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...

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 from Freestocks.org on unsplash I thought it was about time I wrote another post for this illustrious blog. It's been a while since my last post, and I don't want anyone to think I have neglected this space. As you know if you've read it previously, this blog is dedicated to Contemporary Christian Music or CCM, in all it's vast, complex and ever growing set of genres that celebrate Christian faith. If there is a new genre of music, you can guarantee that somewhere out there, there is a Christian analogue. And before you start to argue that all CCM does is echo the music of the mainstream, secular world, let me remind you that the roots of rock music and so many other genres of popular music today can be traced back to the old-time gospel music of the Christian church, especially the inspirational music emerging from among the first black communities in the United States. Yep, blues (especially jump blues), rhythm and blues, jazz and some would argue, even...

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...

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...

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...

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...

As Mark 2 gained momentum, we began to focus more on our musicianship, style, image and material. Helen decided to leave the band in July 1981 to pursue her career, so we needed to recruit a new keyboardist. Steve Smith, our drummer, mentioned that there was an exceptional talent at his church - an 18 year old lad called Simon Elvin. We invited Simon to audition for us at our practice hall, and he impressed us with his keyboard skills. He also turned out to be a good vocalist and could play a number of other instruments, including guitar and woodwind. He was in! We played a few more gigs together that year and then at a concert somewhere in the north of Devon, Sue and John Ritter, leaders of the full-time touring band The Reps, turned up in our audience. They were scouting. Afterwards they met with Paul and offered him a job playing bass guitar for their band. He agreed, and The Reps gained a new member, while Mark 2 were now left for the second time that year seeking a new band m...

Mark 2 original lineup: Helen, Steve, Smudger and Paul Following the demise of Sonrise , I worked solo for a while, developing my songwriting. In 1978-9, I renewed contact with my cousin, Paul Raper, who told me he was learning to play guitar. Not long after this encounter, I went over to his house and took my own guitar with me, and we  jammed. He liked some of my compositions and asked me if I would like to play at an event at his church (the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family). I agreed and played a short set at the event which went down well. Afterwards we talked about forming a new band, and soon, Paul and I were practicing and gigging together. It wasn't long after this we realised we needed more members to create a band. I had thought of naming the band Sonrise Mk2, but eventually the name Mark 2 stuck, and we began to actively seek new members. Soon, we discovered a keyboardist and vocalist by the name of Helen Walrond, who was also at Marjons (where I worked). ...

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...