From the great state of South Carolina comes Columbia's own The Wade Joye Band. Named after lead singer/songwriter/guitarist Wade Joye, the band is rounded out with Chad Rochester on bass and Matt King at the drums. Playing with the likes of Audio Adrenaline and Jars of Clay, to name a few, and selling 8,000 plus CDs independently, the fan base grows stronger after each of their average of 150 shows a year. Now with a distribution deal on True Tunes Records and a new release, The One Who Ran, they're bound to catch up to you soon enough.

"Much Of You" starts things off with a worship-filled rock tune adding nice picking electric guitar while "Wrap My Heart" is reminiscent of Steven Curtis Chapman, bringing some catchy pop. "Torn Over You" quickly highlights the album with a song that almost brought on chills but definitely brings falsetto. "Moment" goes back to the Wade Joye roots with an acoustic-filled song while "Take Me" carries some Third Day southern rock. "Gift Of Tears" turns into Jars of Clay while "Quiet" starts acoustically but ends with some heavy guitar riffs. "Simple Enough" has a guitar pull that jumps out and quickly becomes a hit while "Useless" ends the album with a fine solo.

With SCC and Michael W. Smith almost at the point of buying condos in Florida, fans will need a new crop of inspirational spirit-filled quality music. Wade Joye should be at the helm of this genre with a fresh face, not to mention fresh music. The production of this album is stunning and the music is impressive too, as I see amazing things in the future for this pop rock worship trio. You're bound to hear about The Wade Joye Band someday, so what are you running from?

- Review date: 2/7/02, written by Blake Garris