Jesusfreakhideout.com Music News: January 2002

January 2002

*Friday, January 25th, 2002*

The 33rd Annual Dove Award nominees are in! TobyMac and Steven Curtis Chapman both received eight nominations each. Third Day was close behind with a total of seven nods. Many others surprises were in store for CCM this year in the list of nominees. Surf on over to www.doveawards.com for a full list of nominations! The Dove Award ceremony will take place Thursday, April 25th.

Dove Award nominee KJ-52 is definitely no stranger to the Christian music scene or to more attentive hip-hop fans across the USA! Winner of the southwestern Florida MPM Spit and Spin battle contest, KJ-52’s creatively subversive East Coast style has been an underground phenomenon throughout the 90's. And now KJ-52 continues to expand his fan base through relentless touring, and by signing on with Uprok Records. Now KJ-52 is set to release his first album for Uprok sometime this year.

Plankeye will be following along with the latest trend and releasing a Greatest Hits record this upcoming year; but this is not without its own Plankeye feel. They will put out an anthology tracing the history of Plankeye and its members with a full color booklet of information and photos never before been seen, five brand new songs, two remakes, and very special guests, original members Scott Siletta and Adam Ferry.

So what's ahead for Eli in 2002? One bit of information he recently announced is that he may be doing a video on a new song for Compassion International. As his fans know, he has a great love for this organization and wants to do all he can to help bring attention to them. Also, Eli hopes to get a new album started soon, as soon as his producer finishes setting up a studio for him to work in.

Three-time GRAMMY nominee and Gospel Music Association "Artist" and "Group" of the year Third Day is partnering with Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) in an effort to raise money for the non-profit ecumenical Christian housing ministry. A portion of every ticket sold during Third Day's upcoming Come Together Tour will go toward a special Third Day/Habitat fund; the money raised will build eight homes worldwide during 2002. Third Day has committed to building three of these homes in cities across the United States, including Nashville, Tenn., West Palm Beach, Fla., and their hometown of Atlanta, Ga.

The Bleach guys will be finished with the new recording by the first week of February. Then it will be off to mix and master. Rumor has it that they may drop two of the songs they have already recorded in favor of some recently written "hits."

The Militia Group's own Veronica stole the #6 spot on the CMJ charts with ‘Alone Again In Spring;’ the first week of play for their first single on their first album Hope For A Brighter Future. In other Militia news, young emo wonderkids, Noise Ratchet's highly anticipated debut release, Till We Have Faces, will be out on April 2nd.

*Monday, January 21st, 2002*

It's going to be A Walk To Remember for Switchfoot beginning on January 23rd. The guys will be walking down the red carpet because of their involvment with the film. Everyone is encouraged to show up and bring their support as well as Switchfoot signs. So if you're in the Southern California area, be at Grauman's Chinese Theater at 6PM. After everything calms down, the boys will begin writing and touring again. We'll definately be praying for you guys!

Sparrow Records artist Newsboys will be releasing their highly anticipated new studio album Thrive on March 26th. Reuniting with producer Steve Taylor (Sixpence None The Richer) Thrive showcases Newsboys unique and signature style and delivers the band's most mature work to date. In addition to the fun and progressive pop sound that has defined the band since their beginning, Thrive lyrically centers around God's comfort and love for His children in times of need and challenges listeners to explore the exciting dimensions of a life devoted to Christ.

We had the pleasure recently of hearing some of the new material from Rebecca St. James' new record worship GOD. Let me tell you, folks, it's awesome! You best be counting down the days till the release of this gem. Check out some short clips of the following songs: "Breathe," "Quiet You," and "Above All." There are 9 other songs on the record which hits shelves everywhere February 26th! In other RSJ news, her new Wait For Me book is still in the writing stage with the deadline being Jan.21 and release date in July of this year. Please pray for Rebecca that she and her editor will be inspired to share God's wisdom on this special subject.

Jars of Clay could be known as Jars of Pay on March 3rd. Well, OK, maybe not, but this is the date for the premiere of their first ever pay-per-view concert at 8 PM Eastern. "Jars of Clay - The Eleventh Hour Concert" will highlight the music from the upcoming album, out on March 5th, as well as play some old favorites. This will be a series of PPV events by other musical acts with marketing such as commercials on MTV and VH1. The concert will be held at Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center Annex.

Mary Mary’s album Thankful finally reached Platinum status by selling 1 million copies. On another note, Delirious' Cutting Edge has gone Gold by selling 500,000 copies. Congratulations to both of these talented artists.

A remix of P.O.D.'s song "Set It Off" from their album Satellite is among one of many of the acts that have contributed tracks to Universal's "Music From and Inspired by 'The Scorpion King'," due March 26 from Universal. The film, a prequel and spin-off of the recent series of The Mummy films, stars wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Kelly Hu. It opens April 19 in U.S. theaters.

Essential Records welcomes the energetic, acoustic-driven Paul Colman Trio to its roster. A household name among Australia's music lovers, this three-man band has relocated to the U.S. in preparation for its first label project, due in stores May 21st, and the 53-city "Come Together" tour with label mates Third Day and Bebo Norman this winter/spring.

Ardent Records' Skillet launches the spring leg of its highly successful Alien Youth Tour beginning March 1 in LaGrange, GA. Touring in support of its critically acclaimed and most successful recording to date, Alien Youth, the tour follows last fall's 44-city headline tour and brings Skillet's most significant production to date into an additional 35 markets across the county. Joining Skillet on the spring leg of the tour are ForeFront's modern-rock band The Benjamin Gate and newly signed Squint rock band, 38th Parallel. Running through the first of May, the tour will hit strategic markets nationwide including Chicago, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Nashville, Indianapolis and Grand Rapids, among others.

Eighteen months on the road wasn't enough to suck the life out of Lifehouse although the threesome is presently enjoying a brief touring respite, singer/guitarist Jason Wade, bassist Sergio Andrade and drummer Rick Woolstenhulme will be back in the studio in March to work on the follow-up to their 2000 breakthrough debut, No Name Face. As they did for that album -- which produced rock radio's most spun single of 2001, "Hanging by a Moment" -- the Los Angeles boys will again employ producer Ron Aniello (Days of the New) to work the boards. The as-yet-untitled album should hit stores by the end of summer. As with No Name Face -- for which twenty-five recorded tracks were pared down to twelve for release -- Lifehouse are priming a healthy heaping of new material for the forthcoming sessions. Wade says he's written fifty-five new songs, twenty of them "done and ready to go." The band debuted two new numbers -- the Britpoppy "Climb" and the anthemic "Take Me Away" -- during gigs in the later part of 2001. "We could probably already do a B-sides record," Wade jokes. "But I suppose it's a little early." Whereas much of No Name Face was introspective, Wade says the bulk of the new material veers more towards the uplifting. "The songs we've been working on seem to be big rock songs," he says. "I think the next record will be more uptempo, less melancholy."

Some of you may be familiar with former BEC artists Fold Zandura. Before Fold Zandura was the electronic industrial rock sounds of Mortal. Mortal was the brainchild of producers/musicians Jyro & Jerome. They released seminal underground albums in the early 90's including Lusis (1992) and Fathom (1993) among others. According to Jyro "...the new Mortal will sound ridiculously brutal compared to any of the other Mortal records we've done..."

Gotee worship leader Jeff Deyo was recently joined in the studio by Forefront recording artist Rebecca St. James. The two friends recorded a duet for Deyo's upcoming album, Saturate. The song, written by Deyo, is titled, "Sing to You" and will close out his March 26 release.

The Vigilantes have now ended their reign of love. Bill Mallonee, front man of the Vigilantes of Love, will now work solely on his solo career. For more info, go to www.billandvol.com

Who says only one Tait can have all the fun? Lynda Randle, sister of dc talk and Tait's Michael Tait, will release her first solo record on February 26th. "Timeless", from Spring House Music will be a part of the Gaither Gospel Series. In other Tait news, Mike was on the cover of Priority, The Salvation Army Magazine.

Donnie McClurkin and Yolanda Adams were only two of the winners at the 17th annual Stellar Awards. This show highlights and awards urban gospel music.

Stacie Orrico is planning her next tour. She will be headlining a World Tour, which will kick off in May. She's also gearing up for the release of her sophomore album. Say it Again will hit stores on April 9th.

Kevin Max’s "Existence" video was recently added to the DMX’s January mainstream pop/rock reel.

*Thursday, January 10th, 2002*

Grammy-award winning and reigning GMA Dove Award winner Male Vocalist Of The Year Steven Curtis Chapman will release The Videos on February 26, 2002 on Sparrow Records. The Videos, available for the first time on DVD and VHS format, features ten of Chapman's top music videos, including "Live Out Loud" and "When Love Takes You In," both which premiered on Windowsmedia.com with an estimated viewership of over 1.5 million. Along with the music videos, the DVD includes special bonus footage of Chapman commentating on each of the ten videos, as well as commentary from director and producer Brandon Dickerson on the videos "When Love Takes You In" and "Live Out Loud." In other Steven Curtis news, The Tennessean reports that Steven Curtis Chapman can now be called an actor. He will be on the PAX show, Doc, starring Billy Ray Cyrus playing a band director with a Mr. Holland type feel that has a life threatening illness. This show will also be in honor of one of the show's writers recently diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. Don't miss this serious emotional role from Steven airing in late February.

dc Talk and True Artist Management will be auctioning off 4 front row seats as well as meet and greet passes on eBay for every concert on the dc Talk Winter Tour. All the proceeds will go to PR Ministries, a nonprofit organization supporting artists and performers for a more meaningful relationships with God, family, and colleagues. The auction started on Monday, January 7th so get to it!

Matthew, the new band headed up by Brian McSweeney of Seven Day Jesus fame, will release their debut album, Everybody Down, on April 2nd. This record will be put out by Ryco Disc, having label mates such as Sophie B. Hawkins and Frank Zappa. For more information on the band go to www.matthewmusic.com

Jennifer Knapp's critically acclaimed project, The Way I Am, is now Gotee Records' fastest selling album ever. The project has scanned nearly 90,000 units in under 2 months, a record-breaking feat for the indie label.

Following their 2000 release, Loud & Clear and its smash tour, The Supertones will be releasing Live, Vol. 1 on March 26th. The album serves as both a career-spanning celebration for die-hard Supertones true believers, AND a great introduction for new fans. If anyone has ever wanted to sample the rocking excitement that comes from the great bass playing of Tony Terusa, the nimble drumming of Adam Ferry, the anthemic vocals of Matt Morginsky, the ecstatic guitar of Ethan Luck, and the amazing horn section of Dan Spencer (trombone) and Darren Mettler (trumpet), Live, Vol. 1 is an excellent place to dig in.

2002 is going to be another big year for Earthsuit. The guys are currently working on their second full-length release for EMI, so all of their spare time is spent writing and recording these days. Also up this spring, Earthsuit will be headlining a tour with Beanbag and .rod laver. This is your chance to hear new music from the upcoming album and all new renditions of their songs from Kaleidoscope Superior. Keep an eye on the tour page on the band's site for the latest information on the April/May dates and locations.

According to one of the JfH's visitors, during Monday Night Football this week, in the 4th quarter with 2 minutes remaining, coming back from commercial, they started playing the opening riff from "Alive" from P.O.D. Pretty cool!

Dale Thompson, the lead singer of Bride will begin recording on his latest and fourth solo project, tentatively titled Unbridled, on Feb 6th. No one has any idea as to what it will sound like, however, rumors say it will be "a love story with a punk twist." If this is true, it will be a large step from Dales previous southern-flavored work.

Georgia rock superheroes, Sundry, have sadly decided to call it quits. Lead singer Mark Gibson has a new band, drummer Chad Coleman will be playing with other artists, bass player Brian Gauthier will focus on school, and guitarist Mike Payne has been and will continue to work with many other artists. There is a farewell show scheduled on February 22nd in Stone Mt., Georgia. Best of luck to each of the guys in their promising futures.

Yolanda Adams was recently on the Larry King Live Show to sing her latest hit "Never Give Up."

Denison Marrs has signed a joint deal with Floodgate Records, Velvet Blue Music, and Warner Brothers Entertainment. Be on the look out for a new album in the Summer of 2002.

*Saturday, January 5th, 2002*

The nominees are in folks! And for some of you, they might be shockers! The nominees for the 44th Annual Grammy Awards are in. The highest nomination in Christian music was achieved by those San Diego wonders P.O.D. with their song "Alive" (from their new album Satellite) being nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance. The band has been pitted up against the likes of Alien Ant Farm's Michael Jackson cover "Smooth Criminal," Linkin Park, and Rage Against the Machine. In the Best Rock Gospel Album category, the recently split Big Tent Revival grabbed a nomination for their final album, Big Tent Revival Live. dc Talk's Solo EP surprisingly was given a nod as well. The Choir's underground release Flap Your Wings must have caught someone's eye while another live project, Sonicflood's Sonicpraise and rapper T-Bone's The Last Street Preacha also given consideration. For Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album, Steven Curtis Chapman was recognized again for his latest project Declaration. Michael W. Smith's debut worship project appropriately titled Worship, Avalon's Oxygen, Nicole C. Mullen's Talk About It, and CeCe Winans' self-titled projects all got nominations. Congratulations to all of this years nominees!

Nashville, TN. BEC Recordings is proud to announce the signing of world class pop/rock artist Bleach to its roster. The band is currently in the studio co-producing their fourth studio release, debut BEC release, with Oran Thornton (Flick). The as-yet-untitled project is slated to release in August 2002. "Bleach is a band that we’ve been following for years," says BEC president, Brandon Ebel. "These guys have proven themselves as a band that can not only write great rock songs, but deliver them live. More importantly, Bleach is a band with an outstanding reputation--- with youth pastors, industry folks, other bands, and fans. Everybody loves them. We’re thrilled to have them in the BEC family." Congratulations to Bleach for finally finding a new label to call their home.

Rebecca St. James' brand new worship project, worshipGOD, was completed just before Christmas and was being mastered ready for duplication yesterday with release scheduled for February 26th. Songs on the album include: "Quiet You With My Love," "Lamb of God," "You," and "Song of Love" which are all new tracks, as well as a special remix of "Omega" from her album Pray, and covers of popular worship tunes like "God of Wonders," "It Is Well," "Better Is One Day," "Above All," and "Breathe." To hear a sample of the new music, go to RSJames.com. Rebecca will sing "Breathe" on TBN next Friday night, the 11th. She is currently in New York this week with friends and commences her sabbatical Jan.15, with exception for her encore tour in March. Per inqueries regarding "Yes, I Believe In God," there is plans to include the song on a special RSJ compilation album to be released at the end of the year.

CCMCOM.com reported recently that All Star United is now with Furious Records in England and plan on the release of their brand new album Revolution on March 30th, 2002.

Well, the For Sale sign has been moved from Word to Rugged Records. Owner Michael Betts feels he needs to work more with unsigned artists so he is selling Rugged. If no one buys the label then bands such as Disciple and Nailed will be unsigned too.

Sonicflood's current lead singer, Rick Heil, has formed Resonate Records as well as announced a partnership with INO Records. He will be very active with this upstart label.

Congratulations to Yolanda Adams on singing the National Anthem at the Rose Bowl on ABC. This is college football's national championship game that pitted the Nebraska Cornhuskers against the Miami Hurricanes.

Bride will spend the first part of 2002 writing and experimenting with new songs. The band is looking for input from their fans would like to hear. The band is deciding whether or not to respond to news that the old style metal is coming back and if they should write in that direction. The band is also pondering the thoughts of producing a new full-length video. This would be a project, which would show all of our past professionally shot videos on one tape.

On January 29th, Charlie Daniels is going back to his roots. That day, the successful southern country music pioneer will release How Sweet The Sound - 25 Favorite Hymns and Gospel Greats on Sparrow Records. This double disc set, with a possible bonus single of 'This Ain't No Rag, It's A Flag,' marks Daniels' third release with Sparrow.

Ardent Records recently premiered the long-anticipated Spring 2002 release of vocal band Brother's Keeper at Chordant Distribution's Winter Sales Conference. The band's sophomore release, entitled Cover Me, is slated to hit the streets on March 26, 2002. Since their debut release more than two years ago, the group has matured from a four-man "boy band" to a guitar-driven Pop/Rock trio. Brother's Keeper member Gabe Dunlap comments, "All three of us have known each other through high school and college, and this album marks our continued growth as Christians, musicians, and brothers in Christ."

Three times might be the charm for Gary Cherone. With success in Extreme and the forgotten fill in singer of Van Halen, he is back again with Tribe of Judah. Faith has always played a key roll in his music growing up a devout Catholic but this band will be stronger in message than ever. Soon, go to www.cherone.com for more details when there is content.