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HomeShop at BookSurgeCrafts & HobbiesGod's Not Dead (And Neither Are We): The story of Christian alternative rock's pioneers then and now, as told by the artists themselves |
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 Just Alright With Me Feb 17, 2010
This is a book of twenty six interviews with artists from some of my favorite bands. Here are the bands and how many members are interviewed: Undercover (5); Altar Boys (2); The Choir (2); Crumbacher (4); 4.4.1 (2); Barnabas (3); 77s (1); Daniel Amos (1); Veil of Ashes (1). Also these artists: Steve taylor; Kemper Crabb; Caesar Kalinowski; and Marie McGilvray. If you've ever heard any of those names, you probably just clicked "Add to Shopping Cart". Bookending the book are a brief but cogent introduction by Beth Jahnsen, and Jerry Wilson's brief afterward.
Along the way, the artists talk about their labels (bad deals and all), their music (which album when and why); and their lives (in a surprisingly open way). Many wish they had never signed with a religious label or got stamped as a "Christian band". What's that? Mike Stand from Altar Boys comes right out and calls "Forever Mercy" a whimpy album, as against the raw, pulsating punk of Gut Level Music, their best album. Everyone loves Undercover's "Branded" and rightly so, but I'm finally vindicated in thinking what a great album "Boys and Girls Renounce the World" is, which tops my "Best Albums You've Never Heard" list. Mike Stand even says there's some more GLM era tunage waiting to see the light of day. Just do it, Mike. That's the message here. If Jerry can kick out this book POD (print on demand) through BookSurge, you can put those songs out as MP3s on Amazon.
There's a bit of an apologetic tone in this book, as if everyone missed the bar: If this isn't on MTV, what good does it do? And by the way, the road wrecked my marriage. Did I mention we were ripped off? You can't even get these CDs, so who cares? It's about time they got to vent. I merely note that Jerry has thrown down the gauntlet for about a million of us to stand up and say, "It's not like that. There's another side to this." I duly note that for all the clashes they may have had with certain churches or denominations, musically they were the real deal. All the bands they name as favorites or inspirations are the same as anyone on VH1 "Where Are They Now?", or MTV Cutting Edge: Beatles, Elvis Costello, Neil Young, while those interviewed were also inspirations to today's new artists, like Switchfoot, Jars of Clay, and Chevelle.
Jerry had to make some choices in a book like this, like when Sean Doty of Veil of Ashes says the F word a few times. Jerry chose to just print it as is. Needless to say, not all these artists are in the same place they were when their music was termed "third wave" or wore some other tag. Kemper Crabb, who writes a bi-monthly column in HM magazine, comments on that, as he does in the mag. You might be surprised where their journeys have taken them. You might discover a lead to some great music. But then, finally venting might be the thaw of a decades-long deep freeze. As Jerry says, "It's time to live again."
 A clear vision of future past Oct 25, 2009
A clear vision of the future's past... personal stories of the founder's of Christian Alternative Music in their own words.How the church fought against these pioneers and how the music industry used them....compiling and poingant...
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
An overdue homage to a rich musical history Apr 21, 2009
Jerry Wilson has finally documented the fascinating history of Christian rock's development in the suburbs of Southern California. Through a series of interviews with groundbreaking performers -- including Mike Stand (Altar Boys), Joe Taylor (Undercover), Derri Daugherty (The Choir), Nancyjo Mann (Barnabas) and the godfather of them all, Terry Scott Taylor (Daniel Amos) -- Wilson unveils the passion, conflict, triumphs, tragedies and faith that underscored one of the most important but underappreciated developments in American music.
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