| |
|
|
SONGS
FROM Superchic[k]’s debut album, “Karaoke
Superstars,” have been played on MTV’s Real World and ESPN’s X-Games.
Christian alternative rock group Plumb has songs on two movie soundtracks—“Damaged”
was featured in the film “Brokedown Palace”; “Stranded”
can be heard on the soundtrack for “Drive Me Crazy.” Heavy metal/rap group
P.O.D. contributed its song “Whatever It Takes” to the film “Any Given
Sunday.”
At one time, you would have had to go to a church hall to hear
Christian music. This summer, demand is such that Christian rockers Newsboys
have organized their own multi-band national tour, Festival con Dios. The
tour—which includes artists such as Superchic[k], a group signed to
Newsboys’ independent Inpop record label—is drawing huge crowds.
|
|
|
|
“A lot
of people have different theories about what makes a song Christian.”
—
STEPHEN MASON
band
member of the Christian rock group Jars of Clay. |
|
But Christian
rockers aren’t just playing to the converted. These days, their music is
heard everywhere. Christian rockers D.C. Talk may have toured with the likes
of Televangelist Billy Graham, but they’ve also played rock clubs. P.O.D.
(Payable on Death), meanwhile, began its career opening for punk rockers
Green Day, ska’s heavy heroes, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and hardcore
rappers Cypress Hill. And most of the Doc Martin wearers in the mosh pit
probably didn’t even notice that they were slamming to Christian rock.
Frankly, that’s the way P.O.D.’s mainstream label, Atlantic Records,
would like to keep it. Although P.O.D.’s members make no secret of their
Christian convictions, like their idols U2, who also started out as a group
of Christians who rocked, P.O.D. aspires to the same secular success. They
seem well on their way to achieving that. In December 2000, Rollingstone.com
named P.O.D. one of its “people of the year.” Now P.O.D. is getting advance
publicity in Rolling Stone magazine for its next album, Satellite, which is
due in stores Sept. 11. The new album includes guest appearances by ’80s
icons Eek-a-Mouse and HR from hardcore group, Bad Brains. If the group’s
previous albums are any measure, it should do well on the alternative rock
charts.
For all this secular success, P.O.D. remains a force to be reckoned
with in Christian rock. In January, the group made the cover of CCM
Magazine, a publication dedicated to covering Christian music. P.O.D. is
also this year’s most requested artist on the Web site Christianrock.net.
BETWEEN ROCK AND A CHRISTIAN
BASE
That a group like P.O.D. can find an audience in both the secular
and the non-secular world, however, begs a question: What is it that makes
this music Christian?
Eddie DeGarmo, who founded the Nashville-based Christian rock label
Forefront more than a decade ago, defined it not by the style of music but
by the lyrics and by the mission the artists making it have. “The mission of
what we do is very simple,” he said, “to carry the message of Christ.”
“Many times people equate the sound with something they believe to
be not becoming to God,” said DeGarmo, referring to the many Christian
critics who equate the sounds of hardcore, rock and rap with music more
suited to Satan than a Savior. “You find you’re in a position of trying to
decide what kind of music God likes. I don’t want to be the one to make that
decision.”
But it’s not just the style of the music
that has drawn fire from pulpits across the country. Some complain that the
message itself is too subtle. Some of the lyrics, they say, are so ambiguous
that a song about loving God can be mistaken for a regular love song. And
that doesn’t sit well with everyone.
“A lot of people have different
theories about what makes a song Christian,” said Stephen Mason of the
Grammy-winning Christian rock group Jars of Clay. “As songwriters, we
express our experiences in life and a lot of that incorporates our faith
because our faith has been a big portion of our life. There are a lot of
people that have had no communication, or a bad experience, with the church
and are turned off by a lot of religious speak. Ultimately, the goal is to
communicate our faith.”
Part of the goal for some of these young
rockers is to reach the very people who have been turned off by church in
hopes of turning them on to Jesus.
“I don’t just want to be the
typical cheesy, preachy Christian music, just real, honest music with a
hopeful message,” said Tiffany Arbuckle, lead singer of Plumb, which won
Christian music’s Dove award for Modern Rock/Alternative Album of the Year
in 2000. “This has mainstream potential. I don’t think there’s anything
wrong with preaching to the choir. We’ll continue to do that because that’s
our foundation. But our main focus is to reach a different group of people.
I hope they enjoy being entertained, maybe they leave with more hope in
their heart.”
ACCENT ON THE POSITIVE
Christian rockers argue that,
because God is such a big part of their lives, the strength of their
convictions permeates everything they do. P.O.D. drummer Wuv taught himself
to play while listening to groups like the Cars, AC/DC and Cheap Trick long
before he found God. Just as his musical style is going to be influenced by
the music he grew up listening to, his musical motivation is influenced by
his spirituality. It’s one of the reasons members of P.O.D. are likely to
spend hours after a gig at a local skatepark, for instance, talking to young
fans about their lives, sharing experiences and offering encouragement.
They’re not out to preach, but they aim to be positive.
“My dad was one of the biggest
drug dealers in South San Diego,” Wuv said. “He was living in the streets
for three years before God actually touched his heart. After that, he would
bring me to church and I started to see God change my dad’s life. I was
like, ‘Dude, this is a trip.’ Also, God totally restored my parents’
marriage. They both had it hard. I saw it all growing up, but I also saw a
real God change my family and bring them back together. That made an impact
on my life. I wanted to do good because I saw what God did in my family. And
God used my dad to get Sonny’s [his band mate and cousin] mom reading the
Bible. She gave her life to God and started being an example to Sonny.
“A lot of people who know where
we’re coming from on the spiritual side will be watching us to see what we
do,” Wuv said. “I tell those people, ‘Don’t be watching me because I’ll
disappoint you over and over. I’ll be stumbling all over the place. I’m
never gonna be perfect. I’m gonna do things bad all the time.’ Still, you
live your life and have a relationship with God while just trying to have a
positive effect on the people around you.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Should Christian rock be defined as loosely as “Christians who rock,”
or should the message be more obvious in the music? Let us know what you
think! Email us at ed@teennewsweek.com
|
