Copious Notes

Chris Huffman on stage with Casting Crowns at the 2008 Ichthus Festival. Photo by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

The last time we checked in on Glasgow native Chris Huffman, in 2004, he was a single guy in a white-hot Christian rock band who got a charge out of seeing his group’s CDs on the shelves at Wal-Mart.

Today, Huffman remains the bass player for Casting Crowns, but he’s a married guy with two kids, which makes touring and getting back to Kentucky a bit more challenging.

Casting Crowns are Megan Garrett, Brian Scoggin, Mark Hall, Hector Cervantes, Chris Huffman, Melodee DeVevo and Juan DeVevo. Photo by David Dobson.

“Everybody in the band has kids,” Huffman said Wednesday afternoon from a tour stop in Casper, Wyo. “In fact, my wife and I just had our second child three weeks ago tomorrow.”

That makes getting back home all the more important to Huffman, and leaving harder, particularly because his wife suffers from fairly serious car-sickness, so she can’t often hit the road with the group.

“It can be hard,” Huffman said, “when you call home and find out someone’s been hurt or something big happened to not be there.”

Still, despite the separation, Huffman said that Crowns is a valuable ministry, and the band’s policy of returning home for services at its home base of Eagle’s Landing First Baptist Church in Atlanta means he is rarely gone for an extended time.

“When you’re passionate about what you do, the negative sides don’t really bother you,” Huffman said. “I get frustrated a lot of times, but you learn to overlook the frustrations and the hardships.

“I believe God has called me to do this, and as long as he has, my response is, I’m here; send me.”
Huffman, who was born in Glasgow and lived there until he was 10, returns to Kentucky next week with the band’s concert Thursday night at Rupp Arena. The band is touring in support of its new album, Until the Whole World Hears, set for release Nov. 17.

Huffman loves his job, but the band’s fourth studio album and family obligations have quelled that Wal-Mart thrill. Somewhat.

“When I go to Wal-Mart, I’m usually going to the grocery and baby department,” he said. “But sometimes I get to electronics, and it’s nice to see we’re there.”

Skillet are drummer Jen Ledger, guitarist Ben Kasica, bassist and lead singer John Cooper and keyboardist and guitarist Korey Cooper. Photo courtesy Atlantic Records.

Review: Skillet’s Awake

On the surface, Skillet is just a four-piece rock ‘n’ roll band with a raspy-voiced lead singer.

But the Memphis quartet has done what a lot of raspy rock quartets would love to do: rise to the top of Christian rock and deliver yet another killer, accomplished album.

That’s because Skillet’s a raspy four-piece rock act that’s grown as musicians and songwriters. A very teen-targeted act, a lot of the group’s original core audience is now in college or careers - this is part of why The Older I Get, a hit off Skillet’s 2006 album Comatose, is such a big sing along at shows.

Awake yet again gives original and new Skillet fans a lot to listen too as frontman John Cooper recognizes that songwriting is an abstract art. The band that once sang Jesus was, “the best kept secret of my generation,” and recorded an album called Alien Youth (in 2001) now writes with less specificity but the music is as interesting and compelling as ever.

It’s Not Me, It’s You returns to the theme of a teen trapped in an abusive family - well, that’s how you might read it in the context of past hits such as the anti-suicide anthem The Last Night. But lyrically, It’s Not Me is far less specific, but no less riveting: “Let’s get the story straight, You were a poison, You flooded through my veins.”

The physical album closer - digital versions come with some extras - Lucy is more oblique and compelling, a graveside conversation to a . . . a girlfriend? Wife? Child? The key is promise of a heavenly reunion, but like many other tracks here, it can move around the listener’s demographics and lifestyles.

Skillet is maturing, but certainly not running too far from its bread and butter, hard rock anthems like Hero and Monster, the first two singles, which were being previewed for fans on tour this summer.

Not that there aren’t new dimensions to the music. Skillet’s guitars usually grind and drone, but Ben Kasica takes a few sterling solos here, and on her first album, drummer Jen Ledger shows off some vocal chops.

Awake confirms Skillet isn’t just some old rock quartet. It’s a great rock quartet.

Note: Derek Webb’s Stockholm Syndrome, which we reviewed a few weeks ago, is out in stores today.

Phil Danyew. Photo by Aaron Redfield | Sparrow Records.

Review:

Future of Forestry | Travel

Danyew | Danyew

Christian pop so often divides into 3:05 teen pop, AC worship or blistering metalcore, it’s easy to get giddy when some terrific, thoughtful composition glides across the desk.

Give us two, and it starts to feel like Christmas.

Like the Yuletide season, the summer yielded a expected treat and surprise, both of which prove great things can come in small packages — in this case, EPs.

First, the surprise was Danyew, a new artist appropriately paired with David Crowder Band and Seabird for a fall tour.

The six-song, self-titled EP is the product of multi-instrumentalist Phil Danyew. Cleary, he’s trying on several ideas here in a debut that includes things like the jaunty Turnstile. But the tracks that make the biggest impressions are ones like Closer We Are and Beautiful King that build into airy acoustic-electric soundscapes.

With his sound, Danyew is playing in a park Eric Owyoung’s Future of Forestry has already been in for a while — and his old band, Something Like Silas, occupied before.

Forestry’s latest effort, the six-song Travel, finds the always adventurous Owyoung exploring new territories for his work such as the acoustic-based Traveler’s Song or gritty This Hour, which trades in reverb for distortion. The familiar synthesized tone is back with Colors in Array, and the overall package shows Owyoung’s skill as a song crafter and, dare we say, orchestrator.

The most satisfying thing about both of these short discs is they are the expressions of artists: something the marketplace does not always accommodate and something that is entirely appropriate in the context of worship.

CCM coming back, sort of: One of the worst decisions in the history of contemporary Christian music is being reversed, kind of. CCM Magazine is coming back as a quarterly digital magazine.  In 2008, the print edition of CCM ceased publication just short of three complete decades of publication. The move was tantamount to Rolling Stone closing up shop. Love them or hate them, both are the publications of record in their respective genres of music — or, in the case of CCM, we must say, “were.” Getting a CCM cover was a big deal for an up-and-coming band, and saved together in a rack, the magazine was a running chronicle of the genre. The idea was to continue with a website, but CCMmagazine.com has been poor and confusing at best. Lately, I have been following Christian music news through other sources such as Christianity Today’s excellent Christian Music Today website.

Earlier this year, CCM launched a prototype of the digital magazine to good reviews, so it is continuing on. The summer issue has Leeland on the cover and its 34 “pages” look much like the old print edition with a dose of Harry Potter’s Daily Prophet. The Leeland story, for instance, features a video of the band performing tunes from its forthcoming album, and there are similar touches throughout.

Does it replace the print edition? No. Will it be a worthy stand in? Time will tell, and it will be largely dependent on whether editor Lindsay Williams and her staff can put together a publication people eagerly anticipate because it’s relevant, useful and compelling, as well as cool. I hope they pull it off, because Christian pop needs a vital CCM.

Speaking of Christian Music Today, check out this excellent article on social justice in Christian music and how to keep it from just being a passing fad.

Ichthus has questions: The Ichthus Festival just put out a survey asking what folks thought of the festival this year and who they want to see at next year’s event. If you did not go this year, you can still answer questions about next year’s event.

Wilmore-based Rookie is Landon Cunningham, Abe Parker and Grant Ebright. Photos by Rich Copley | LexGo.

WILMORE — The trio Rookie did a lot of the right things when they started performing together.

They picked bandmates they liked hanging out with. They defined a sort of jazzy edge to their sound that they say makes them different from most other Christian rock acts. They jettisoned a meaningless name, Auburn, for one that said something: Rookie, they say, is a commentary on the clumsiness with which most people go about their faith.

And they got the director of the Ichthus Festival to come see their show.

OK, that last element isn’t necessarily part of the prescription for most bands. And a few years ago, it might not have yielded much.

Kevin Young of Disciple performs on the main stage at Ichthus on the festival.

But, while Ichthus’ calling card is still chart-topping international Christian bands such as Skillet and Family Force 5, Kentucky musicians have had a growing role in the festival, whether it’s competitors in the fest’s 3-year-old battle of the bands, local rockers invited to perform on secondary stages, area church leaders playing during late-afternoon worship sessions, or the occasional national artist who resides right here in the Bluegrass.

“My family got to come out,” Disciple frontman and Central Kentucky resident Kevin Young said of the band’s Thursday main-stage set. “That’s why I like Ichthus a lot, because I actually get to do this and my family is close by. My daughter is 81/2 months old, and yesterday was her first Disciple concert. I didn’t get to see her face, but my wife said she was kicking a lot, so apparently she liked the music.”

The biggest concentration of local talent was earlier that day on the worship stage where bands competed in the third annual Ascenxion Scout Competition. The first year of the competition, three bands were selected in an online competition to play Ichthus stages. The past two years, the competition’s finals have been live the opening morning of the festival, meaning even if they don’t advance, all the competitors can say they played Ichthus.

They included 16-year-old Radfordville resident Allison Stafford, who said when she saw Christian rocker’s BarlowGirl at Ichthus two years ago, “I decided I wanted to do that.”

Playing a festival like Ichthus gives local acts, as well as other less familiar bands, a chance for people to run across their music as opposed to concerts or club dates, where a lot of people who come are already familiar with the band.

“We got a really good crowd response,” Landon Cunningham, Rookie’s drummer, said the day after their Friday set on the Edge Stage. “It’s great that they are providing this kind of opportunity to local bands,” he added, noting some other area acts such as Wilmore’s Shane Tracy Project also got moments in the spotlight.

A few locals even got main-stage shots: The Lee Roessler Band, which won the Ascenxion Scout Competition, and Lexington’s Too Many Drummers, which got there via another competition.

But possibly the most prominent local musicians on the Ichthus stage this year were area worship leaders who led devotional times late each afternoon.

Amaris Blevins sang with the worship "all-star team," at Ichthus on June 12.

A group from Quest Community Church and then a worship “all-star team” — comprising musicians from churches such as Southland Christian, Centenary United Methodist and Southern Acres — took the stage in the evenings, where nationally known artists used to play.

“It’s different from church,” said Amaris Blevins, a singer at Southland who was part of the team. “It was a lot more people and a different energy from church.”

And while the worship all-star team isn’t looking for a recording contract the way bands might, the musicians did appreciate the opportunity.

“I like that they’re getting more locals involved,” Jonathan Mckeowen, a guitarist with the group, said. “It used to be kind of hard to get in here.”

Sterling talks to the crowd at the main stage before Disciple's set Thursday. Photos by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

When Sterling became an on-air personality at Air1 last year, she got a pass to some of the biggest Christian music festivals in the United States.

“I did Rock the Desert, The Rage in Phoenix, Creation and Spirit West Coast,” she said, naming a few of a half dozen she hit last year. “And they’re all wonderful festivals.

Sterling gets her picture taken with Delirious' Martin Smith after an on-air interview.

“But there’s something about the heart of this festival and the people that put it together with the communion and the worship that is so incredible,” she said, sitting on the porch swing at the cabin in the middle of the camp ground at the Ichthus Festival. “It’s so much more than just the bands. It’s so much more than all the stages and the youth tent and the cool stuff that they give away. It’s all about Jesus and bringing people back to that relationship and growing that. That’s what’s so incredible.”

Her first trip to Ichthus was last year, and she liked it so much, she told her Air1 bosses it was the only festival she absolutely wanted to return to this year.

At the fest, she split her time between introducing bands on the main stage and wandering around the other stages trying to catch new bands — Esterlyn was a favorite this year.

Pretty good gig for a woman whose career started at age 17, when she choked attempting to do a news report at a rural Iowa station.

“I just froze,” she said. “I thought, ‘That’s the beginning of my radio career. I’m never going to make it.”

Now, as a national radio personality, she loves the opportunity to come to events where she can actually meet fans. Left without a golf-cart ride from the cabin in the camp ground back to back stage, she had no qualms about hoofing it back and talking to listeners along the way.

“Yesterday, I got to sign a girl’s leg, and she had 147 signatures covering her legs,” Sterling said. “It was incredible.”

And even national radio personalities can get star struck. She gets a bit giggly greeting Delirious frontman Martin Smith, and marvels at Skillet’s performances.

“It’s an honor to introduce these bands, because they are so amazing,” Sterling said. “I’ll be here every year, God willing.”

Ichthus Festival fans finally got a warm, sunny day June 13, to play, pack up and enjoy a few final shows. Among the closing acts were Israel Houghton and New Breed and Delirious.

Israel Houghton played an abbreviated set at Ichthus. Photos by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

Israel Houghton noted from the stage at Ichthus Saturday night that his set had to be cut short due to time constraints. Somewhere in the late afternoon Saturday, the event fell well behind schedule.

Darkness, which had fallen during the second to last act on Thursday and Friday nights, was descending as Quest Community Church pastor Pete Hise was wraping up his keynote address, and headliner Delirious didn’t hit the stage until 11:22 p.m., more than a full hour after the hand’s scheduled start time.

Before Delirious’ set, fans near the front of the stage amused themselves chanting, “We love Jesus, yes we do. We love Jesus, how about you?” over a barrier that divides the amphitheater in front of the stage.

Delirious frontman Martin Smith during the megaphone portion of Solid Rock.

“It’s late,” Delirious frontman, Martin Smith yelled as the natily-attired band took the stage, “but we’re up for it if you are.”

With an approving cheer, Delirious plowed into its final Kentucky concert with classics such as Rain Down and Majesty.

As Saturday turned into Sunday, Smith was reading scripture in the midst of performing History Maker, which may be good, because a lot of the people in the amphitheater probably won’t be making services this morning.

Quest Community Church Pastor Pete Hise leads communion Saturday afternoon at Ichthus. Photo by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

A local church got another moment — or several moments, we should say — in the spotlight when Quest Community Church pastor Pete Hise came out to lead communion and deliver the evening’s keynote message.

Hise brought out a cross and huge nails to illustrate the scale of the crucifixion, and encouraged people in the congregation to see The Passion of the Christ, though he noted it only hinted at the brutality of crucifixon. When it came time to partake of the elements, Hise had everyone partake on the count of three, an interesting expression of unity for the large and diverse group of denominations and churches represented at Ichthus.

Cheyenne Taylor in her big moment at Ichthus. Photo by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

Cheyenne Taylor’s Freedom Church youth group from Owassa, Okla., nearly went to a different event from Ichthus.

But they came, and it was good for Cheyenne, because she won a singing competition held during the festival that put her on the main stage to sing Amazing Grace Saturday afternoon, backed up by none other than Phil Keaggy and the Ascenxion Band.

“It was the most surreal experience, stepping out and seeing the crowd,” said Taylor, 17, who hopes to pursue a career in music. “It was the experience of a lifetime.”

A pair of backup singers with the 16-member Ascenxion Band. Photos by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

TobyMac wasn’t booked for this year’s Ichthus Festival, but around the time the Ascenxion Band took the stage Saturday afternoon, the festival started feeling like Diverse City, the idyllic community Toby named his band and one of his albums after.

Christian music and guitar legend Phil Keaggy performed with Ascenxion.

This year’s Ascenxion Band put 16 musicians on stage, and only two of them were white, one being guitar legend Phil Keaggy.

That and the very gospel, funk-flavored set Ascenxion delivered didn’t seem to bother the mostly white audience that grooved along to familiar and unfamiliar music, including the Bob Marley classic Exodus.

Ascenxion leader Shake Anderson even went into the crowd once, saying he wanted to meet his people as he walked along the center thrust aisle shaking hands.

That flavor continued after worship when Israel Houghton took the stage with his band New Breed. Houghton talked with us last week about breaking down barriers and getting people over any idea Christian music or people should be segregated. He talked about the quote that says Sunday morning is the most segregtaed time of the week and noted maybe churches are starting to move away from that. Maybe Christian Music Festivals are too.