Upon This Rock

Photo by Flavio Gasparini on unsplash It's all happening folks. I just got back from the studio after a conversation with the Station Manager at CrossRhythms, and it's all systems go for a pilot programme for a new daytime show called Upon This Rock. Upon This Rock will be a one hour programme that exclusively features a CCM artist or band, including interviews, biography, history, insights, and of course several tracks from the said artist. I'm looking forward to producing and recording these shows, because I love talking to fellow musicians about what inspires them, how and why they write their songs, what 'performance' is all about, and life in general. There is quite a lot of research, writing, recording and editing to be done, but I'm going to be learning as I go and I know it will be great fun. I have some interesting and hopefully exciting and inspirational shows planned that will feature some of the brightest and best CCM artists of the current...

Unspoken is a very strong debut EP from Amongst Wolves. They're a four piece rock band I featured on this blog a few days ago and you can hear my interview with them at this link . Amongst Wolves can best be located within the alternative rock genre. If you like hard edged, grungy rock, you're going to love this EP - you can listen to some of the tracks at the link below. The opening track So Much More is so well written it will make you sit up and take notice. It's a raw edged rock anthem that exhorts people to question everything and seek for answers to life's questions. It starts with a crawling, Matt Bellamy inspired distorted guitar that morphs into a grungy backdrop for the lead vocals of Kariss Rees (who reminds me a little of Hayley Williams with a touch of plaintive edge from  Dolores O'Riordan ). Track 2 starts with a punk chant, and then transgresses into melodic, almost balladic rock. Bottles clearly opens up a dialogue about alcohol and substanc...

Mark 2 at Greenbelt 1983: Pictures by Denise Hockey By 1983 Mark 2 had been on the road for four years. Our sound was tight, we were well rehearsed and experienced, had written a lot of material, and our sound and lighting crew knew exactly what they were doing. We regularly mailed out a free fanzine to supporters, and had a merchandising stand that sold badges, T-shirts and our records. All the proceeds were plugged straight back into funding the band. By now we had travelled the country, playing alongside well-known Christian artists including Sheila Walsh , Amaziah, Chris Eaton , Mark Williamson Band, Garth Hewitt , Nutshell, Steve Turner, Barry Crompton and The Predators. In August 1983, Mark 2 worked as resident band for a few days at the Falmouth Arts Centre in Cornwall. We came off stage one night to hear the terrific news that we had been invited to play at the Greenbelt Arts Festival later that month - in the venue known as the 'Big Top.' We travelled up to Kn...

Image from the Flight Brigade Website One of my favourite tracks right now is being played out quite a lot on CrossRhythms radio. It's called 39 Steps and it's by Flight Brigade . The song has really got inside my head, and you would be well advised to check it out on YouTube. I think you'll like it. There are several versions, including a few live performances. Flight Brigade are going from strength to strength. They are masters of the memorable riff, and every track I've heard from this 7 piece outfit weaves melodic rock with intriguing lyrics. The track below, titled U Kill Me, illustrates this perfectly, and showcases the diverse talents of the entire band. The band's website opens their biography page with the following statement: "Think of Flight Brigade as a family as much as a seven-strong band and you start to understand the chemistry between them. Think of their songs as epic stories to which each member is essential and you begin to gra...

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...

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...

Interviewing the Simon Harper Band at Creation Fest 2018 When you hear the word 'worship' what comes to mind? It depends who you are I suppose. Do you think of a church service where people are singing traditional hymns accompanied by a pipe organ? A more contemporary setting where a group are singing choruses with guitars and tambourines? Gospel style choir singing, if you are a member of a charismatic or evangelical church perhaps? Hillsongs or Worship Central style maybe? There are as many styles of worship as there are styles of music of course. But have you heard of furious worship? Well, that's exactly what I experienced when I heard the Simon Harper band live at Creation Fest 2018 . I know, I know. It's my label for their approach to leading worship, but I think it's appropriate, because Simon and the lads know how to kick up a real storm as they abandon themselves to worshipping the living, vibrant and all-powerful God. Their music is loud, raucous ...