Power” on their third album, March 16-20, 1992. “The Christian Life” has been worked into The Raconteurs’ live set recently.

The Louvin Brothers were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in October 2001.

In 2003, Charlie was invited to open on a national tour with Cheap Trick and Cake. That year also saw the release of Livin’, Lovin’ Losin’: Songs of the Louvin Brothers on Universal South, a Louvin Brothers tribute album featuring James Taylor, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, and Johnny Cash among others. The collection went on to win two Grammy® Awards in 2004.

Charlie embarked on a national tour with his band in 2007, celebrating his 80th birthday.

Igniting A New World In Worship

Every Sunday millions of people around the world come together to worship our Lord. And while we gather in His name to sing praises for His grace and mercy, some of us are restless - searching for new words, sounds and media to glorify Him. We know there is more to worship than singing!

In response a new generation of worshippers is rising up, writing the soundtrack for a new brand of worship… blending music, art, and technology to ignite a new world in worship.

This Is Everybody Worship

It’s not just about singing familiar songs in church. It’s about creating a new experience in Worship that gives Him glory and helps us grow. Using the tools of this new world to communicate His truth and lift Him up, EVERYBODY WORSHIP is creating the most inspiring new worship media resources for a new generation of worshippers.

Gwen Smith is a gifted worship leader, songwriter, speaker, and author. With a
passion to see others experience a deeper relationship with God, this self-professed “girl’s girl” travels the country ministering to women. Through her powerful testimony, disarming humour, Scripture teaching, and Christ-centred music, Gwen invites each individual to experience how the unconditional love of Jesus can change her life. Past mistakes and wounds can lead women to experience feelings of guilt, shame, and worthlessness. They may even feel that past failures disqualify them from service in the kingdom of God. Smith believes nothing could be further from the truth. She encourages women to stand back and watch the wonder of grace and healing at work in their lives, as she leads them to submit to a God who is willing to eternally forgive and forget and to transform their brokenness into His beauty.

Gwen is the cofounder and worship leader of Girlfriends in God, a conference and devotional ministry, and is a contributing writer for the Girlfriends in God daily e-devotions that are sent via e-mail to 110,000+ women subscribers each weekday. Smith is also the author of the newly published Harvest House book Broken into Beautiful and has been featured on many television and radio shows, some of which are: The Christian Broadcasting Network’s The 700 Club, Good Life Broadcasing Inc’s The Good Life, LeSEA Broadcasting’s The Harvest Show and Atlanta Live hosted by Babbie Mason.

In June 2008, Gwen was signed as a recording artist with Christian record label Great Worship Songs, owned by the Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing group out of Nashville (a Universal Music Publishing Group Company). She was also signed by Brentwood-Benson as a staff songwriter. Her next CD, Unsearchable, will be released in October of 2008. As an award-winning, published songwriter, Smith has recorded and co-produced four additional CD projects, writes for Sunday Best Music, and is the founder of Audio 31 Music.

In her spare time, you can find Gwen kicking back with her husband of 15 years, Brad, and three fabulously fun kids: Preston, Hunter and Kennedy. Also often found cheering loudly at her kid’s ball-games, she loves playing guitar, relaxing at the piano, and chatting with her girlfriends.

Her interests include bargain shopping, hanging out at local coffee shops enjoying the dark roast, writing new songs, and studying her Bible. Gwen and her family reside in North Carolina, and attend LIFE Fellowship Church.

Heidi O’Gara Jellison, professional harpist and harp instructor, holds a Master of Music degree in Harp Performance from the Shepherd School of Music, Rice University, Houston, Texas, where she studied with Paula Page, principal harpist with the Houston Symphony.
Mrs. O’Gara Jellison received her undergraduate degree, also in Harp Performance, from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Oberlin, Ohio, where she studied with Alice Chalifoux and Yolanda Kondonassis, both internationally celebrated harpists. A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Heidi began studying the harp at the age of nine with Omaha Symphony principal harpist, Mary Walter Bircher.

Mrs. O’Gara Jellison resides in Nashville, Tennessee, where she teaches at Trevecca Nazarene University and Allegro School of Music, maintains a studio for private lessons, and freelances throughout Middle Tennessee. She is Principal Harpist with the Roanoke and Bowling Green Western Symphony Orchestras, and performs regularly with the Nashville, Knoxville, and Richmond Symphony Orchestras. Mrs. O’Gara Jellison has also played with the Houston Symphony and Omaha Symphony, and various ensembles in Chattanooga, Paducah, and Shreveport.

Heidi recently moved from Virginia, where she was Principal Harpist with the Charlottesville University Symphony Orchestra; directed the Roanoke Youth Harp Ensemble; was the Harp Instructor at the University of Virginia, Hollins University, and Liberty University; freelanced; and taught private students throughout Central Virginia.

Heidi O’Gara Jellison has toured Europe with the North Carolina School of the Arts International Program, and has attended the National Orchestral Institute at the University of Maryland and Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute. For fourteen successive summers, Heidi attended the world-renowned Salzedo Harp Colony in Camden, Maine.

Mrs. O’Gara Jellisonis a founding member of the harp duo, The Dynamic Duo.

The Wrecking is defined by an unparalleled drive for what is deeper. Musically, emotionally, and spiritually this band communicates on a level that is undeniable. Commonly referred to as perfectionists in their obsessive pursuit of sonic excellence and explosive execution, The Wrecking has cultivated a truly unique sound that is readily accessible. By interlocking hook-driven rock with urban grooves and futuristic adventurism, The Wrecking has emerged from the East Coast music scene as a critically acclaimed powerhouse.

Explicit sincerity as musicians as well as people has allowed The Wrecking the ability to seamlessly navigate between Christian and mainstream venues with instant credibility and great success. As drummer Darren Elder explained in a previous interview, “Christ has changed my life and the lives of all the guys in the band, and we are so thankful for that, that’s the essence of what the songs are about. We truly respect what anyone believes and want to be sensitive to that, we just want to say, Hey, His love is beautiful and it sustains us”.

This passion which was sparked in 2001 burns with an ever increasing blaze. Having released two formidable independent recordings and with a reputation for an exacting live show, The Wrecking is poised to release some of the most buzz worthy songcraft emerging from today’s alternative music scene.

"My spiritual heritage is The Salvation Army - the church movement, whose tag-line ‘Heart to God, Hand to man’ is known largely for its work with the socially disadvantaged and for its bonnets, tambourines and brass bands. Walk down any high street often enough and you’ll have seen them playing God songs and carols and whatever else the season calls for. My life has been surrounded and soaked in music since birth.”

“I never, ever thought my life would have taken the journey it’s taken - and yet it all feels right.” Stuart Pendred - singer, actor, writer and slightly fanatical, season ticket holding, Chelsea fan - has been on quite a learning curve of late.

“I guess that is one of the exciting things about journeying with God; you can have thoughts, plans and dreams - and as I reflect back on my journey so far I’ve had plenty of those. Most remain unfulfilled, some are in pieces and some are honed, polished and different to how I first imagined them - and much better as a result. But in all of this life is simply much better as a result of allowing the Master-potter to take charge.”

Stuart’s singing career began when he sang the alto-line with the singing company (the young people’s choir) at Bedford Congress Hall Salvation Army. Since then his voice has dropped a little and his career has risen. He has performed in concerts throughout the UK, Europe and the USA where particular highlights include appearances at the Royal Albert Hall and Royal Opera House; singing with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and appearing alongside artists such as Sting, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Westlife, The Opera Babes, Il Divo and the Motown legend Lionel Ritchie. Stuart was also given the incredible honour of being invited to sing Amazing Grace at the House of Commons last year at the launch, by his widow, of the former Prime Minister of Macendonia Boris Trajkovski’s International Foundation. The event was hosted by MP’s Alistair Burt and Lord David Alton. Amazing Grace was Boris Trajkovski’s favourite hymn and was sung at his state funeral and specifically requested by his widow at the launch.

Then there was Blue Peter. And, yes, he did get the badge, despite the fact that he was in his mid-30s at the time. He has sung on Top of the Pops and even appeared alongside Katie (a.k.a. Jordan) Price for the UK’s entry for Eurovision on BBC’s Making Your Mind Up. Proof, if it were needed, that taking yourself too seriously is a dead end in this business.

Stuart has recently formed a new company, Opera Prima that provides classical music to the sports and corporate hospitality arenas. Highlights for Stuart already include performing before 75,000 at Twickenham for the RFU, the Davis Cup for the LTA; the British Olympic Association and, numerous pre-match performances at Stamford Bridge for Chelsea Football Club.

Amongst all that, Stuart has also continued his acting career with appearances on TV including Spooks, London’s Burning, The Bill, Rosemary and Thyme and Casualty, as well as theatre productions including Les Miserables, Calamity Jane, Wuthering Heights, Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth and the opera’s Carmen and The Magic Flute.

So that’s the intro. Now for the main event:

Ask Stuart what his high point so far is and he’ll tell you straight: the recording and release of his debut solo album Benedizioni. Like all labours of love, this one was a long time coming, but worth every moment.

From aging classics like “Amazing Grace” and “It Is Well With My Soul” to contemporary must-haves like “Facedown” and “Let My Words Be Few”, Stuart’s voice adds depth and breadth in ways you would never have thought possible.

Benedizioni is an album unlike any other. It joins hymns from the past with more recent worship songs, alongside some of Stuart’s own compositions. Together they reflect a remarkable journey of faith, delivered with power, sensitivity and some of the most luscious arrangements you could ever hope for.

On August 19th, join the journey through Faith, Despair and Passion… Dayton Ohio’s Agraceful plan to make their mark on the music scene as one of the most powerful forces to be reckoned with period. Featuring Chris Roetter (ex-Emarosa front man and members from screamo outfit “Here I Come Falling") deliver a heavy yet melodic blend of heartfelt music that will keep every listener coming back for more.

This past February, Agraceful did just that by catching the eyes and ears of Sumerian Record’s (The Faceless, Born of Osiris) by sending a demo request to the labels information account on their website. Label owner Ash Avildsen and label manager Shawn Keith were floored by what they were hearing and quickly began to work with the band to create the 10 song masterpiece known as The Great I Am. Shawn Keith had this to say about the band, “It is very rare that now a days you can come across a band that gives you the chills. When I first heard the demo’s on the band’s MySpace I could not believe what I was hearing. There is something special about Agraceful and it is something that is timeless.”

Agraceful packs a definite punch on their debut Sumerian release The Great I Am. The record has everything from incredible vocal melodies to pummeling, intense breakdowns that would give the most heavy extreme band something to talk about. The Great I Am has those parts that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up while vocalist Chris Roetter is singing his ever so passionate lyrics. The message is something Agraceful taps into quite frequently as they are a Christian band with something to say rather than be labeled something that they are not.

With the help from Sumerian Records, Agraceful will have the chance to get their positive uplifting message heard across the world. On August 19th, The Great I Am will hit stores and you can expect to see Agraceful on tour non stop to promote it. Currently on the first annual Scream The Prayer Tour featuring Impending Doom, Sleeping Giant, My Children My Bride, Before Their Eyes, Blessed By A Broken Heart and more only to follow it up by supporting Solid State Records band Oh Sleeper during the albums release in August and September. The journey does not end there… Expect Agraceful to be on tour the rest of the year and the following to deliver to you The Great I Am and you will find yourself listening to your new favourite band!

"With this album,” says Faith Hill, “I wanted you to be able to feel Christmas; for it to bring back childhood memories of Christmas.”

With Joy To The World, one of country music’s most important figures does just that. Working with producers Dann Huff and Byron Gallimore, engineer Allen Sides and Grammy®-winning arranger David Campbell, Hill has crafted a one-of-a-kind Christmas record, freshly conceived yet anchored in tradition. It is a loving tribute to both the spirit and the music of Christmas, one that pays tribute to the classics.

“I was inspired by my love of some of the greatest singers of our time; Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Doris Day and Eddie Arnold, and the list goes on,” she says. “And I wanted to try to capture the spirit of the classic Christmas programs that I watched when I was a little girl; the claymation special ‘Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ and ‘Frosty The Snowman’ cartoon. There’s just a sensibility about that time, those specials and that sound that I really wanted to convey with this album.”

The arrangements are diverse. From the big band orchestration of songs like “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”, “Winter Wonderland” and “Holly Jolly Christmas”, to the a cappella “The Little Drummer Boy” and the Appalachian feel of “Away In A Manger”. The CD opens with “Joy To The World”, and, says Hill, “From the very first note you hear, I wanted it to be joyous. I wanted to give you (the listener) the impression of what the song meant before a word was ever uttered.”

In addition to other standards including “Silent Night” and “O Come All Ye Faithful”, Joy To The World includes one new song, the Craig Wiseman/Tim Nichols/K. K. Wiseman-penned, “A Baby Changes Everything”.

“It’s a song that contemporizes both the celebration, contemplation and the meaning behind Christmas.  In my opinion,” she adds, “it’s one of the most remarkably beautiful pieces of music I have ever heard.”

She was particularly taken with Campbell’s arrangements.  “David was my first and only choice to do the arrangements for ‘Joy,’” said Faith.  “The emotions and the ideas that I had just wouldn’t have taken the shape that they did without him. I couldn’t imagine anyone else doing it the way that he did.”

The project was one that Faith had envisioned since the days when she first signed her deal with Warner Bros. Records, although it was a long time in the making. 

“I knew that selecting the songs was going to be an enormous task,” she says. “When I was getting ready to record the Christmas album, I started making lists. There are so many to choose from, and I wanted to make sure it was a tight little list that I, and my fans, would forever be satisfied with.”

“We had started to record this album about three years ago,” she adds, “and then I took a hiatus from it to go on tour.”

That tour become one of the many highlights of a career that includes five Grammy® Awards and countless other awards, the sale of more than 30 million albums, and hit singles including “Wild One”, “It Matters To Me”, “This Kiss”, “Breathe”, “The Way You Love Me”, “Cry” and “Mississippi Girl”.

Although it was years in coming, she is convinced that it will be the only Christmas record that she will make.

“I have one album by Johnny Mathis, one by Eddy Arnold and so on” she says, “ There’s something nostalgic about Christmas and about those albums for me. I hope that we made something that will become familiar to people every year at Christmas time. And I look at this that way. I’m proud of what we chose to be on the album, and happy with the way it came together.”

With Joy To The World, Hill has accomplished the very difficult task of pleasing both the artist and the little girl in front of the TV set in Star, Mississippi. For fans everywhere, it will be a welcome addition to the spirit of that most wonderful of seasons.

Brian “Head” Welch is from Bakersfield, California. At the tender age of 11, Head picked up a guitar and found his original calling. Barely out of high school, he helped found the controversial rock band KoRn. The band became a GRAMMY® Award winning, multi-platinum selling band, and quickly soared to the top of the music world while selling some 30 million records internationally. The band was credited with being the major influence in the rise of the Nu Metal Movement. While with KoRn, Head won two GRAMMY® Awards and several MTV music video awards.

In February 2005, Head shocked the music world when he resigned from KoRn to re-dedicate his life to Christ and focus on raising his daughter, Jennea, as a single father. The event set off a media frenzy as observers around the world sought out to understand what led this rock star out of the darkness and into the light.

Significantly, and perhaps most importantly, upon his resignation from KoRn, Head made clear to the music world that he had not retired from the music and entertainment industry. With his newfound calling, Head is committed to changing the youth of this nation through his music and other entertainment ventures. In this regard, Head penned an autobiography of his life, picked up and released by Harper Collins Publishers in July 2007, entitled, “Save Me From Myself”. Head gained further acclaim as a successful author, when the book quickly hit the New York Times Best Seller List (non-fiction). In his memoir, Head talks for the first time about his shocking embrace of God, and the tumultuous decade of drug and alcohol addiction that led him to his faith, where he was completely and instantly healed of his addictions.

Heads debut album also entitled, Save Me From Myself, is a testimony of his life as he battled with drug and alcohol addiction, leaving KoRn, and finding spirituality. His debut album is a heavy metal epic, with a positive message. It will leave no doubt in everyone’s mind that Head, as a founding member of KoRn, has not lost his passion for the metal sound that originally helped make his former band famous. The Debut Album is set for release September 09, and features renown musicians such as Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel, Alice Cooper, David Bowie), Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle, Evanescence, Nine Inch Nails). The first single, “Flush”, has been released to radio. The album was mixed by Bob Clearmountain, Ralph Patlan, and Head himself.

In this world of grandeur and hype it’s hard to get beneath what’s pure façade and figure out where things of integrity and worth are hiding. This pursuit and the questions that it raises are exactly what Electralyte are about.

Quintessentially British but with a cutting and modern edge to their sound, this 4-piece from Essex are driven by making music with veracity that challenges and asks the questions that beg to be asked.

From their inception in 2004 the band have developed a combination of depth in their musical arrangements, left-of-centre chord progressions and honest, approachable observations that were initially brought together on the first long play release Breakout in 2006.

From this strong opening collection the band went on to become a featured artist on iTunes early in 2007. Since then Electralyte have been seen playing at clubs and festivals around the UK and Ireland including taking in the Royal Albert Hall.

The music Electralyte creates is borne out of striving to come up with original ways of saying that which has been said many times before within a sound-scape that is as thoughtful and diverse as the sharp lyrical content.

Now in 2008, Electralyte brings out their second release Scratch Beneath The Surface which further exemplifies the bands ongoing development. Through this new collection and their presence live, Electralyte exude a power to connect, insight to inspire and fix the eyes and ears of those that encounter them on the world as they see it and present an invitation to take a closer look.

Electralyte are:

Matt Leeder (Lead vocal, Guitars)
Dave Griffiths (Guitars)
Paul Leverett (Bass, Vocals)
Jon Mitson (Drums, Vocals)

Scratch Beneath The Surface was produced by Tom Mills and Steve Harding.

There are bands that slave away year after year, song after song, pouring their hearts into their songs, and their gas tanks, as they criss cross the country waiting for someone to care. Then there are bands that suddenly appear, fully formed and ready to remind us why we love rock and roll. As if crafted in another world and delivered to rescue us from our hyphenated-rock-doldrums, The Becoming has landed and it’s time for you to remember what gave you chills the first time you heard really great music. Possibly the perfect blend of melody, mood and mystique, The Becoming are here and we will all soon realize what good news that is. Line up, and pledge your allegiance to The Becoming.

Paul Alan is no stranger to success. As lead singer of the group Nouveaux, his record sales steadily climbed, reaching beyond 100,000 units while delivering numerous radio hits, including the #1 singles “If Only” and “Through Heaven’s Fields”. In 2001, Paul stepped out on his own, taking his music in an entirely new direction. The transition allowed him to reveal a new perspective on the Christian message, while focusing on the realities of life in a very real and personal way.

With his solo debut, Falling Awake, he continued climbing the charts and drawing new fans with the hits “She’s the Reason” and “Leaving Lonely”. In 2008, Paul emerges with his long awaited sophomore release, Drive It Home. Combining his unmistakable voice and infectious melodies, he draws the listener even closer in with perceptive lyrics and musical dynamics that display the calibre of a veteran artist in his prime.

Drive It Home reveals a depth and maturity in Paul as many of life’s questions have now been answered for him, yet through every lyric he places lasting truth and tangible hope in reach of all who listen. “I am doing this album because it is my calling and my gift,” says Paul, “Music is the one thing I have that gives me a chance to say something that has eternal relevance.” And with Drive It Home he offers exactly that.

“As it turns out, this record did emerge with a bit of a reoccurring theme; many of the songs rather unintentionally allude to the idea of the prodigal’s redemption. One song in particular, “To Bring You Back”, was written in 1998. It was considered for Falling Awake, but it just didn’t seem to fit.” He continues, “Bethlehem was just finished recently; we wrestled with that thing for a year before feeling good about it, piecing it together from the “parts bin” of half-written songs, only to stumble on the same theme - some guy leaves what is real and true in order to search for who knows what, only to come full circle via the hog pen. And then it hit me… I am that guy.”

Paul reveals, “For the past several years, I have honestly wanted little to do with the Christian religion, and I have kept God at arm’s length. I really believe that God is using my own songs to tell me that the god of the Christian religion is much too small and complicated, and that He wants to boil it down to this: “I left the 99 to find the one - and you’re the one.” Simply put, it’s not about a subculture version of Christianity; it’s about a real relationship and returning to the simplicity of a childlike faith in God. And that regardless of your situation, your experience in life or the state of your Christian walk; God loves you and is constantly pursuing you… you’re the one.

“I know that there are churches full of people who are restless, broken, angry, confused, defeated, hopeless, faithless, burned out… and too ashamed to admit it, because Christians are supposed to be none of those things.” All too often, people find themselves trying to live up to what they have been told a Christian is supposed to be and lose sight of God altogether. Paul continues, “I want to find those people, wrap my arms around them, and make it absolutely clear to them that I have been there… I am with them.”

In Drive It Home, Paul speaks clearly to those that often go ignored. With a lyrical depth and poignancy that comes only through life experience and maturity, he draws vivid imagery contrasting real life struggles in the light of Jesus Christ. “And not the subculture Jesus you see ironed on t-shirts, but the Jesus who loved people even when it was hard and He knew He would be criticized for it,” says Paul, “the same Jesus who turned over tables and openly criticized the terminally fake.”

There are nuances to Drive It Home that show deep conviction in Paul, both artistically and personally. Although Paul is never one to write trivial or clichéd lyrics, the songs on this record very clearly point to Christ. Paul found in the writing of this record that he was actually writing songs to himself and that these songs were what God was trying to tell him all along. Summed up in the meaningful lyrics of his new track “Just Come to Jesus”:

This is for the weary and the weak
this is for the broken and ashamed
this is for the hopeless
hiding in the shadows
cupping hands around a flicker of faith
this is for the ones who don’t belong
this is for the silent castaways
this is for the sinner
peeking through the stained glass
from a sidewalk in the cold driving rain
we all fall down
we all need saving once in a while
you are not alone
we all lose faith
and lean on mercy
but through our darkest night
He said He’d wait for us
just come to Jesus

“Drive It Home,” says Paul, “is for anyone who is broken. This album is for anyone who feels hopeless, for those that feel they are somehow too small, too imperfect, and too insignificant to be loved by anyone, let alone a perfect God… those who may find themselves in darkness all the while putting on the Christian face every morning because “we are not supposed to feel like this...” For those searching for truth and pursuing a deeper relationship with God, Paul Alan not only pushes the envelope, he opens it for all to see. In the lyrics of his new album’s first single To Bring You Back, he says, “I left the ninety nine to find the one - and you’re the one - I’ve walked a thousand miles in this desert sun - only to bring you back.” And what he reveals is the truth of a loving Savior that suffered humiliation and was brutalized beyond human recognition… only to bring you back.

Every prodigal has their own story of redemption. This story just happens to take place in a cold and dark movie theater that was probably showing Ben Stiller’s “Along Came Polly” just the week before. With tears streaming down her lightly freckled cheeks, legs and feet curled up to her chest - a safe distance from the stickiness of a dried cola stained floor - in a hideously coloured synthetic-cloth covered seat, Joy Whitlock’s life changed forever.

Joy grew up in Mississippi, in a number of towns that only differed by the names they were given a few hundred years before. Her father was a minister, which was the reason for the Whitlock family’s pilgrimage through the Magnolia state one small town at a time moving from one flock to the next. If every flock needed a black sheep, Joy readily filled that role maybe too eagerly seeking to numb a pain that could only be healed by the One who created her. “I tried to fill the emptiness I felt with anything that numbed or felt like love - drugs… promiscuity… the usual stuff.” She looks back with regret now at the pain she caused her mother and father as well as the embarrassment she subjected them to with her actions, a theme she touches on in the standout track “Faith Don’t Fail”.

The good news is that for Joy, God was not content to watch his child aimlessly self-medicate her pain any longer and saw fit to write himself into her story. You see, God finally caught up to the then 21 year-old in Memphis, Tennessee where she had spent the past four years living with her sister after leaving her home in Mississippi at age 17. “I think He had been trying to show me something… my own emptiness, for the whole year leading up to that point,” Joy remembers the night. “And from the first scene of the movie, it was like the goggles were taken off and I could see clearly - all that I had ever done - lay on His back to bear.”

The scene Joy so vividly recounts is from Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ”. The film, most well known for it’s controversial filmmaker and boycotts from various groups, was widely championed by evangelicals or ‘believers’, including Joy’s own mother. “She drove up to Memphis for a visit and convinced me and my sister and her husband to go see it. I was nervous. It’s not exactly a movie you look forward to seeing. But I went and accepted Jesus that night. I didn’t wait to leave and get to the parking lot or nothing.” In a way, God and a Girl had its beginning on that night in Memphis.

Joy’s musical journey started a little over ten years ago when as a teenager she moved from the home of the blues to the birthplace of rock and roll. Equally symbolic the seminal moment in her young career came at a large outdoor music festival. In the late nineties, it was hard to not notice the brand of rock that Sarah McLachlan was spreading across the country with Lilith Fair and the traveling band of female singer/songwriters and rockers that made up the festival’s bill.

Joy and her sister drove the 212 miles to Nashville that summer and when McLachlan took the stage, alone in the milky spotlight, Joy felt something she had never known before. “I was mesmerized, paralyzed,” Joy remembers. “Every word, every note, every stroke of her guitar awakened something inside of me.”

You know the rest of the story. Girl asks parents to buy her a guitar that she doesn’t know how to play. Girl gets a job at local music store. Girl meets other musicians and starts band. But in all seriousness that evening in the summer of 1997(?) truly did awaken in Joy the artist that she would become and is today. “I am so in love with words, melody and the creation of songs. Music evokes so many feelings. It inspires. It dreams its own dream. It can set you on top of the world. And it can break your heart. But it makes you feel, and that is what I love.”

That simple and pure acknowledgment of the impact that music can have on ones life is also evident when watching Joy perform. Diminutive and spunky, she stands alone on stage, an artist incapable of insincerity, with a voice that cannot tell a lie while holding a guitar. She confidently yet humbly shares her songs, songs that chronicle her four year relationship with God. And the songs did not come easily Joy confesses, “I had to go through stuff to get these songs. I’m not the kind of writer that sits down and says this is what I’m going to write about today and does it. These songs came out of my struggles and questions that I’ve dealt with and some that I still deal with.”

Honesty and struggle are found all throughout God and a Girl and so are love and redemption. But Joy often points out, that even in the Christian walk one does not avoid the pitfalls, snares and even tragedies of life. “Because I still have many struggles in my life, even as a child of God, the subject matter of most of my songs tends to gravitate towards struggle. I want people to know that pain is not working against us. It brings us closer to the one who knows pain better than anyone else… Jesus Christ.” This is what Joy refers to as the “sanctity of suffering” - a phrase as provocative as the lyrics that embody its essence.

God and a Girl encapsulates all that you would expect from Joy Whitlock after knowing her background. The honest rawness of the lyric that harkens the spirit of a Flannery O’Conner short story on “Faith Don’t Fail” where Joy says, “I wish I didn’t know what I know / These memories are like hands around my throat / It’s what keeps me in / It’s what keeps me out / Oh faith don’t fail me now.”

The plaintiff’s prayer that is “Testify”, which has Joy speaking on behalf of all who have fallen short of the glory with a chorus that begs of Jesus to “Testify for me / ‘cause I’ve nothing to say for myself / I’ve wasted your time and held on with all my might / to this losing hand I’ve been dealt.” And later in the same song she pleads, “whether I struggle or go in peace / all that I ask / is let it be You that I see.”

It is this brand of gut wrenching honesty in her life and in her music that has endeared her to so many, because after all as she states, “people want to know that they are not alone, they want to know that they are not the only one with hurts.” That is in one sentence the theme and narrative of the past four years and the heart of the 14 songs on God and a Girl. Joy Whitlock writes with the voice of a prophet, the humility of a prodigal and with a heart wrapped in redemption.

Although Mike LeFevre comes from one of the most recognized families in gospel music, he himself has made his own mark in our industry through the years. Mike has formed one of the most talented and exciting groups in today’s market. Each member of this group is well respected by their peers both professionally and personally. After being formed just one year, fans voted them the Horizon Group of The Year in the 2006 Singing News Fan Awards. In 2007, they were voted Breakthrough Artist of the Year for the SGN Music Awards. They have been on several of the In Touch television shows for Dr. Charles Stanley and have quickly become a favourite of both traditional and progressive fans. Seldom do you find a group where every position is filled with this level of talent.

Mike LeFevre (Baritone)

Mike began his professional singing career with the Alphus LeFevre Singers and soon became a member of the Singing Americans. He is best remembered for his seven year position with Gold City when that particular group took gospel music by storm. Mike was voted favorite baritone on 3 occasions in the Singing News Fan Awards along with countless other awards and honors.

David Staton (Lead)

David Staton has long been recognized as one of today’s most versatile songwriters with cuts in southern gospel, black gospel, R&B and country music. Nearly every major artist in southern gospel has recorded his music at some point in recent years. His discography includes cuts by Gold City, Singing Americans, Kingsmen, Jeff & Sheri Easter, Dottie Peoples, The Greenes and countless others. His vocal performances are nothing less than stellar and respected by the best of singers.

Gus Gaches (Tenor)

You will find the name Gus Gaches on countless recordings that have come out of Nashville as one of the premier background vocalists, producers or engineers. He is one of the premier tenors of our time. Whether he is singing a flawless tenor part or stepping out to take the lead, you will b