White Hot "Ashes" Can Still Burn Down The House

Ashes Remain may not be a household name, but they are not the new kid on the block either. What I've Become is the bands third CD (actually Red Devotion is an EP), but this marks the Major Label Debut of the band, although I have only heard of Fair Trade Services very recently. They do seem to have signed a lot of Christian Bands. A few by way of Example would be Addison Road, Caedmon's Call, Disciple, Mercy Me, and The Afters.

Actually, it is no surprise to me that this band is on the same "Label" as Disciple. They have the same Southern Rock feel. You feel the guitars and bass.  Also, I was slightly amused that I did a review of Icon For Hire with Ariel singing that She's gonna Burn the Theatre Down and if you want a show you can follow the ashes, and then I follow it up with Ashes Remain.

Handle These Ashes With Care

The Band kicks it off with the rocking Keep Me Breathing, which should be a fan favorite, even if it wasn't the first radio single. Take it Away has a definite Kutless vibe with a hint of Disciple.

If you're ready to rock, then Ashes Remain is for you. I am giving What I've become 4.5 Emeralds. This happened last year as well. A lot of good stuff comes in just as eligibility is coming to an end. If that keeps going a lot is going to be unrecognized, but the cream should rise to the top. Until next time I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Irene Was For the Birds...Unless You're a Bird

As anybody who watched Television or surfed the net last week knows, we on the Atlantic Coast had a "Hurricane". They called it Irene. Though the Television stations did their best to bill Irene as THE STORM OF THE MILLENNIUM, without being unfeeling to those areas that did suffer significant damage, it was anything but. My experience with extreme weather is somewhat limited, but someone who has experienced both The Blizzard of '78 and Hurricane Gloria (1985), I think I can rate this as a fizzle. Or a fail, as they like to say on youtube.

Like I said the media did their best to play this up. None bigger than the New York Times was on record saying that Global Warming was the reason Irene was created and we could be sure that more of them would occur. Okay, so we can expect more Category 1-2 Hurricanes that fizzle into Tropical Downpours without wind and expect nothing more than some flooding and downed leaves. Yes leaves. Not even a tree limb around here. Everything is dry, barely even a puddle. We did have a power outage that lasted 6 hours, but by then the worst was over, we had barely 30mph winds and so-so downpours. Typical strong T-Storm stuff, but without the Thunder and Lightning.

All that was O.K. for TV. It is my esteemed media critic opinion that Storm Coverage only purpose is to get cute female girls wet. Sort of like the TV News version of a Wet-T-Shirt Contest. I dare anyone to contradict me. Graph the rise of Stormwatch Coverage on TV with the trend of having mostly young attractive female reporters in news. They should coincide perfectly. Even then things went awry. The girls were on the coast dressed in their raingear, and completely dry. Most of the rain was inland. My heart went out to one assistant at Univision. She was kneeling in the surf holding a plastic bag over the battery pack of the female reporter's microphone. She was the one getting wet. There was obviously no rain or wind. This was in North Carolina.

Vermont got it bad. Flooding and three lost Covered Bridges. Inland Virginia Farms decimated. Floods mainly. Some of the worst victims were in my own backyard. A bunch of Finches were getting battered by the rain and wind and sought shelter by our windows. We raised our screens so they could take shelter on the window ledge. The pictures were a bit fuzzy, but I was trying not to scare them and shooting through glass.

At one point we had Five of these little guys on one window ledge. They were alternately adorable and pathetic looking. But they survived, and though we didn't see them after the weather cleared, we could hear them tweeting happily in the trees. I think they were busy printing their "Good Night Irene" T-shirts

The Night Beat Summer Reading Program: Reckle$$ Endangerment by Gretchen Morgenson

I was going to call this post Gretchen Tans Freddie's Fannie, but I thought better of it and went with the generic sounding title. I heard about this book on Rush Limbaugh's radio show and immediately got on the waiting list. Imagine a book written by someone who works at the New York Times that actually gets it right. Or at least mostly right.

Gretchen Morgenson traces the financial collapse of 2008 back to its original source. No, it wasn't Bush. Before 2009 I always thought the word Inheritance was a good word. Obama has attempted to disparage the word. Obama INHERITED an unemployment rate of about 6%. It is now officially 9%, but is probably about twice that. The thing about inheritances is you only get that once. After that it's on you. Say I inherited a million dollars, but then went on and rang up two million in debt. I can't say I inherited the debt. I didn't have to do anything stupid. I could have invested it and created five million.

No, the seeds of the crisis went past Bush all the way back to Bill Clinton. In 1994 Clinton created the National Partners in Homeownership. His goal was to raise the amount of homeowners in the U.S. from 64% to 70% by the Year 2000. Simple Math says that's only 6%. For that small an increase they decided to redefine the entire concept of real estate ownership so that owning a home was no more of a challenge than owning an iPod. And with a home being a throw away item, so was a mortgage. Not surprisingly with the rise of No Income Needed, No Down Payment Needed, Instant Approval, Mortgages you had people buy, and then when times got tough, walk away and default, without a second thought. After all, if nobody checked on your credit record, income, or anything else, you would always be approved for another mortgage, right?

Fannie Mae was at the center of this rush to make bad loans, and grew very profitable doing it. The two central players in this debacle were James Arthur Johnson, CEO of Fannie Mae form 1991-1998 (who went from there to Goldman Sachs, which helped in financing these mortgage backed securities) and his biggest cheerleader in the House of Representatives, Barney Frank (D-MA). Oh, Johnson's handpicked successor and scapegoat when it all came crashing down Franklin Delano Raines... Yes, you've got that right F.D.R. To a Conservative that alone should have been a tip-off that this was all a scam.

But, Just like the Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme, nobody ever thought that the gravy train would end. Congressman Frank was even quoted as saying "We'll deal with that problem IF IT Happens." Barney, the saying is "We'll cross that bridge WHEN (not if) we come to it." The arrogance of the Liberal.

Fannie Mae had a sweet deal. Exempt from State and Local Taxes, a $2.5 Billion Line of Credit at the Treasury, Lower Borrowing Costs. Million Dollar Bonuses and Perks unheard of in the Private Sector. Life was good. Then there was the Government Mandate. If a bank wanted Fannie Mae to secure their loan by buying it so they could make more loans, they HAD TO APPROVE low income mortgages, which statistically had the highest probability of default.

This is where Reckless Endangerment falls short. Maybe it's because Gretchen works at the Times, but she has bouts where she rails against "Unfettered Capitalism". If there is even one mandate telling a company what it must sell or who it must sell too, that is a fetter. When you had to put down 20% of the house down, show that the payment would not be more than 28% of your income, and that your entire debt (including housing) wouldn't be any more than 36% of your income, not many people qualified and there were a lot of renters. On the flip side, there weren't many defaults, and those who did felt as if they had a scarlet letter on them.

Back to Fannie Mae. Not only would them paying taxes in Washington, DC have given the District $300 Million in 1995 alone--Another example of how it is the Government who never gives Back to the Community--But the amount they had to set aside to cover bad loans was only 2.5% of the Amount Loaned, compared to 10% for a Private Bank or Lender. Any CPA worth half his salt could tell you that was a recipe for disaster.

Though a few Republicans (what I would Call RINO's) were under Fannie's Spell, the clear majority of supporters and enablers had a big D next to their names. Even our President Obama. After all, he hired Johnson to help him pick a VP Candidate.

Though the book has its faults, like not understanding that Enlightened Self-Interest is not selfishness. And yes, it is true that a company left to its own devices will not act in a self destructive way and its self interest will help all involved. The only problem with that is that when a government mandate is thrown into the works, it usually means the company has to act against its interests. Let's forget about Low income housing for a second. Forcing a health insurance company to cover yoga classes or hangnail treatment is just as bad. You can't cover everything without charging more. Then people complain that their premium is too high. Well DUH. 

Just like any business, Insurance or Banking or Retail, the aim is to make money. The only way to do it is to spread the risk around. While risk in retail may be limited to the product, allowing them to charge everyone the same price, other things are not so cut and dried. An auto insurance agency that sees you are getting into repeated accidents will raise your rates compared to a safe driver. Is it fair? YES!! The question is not why can't I get the same rates as the good driver. The question is how can I become a good driver?

I'm rambling, and this is my most wordy post in a while, but this book hit a nerve, and I like that. You should read it. Make Your own Conclusion. I think you can tell that in all things I will side on the side of Capitalism. The Biggest fictions in our society are that of Unfettered Capitalism and Price Gouging. On the latter, remember supply and demand. In a disaster their is a greater demand for some things than would be needed otherwise, and the supply, if it comes from elsewhere, needs to be increased. Prices go up, sometimes dramatically. Price Gouging exists only in the mind of a Democrat Politician. It's simple supply and demand. Unfettered Capitalism has never been tried. If we had it we wouldn't have BILLIONS of BUREAUCRATS in Washington working for various regulatory agencies. Now if we got rid of those agencies (Which Will NEVER HAPPEN), then we could see Unfettered Capitalism. Until then, NO. We're not even close.

I've got to end this post. For all its flaws I will give Reckless Endangerment by Gretchen Morgenson 4.5 Emeralds. It is an eye opening book, and it busts the myth that this is Bush's Recession. That's priceless from someone on the Times payroll. Until Next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Ariel is Gonna Burn This Theatre Down

Icon For Hire is the latest addition to the Lineup at Tooth & Nail Records.  I have been tracking the debut release for this band since it was originally announced that they were being signed by Tooth & Nail. Regular readers of this blog (I know you're out there, the stats tell me. Just wish you were brave enough to follow) know that I affectionately call T&N Founder Brandon Ebel King Midas because he has a habit of finding the talent out there.

It's Sprinkling Gold in Decatur

That's Gold as in the Midas Touch, not exactly record sales. Sprinkle is Producer Extraordinaire Aaron Sprinkle. If you're not familiar with his work, "Where in the World Have You Been." A very brief resume includes.

• FM Static - My Brain Says Stop but My Heart Says Go (2011 PVA entrant)
• Aaron Gillespie - Anthem Song (2011 PVA entrant)
• Hyland - Weights and Measures (2011 PVA entrant)
• Ivoryline - Vessels (2010 PVA Winner Best Alternative Album)
• The Museum - Let Love Win (2010 PVA entrant)
• Poema - Sing it Now (2010 PVA Winner Best Pop Album)
• Sent By Ravens - Our Graceful Words
• Swimming With Dolphins - Water Colours (2011 PVA Entrant)
• Thousand Foot Krutch - Welcome to the Masquerade (Pre PVA)*

*note: Welcome to the Masquerade came out September 8, 2009. This blog started in July of 2010. However, if it existed it would have made the PVA's. The Live Concert Album by TFK Live at the Masquerade is a 2011 nominee.

I think you get the idea with the list. Sprinkle is a great producer. I don't usually look at a producer credit until after I decide if I like the Album, so it is pretty spooky how many of these albums have his fingerprints all over them.

And Now We Add Scripted to Sprinkle's list of hits. Currently, I would go with the mp3 download of the album. It's only $5.99 for the 30 min download vs $10.92 for the CD

An "Unscripted" Success Story

The album starts out with Overture (at $0.99 for 30 Seconds at Amazon, this is Pure Profit), which leads into the Intro cut Theatre. If you are reminded of Skillet here, you're not alone. Skillet, The Letter Black, Evanescence/Barlow Girl (Leaning to Amy Lee for The Grey and  Barlow Girl on Only A Memory). Pieces and Theatre have a very Skillet like feel.

Make A Move is sure to be a crowd favorite, along with its accompanying music video. Please check out my related post Chicks Who Rock for the video, along with videos by Eowyn and Fireflight.

And then there's Off With Her Head. It's a cheery little altar call song. NOT. Even though I think it could be used with a concert altar call, there is very little resemblance between this and Just as I am.

Verse I


I'm lucky if I ever see the light of day again

my sin is choking me, my crude built walls are closing in

This cell is filled with claw marks easing me, their teasing me, they told me so I didn't know the fall would be this easy



Pre-chorus

How long until I find the strength to stand

I wait for mercy in your bleeding hand

I know they'll come with what I'm owed-guilty as charged

My enemies belittle me reminding me the penalty of all my deeds despite my pleas is death



Chorus:

Don't let go 'cause I don't wanna be this, I don't wanna be this

Death is mine I know

Don't let go, don't let go

Save your own 'cause I don't wanna be this, I don't wanna be this

Death is mine I know

Don't let go, don't let go, savior



Verse II

Your way to life has only showed me what a fool I am

It serves the purpose of confirming I remain condemned

And I will ever linger on the edge

Unless you hear me

(Lyrics courtesy of Ariel and http://www.musictory.com/music/Icon+For+Hire)

In Short, this is more honest. Much more real. I am getting addicted to this album. It helps when it clocks in at just 30 minutes. You keep hitting repeat.

Pink can be strong. Just ask Ariel. I am giving Scripted by Icon For Hire 4.5 Emeralds. It's not a perfect album, and someone could say that it reminds them too much of other artists. To that I would say, it's a DEBUT. If you're going to make an impact, sometimes you need to copy your mentors. You can work on a signature style later. While Jars of Clay came out with their signature out of the gate, Petra didn't sound like Petra until about the fourth album. And if you're going to copy anyone, Evanescence, Skillet, Barlow girl and The Letter Black aren't bad role models. Make A Move and The Grey right now lead for a possible song of the year entry.

That's it for now. August started out slow but things are ending with a bang. For the best in Christian Music, stay locked to the Night Beat. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

A Night Beat Video Post: Switchfoot Live in New York

I would like to give credit to my good friends at Jesusfreakhideout for these videos, and for keeping the embed codes available.

Switchfoot releases Vice Verses on September 27, and in promotion for the upcoming album they appeared in concert in New York City on Fox and Friends on the Fox News Channel. The video is pretty good, but only Dark Horses is done in its entirety. I've put the video below.

They also did an interview, and I've but the video for that below as well.

As always, I invite your comments, and I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Downhere is Living The Dream

A few days ago I hurried of a quick post alerting my readers to a free full album listening party for Downhere's latest release On the Altar of Love. A lot of my readers may be unfamiliar with this band. First of all, their Canadian. They are not a new band, starting back in 1999, and in that time they have put out ten albums. If you catch them on tour it must be a rarity because I think they must live in the studio.

Anyway, I came to a more than a casual knowledge of the Band back in 2009, of at all times Christmas. Most people don't usually think of a Christmas Album as being a resume builder, but How Many Kings is probably responsible for the great majority of us here in the States knowing about the band, and it we learned about the non-holiday stuff afterward.

Last Summer a few fortunate folks, your favorite blogger included, got to see Downhere (sort of) Live in Canada. Billy Graham Ministries held an event called Rock The River, and those who knew about it (From the U.S.A.) were able to watch it Live on the Web for free. This year it seems to be in Fort Smith, AR. This show will be for the Rocker, with P.O.D. and Children 18:3 among the acts. No word yet on a web stream.

On to the album. The Album's opening track, Only The Beginning, which is an encouragement for the newly saved, could also be a metaphor for the fortunes of the band. The album is more orchestrated and string laden than the typical Downhere album, but from my perspective this is a good thing. If you've been reading The Night Beat for any length of time, you know that I am a sucker for strings and synthesizers. Christian Music needs more of both.

The album consists of soaring anthems with lots of strings. If you were looking for some rock songs like "My Last Amen", which Martel has been known to describe as "A Happy Little Song About Death", you will be disappointed. This album really builds on How Many Kings. If I have any complaints about this album, it is that Martel's voice (and in a self-deprecating manner he says he sounds like a girl) gets drowned out in a lot of songs. This is a production problem and not related to the songs. Anybody's microphone can be adjusted to insure they can be heard  above the music. The Banjo picking on Seek is pretty good.

Despite the minor mix problem, I am giving On The Altar of Love a final score of 4.5 Emeralds. This should bring in a load of new fans, and still manage to keep the old ones satisfied. Don't let the cover photo scare you away. Downhere may say thank you For The Heartbreak, but even they know that they are Living The Dream.

Night Beat Bonus: Not every album can impress here at The Night Beat, and that's a good thing. If every album impressed me, the Platinum Vinyl Awards would be a joke (my Critics think they still are). Aaron Shust This is What we Believe releases tomorrow, and has been the subject of a Listening Party since last Tuesday at New Release Tuesday. It's a praise and worship album, and to a degree so is On The Altar of Love (reviewed above), but it just has that sameness feel. Good but Not Good enough gets it a rating of 3.75 Emeralds. No Platinum Vinyl Award for Aaron this year.

You get a two-fer this time around. Soon I will make an announcement regarding the second Platinum Vinyl Awards. As a teaser, let's just say I am considering expanding the judging pool. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Chicks Who Rock

Yeah, Yeah, So I'm not P.C. The fact is that some of the best music out there in CCM comes from Female Fronted bands. Get used to it guy's, you've lost the war.

Make A Move and "Hire" this Band

We'll Start with Ariel, lead singer for Icon For Hire. I haven't seen a singer pull off pink hair since the Days of the Benjamin Gate. (We Miss You Adrienne). Here they are in their official music video for Make A Move

Ashes Can Be Beautiful

Moving on from Icon For Hire, we will go with a few more established acts. If your tastes are a little harder than your standard rock fare, might I suggest Eowyn. She's been getting better with each album, and now, with Beautiful Ashes, she has gone into full scale Evanescence mode. While Eowyn is firmly in the Kingdom, Beautiful Ashes is her Fallen. I see great things coming for her. Anyway, here is the video for Beautiful Ashes

Wait No More

Well I started with a Redhead, and Went to a raven-haired beauty, so I'll finish with a blonde. And who better to end with than Dawn Michelle, the lead singer of the Platinum Vinyl Award Winning Fireflight. We conclude todays post with the Video for the title track For Those Who Wait

This has been a different kind of post. I am still trying things out here at the night beat. I hope you enjoyed some hard rocking tunes, and a bit of eye candy as well. Until next time. I am Awaiting Your Reply

A Real Kids "Swing Set"

Every so often a CD comes across the attention of The Night Beat and the Platinum Vinyl Awards that completely takes over a category, or demands that a category be created for it. So Far this year I had to do that for Jackie Evancho, as I couldn't really figure out where to put such a excellent album.

I have no such problems this time, as the album is marketed as a Kids album. But it really is an album for parents that kids will love as well, or vice versa. The Album is Entitled
Groovy, and if you click on the title, you will be taken to the Denver & The Mile High Orchestra page at Hearitfirst.com, where this week you can get a full album preview. Due to a particular quirk at the Hearitfirst site, you will probably have to click each song to play it, but they will have a complete song this week, and not a 30 second clip. After this week it depends on how quick they switch to the clips.

Let's Quickly go over the track listing

1. I Am a Promise
2. Movin to The Beat
3. Groovy
4. All of My Heart
5. Man Gave Names to All The Animals
6. Sunday School Swing
7. Groovy ABC's
8. Brand New Day
9. Prayin' Man
10. Get Down

Let me say this up front. This is not your typical Kids album. I mean this is my third time straight thru, and it is getting better every time. The typical Children's Music album, even the best of them, all of them feel, let's say "Dumbed Down" or Childish. Not this one. Founder Denver Bierman refuses to put out an album not up to Big Band/Swing Standards. Big Trombones, Saxophones, Trumpets will have you and your kids dancing. There is even a Bob Dylan Cover here (Man Gave Names To All The Animals), which coincidentally, he does along with guests Go Fish, which won the Children's Music Category of the Inaugural Platinum Vinyl Awards with Kickin it old school. The band obviously had fun making this album, and they show it, especially on tracks like Sunday School Swing, which is a medley containing a bunch of classics like Yes Jesus Loves Me, The B.I.B.L.E, that's the book for me, Joshua Fought The Battle of Jericho, He's got the whole world in his hands, and This Little Light of Mine. If you've got kids just learning their ABC's a listen to Groovy A,B,C's should be just the thing to have it stick.

This marks a new record for The Night Beat, the first Children's Music Album rated 5 Emeralds. This album is the front runner at the PVA's this year. I invite you to listen, come back and tell me what you think, and hopefully come back and support the Night Beat by buying through my links at Amazon. Oh, and maybe invest in a Felt Fedora. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

On the Altar of Love

Canadian Alternative/Modern Worship Artists Downhere are back. Their latest release is titled On The Altar Of Love. I'm loving it right now at a JesusfreakHideout.com Listening Party! It should be up for a while so you will be getting a full review in the future, but for right now enjoy.

Re: Creation

Steven Curtis Chapman is a household name in CCM, having released his debut, First Hand, back in 1987, when your favorite blogger was a DJ. I confess that I was not very knowledgeable of his stuff then or now. In fairness it is kind of mild. No I was more into Heavy Metal at the time, along with the usual Rock staples (D&K, Petra, Servant, Steve Taylor).

I probably heard his music on and off over the years, but I never really heard an album through from beginning to end until, while working Promotions for Sparrow Records at the Inside Out Soulfest (now simply Soulfest) at Loon Mountain in 2000, as part of the perks of the Job, I received a copy of Speechless (1999). Now a lot of people came into Chapman's orbit at that time, seeing that the Album went Platinum (1,150,000 Copies Sold). Now That's Good for Christian Standards, but it's no Fallen (7x Platinum U.S./17x Platinum Worldwide) or Satellite (3x Platinum).

Re:Creation is a hybrid release. Of the fourteen cuts on the album (not exactly unheard of on a Best-Of Release or even a studio album. For someone with his body of work, it could be somewhat short), eight are modern Re:creations. I'm kind of mixed on them. Some of them are best described as acoustic versions, and if the original was rocking, sometimes I think they fall flat. I'm more impressed with the new music, including one song recorded with his son Caleb.

I don't like giving preliminary ratings this far down, but that is what I am going to do here. I am giving Re:Creation 4 Emeralds. PVA Status is yet to be determined. I would like your help on this one readers. Normally 4 Emeralds guarantees PVA entry, but I am always torn with Best Of releases. It always feels like cheating.

Tomorrow, Destiny by Beckah Shae comes out, and you must get the album. I am also anticipating a winner with the Debut release of V.Rose, also out tomorrow. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply

Put Your (Platinum) Love Glasses On

Every so often an artist comes along who manages to take the Christian Music Listening fans by storm while making barely a raised eyebrow of interest in the industry at large. In recent history I can think of three.

• Tiffany Arbuckle Lee (aka Plumb) - From her beginnings as frontwoman for a band by the name of Plumb in 1997 to her solo career since, the Queen of Christian Dance Music has done so without much hoopla or support from the industry at large. Probably why she now records on Curb.
• Charmaine - She started out as backup singer for Rebecca St. James, and released her solo debut All about Jesus back in 2002, and then disappeared. Love Reality came out last year with the pop dance Tokyo as radio single. The pop song was deceptive with regards to the entire album, which was mostly a heavy techno dance album. And awesome. The work was not rewarded by the industry at large at the awards shows, but it was here. While the album itself did not win a Platinum Vinyl Award, the range of vocals on the album was enough to garner Charmaine Female Vocalist of the Year for 2010, the inaugural award year. Which brings us to:

Unlike Charmaine, Beckah Shae is no novice. This is her fifth release since appearing on the scene in 2006 with Butterfly (2006). The Night Beat came up to speed with Life, which came out last year and sported the single I Choose. There was also 2008's Joy and Last Year's Christmas release Emmanuel.

Give Us Good Music

Destiny kicks off with the only non-dance track on the album, the spacey R&B/Gospel track Are You Ready. It has a simple Piano opening with drum accompaniment and Beckah (as Jesus) utters the haunting chorus Does anybody hear me, does anybody see? Is there anybody willing to follow me? And is anybody thirsty? Anyone hungry. Is anybody dying, is anyone ready?

Cue the lights and mirror ball, because it's time to dance. "Come on Give us Music" is the motto of this album. Last years Dance winner was Outta Space Love by Dance/Hip-Hop Trio Group 1 Crew. This album takes the energy of that CD and cranks it up to stratospheric heights. Even the song Holy, which would be classified as worship, is heavy techno dance. David would be proud, Michal would hate it. (Ask yourself: How would David dance? He would love Snythesizers). The album is centered around the Book of Esther from the Cover Photo to the songs For Such a Time as This and Destiny. We even step into a bit of Reggae with Show Me. Even though it is an excellent song on its own, the single #putyourloveglasseson is just one of many excellent songs. They could have picked any of them.

More Precious Than Gold

The penultimate song on the CD says that we are "Going through the fire, Coming out Gold." Beckah shouldn't sell herself short. I think it's coming out Platinum. I am giving this album the coveted 5 Emerald Rating. I don't hand these out like candy. Plus this is an indie release, on the artist/producer created Shaeshoc Records.

This is a must have in your collection, especially if you like to dance. It is the front-runner in the Dance category, to say the least. Is it, to quote DeGarmo & Key, Destined to Win? We shall see. Until then I am Awaiting Your Reply