Copious Notes

Harlan County native Phil Stacey. Photo courtesy of Reunion Records.

Listening to Phil Stacey’s Into the Light, you think, if this guy wasn’t on American Idol, he should have been.

His debut on Reunion Records under the guidance of legendary Christian producer Brown Bannister sounds very Idol, with songs that showcase soaring choruses and emotional lyrics, and Stacey definitely has the chops to deliver them.

It also sounds very contemporary Christian — hence, Idol’s friendliness to Christian singers the last few years. That’s also what makes Into the Light a little disappointing.

His post-Idol debut on Lyric Street records was a refreshing sound for the Christian market, introducing some country songwriter cleverness in songs like It’s Who You Know, and bringing some genuine energy to the project. But Stacey says he was miscast as a country guy and pop was always where his heart was, hence the move to the Christian pop label and embrace by Christian pop royalty — Michael W. Smith is his labelmate.

The result is a solid album with catchy tunes like Inside Out and soaring worship ballads like One. He also pulls out a great Rich Mullins cover, Hard to Get, that could serve to show some younger listeners there’s more to the Christian pop legend than Awesome God.

What’s really missing here is any sense of Stacey’s own individuality, which seemed to be so present on that 2008 debut. With Into the Light, Stacey has been embraced by the Christian music establishment. On future efforts, he needs to avoid sounding like a generic contemporary Christian artist.

Is the GMA in trouble?: My fellow Christian music blogger Joanne Brokaw has an interesting post about recent cuts and layoffs at the Gospel Music Association and the just-annouced $1,000-a-plate Save the GMA fundraiser. Is Christian music’s umbrella organization in danger of going under?

Close, but not quite here: Yes, we do have Jeremy Camp coming Thursday night and Casting Crowns in a few weeks. But there are two Christian tours of interest not quite getting here, but they will be close if you’re the road tripping type.

~ If you’ve wanted to see Newsboys with Michael Tait out front, they get as close as Wilmington, Ohio, just north of Cincinnati, Nov. 15. Click here for Newsboys tour itinerary and ticket links.

~ You may also have heard plenty of TobyMac and Relient K live, but still find the concept of their Winter Wonder Slam tour together irresistible. It hits Louisville Nov. 29.

Review: Newsboys, In the Hands of God

Out of the weirdness that has been the Newsboys of recent months comes a new album — a new album with the old guy on lead vocals. Or is he the old guy, or just the singer who will no longer travel with the group? It’s a murky picture, but what we do know is the Aussie group has released its first album since frontman Peter Furler announced he would not be touring with the band anymore and former dc talk member Michael Tait took over the mike.

In the Hands of God was recorded before that, and it is unmistakably Newsboys in sound and tone. You get the feel of an act wanting to take one last sweep through its current state before everything changes, such as the late-90s humor in The Way we Roll and the more recent worshipful nature of the title track. Problem is it all sounds like classic Newsboys, but nothing is quite as compelling as the best of the band’s catalog. Maybe it was time for a change.

Review: Sarah Reeves, Sweet Sweet Sound

Sarah Reeves could have titled her debut album “Getting to Know You,” if she didn’t have a nice little title tune to bing off of. Her short debut — maybe EP most accurately describes this offering — is a sextet of nice personal songs co-written by Reeves that leave a strong impression of a young woman very devoted to worship and looking for direction in how to use her gifts.

While none of the tunes are terribly distinctive or instant classics, the 19-year-old Alabamian had a pretty cool opportunity to write with longtime hitmakers Ed Cash and Matt Brownlee. And the voice we hear is young, earnest and full of hope. With Sweet Sweet Sound, we can say we’ve been introduced to Sarah Reeves, and we hope to hear more from her.

Ichthus tick-tock: Time is running out on two things you can act on with Ichthus.

1. The latest ticket-price increase is being held off until May 22. So, until then, full weekend tickets are $98, single-day tickets are $53, single evening tickets are $56 and children ages 7-10 are $57 for the weekend and $37 for a day. After the 22nd, the weekend adult tickets pop up to $108 and all other tickets increase too. You can order tickets at the festival website or by calling (859) 858-3001. Ichthus is also advertising payment plans for tickets.

2. There are only a few days left in voting for the Ascenxion Scout Competition. The Top 5 acts will be on the Deep End Stage the first day of the festival, and the top act, as chosen by judges during those performances, will get to play Ichthus’ Main Stage July 12 and the Deep End July 13.

The 8 Kentucky acts in the 13-band competition are:

Versailles’ Eyesuponus

Paintsville’s 7:13

Owingsville’s Crosslife

Paintsville’s Battlelion

Bradfordsville’s Allison Stafford

Alexandria’s The Lee Roessler Band

Wilmore’s The Shane Tracy Project

Lexington’s Too Many Drummers

Voting ends May 15.

Review: Revive, Chorus of the Saints

If Christian rock has taught us anything about how to speak Austrailian, it would be this: Be direct and be engaging.

It’s a formula that has worked for some chart-topping acts such as Newsboys and Rebecca St. James, and it also works for Third Day’s latest discovery, Revive. The Aussie quartet is 3D’s second project after Hyperstatic Union, a group I loved, but didn’t seem to register on a massive scale. I would give Revive a much better shot at success with a U.S. debut full of melodic rockers that pull no punches, such as The Truth Is, reminiscent of Newsboys’ It is You. On Chorus of the Saints — which I will fault for constantly making me think of Leeland’s Tears of the Saints — Tyler Hall’s guitars always seem to be flying high over Mike TenKate’s crashing drums, all to support Dave Hanbury’s vocals that are equally strong in front of an anthem like Promise of Tomorrow or a ballad like Sit with Me. This stuff will fill arenas, both sonically and at the box office.

If there was anything I wished for from Revive, it might be the somewhat easier spirit of their last Aussie album, Trafalgar Street. There’s a sense of fun (Losers) and vulnerability (I Need You) that seems to have been tweaked out of this current release. There is a danger of gearing a creative act to the radio too much.

Maybe after a successful debut, Revive will regain that independent streak. But this album shows a band with a lot going on, and it reaffirms Third Day’s status as great talent scouts.

Speaking of Austrailian Christian rock: Most of you have probably heard about the change in front of Newsboys, with dc talk’s Michael Tait taking over for Peter Furler, who appears geared for  a studio-only role. When the announcement was made, we were promised a statement from Furler later last week on Newsboys’ website, but this far, that statement has not emerged.

Newsboys are now guitarist Jody Davis, lead singer Michael Tait, producer and songwriter Peter Furler, drummer Duncan Phillips and keyboardist Jeff Frankenstein. Photo courtesy of Inpop Records.

There’s more news of lineup changes for Newsboys and this one is kind of strange. Former dc talk member Michael Tait is taking over as the lead singer of the band . . . on the road.

“Peter Furler will no longer front the band in concert,” a Newsboys press release states. “Peter will continue with the band and his trademark songwriting and production will remain as he focuses his professional career toward future newsboys recordings.”

The band is releasing a new album, In the Hands of God, May 5 that will feature Furler as the lead singer, but Tait will tour it. Furler will apparently pop in on tour this year.

We asked if Furler will be the singer on future albums, a spokesperson for the band said, “That is still to be decided.”

In a statement on Newsboys message boards, Inpop Records president Dale Bray said there is nothing wrong with Furler’s health, which was an initial thought with the strangeness of that arrangement. The statement says Furler will make a personal statement later this week.

Maybe that statement will shed some light on what sounds at first blush like an odd move. Will Peter continue to sing on future records, or is he just going to be a songwriter and producer? I’ve searched my noggin for half a day trying to recall a band that has tried to tour a different singer than was on the record without a clear-cut change out front. And you would think if Tait was going to invest his life in touring with the group, he would want his voice out front on future recordings.

On the other hand, with Tait on stage, think about the catalog this group will have touring, because you have to think that they’ll break out some dc talk classics. In the Light was reportedly on Tait’s first show as frontman in Texas over the weekend.

Lineup changes have been de rigueur for Newsboys since the band formed in the mid-1980s. Paul Colman left in January to make way for returning guitarist Jody Davis. Bassist Phil Joel left a few years ago to pursue a solo career. Furler’s departure actually brings the band’s original lineup to an end as Furler was the band’s original drummer until he took over frontman duties on the appropriately named Step Up to the Microphone album and tour in 1998. Tait is Newsboys third lead singer, succeeding Furler and John James. Since dc talk split up at the beginning of this decade, Tait has fronted his own band, TAIT.

Fan reaction to the change has been mixed at sites such as Twitter and Newsboys Facebook page.

“While I like Michael Tait and loved dcTalk, Peter Furler IS the newsboys,” one fan wrote. “The newsboys have always had a distinct sound. Why? Because of Peter. Anyone else fronting for him will just be sounding like they are doing a cover of the songs. It just won’t be the same. I do wish everyone the best.”

Another fan was more open, saying, “I have been so blessed by Peter and the rest of the newsboys! May God continue to rain down His blessings on all of them, but especially Peter and Michael as they enter this new stage in their lives.”

What do you think?

Grits, Stacy "Coffee" Jones and Teron "Bonafide" Carter, perform at the Ichthus Festival in June. Photo by Rich Copley.

Review: Grits - Reiterate

As much as the rock ‘n’ roll side of contemporary Christian music has grown, one of the genre’s embarrassments has been the inability to develop a strong set of hip-hop acts and the audience for them.

It’s not for a total lack of artists. Tobymac and KJ-52 have developed significant followings, and acts such as Verbs (sometimes known as Knowdaverbs) have made waves. Kirk Franklin has thrived performing gospel with a strong hip hop sensibility. But in terms of successful pure rap acts in Christian pop, Grits stands alone. Grits are part of contemporary Christian music’s establishment, and like several other prominent Christian acts in the last couple of years, the rap duo have left their label for an independent career on its own label, Revolution Art.

The result is Reiterate, an inspired, smooth effort that we’ve already named as one of the best Christian albums of 2008. Reiterate is an interesting title, because in one way, we are reminded of the vocal interplay and wordplay that have made Stacy “Coffee” Jones and Teron “Bonafide” Carter too good for Christian rock to ignore. But there’s also a clear progression here, with the duo indulging jazzy, cool grooves that show this act maturing gracefully. Seeming to affirm a senior act status, the album features several members of Christian rock royalty: Jars of Clay’s Dan Haseltine, Third Day’s Mac Powell and TobyMac, who discoved the pair when they were dancers for dc talk and signed them to his Gotee label. Producer Mo Henderson shows particular skill in working the guests into the mix, as opposed to showy guest shouts. The best result is Powell’s soulful wail on Fly Away a mix of Southern rock and rap maybe we should expect from a group whose name is also a Southern breakfast staple.

With Reiterate, Grits’ music is as good as ever. Christian pop just needs more acts like these guys.

Speaking of our Top 10: Thanks to numerous newspapers, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, for running our year-end feature.

Paul Colman performs with Newsboys at Ichthus 2007. Photo by Rich Copley.

Newsboys’ news: For a few years, Newsboys had a pseudo-supergroup vibe with established solo artist Paul Colman playing guitar for the venerable band. Newsboys announced Monday that guitarist Jody Davis is returning to the band after a five year hiatus, and Colman is departing to return to his solo career. And return he will, quickly.

Colman’s new album, History, drops Jan. 27, and we will review it here. Before joining Newsboys, Colman and his Paul Colman Trio were some of the strongest acts in Christian rock.

Newsboys are releasing a new single, In the Hands of God, Jan. 16 in advance of the band’s next album, due in May.