Flashback Friday: Summer Road Trip Edition

Summertime is here, and with it we here at Night Beat HQ are reminiscing about the road trip. Especially the Concert Road Trip. And while Summer is preferable, that is not necessarily the case, especially here in New England. I think it has something to do with the fact that ever since at least Elvis Presley, the recording labels are in Nashville and Memphis. And its hot there in the South. Actually all year round. So prime touring schedules seem to be September-June, excepting Summer Festivals.

Around here in great frozen North, that usually translates into a snow trip road trip at times, and the tours here tend to be brief stops, as in "ONLY NEW ENGLAND APPEARANCE", so it's move it or lose it time when your favorite band shows up

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Move it was usually my choice. There was the weekly mini road trip just about every Friday to the Christ For You Coffeehouse in Braintree. (basement of the VFW hall) in the mid to late 70's where the 2nd or third tier bands played, usually for free. That's another story, but I'm talking about "Headliners".

The 70's was the Jesus Music Era, and we packed up the car to Boston and Tremont Temple to see Denny Corell (of Love Song Fame) and Nancy Honeytree. The sights weren't much to be seen, unless we got lost in the city and wound up driving through the "Combat Zone". No, we aren't talking about military conflict. It's an entirely different war going on there at the time.

The really big shoe at the time was the 2nd Chapter of Acts. In 1978 they were on their Mansion Builder tour. The showed up at Augusta, Maine and I (actually my parents, I was only 12 at the time), packed up the Honda Civic and set out. It took (according to google maps), 3.5 hours. In actuality at the time it was probably at least 4 hours each way. And I don't remember any bathroom or food stops along the way. Ah the things you do when you're young and stupid. Now that I'm (ahem) older, though sometimes still not so wise, I usually plan my road trips with plenty of Rest stops, though I don't factor in getting lost. By the way, not knowing where you are going, and thus making a long trip, doesn't qualify here. If that were so, a trip across town might qualify. Back to the present. Until next time, what was your longest road trip story? Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

The Legends of CCM: 2nd Chapter of Acts

Welcome to our new series on the Legends of CCM, where we will highlight some of the artists who changed the face of Christian Music. We call them Legendary. We begin "In The Beginning". No, not that beginning. For our purposes we will begin at 1973. That is when our first band was founded.

Never mind Legends, the siblings Matthew Ward, Annie (Ward) Herring, and Nelly (Ward) Greisen could almost be called the Fathers of Christian Music. Before they arrived on the scene Christian Music was pretty tame. By today's standards it was still tame even after they arrived. But by 70's standards, they were our first "Rock Band". 

Legends make you do crazy things. Or in my case make my parents do crazy things. We drove 4 hours one way from Cape Cod to Augusta, Maine, attended the concert, and then drove 4 hours home. Not even sure if we stopped to eat. Maybe we packed an ice cooler. And it was in the 70's with a Honda Civic, so maybe we can add another 2 hours to the drive. A 12+ hour event.

They may fail the legend test on longevity. Officially they broke up in 1988, but by then the industry had moved on. At their height there was none more popular. But influence, just say Easter Song and wait. Some may not know that Annie Herring wrote the song, but they know the song. It is one of five Classic Songs ever one knows.

So we begin. Welcome to the legends of CCM. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

What does it take to be a legend?

A legend in Christian Music (or perhaps Music in General) shouldn't be easy to attain. It should be more than a Rock God. Of course that doesn't mean that it is an unattainable goal. All it means is it can't be attained by just starting a band, though that is the first step in the process. I think there are three main ingredients.

• Longevity: Time to the 10 cent dictionary crowd. You can't be a legend if you quit after a few years. Still, even if you are around for 5o years, that doesn't automatically guarantee legendary status.
• Popularity: To be a legend, people have to know you. That is a cruel fact but such is the case. A band can go on forever in obscurity and they will never become legendary except for the few fans that love them. So Much for ArkAngel.
• Influence: Plainly put, the music scene had to change after their arrival. Perceptibly. It goes beyond we would miss them if they weren't here. You can tell they are a legend either through the number of their "disciples" (copycats) or the fact that they changed or introduced a sound into the scene

Well that pretty much sums it up.  I have selected a baker`s dozen of bands which I consider to be legendary. 2nd Chapter of Acts, AD, The Choir, DC Talk, Iona, Jars of Clay, Phil Keaggy, Petra, REZ, Servant, Randy Stonehill, Stryper, and WWMT (aka The Tribe or World Wide Message Tribe). I have omitted what I would call Legends in the making. If you can think of any more let me know by commenting here, or at Twitter, Facebook, Or Google+, and give me your nominee. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

A Classic Replay: Flashback Friday - Mansion Builder

Once upon a time there were three siblings with a love for music. No, this isn't about the Jonas Brothers, nor is it about Barlowgirl. Those were all good guesses, though. Today's edition of Flashback Friday is about the Ward Kids, Matthew, Annie, and Nelly, who became famous in the 70's as the 2nd Chapter of Acts.

SCA began in 1973 at the beginning of the Jesus Music Era of Christian Music. A Little bit Rock and Roll but a lot more Adult Contemporary. Their first release was With Footnotes (1974), which gave us the memorable Easter Song, which CCM Magazine says is the #4 Christian Song of all time. Here is a better version of that song live than the one I posted during Easter.
A Year later In The Volume of The Book (1975) came out. One of the songs on this album was titled Last Day of My Life. It's an early rock foray, but It has the most beautiful harmonies. Unfortunately the clip I had originally shared was deleted so I have nothing for this album at the moment.

I was introduced to the 2nd Chapter a little later and only picked up on the earlier stuff later. My first foray into the band, at the same time I was into harder acts like Petra and Servant, was Mansion Builder (1978) This is a live video of the song, along with an Annie Classic, the pro life anthem Killing Thousands.

I stayed up to date with SCA for a few years after Mansion Builder but as I grew older my tastes got louder. Petra satisfied for a while, but even they got too tame for me, and by the time I got to college I was introduced to the wonderful world of Christian Heavy Metal (Stryper, Whitecross, Barren Cross, Sacred Warrior and others), this was before the thrash metal age with its gravelly growls. If you can't get a hold of good 80's Christian Metal from the era, the next best thing these days is Montreal based band Blessed By A Broken Heart, not to be confused by Mylon LeFevre and Broken Heart, which we will cover later on.

The Second Chapter of Acts officially broke up in 1988 after a fifteen year career. They were inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1999. There hasn't been harmonies on this scale in Christian Music for a long time. I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane. Until the next Flashback Friday, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

MVM: Resurrection Sunday Edition

It's Resurrection Sunday, or to the rest of the people, Easter. I hope all of you in Night Beat land are enjoying a wonderful day. And to my Jewish readers, Happy Passover/Feast of Unleavened Bread. It actually sorta coincides this time. And it should. The Last Supper was a Passover Meal.

I thought I would do a special Music Video Monday on a Sunday. The regular Music Video Monday will come as scheduled. This is a bonus edition.

I will begin with The Easter Song, written by Annie Herring and the 2nd Chapter of Acts, and covered by Flashback Friday subject Keith Green.

Next We Go to Don Francisco and He's Alive.

And We conclude with Rise Again, by Dallas Holm.

Have A Wonderful Easter. He is Risen. He is Risen Indeed.