Copious Notes

Relient K is Jon Schneck, Ethan Luck, Matthew Thiessen, Matt Hoopes, John Warne.

Review: Relient K, Forget and Not Slow Down

Direct comparisons between bands can seem a bit disrespectful, and maybe easy. But the parallels between the Beach Boys and Relient K are a bit too hard to avoid in light of the Canton, Ohio band’s recent offerings.

It’s not that Matthew Thiessen and Co. sound like the California boys, though their last album, Fivescore and Seven Years Ago (2007), did include some familiar harmonies. It’s more that this is a band that bowed with numbers like Sadie Hawkins Dance and other tunes that made them seem like a sonic confection — appealing as a cupcake, but not much to it.

And that’s a sound that has never gone away. But what has been growing in each ReK album, particularly since mmhmm (2004) is a musicianship and thoughfulness that make each album a richer experience. Occasionally it’s gone wrong — I was one who found Fivescore’s Deathbed a bit much — but each album has been a growth spurt, and little to nothing is wrong with Forget and Not Slow Down.

The immediate impression is this is a meditation on loss, but more about regrouping than moping. Therapy is the linchpin track, describing Thiessen’s very real experience of self isolation during the time he wrote the album — “You won’t take my calls, and that makes God the only one who’s left here listening.”

Thiessen has developed a knack for taking the spiritual and putting it in temporal terms without diminishing its gravity. He can also take a well-worn cliche and give it new meaning such as Part of It, where he invokes the phrase, “It’s not the end of the world,” and adds, “When a nightmare finally does unfold, perspective is a lovely hand to hold.”

The notes hold equal “Ah” moments like Candlelight where the jumpy pop melts into into a lilting, swirling finale evocative of the lyric, “A solar flare shines through her hair.”

It’s one of numerous moments that could make a listener wonder how long Thiessen will find the pop band format sufficient for conveying his ideas.

One way that Relient K does not mirror the Beach Boys is in popularity. While they are one of the biggest bands in Christian rock and a significant player in the modern rock scene, sales of one Beach Boys hit probably equal ReK’s entire catalog. Forget and Not Slow Down will not change that. Despite its excellence, it may be the band’s least radio-friendly effort ever. But it is an effort that should make serious pop music listeners, Christian and otherwise, take notice.

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.

Solomon Olds leads Family Force 5 at Ichths, Thursday. Photos by Rich Copley.

Toward the end of Family Force 5’s evening-ending performance at the Ichthus Festival Thursday night, frontman Solomon Olds asked how many people in the crowd had seen the Peach State band a few years ago, when it was playing one of Ichthus’ smaller stages.

There were a lot of cheers, which is totally plausible, because FF5 has been a buzz band at Ichthus for years, even earning an on-stage shout out from Relient K’s Matt Thiessen one year when the group was still playing small stages.

Jason Dunn leads Hawk Nelson on the Ichthus stage.

Similarly, Hawk Nelson has risen through the ranks, starting off with an appearance on an NBC drama as its calling card and taking early afternoon slots.

Thursday night, Hawk and Family Force 5 took rightful places among Ichthus headliners — acts that make slogging through a day of rain and mud worth it.

And they were worth it. Hawk Nelson sported a newfound maturity, particularly in frontman Jason Dunn, that made them seem right at home in the nighttime slot. And FF5 may have risen through the ranks, but when the band stepped on stage to close the night out, they seemed like they belonged there.

Thursday night, on the main stage, we saw the fruits of years of work paying off for two patient bands, and we saw two great performances.

Stay tuned: Herald-Leader videographer Jason Morrow spent Thursday hanging out with Hawk Nelson, and he had his video camera with him. Watch out for his film later this weekend.

Ichthus Farm looked peacful Friday afternoon. It won't look that way next Friday. Photo by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

Ichthus, has it really been 10 years?

The first year I covered the Ichthus Festival was 1999. The festival, which returns next week with its 40th edition, had just made the move out from the campground in Wilmore to the Ichthus Farm on U.S. 68, just outside town. It was still primarily run by student volunteers from Asbury College and seminary, and Christian pop was in the midst of tasting a steady stream of mainstream success.

In the ensuing 10 years, a lot of bands have crossed the stage: That’s about 30 headliners over the past decade, and lots of acts on the under-cards that certainly made a mark. So, with this personal anniversary and 10 years at the farm in mind, here’s my list of best-and-or most memorable performances at Ichthus over the past decade.

1. P.O.D., 2000: Before Satellite put P.O.D. atop the rock charts in 2001, the San Diego band came to Ichthus to play a late Friday afternoon set. Many people knew who they were before the set, but everyone was aware by the time it was over.

We said the Boys from the South played “the kind of show that makes you wonder whether the performers dropped dead when they walked off the stage.”

The band, which usually tours with hard-core mainstream metal bands, played an impassioned set, primarily from the album The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, seemingly fueled by the embrace of a Christian crowd.

Michael W. Smith on stage, in the snow, at Ichthus 2005. Photo courtesy of Ichthus.

2. Michael W. Smith, 2005: This was the final set on the day that changed Ichthus forever. Friday of the 2005 fest was warm and sunny until the evening, when severe thunderstorms ripped through, shredding the campsite and scuttling an evening lineup of TobyMac and Audio Adrenaline. The next day, temperatures plunged into the low 40s.

By the time Smith took the stage, snow was falling over Ichthus.

He was playing piano wearing gloves with the fingertips clipped off and a winter cap from his merchandise table. The worship set with Watermark was seen by few, but will never be forgotten by those who stuck it out.

The next year, Ichthus moved to June.

3. Audio Adrenaline, 2006: After this show, Audio A made one more Central Kentucky stop, at Rupp Arena, before breaking up for good in 2007. But this was the last time we saw together the core of the group, which formed at Kentucky Christian College.

Ichthus was Audio Adrenline’s first festival when the band was starting out, looking to be heard. Many, many hit songs later, playing the festival-closing main-stage gig, it was clear that the band remembered where it came from and appreciated that playing Ichthus for the last time was closing a major chapter in its career.

TobyMac in his 2002 Ichthus performance. Photo by Janet Worne.

4. TobyMac, 2002: Up until this year, Toby has played every Ichthus since releasing his first solo album — well, he’s been scheduled to play, as he’s been rained out twice. Those have included some great sets such as a Saturday night throwdown in 2007.

But his first solo gig at Ichthus, under chilly rainy skies with fans standing ankle deep in mud, was noteworthy in its scrappiness.

Not too far removed from his headlining days with dc talk, this slot and these circumstances could have seemed like a comedown to Toby. But he and his band attacked their set with an energy that warmed the soggy amphitheater. Giving it up for crowds like this is probably a big reason why Toby has returned to headliner status.

5. The Ascenxion Band, 2006: Contemporary Christian music fans known so much about everyone on stage at Ichthus, it is rare to find an act that can totally catch you by surprise. But that’s what Ascenxion did when they took the stage at Ichthus 2006.

The “all-star” act of Nashville session players was basically a set of unknowns to festivalgoers. But they quickly had everybody’s attention with stellar musicianship.

Ascenxion has returned to the fest each year since and delivered fabulous performances. But the surprise of that first outing made that set unforgettable.

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot at Ichthus 2007. Photo by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

6. Switchfoot and Relient K, 2007: A dream lineup of crossover acts topped the ’07 fest with sets that showed why the bands have such broad appeal. Striking in the showcases were often goofy Relient K’s virtuosity and how clearly Switchfoot’s social justice and personal responsibility messages rang through the rock ’n’ roll.

7. Jennifer Knapp, 2001: The bluesy rocker’s amazing Ichthus set is one of the main reasons I keep wondering whatever happened to her.

8. David Crowder Band, 2008: Is there a group better tailored to bring worship music to a crowd of 18,000?

David Crowder performs at Ichthus 2008. Photo by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

What’s amazing is how Crowder can have you laughing at a keytar (one of those guitar-looking contraptions with a keyboard) one minute and lost in a song like O Praise Him the next.

9. OC Supertones, 2001: The ’Tones were a big act in ’01, big enough that they were invited to play the Dove Awards that year. Problem was, the Supertones were also booked to headline Ichthus the same night.

They played the Doves, but the next night, they came to play Ichthus. There was no room on the main stage, so they played the second stage (there was only one, back then) giving fans as intimate a Supertones show as they could ask for, back then.

John Varnadeau (Xanadu) of Atlanta, Georgia, dances with Family Force 5 on the Main Stage at ichthus in Wilmore, Ky., on Saturday, June 14, 2008. Photo by Emily Spence | Staff.

10. Family Force 5, 2008: What better band for a Saturday afternoon party than the boys from Marietta, Ga. The band that has quickly become a fan favorite put an any early punctuation mark on Ichthus ’08 with its late afternoon set featuring bright renditions of well-worn tracks from its album Business Up Front, Party in the Back and some new stuff.

This year, FF5 closes out the proceedings Thursday night. Will it be another set for the decades?