Upon This Rock

Keith, Sue and John in 1972 I have told this story before, but it bears repeating. I came to faith in early September 1973 after a day at the Bromyard Folk Festival where I heard a folk-rock trio called Parchment play. I can still remember the rich aroma of the trampled grass that had been baking all day under the warm canvas, as the hot late summer sun beat down upon the large marquee we were sat in. The stage was small, and rather make-shift, but the sound system was powerful, and the microphones on their stands glinted silver. Parchment came onto the stage, looking a little dishevelled and Bohemian, and also quite hairy - and performed a short set that included several of their new songs, but also the CCM classic Light Up The Fire. It was this song that hit me like a ton of bricks. The classic chorus is still sung in schools and churches all over the world today: 'Light up the fire, and let the flame burn. Open the door let Jesus return, take seeds of His Spirit and l...

Photo by Steve Wheeler I spent an interesting 15 minutes interviewing double MOBO Award winner and UK grime artist Guvna B yesterday, backstage at Creation Fest. Born in the East End docklands area of London to first generation Ghanian immigrants, he has seen a lot of trouble in his life. As he grew up he experienced poverty, violence, drug abuse and personal loss. These experiences became instrumental in his journey to faith. He now spends his time recording and performing his own music, a mix of rap, gospel, grime and hip hop styles. He's a busy man and very difficult man to get hold of (I failed to grab an interview with him at last year's event), and I had to be patient, but after some time loitering around the backstage,  and a few false starts, I finally got to record an interview with Guvna B for CrossRhythms Radio , and it will be aired in the next few days. I also recorded enough conversation with him to do a pilot show for the new Upon This Rock series I'...

The first Contemporary Christian Music album I ever bought was by a group called 2nd Chapter of Acts. They were a sister/brother vocal trio - Annie, Matthew and Nellie - who had just begun to appear on the scene. Their first album - which I played and played until I nearly wore it out - was simply titled *With Footnotes, and yes, the asterisk was important. About three quarters of the back cover of the album is filled with the entire second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, and the *footnotes section is directly underneath, where the tracks and credits are listed. A neat touch. The front of the album, which is predominantly green and yellow in its themes, show the three siblings grinning into the camera, and yes, they are unmistakably brother and sisters. *With Footnotes was released on the Myrrh label in 1974 and contained 11 tracks, all but one of which were written by Annie Herring . The producer of the album was Annie's husband Buck, and their master stroke was to enlist...

Photo from Wikimedia Commons Exeter based folk trio Wildwood Kin are one of the most exciting new acts to appear in CCM in the last few years. The band is an all female trio formed by sisters Bethany and Emillie Key and their cousin, Meghann Loney. The Kin play an ethereal, rootsy, indie folk Americana style. It is catchy yet ambient, blending a number of styles in a genre that is better to experience than to describe. Tribal drum rhythms  dominate many of their tracks, courtesy of stand-up drummer Meghann, while their unique style is accentuated by Bethany's bouzouki and keyboard playing, and great fretwork from Emillie. However, as any fan will inform you, the crowning glory of the Kin's performances will always be the immaculate vocal harmony style, an ingredient that has marinated from a life time spent growing together. Watching their performances reveals their secret - they absolutely love playing and singing as one, and this strong familial bond extends to embrace...

This is continuation of my short series of posts about how I became involved with Contemporary Christian Music. Previous posts are listed and linked at the foot of this post. Me c 1980 I met Roger Lenk while we were both at Marjons in Plymouth (then a teacher education college). I soon discovered that Roger identified as a 'Messianic Jew' - someone who had been born into the Jewish tradition, but had accepted Yeshua (Jesus) as his mashiach (Messiah). We actually first met during a journey up to Dartmoor Prison where we were both billed to play at an event organised by Youth for Christ. It was a daunting trip for me, because Dartmoor Prison can be a forbidding place at the best of times, and we arrived at Princetown that autumnal evening as an eery fog was drifting in over the moors and the sun had already set. The granite walls of the prison stared at us gauntly, and the sodium lamps cast a sickly yellow hue over the stonework. As the large gates of Dartmoor slammed sono...

Yes, that's me playing in Plymouth in the late 70s. In my last post I wrote about my first foray into performance of my music. It didn't go particularly well, but I learnt two very important lessons - be self sufficient (the stage can be a lonely place) and keep going. As I played at more events and my audience began to grow, I became more confident, my song writing improved and I began to perform my songs rather than just survive them. I began to play at youth events across the city and then ventured further, playing a series of barbecue events and barn dances in and around the city. I met with various other young musicians including Noel Richards , who lived just across the border in Wales. We did at least half a dozen concerts together, and I learnt a lot from watching his confident playing style. I also played alongside another Welsh musician by the name of Kevin Gould , who went on to record several albums. We did a student gig in the local teacher training college...

Me c 1979 playing an Ovation Matrix electric/acoustic guitar I first began to involve myself in Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) during the early part of 1974, just after I came to faith. Armed with just an acoustic guitar and a few self-penned songs, I began to play short sets in cafes and church halls - in fact anywhere I could get a spot. My first ever 'concert' consisted of just four songs and a few stories, which I put together when I was invited to play an evening slot on the Royal Air Force camp my father was stationed at, just outside Hereford in a village called Credential. I was just 16 years old. It was an evening organised by SASRA - the Soldiers and Airmen's Scripture Readers Association, which was being held in one of the airmen's bars on the camp. The audience was mainly young RAF apprentices, just out of school, who were there to basically have a few beers and let off some steam after a hard day of training. When it came for my time to perform...

He is the genuine article. He walks onto stage with just an acoustic guitar, and within seconds of starting his song, you are drawn in, not just by his lilting Celtic vocals and superb imaginative fretwork, but also by the fact that Steph Macleod has done the hard miles, and is a survivor. You see, Steph's story is one of hope from despair and freedom from addiction. His story is infused in his songs, all of which are self-composed and many of which are biographical. Steph is big and bearded - the archetypical Scot through and through - and occasionally you may see him appear wearing his kilt with a full Celtic rock band behind him. Now he is an internationally acclaimed singer and songwriter who has performed with the likes of Matt Redman , Martin Smith and the Rend Collective . His music features regularly on BBC (Radio 2 and Songs of Praise) as well as other broadcasting channels such as UCB. But his life wasn't always like this. In his darkest years he was hopelessl...

One of the interesting highlights at Creation Fest was the lineup playing the second venue, known as the Big Top. One stand-out band that graced this stage, and made our ears bleed a little, was Amongst Wolves , who are a mission band. Along with Soulbox (who featured in an earlier post on this blog) they work for The Message, going into schools and other youth oriented venues to play their music messages of hope and faith. Amongst Wolves have toured extensively across the UK and in other countries including Germany. The band can best be described as alternative melodic rock, with sounds reminiscent of Paramore . They are a four piece made up of Mark (guitar and vocals), Kariss (vocals and guitar), Andy (drums) and Clarissa (guitar and keyboards). I met the band backstage at Creation Fest 2018 and asked them to talk about their inspirations, history, future and .... yep, how they got their name. Here's the interview: My next post reviews their 6 track mini-album Unspok...

Punk rock and Christianity. Can the two possibly go together, or is Christian punk simply an oxymoron? A group of three courageous young musicians are proving that the two can be compatible, and they are attracting a real storm of opposition on social media because of it. I interviewed Peter 118 at Creation Fest and featured them in a post called Jesus was a punk . It went viral, and a storm kicked off on Facebook. Many it seems, were outraged by the groups stand for Christ, and their no-compromise attitude in the face of overwhelming online abuse and criticism. But they still wanted to read more about this controversial trio.  Reading one particular Facebook thread about Peter 118 requires some fortitude because there is an angry, baying mob on there, and several of the comments come from those who patently aren't thinking too clearly about what they are typing. Those posting to the discussion page seem polarised by the band. Some comments are vitriolic, ad hominem at...

One of the outstanding performances of Creation Fest 2018 came on Tuesday evening on the main stage from a band called The Moment . Based in the Midlands, they are a five piece band (there are actually 7 listed on their website!) who play rocked up worship and also some of their own original work. The Moment were outstanding not simply because of their music, which was superbly conceived and performed with passion. Their live CD is entitled Not Afraid. What struck me most about the set they played was the message of hope from their front man Dave Bell. His personal story of a miraculous life was very moving, and it's inspirational. In essence, when he was 16 years old, Dave was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer, and it was only by the great skill and dedication of his physicians that he pulled through at all. However, because of the intense radiotherapy Dave received, his doctors informed him that he would never be able to have children.... ...and I'll leave...

Randy Stonehill appeared abruptly on the Contemporary Christian Music scene in 1971. Born in Stockton, California in 1952, Randall Evan Stonehill and was raised an agnostic. I previously wrote about how rock musician and CCM pioneer   Larry Norman  met Stonehill, befriended him and then led him to Christ. Norman later signed Stonehill to his One Way label and went on to produce several of his early albums. To date Randy Stonehill has released more than 30 albums since his debut production, Born Twice.  He is a singer/songwriter who falls neatly within the folk rock genre. His songs and style are reminiscent of the music of James Taylor with shades of CSN , and some melodic West-Coast rock influence can also be heard. Some of Stonehill's tracks are insanely comedic in their approach, and he is inevitably zany in his live performances too. Several of his compositions contain critical commentary on American life, with humour used to good effect on songs such as Ameri...

Interviewing drummer Ed Freitas was an absolute delight. He's one of the happiest people I've ever met, and this exudes from him in everything he does. I met him backstage at Creation Fest 2018 and we talked about his work, his drumming, digital programming, touring and .... world records. Yes, Ed is currently the holder of TWO Guinness World Records , but if you want the details, you'll have to listen to his interview which is below. As Cyba-X , Ed takes the stage with a massive, hi-tech array of equipment, arranged in what can only be described as Star Gate configuration. The electronics and digital technology behind what he does once he starts his performance need to be seen to be believed. Just take a look at the picture on this page. One of Ed's tricks is to trigger sequencers as he creates his music live on the stage in front of his audience. He is literally a one-man-band, and he can create new music out of just about any theme or sample, from classical ...

Earlier today I was listening to a track I'd not heard before on Dave Simpson's CrossRhythms radio show. My daughter was with me in the car as we listened and we both agreed that the voice was extraordinary. Then there was a section of rapping, and my daughter said - 'that sounds just like Nicky Minaj.' I promised I would look up the artists and find out who they were. It turned out to be a song called I'm Getting Ready, performed by Tasha Cobbs Leonard , a gospel soul singer from Atlanta, Georgia. And yes, my daughter was correct - the rap artist featuring on the track is none other than Nicky Minaj . I'm Getting Ready deserves a lot of mainstream airplay if it hasn't already begun to break through. It's an incredible soul song. It was recorded live with plenty of atmosphere from the audience, and it's taken from Tasha's new album Heart, Passion, Pursuit. Check out this amazing track on the YouTube channel below: Photo credit: Wik...

If you like rhythm and blues, or jazz, or soul, or even funk.... then you'll love Out of the Ashes . They are a duo, or a five piece, or even a big band, depending on where they play. When I saw them perform at Creation Fest 2018 I saw them as a five piece, and even then they created a very full sound. Husband and wife team Kevin and Penny are at the core of the act, he as lead guitarist, and she as lead vocalist. The band is colourful, eclectic and dynamic, their vocal harmonies are tight, and as you listen you can't help but join in with the fun as you move to the wonderful rhythms and swing/jazz/funk tempos the band generates. Out of the Ashes' music is cool, clever and captivating. The band goes beyond the music though. When I caught up with Penny and Kevin backstage at Creation Fest 2018, I talked to them about their inspirations and their message. They are keen to tackle cultural and social issues, especially around ageism and marginalisation in society. Many of t...

Question: What do you get when you cross Soul and Beatbox? Answer: Soulbox! And for the uninitiated.... Soulbox are two guys who blend soul, rap and beatbox into a funky mix that just has to be heard to be appreciated. They perform anywhere they are invited, and work alongside the Message  with other bands such as Amongst Wolves (of which more in a future blog post). I caught up with Ben and Jon at Creation Fest to talk to them about their motivations and inspirations, their mission to evangelise schools and youth through their music, and also to hear a bit of live beatbox. Click on the red and white arrow below to listen to the interview: Soulbox by  Steve Wheeler  was written in Washington, England and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License .

Bootleg (1970) by Larry Norman Now and then I'm hoping to feature some of the pioneers of Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) and some of the seminal tracks they recorded. CCM has a short history, arguably starting around the Jesus Movement period of the late 60s and early 70s. In 1971, Chuck Smith, pastor of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California, launched a Christian record label called Maranatha! Music . It was a vehicle to popularise music by several of Calvary Chapel's in-house bands including Sweet Comfort Band, Love Song, Mustard Seed Faith and Daniel Amos. Several solo artists were also signed to the new label, and a number of vinyl albums were released during the 1970s. Even before Maranatha! Music launched, a singer/songwriter from Texas by the name of Larry David Norman established his own Christian label called One Way records in 1970. The first two albums released on One Way were a double album by Norman himself, called Bootleg, and another by a new, up a...

Sisters Fern and Adrienne are on a mission. They gave up their jobs and left their home in 2011 to travel the country in a rusted old camper van. Their mission? To play their own particular brand of indie soul music to audiences wherever they could, because they believe they have a vital message for this generation. Seven years on from their decision to hit the road, Daughters of Davis have produced several albums, made numerous radio and TV appearances, shared the stage in the UK with the likes of Peter Andre , Sam Bailey , Leona Lewis and Beyoncé , and have toured across Europe with Eels and Rebecca Ferguson . And their mission continues. The sisters write and sing songs that bear messages for this generation, about relevant issues such as mental health, emotional conflict and self-worth. Their latest release, entitled #NotPlayingTheGame is a concept album that confronts the pressures society places on young people to conform to expectations of body and appearance, personal ...

I've spent a lot of time in the studio over the last week or so, recording programmes for my new show which will air this Autumn on CrossRhythms radio  (see dates below!) The show is called Just Vinyl, and it features classic Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) tracks, drawn largely from the 1970s and 1980s. I'm playing exclusively vinyl because it has a particular quality and although there are a few clicks and pops every now and then, I think this just adds to the beauty of the medium. Many of the artists I'm featuring are giants of the genre, pioneers of CCM when it was in its infancy, when very few of the musicians were full-time. Today, Christian music is big business - there are radio stations, record labels and management/touring companies dedicated fully to promoting it. Back in the day, very little of this existed, and those who were involved in pioneering CCM had to forge their own pathways. It was not easy to finance ventures into Christian music - most musi...

Remember the late 1970s? If you were around back then you'll know that punk was all everyone in the music industry was talking about. The Sex Pistols , Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren (the photo on McLaren's Wikipedia site was taken by me) were being outrageous, and The Clash were tearing up the music rule book. Across the Pond, the New York Dolls and Iggy Pop  (so called 'Godfather of punk') were similarly disruptive. Punk rock was loud and basic, a distorted, fast moving and very aggressive form of music that captured the imagination of an entire generation of young people. The boundaries were blurred between the bands and their audiences, and it seemed as though anyone could join in. Punk overturned the acceptable norms and challenged conventions, because it was raw and honest, and it took no prisoners. Kids were angry about society, seeing injustice and corruption everywhere they looked, and they wanted their voices to be heard. But punk was more th...