By Robert Ham

He refers to it as “the song” or even more vaguely as just “a song” that he wrote. But if you know the name John Mark McMillan, you know that “the song” he’s referring to – “How He Loves” – has quickly become one of the most revered worship songs in the world, and has been recorded by luminaries such as David Crowder, Todd Agnew, and Flyleaf.

 In spite of the song’s successes and his rabid fan base, McMillan has largely flown under the radar of the contemporary Christian music world. This will likely change for the 30-year-old singer/songwriter with the upcoming release of his third album The Medicine. It is his first album to be released by a major label (Integrity/Columbia), a move that will likely find him an even bigger audience for his potent blend of pop smarts and folk/blues grit.

 We caught up with McMillan before a tour stop in Seattle, Washington. Sitting in a local coffee house, nursing a cappuccino, he spoke about his still-young career, the move to a major, and the still-debated issue of David Crowder changing the lyrics of “the song”.

How did you get started playing music?

 My dad had a storefront church near Charlotte and they’d have musicians there, people coming in and out. Afterwards, I’d get them to show me some chords. I was terrible at sports. I was not very attractive to the girls. I thought I’ll learn some music and play some chords and maybe the girls will notice me. It didn’t really work but I started to fall in love with sounds. Later on, I really fell in love with songwriting. I came across Dylan and Springsteen and started to really enjoy the kind of things they had to say. More than what they said. It was what they did, the way they gave the average person a language. If you listen to Springsteen, he’s singing about regular people the things they go through and the things they do. I love that.

Did you always imagine you’d be a worship singer/songwriter or did you ever think, “Maybe I could be Springsteen”?

 I sing about Jesus because I like the story and I know what it’s about so writing worship music came naturally at first but we played other venues for a while. But the church thing started to take off, when I wrote a song that a lot of other people started singing. It came more naturally so we ended up doing a lot more of that kind of stuff.

How has that felt having people latch on to this song and watching your career grow from where you started from and where you are now?

 It’s been great. It’s been real interesting with the song. Because I grew up in church but I was never connected with any sort of mainstream Christian music. I probably couldn’t tell you four or five of the biggest artists even right now. It’s been really crazy how big that song’s become. A lot more conservative type folks listen to the music, which is cool. But people ask me questions about stuff that no one had really questioned before as far as how you do things. People have these super traditional mindsets in these areas where they might expect me to act a certain way and do certain things but I’ve never had that pressure before. It’s kind of a weird thing about the way I write songs. People feel like you have to write about certain things and do it a certain way or it’s wrong. I never wanted to be a Christian artist. I just wrote what I was thinking about and what I was feeling. People aren’t used to hearing different kinds of songs connected to the same things.

It’s interesting that you said that because I was chatting online with my sister today, and I told her who I was interviewing and sent her a link to your web site. I mentioned after the fact that you were a Christian artist and she said that she would never have guessed that based solely on your music. 

 I never thought the word “Christian” described the music really well. Maybe I’m crazy maybe I just think more of myself than who I really am. But I’m not sure my music fits with what you would consider Christian music. I have a real problem in the airport people ask what kind of music I play. I’m trying to figure out what to call it. I did an interview on TV and I told them I think I’ll call it gospel rather than Christian music.

How has it been now that you are transitioning to a major label from releasing things on your own? Do you feel any friction concerning not wanting to label yourself as a “Christian artist”?

 There’s definitely a little bit of that friction. Before when I was just independent, I didn’t have to label myself as anything. I’d just put the stuff up on iTunes and sell it at shows. I don’t really understand what world my music exists in. But I had an issue with being part of the Christian organization with the music. After a while, I realized the huge proportion of my market were believers. And it took me about a year to sign with Integrity maybe because of that I didn’t sort feel like I fit with the vibe of the company overall. But there are some really great people on the team. They spent a year to convince me they really wanted to try something different and they really do. They’re really taking a risk that a lot of other Christian companies would have taken.

How so?

 Christian music is heavily driven by Christian radio, and they have specific things like certain frequencies that they want you to mix your song. They want it this length. They want the chorus to come in within 30 seconds. They want it mixed a certain way they want certain frequencies within the mix and I just don’t like that sound at all. Many of the other labels said, “You can do what you want with the album, but let us mix two or three singles and produce them for the radio.” Integrity hasn’t asked me to do any of that. They’ve let me do the songs the way I want. They’ve been super cool and understanding of what I want to do. I’m really blown away at how much they’ve been willing to take risks in those areas.

Has anything from the record made its way on to Christian radio?

 They’ve serviced it to radio and some stations have picked it up, but none of the big ones. I think their view is that there’s not really a big radio home run on this album.  They’ve put a little energy into radio but they haven’t pushed it. I think they’ve known that I’m not super excited about radio.

Are you worried that you are going to get any pressure from them for the next record to move in that direction and cater it toward the bigger marketplace?

 There’ve been nights that I’ve laid awake thinking about that. They say that they’re not going to do that. I know the label is a business and they exist to make money. They want to make your audience bigger one way or another. But I’m cool with that. That’s part of the reason I came to the label. I want to grow our audience too. I don’t feel like they’re going to do it. I just won’t do it. I think they know that. I can do a lot of things but I just can’t do something that I don’t believe in. I don’t think I can hear my song mixed a certain way and be able to live with myself. I don’t need the money that bad. It’s not like we’re making that much money anyway. Most artists get into the business when they’re 18 or 19. I’m 30 and I just now signed a record deal. I took the long road and I’m willing to stick with it.

You posted something on your blog recently encouraging songwriters to make “dangerous music”. What did you mean by that?

 What I was talking about there was this idea that the church has become too safe in a lot of ways. You read the Psalms, which is based on musical worship and has become the model for what we do. There are issues that they deal with that most churches won’t even touch. 20% of the songs in there are the happy and joyful. Those are the only songs that the culture of church wants to have anything to do with. The other 80% of Psalms – the angry Psalms, the sad Psalms, the Psalms that question God – the church won’t deal with it. If you want to question the existence of God and the goodness of God, they don’t want to hear it. But it’s in the Bible. Some of the most revered people in the Bible had moments where they questioned God where they had to search out those kinds of things. They were angry or they cursed people. I feel like its time for worship people to explore some of those and feel comfortable exploring those things. To write music that isn’t so safe and it maybe not be dangerous for people outside of the church.

The reason I asked that is because of David Crowder’s version of “How He Loves” and his changing the lyrics of the song because it was bothering people in his church. That really goes against this idea of making “dangerous music.”

 It totally does. With Crowder, he called and asked to change the line. He said, “Can I change this one line?” And I said, “Why do you want to change it?” He said that a huge group of people that need to hear the song would never hear it because of this lyric. That’s the thing about Christian radio. There aren’t “rules” that say they won’t play it, but I know they won’t play it. So I assumed that’s a major reason that he changed it. And I got to the point that there was so much heat on the song and so many people doing it. And I know the label talked about other people doing that I wasn’t very excited about it. I thought it was just a matter of time before somebody changes that line. I like David and I thought if it’s going to be someone it might as well be him. I never knew it was going to be a single. I thought it was going to be on the back half of his album. But, lo and behold, it’s maybe the biggest single he’s ever had.

 We actually worked together a little bit on the song. He had a couple of things that didn’t really work. And he came up with the “unforeseen kiss” and I said, “Well, let me try this.” And he said, “Well, I’ve already recorded it.” [laughs]

 My community my small core audience was so fired up about it a lot of them got really angry saying bad things about David Crowder. I wrote a blog post because I didn’t want Crowder thinking that I supported the mean things they were saying about him. Truthfully, if I’d written that song now, I’d have written it totally different. Not just that line. I never thought that was an incredible line anyway, but I guess the fact that people said I couldn’t do it made me want to do it even more. I kind of want to put something in every worship song that makes someone uncomfortable. I want to make them a little bit nervous. I get excited about that. Because it makes them think about what’s going on instead of going through the motions.

The story behind “How He Loves” is a very emotional one [the song was inspired by the death of one of McMillan's close friends]. How does it feel to perform that song or to hear others play it? Is it hard to hear or play considering the emotions that are tied up with it? Or has enough time passed that you can just focus on the more positive side of the song?

 It’s been close to eight years now since my friend died, so you have moments where you’re back there in the beginning. But for the most part I’ve grown from that. It’s obviously a really painful experience. Over the years, you learn to grow and process it. So I don’t always feel that. Sometimes I still do. Sometimes it’s there. I get excited about the song when I hear other people sing it. When we’re at a show or a worship event and I hear people sing it back to me, it takes me back there and makes me feel that thing again. The good part of what I felt. It was a comforting thing to write that song. I don’t know why it is but whenever I’m feeling really far from God and really disconnected, something about me going back to that painful experience, I feel like a person again because I can hurt over that experience. That might sound kind of morbid, but something about pain that brings you into reality. I have to believe this is temporary and there’s more to life. I go back there sometimes on stage. Literally, the first year and a half that I sang the song, I couldn’t get through it. I got to the point that that was the song everybody wanted to hear, so I had to learn how to do it and disconnect myself a little bit. Every now and again, I go back to that place. It’s hard not to. I think that’s what people really want. They want to feel like we’re singing something that we’re really connected to. I know that’s what I want from the people that I listen to.

What inspired the song “Skeleton Bones’?

 I hadn’t written anything in along time when I wrote that song. I decided I’m going to sit on the porch tonight and I’m going to write something. My wife was pregnant with our first and only boy, and I was watching the process…that there was nothing there and then this person is there and is more there every day. And I saw that as a picture of resurrection: something coming out of nothing. And I feel like nothing a lot and I have this hope that something’s going to come from me. But seeing this thing come out of nothing, I started to contemplate on resurrection and the resurrection in me, and how if the same power that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, it gives life to our mortal bodies. I got this resurrection theme and I started to sing about the dead and the living, Ezekiel 37 with the dry bones. I saw me as one of the dry bones. Then I saw the people around me. I really believe there’s so much more for every single person then they even believe for themselves or want for themselves. And a lot of that is found in resurrection. I started singing about the dry bones in Ezekiel coming to life when the prophet speaks to them. It’s a really gross thing. These dead bodies stand and they come to life and become this mighty army. I saw that in me, singing to the skeleton as singing to myself, to the nothing, to the dead.  To become something and come alive. I saw this bones come together as something greater than themselves. I saw that as being in worship too, connecting with God to become more than a human, something bigger.

How have your wife and extended family felt watching you play music and become a popular artist?

 They love it. My wife is a singer. If she were more interested in it she’d probably be doing what I’m doing. We toured together for five years. She’s part of the band and still a huge part of what we do. She’s just more excited about being with the baby. She’s loves to write and loves music but she gets really burned on traveling. I think she’s starting to get a new wind on her music too. It’s been a challenge balancing family and the road. I’m still learning. If she ever told me – if things were getting weird or not working – “I wish you would just quit”, I would do it [snaps fingers] like that.

By : Robert Ham

 You won’t find too many rappers nowadays who cop to being influenced by politically minded singer/songwriter Billy Bragg or can boast that their new album features contributions by a members of indie superstars Broken Social Scene. But there are few rappers in the world like Shad.

The 28-year-old artist has distinguished himself from his peers through not only the frisky, Native Tongues-inspired production on his three full-lengths, but his bold lyrics that have tackled everything from the genocide in Rwanda to his own personal struggles with money and self-doubt. It’s a potent mix that has captured the attention of critics in his native Canada who helped get him nominated for a Juno Award and shortlisted for the Polaris Prize as well as by hip-hop icon Kanye West who counts himself as a fan.

Shad is gearing up for his next big step forward with his third album TSOL. The LP features some bright stuttering beats by cohorts like Ric Notes and Classified, and lets the rapper pontificate on the role of women in hip-hop (“Keep Shining”) and how music can stir up all manner of emotions (“At The Same Time”). Shad spoke with NXTLVL from his home in Vancouver about the progression of his career and his hope to make music that affects and inspires others.

What inspired you to want to make music? Were there particular artists that made you want to become a rapper?

I don’t think I can pinpoint it to any particular artists. Growing up, I just like music a lot, like a lot of kids did and still do. In high school, I was listening to Common, Outkast, Ras Kass. They were the artists that really impressed me a lot. I can’t say that they were the ones that made me want to make music. All the music inspired me. It started out as fun in high school, freestyling as a way to have fun. It evolved from that into a way to express deeper things, more meaningful things.

Were you hearing a lot of Canadian hip-hop when you were growing up?

Definitely. The town I grew up in [London, Ontario] was halfway between Detroit and Toronto. So whatever was going on musically there in Toronto and in American found its way to where I was growing up.

So, how then did you get from freestyling in high school to the point you are now with your third album about to hit the streets?

I think it was a steady progression and a lot of good fortune along the way. In high school, music wasn’t something that was very serious for me. Once I got into college, I started doing stuff with a group. It was a lot of fun and it was just something to do. From there, I started to write things that were more personal and I was looking for an outlet to do that. The opportunity came up not long after to record my first album and start doing shows on own. And from there it’s just been a progression with personal and professional growth happening side by side. I’ve been really fortunate to have a lot of breaks and a lot of people helping me out along the way.

Has it been good for you to be able to express these more personal things in music?

It’s been very helpful for me. It has helped me gain an awareness of where I am at and helped me to have the profound experience of translating some of these profound ideas that I might not be consciously aware of. And hopefully other people are connecting with it and benefitting from it as well. I don’t know how to sum it up. It’s been powerful in my life.

What is it like to hear that someone has been affected by one of your songs?

That’s always been cool to hear. Sometimes it’s been situations where people might interpret a song differently than what was my conscious intention, but it still hit them on a deep level. Music is not necessarily about the meaning that’s translated in the lyrics. It might be more profound than that.

Do you feel like you’ve progressed in some way from where you started to where you are at with your new album?

I think so. I hope to progress with every record. Hopefully I’m getting more clear and more concise in my songwriting and that there’s still a lot of depth there. I want people to be able to appreciate it on different levels. With the new record, the intention was that I’m a little bit older now and I wanted to make music that was less angst-y, but still have it be fun and positive.

The video for your song “Compromise” was posted not too long ago on Kanye West’s blog. How exciting was that?

That was super cool. The Internet is a funny thing. It’s cool when people that you are a fan of get a hold of your stuff. Hopefully that means new fans come along too.

It seems to me that when Christian rock acts find themselves getting some kind of mainstream success, they tend to downplay their faith, yet even the most mainstream of hip-hop artists is very upfront about their beliefs. Why do you think that is?

It might just be the nature of hip-hop lyrics. With rock lyrics, you can be more…I don’t know if poetic is the right word, but there are layers of meaning in what they are singing. With hip-hop the tone is pretty straightforward and like a conversation. You just say what you want to say and say what you mean right there on the surface. There’s less opportunity to downplay anything. It’s just right there.

If you weren’t making music, what do you think you would be doing?

I have no idea! Hopefully something that I could contribute some level of passion and meaning to. Not everyone gets to do that. I’m not sure that I get to do that. I’m lucky that I get to make music.

By: Robert Ham

When reading the interview it sounds like Matt McDonald, lead singer for the Seattle-based The Classic Crime, is taking a bit of hard-line stance when it comes to his band and his music, he is coming by it honestly. Since the band formed in 2004 and found themselves quickly swept up by hometown label Tooth & Nail, McDonald and his bandmates have had to fend off all manner of folks trying to pack them into one of a dozen tiny boxes. But theirs is a music that is hard to compartmentalize. As heard on their upcoming album Vagabonds, the band is adept at chooglin’ Southern-style rock, sugar high emo and sublimely moving power ballads. The thread that holds it all together is McDonald’s brutally honest lyrics that lay out in bold-faced letters the struggles that he and those around him have dealt with over the years.

McDonald took some time out from the band’s current U.S. tour to speak to NXTLVL about these struggles and how they influenced the new album.

The band has been together since 2004 – how do feel The Classic Crime has grown both musically and interpersonally in that time?

We’ve grown up a lot. When we first started out, we were all 21 – 22. As you get older, your music tends to change. We’ve definitely progressed musically. We’re making songs and music that is more unique and more representative of our own musical journey rather than things in the industry or in our genre so to speak. It’s been fun to develop as we go along. We’ve also been blessed enough to not have any member changes. We’ve never had to back pedal or take a step back. We’ve always been able to push forward and keep creating.

I ask that because a lot of new songs on the record address getting older and seeing changes within yourself.

When we started out, we always said that we weren’t going to do this for selfish reasons or for fame or fortune or the reasons that most people pursue a career in music. We always said that we wanted to make music that we liked and enjoyed playing and that meant something to us. And, secondly, that we wanted to help people in some way and leave a positive impact on our world. I think just recently that whole idea has moved from our heads to our hearts. We’ve really embraced our place in this world. Whenever you do that, you’re able to do a lot more good because you’re not constantly comparing yourself to your peers. And you’re not constantly dissatisfied with where you are. You embrace where you are and ask, “What can I do with what I’m given?” So, a lot of the songs on the record are about being poor and having joy in the midst of poverty or having joy in the midst of struggle and being okay with struggle and being okay with poverty and being okay with being marginalized. It’s been cool because it’s self-actualizing in a way. We feel like we’re more “us” than we’ve ever been. 

Do you feel that you as a band have been marginalized? There’s the song “Cheap Shots” with the lyrics about fighting off people’s poisonous attitudes. Is that coming from people shooting that stuff at the band?

That stuff happens but for the most part, we’re a band that people are generally nice to. You do face a lot of judgment and criticism being in a band and being on a pedestal. People expect certain things from you. It’s sort of a tongue-in-cheek reference to that: “I’ll be your punching bag, I’ll take your cheap shots. I’ve never been too proud to sin so go on and rub my face in it.” You can give me all you got. It’s not going to slow me down. We’ve seen it all and heard it all at this point. It’s about moving forward through all that stuff.

Do you think there are a lot of preconceived notions about the band, considering that you are signed to Tooth & Nail and some of your lyrical content?

Yeah, I think people expect a band signed to Tooth & Nail to be not be a band of five Jesuses and we’re definitely not that. We’re sinners and we make mistakes and some people are really bummed out about that. For the most part, people understand where we are and where we stand. But some people – usually the more conservative ones – tend to take things the wrong way or expect a certain lifestyle out of us that frankly we just don’t live. We try to be as good as possible and be as positive as possible. We want to be kind to the people that meet us. But it’s never going to be enough for some people. Those misconceptions are addressed in some of our songs because I think those people are listening to our music. And if I have any way to let them into our world and let them see where we stand it’s through our songs.

Do you guys fight with the idea of being a “Christian band” – is that an issue at all?

I think we’re just a rock band. There’s no four-point gospel in any of our songs. Christ does play a part in our music but the idea of a Christian band is subscribing to a certain piece of a market or an industry for profit. People subscribe to that label because they believe that it’s safe and its going to be clean for their kids or what not. In reality, they’re just feeding a machine that is, at its core, trying to make money. I don’t think you should mix faith and profiteering.

You tackle some very tough subject matter on this album, like on the track “Broken Mess.” What can you tell me about that song?

It’s about my brother I don’t want to too many specifics. He dealt with some pretty tough things in his marriage…infidelity. That’s how i deal with tough issues and tough situations in my life: a song will just come out. I’ll just put it to paper and put it music and it’s contained and it won’t eat away at me anymore. So with that one, I couldn’t sleep one night and I typed it into my phone and the next day I sat down and it was done. Luckily there’s been healing in his marriage and in his life. 

Has your brother heard the song?

I did talk to him about it and I said, “Here’s the lyrics. I could change this here; I could change this there. I don’t want to disrespect anyone. He said, “No. This is how you felt at that moment and I want you to put that down exactly how you felt.” He was really supportive in that sense. He does respect the art for what it is even if it can come off a little bit offensive. At it’s core it’s honest, it’s real. It’s heartbreaking and it should be. Because it’s a heartbreaking situation.

What about the song “Different Now” – is that coming from a relationship that you have had or is that speaking for someone else?

That’s definitely about my wife and I before we were married. How we’ve come a long way through different struggles. We’re different now but it’s better than it was.

It sounds like it’s a very therapeutic thing to get these songs out – is that fair to say? Or is it tough to revisit some of these things night after night on tour?  

Sometimes it’s hard. But usually they’re just markers in history: of places we’ve been and things we’ve seen and tough and good situations that we’ve experienced. They’re photographs of where we’ve been. It’s cool to be able to perform them and see them playing a big role in other people’s lives in the present time. That’s the most inspiring thing about performing live. You get to see people that are in tune with your heart and who are relating to the song in some way. That’s always a good experience regardless of how hard it can be.

With such personal lyrics like this, do you ever come to the band with a song that they feel is going too far or putting out too much information?  

There have been times where I might have pushed the boundary out of anger and we didn’t put those songs on a record. But never out of sadness or heartbrokenness have we censored anything. They trust me and I’m really not open to change a lot of things because I feel like a piece of me will die if I have to switch a word around. Because that’s how I felt in that moment.

Where do you want the band to go or see the band going from here?

Our goals and dreams are tied into our philanthropic work. Right now, we’re seeing a lot of good being done in Haiti through the pre-order of our record and the profits being donated there. It’s rewarding to be able to give even though we don’t have a lot.

Be sure to check out the recorded interview featured on the NXTLVLMag.com NXTLVL Podcast, along with music from The Classic Crime and others!

By: Josh Gloer

A crowded living room in Philadelphia once yielded the soulful sounds that only emanates from singing Gospel music. A woman sat behind the piano, and her friends egged a young boy to sing.

This living room became of one his first stages, where Japhia Life reluctantly agreed to sing, and his training to sing for the glory of God began.

Decades later, Japhia Life is about to drop his forth album, Nazareth, a collection of unreleased singles from his first three records. While some of the tracks have been posted on MySpace, this album boasts a truly unique compilation of this emcee’s work, including two never before heard tracks.

“This album is really an album of music that was made during a space and time where I was really trying to find a comfortable place musically, where I could express my talents with a good balance of quality music, balanced with faith expression,” he said.

It’s an eclectic mix, as these tracks span the course of his young career. Since he started writing rhymes, Japhia Life has been called a Christian artist, a hip hop artist, an emcee, and it’s safe to say, he’s had as many sounds.  He describes his first three albums in a range from 90’s classic to dark and emotional. His third album garnered criticism for being too “poppy.” (It was an album that ironically produced the biggest tracks of his career to date.)

“My style has always been an eclectic mix, just always trying to express myself and my growth and where I’m at, at that time in my life. I continue to grow, so each album is going to sound different.”

The projects were full, booming with passion and faith, and the tracks that didn’t fit with the final projects were too good to keep from his fans.

“It’s just a lot of different songs that I made when I was just really coming into my own and paving my own lane,” he said.  “A lot of Christians may hear that stuff and may want to work with them as an artist that’s actually in the Christian community. So that’s kind of what happened to me. Just kind of finding my way and saying, ‘Where can a person that’s a believer find a comfortable place that he can express faith, and what would that place look like?’”

And so the name, Nazareth was born.

“For me that place would be where Jesus would be from.”

But this isn’t just a slice of life from a budding career.

“I definitely want them to be impacted by my content, the things I’m saying on it,” he said. “Spiritually, I want them to be impacted by it. But also I just want them to have an alternative to the music that they listen to that’s secular, that they feel isn’t healthy for them spiritually. I def want them to have some songs that they can listen to that’s just good music, but at the same time, they can still be impacted by my content on a spiritual level.”

He claims this album represents his reinvention of faith, as it represents his own personal journey as an artist and as a Christian – two things, in his case, that go hand in hand.

“For me personally the balance is just having the freedom of expression as long as it doesn’t compromise my faith. Whether people label me as a Christian artist or just a hip-hop artist, to me, it really doesn’t matter, I am what I am. At the end of the day, you’re really not what people label you, as opposed to what you really are. For me that balance is just an expression of who I am as a person. A Christian is one of the things I am as a person. I don’t really have to label my music as Christian, but I don’t have a problem if people label me as Christian, because I am a Christian. People have the option to label me at their own discretion. I’m not concerned with the labels.”

Nazareth is set to drop in early March 2010, and his next project West Side Pharmacy is slated to follow shortly. For all the info, check out: http://www.myspace.com/japhialife.

———–

Josh Gloer is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles. He’s been a writer on six seasons of MSNBC’s Lockup: Extended stay. He has also written for MTV, TLC, TruTV, HGTV and Oxygen. Josh has been a journalist for about 12 years, doing celebrity interviews with actors such as Djimoun Hounsou, Dennis Farina and James Marsden; and bands like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Orgy and sax guru, Carl Grubbs. Josh’s work has appeared in Filter, Car Audio & Electronics, Zink!, ITEM and many other publications and websites. He was recently honored to have his fiction appear in an anthology of LA writers, including Charles Bukowski. www.joshgloer.com

By: Josh Gloer

It’s February, almost a full calendar stretch until Christmas. Stockings are packed in boxes, next to bubble wrapped nativities and knotted strands of twinkle lights. The holidays lie dormant, waiting to be unearthed ten months from now. Right?

Wrong.

For Family Force 5, February was the time the band decided to start working on the most upbeat and unconventional holiday album to hit the shelves since… ever.  And in early October, the band’s hard work paid off as their Christmas album, Christmas Pageant finally hit the shelves.

“We decided to make a [Christmas] record because we were tired of listing to the same old Christmas music that we’ve always listened to for the last 80 years of our lives,” Solomon “Soul Glow Activatur” Olds, the band’s front man, said. “This one you pop in, and I think its very unexpected and refreshing to hear.”

Recycled, remixed and revamped, holiday favorites like “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “Carol of the Bells” and “T’was the Night Before Christmas” fill the track list along with a FF5 holiday original entitled, “The Baby.”

“That track originally developed from trying to do a version of ‘We Three Kings,’” Olds said. “We thought why not do it our way and make the kings gangstas from ATL, bringing silver and gold and have them talking about it in their Cadillac.”

Appropriately, Christmas Pageant was born in motion. The band recorded tracks while on tour in Atlanta, Nashville and  the UK. Some of it was even laid down in a portable recording studio in the back of the band’s tour bus. It’s a blend of dance, “ghetto”, upbeat and infectious twists on the timeless tracks American’s associate with Christmas. But, get one thing straight — this isn’t your momma’s Christmas album.

“We wanted to create a Christmas album that you could throw on at a part, or rock at a club,” Olds said.  “Have a Christmas dance party with eggnog and all that – all the Christmas shenanigans that go on.”

According to Solomon, the album gets back to the band’s dirrrty ATL roots, straying from the dance licks of their last album, Dance or Die. But that doesn’t mean this album is falling back into old and stale territory as they boys of FF5 combine gangster and grunge.

“A lot of people expect us to do different twists on music,” Olds said. “Our fan’s are loving it. We’ve got ‘glee’ and ‘jolly’ written all over us.”

And keeping with the Christmas Spirit, Christmas Pageant is a family affair. Of course, the ranks of FF5 posess three brothers, but several tracks boast Jerome Olds, the Olds brother’s dad, Olds’ wife under the moniker “Lalipop,” and his baby exercising his young vocals on “The Baby. 

For more info on the Christmas Pageant show schedule, check out the band’s MySpace page at: http://www.myspace.com/familyforce5.

And remember, for FF5 fans, it’s never too early for Christmas.

“It’s been Christmas all year for us. It’s an overload on Christmas, but it was a very fun album to make.”

By: Andy Dudynsky

Emery was one of the first bands to hit Tent 7 on Friday at Rev Gen 2009- which attracted a small group of lucky fans who got a chance to learn about how the band came together, and what it means to have Christ in their lives.

The guys from Emery started in Church choir, growing up in a Christian atmosphere and singing through high school. “We didn’t start playing guitar until college” mentioned guitarist Devin Shelton.

Toby Morrell (Bass/Vocals) helped explain Emery’s message. “We write about relationships with family, God, and people you dislike.  It’s usually a whole bunch of things that can happen in relationships. You can be blessed, hurt, etc.”

When asked about their main influences, the guys mentioned “50′s and 60′s rock n’ roll”, which had deep meaning with the lyrics.  They explained how the music from this time period generally came across as happy, but there was an undertone that not everything was necessarily going to last.  Toby mentioned that he enjoys finding multiple meanings in music.  Also on their list were Queen and Weezer, and a lot of indie rock.

Now in their ninth year as a band, one fan asked how they stay creative while creating new music. “We rely on each other” mentioned Toby.  He went on to say that they all contribute to writing, and if one person is stuck, they might ask another for help, or to hear some old stuff they’ve written for inspiration.  Their main motivation to write music is that they love it, and want to be real for their fans.  They feel a need to be honest with people – and to be able to relate to them, which is why the focus on relationships of all kinds.

“We get caught up in our lives, and there’s constantly a daily struggle of “Jesus is Lord vs. ME.”  Toby added that last week he dropped his brand new iPhone, and he and his wife both screamed and looked at one another. “I wish I could be as devastated about a homeless person, or something that really matters.” He closed by saying that “Everything gets better with Jesus in my life.”

Emery shared similar messages to their fans, drawing a huge crowd in a lively set that include both new and old material.

You can check out Emery and their new album “…In Shallow Seas We Sail” at emerymusic.com.

By Josh Gloer

Poems is at a barbecue in Portland, Oregon when his phone rings. He steps away from friends to answer some questions – children’s laughter audible over his powerful drowning voice. It’s July 5th, the day after Americans everywhere celebrate their independence. The emcee spent his holiday weekend at a park with friends, watching fireworks, avoiding crowds.

Next week will be a different story.

Under the moniker Sareem Poems, the artist has announced his latest album, Black and Read All Over. The album doesn’t drop July 26th, but a promotional frenzy starts next week – kicking off with a new MySpace page for the album on Tuesday www.myspace.com/iampoems.

According to Poems, the title, Black and Read All Over, plays off stereotypes.

“It goes across the board with everyone,” Poems said. “It could be Black and Read all over, Brown and read all over. It’s just that people, at first glance, think they know who you are before they even get a chance to hear a word that comes out of your mouth.”

The album is also turning people’s perceptions of the former LA Symphony member’s on their heads. For this endeavor, Poems has united forces with producers Oddisee and Theory Hazit, and stylistically, the album isn’t run-of-the-mill Sharlok Poems.

“The emphasis on this record, for me personally, is giving people a little more up tempo stuff,” Poems said. “The last project was mid tempo, lot of poetry style writing which people know me for. Part of the reason I call this Black and Read All Over is because its not as typical. There’s a lot more guest spots on it. It’s a lot more forward as far as aggressive beats.”

Guest spots include LMNO, Pigeon John, Akil from Jurassic 5, Ragen Fykes and Georgia Anne Muldrow to name a few. According to Poems, the album strays from his typical story-telling depth and focuses on rhymes.

“I focus on being more of an emcee than being just a rapper or a poet. I want to make sure that there’s some substance and there’s some direction to everything that I give. I don’t want to give someone just some aimless music.”

The need to give direction is understandable. The fiery emcee has only met his father once, and his mother recently passed away due to a drug overdose. Avoiding the foster care system he was taken in by his grandmother, and Poems claims as a young man, he himself was searching for something – something he found through religion. Now, a strong Christian, the performer tries to incorporate good messages into his work.

“For a lot of people it’s a weird approach to life because they feel that its very judgmental,” Poems said. “[But] my message is love. I’m not trying to beat anybody over the head with my beliefs. I do my music and if you get something out of it, cool. And if it doesn’t touch you in that way, then cool.”

According to Poems, everyone is searching for something. While he’s found what he’s looking for, he knows not everyone else has.

“For me, at the end of the day, you’re going to hear who I am. That’s my heart. That’s the main thing for me, I’m not trying to water down who I am for anyone, but at the same time, I’m not trying to force feed what I believe or how I live my life down anyone’s throat.”

His music covers issues that he holds personal, from what he calls a sad but “common tale” of parentless children, drugs and even branching out into human trafficking. Poems now tries to help with benefits and events to bring these subjects to light.

“I talk about life issues,” Poems said, later adding that “I think as a Christian and just as a human being… you want to see people happy and enjoy the life that they have, because this is the only thing that we have that we can say is ours. Everything else that we have right now, when we’re gone, it doesn’t matter. This life is the only thing we have that we can say is ours.”

For Poems aficionados, Black and Read All Over, isn’t the only offering this year. Poems has teamed up with Atlanta based producer, Dust to form PND or Poems and Dust. The duo’s first offering Dirty Words (www.myspace.com/panddmusic) will be released sometime late 2009.

For now, Black and Read All Over hits shelves at the end of July.

“Do what you love. Period.” Poems said. “I’m doing what I love. This is what I’m putting all my energy into and everything you hear from me is inspired by life itself in general. You’re not going to hear any false tales from me. What you’re hearing is me.”

———–
Josh Gloer is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles. Currently he’s a writer on his sixth season of MSNBC’s Lockup: Extended stay. He has also written for MTV, TLC, TruTV, HGTV and Oxygen. Josh has been a journalist for about 12 years, doing celebrity interviews with actors such as Djimoun Hounsou, Dennis Farina and James Marsden; and bands like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Orgy and sax guru, Carl Grubbs. Josh’s work has appeared in Filter, Car Audio & Electronics, Zink!, Item and many other publications and websites. This fall, his fiction is scheduled to appear in an anthology of LA writers, including Charles Bukowski. www.joshgloer.com

Interview by: Andrew Conant

Every so often you run into a band that has what it takes. A band that can handle the “dirty ole road” and still give it all on the stage. Remedy Drive, based out of Lincoln Nebraska, has been touring for years and making fans across the country with their unique style and sound. Their music is like candy to the ears, and the lyrics speak straight to the heart.

Remedy Drive is comprised of four brothers, ranging in age from 24 to 30. I spoke with the piano playing singer, David Zach, recently about their new record and video. They released five albums independently before signing with Word Records last year and putting out their new album Daylight Is Coming. The newest record, produced by Ian Eskelin (formerly of All Star United), is a hot and heady mix of fist-pumping rock and tender ballads. The lyrics are consistently thoughtful, seeking to understand God’s will in the midst of everyday life.

The brothers originally called themselves Aslan, but soon changed it to Remedy Drive. I asked if there was a meaning behind the new moniker.

“When everybody’s looking for a solution, God is the healer on the path of life towards redemption,” David explains.

The brothers fooled around with music growing up while maintaining day jobs. David was washing windows five years ago when he got the idea to focus on the band full time. They booked their own shows and hit the road, playing anywhere and everywhere. Their frenetic energy on stage, including head stands on the piano and leaps through the drum kit, helped to create a great deal of buzz about the band. Audiences thrilled at the sight of the bassist’s vaults off his amp, David’s acrobatics on and around the piano, and the guitarist throwing his guitar wildly in the air. That, combined with inspired and catchy rock tunes, kept them busy.

They also caught the eye of Aaron Maines, their current manager. Working at Word Records, Maines saw the brothers at one of their early shows and loved it. He tried to pitch the band to the A&R reps at the label, but they weren’t interested. Maines eventually quit Word, opened up his own management firm, and repped the band himself. Two years, a well produced indie project, and hundreds of shows later Word decided to take another look.

“The timing was perfect,” David says. “Touring nonstop allowed us to gain an audience that’s with us 100%, and we’ve grown a lot too. We’ve had time to grow into this album, and we’ve had time to learn how to write a solid song that works on radio. I‘m really grateful for that.”

Daylight is Coming was released late 2008, and produced a hit with its title track. The label opted to shoot a gorgeous video to help carry its momentum. Filmed by the Erwin brothers in an old Alabama furnace, the footage perfectly captures the electricity of the band’s live performance. David wrote the song in the midst of his daughter being born. He was quite contemplative, and the old proverb “It’s always darkest before the dawn” was rolling around in his thoughts. The lyrics ask the listener to hold on and weather the night because the sun will shine again. The band is honored to hear people say that the song helped give them strength during a tough time in their lives.

“It’s crazy, because we weren’t really explicit about what was going on while we were writing the song, but it’s amazing how similar other’s situations were. That’s why I believe that music speaks unspoken volumes. I love that God gave humanity the gift of music.”

It’s a crowd favorite and the obvious choice for their debut single.

Their second single, “All Along,” hit #1 on the CHR charts two weeks ago. A balled in the style of The Fray, the song speaks of an understanding that God is what the speaker was looking for. “All along I was looking for something else / You’re something else.”

“If you look up the word ‘ministry,‘ it just means ‘to meet a need.‘ There‘s a need out there for great songs, just like there‘s a need for great architects or great heart surgeons, and we consider music our ministry, our goal and our purpose. We want to make songs that people love, that impact them.”

Remedy Drive is continuing to book tours, having established relationships with hundreds of youth pastors while criss-crossing the country. They also are planning to hit the summer festival circuit, and will appear at close to thirty different ones in 2009, including Creation, Cornerstone, Ichthus, and Sonshine. During their down time the band is fiddling around with song ideas but they don’t expect to get into the studio for another year or two.

“I’m excited about what we have to say,” Dave offers. “I think our voice is unique.”

CHECK OUT THIER MUSIC VIDEO FOR “DAYLIGHT” AND STAY TUNED FOR THE PODCAST OF OUR INTERVIEW WITH REMEDY DRIVE, COMING SOON!