The Drive To Five: Comeback Kids Strike Back

As I reported in my previous post, #PlatVnyl4 was very encouraging due to all the growth that was everywhere.  With everything busting out all over, it makes us realize that the Platinum Vinyl Awards is going to be around for quite a while, and maybe one day we will have a real ceremony in a small municipal auditorium. Hey, the Bible says not to despise small beginnings.

The biggest evidence of growth was the Comeback Award, which grew to two awards. Comeback Artist, and Comeback Album. And there were SIX NOMINEES!! Rock and Roll may be dead out in the mainstream, but people are coming back to Christian Music in droves. Plus five out of the six nominated bands also released an album during the time frame, so that gave us an opportunity for comeback album as well.

Of the six nominated bands, none was more surprising than Audio Adrenaline. Due to the failing vocals of Mark Stuart the band decided to disband rather than seek a new vocalist in 2007. Five years later they realized their name was Audio Adrenaline and not, say, the Mark Stuart Band, and got a new lead vocalist. Actually they got more than that as Will McGinniss was the only remaining member of the original band. Lead vocals were taken over, in a very surprising move, by former DC Talk crooner Kevin Max. Max's "Shimmering Vocals" were quite unlike that of Rock Screamer Stuart, and so a change was in order. The band was rebuilt around Max and the style shifted from Rock to Alternative. The resulting album, dubbed Kings & Queens [+video] , wound up being pure platinum. They also landed 8 nominations. It was not to be enough, however, to reign at the podium. The band was shut out. Sometimes disappointment can be very tough to live down. They ditched Max, and have gone through two lead singers since: Josh Engler of Abandon and now Adam Agee of Stellar Kart. You can read my opinion of the current band by clicking on the link. Suffice it to say, No. Time to go before you wreck your image.

Our second nominated band, Big Tent Revival, had been out of the spotlight a bit longer, right after their Amplifier broke in 1998. At the time the band consisted of David Alan, Randy Williams, Steve Wiggins, Spence Smith and Rick Heil, asked "What Would Jesus Do?" and the answer was apparently to retire. The band reformed after a dozen years or so, and Spence Smith and Steve Wiggins only remain of the original lineup. The Way Back Home is the name of the album, but this reviewer thought there a little too bit country and not enough Rock and Roll. It got a paltry 3.5 Emeralds and did not make the awards except for that of Comeback Award. Actually, I think people agree with me as the album as disappeared from Amazon.

Two years, two ska reunions. The spirit of Truth (the Roger Breland founded band, which started in 1971, by the 1980's had an extensive horn section and I still think could be considered the father of Ska). The Orange County Supertones (Or OC Supertones) were a staple of the Summer Festival Circuit. They disbanded in 2004, but stirred 8 years later with an album of Repackaged tunes called Reunite. The following year, however, was For the Glory , and that qualified them as a true comeback kid. They also only received Comeback nominations.

We are only halfway through the list. I thought I could do it all in one bite, but I think that was very optimistic. I will have to take another post to finish up. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Lost In The Night Beat Doghouse

Making it big in the music industry is never easy, but some make it harder than it needs to be. I mean, when you pull your name from the grocery store you are already behind. (you can overcome, Bleach and Skillet come to mind).

Then there are expectations. That's not usually a problem for new bands. It can be if there is an excessive amount of Label Hype, but expectations are usually only a hurdle for established acts. They are also a hurdle reunion acts have to handle. Fans will reach for the album they remember most when they hear that a band is reforming. The first album you release in the reunion period is not the best time to reinvent yourself.

This brings me to the subject of my post. Big Tent Revival is a name that conjures music akin to Jimmy Swaggart than to Audio Adrenaline. The analogy may not be perfect, but I avoided BTR for a while on name alone, never hearing them. Then I got Amplifier . So did a lot of people.

Amplifier was the album that launched a billion bracelets, and that's probably a significant under count. For those of you not old enough to know, in 1998 or so WWJD was all the rage among the youth group crew, and stood for "What Would Jesus Do". It was a hit single encouraging all of us to think how Jesus would have responded to their situation. Considering the election just past, I think it should have been asked more.

Back to BTR. Amplifier was full of Synth filled alternative keepers. Still Breathing, Lovely Mausoleum, Someday (time and space), and Star in the book of life joined What Would Jesus Do? as must sing songs. Just when the band caught magic in a bottle, poof.

Which brings me to those expectations. When I heard that BTR was reuniting and had an album in the works I was psyched. Then The Way Back Home came out on October 30 and to quote from Switchfoot, there was a beautiful letdown.

The Way Back Home is exactly what you would expect from a band with the name Big Tent Revival, and that is a shame. It is country through and through. While I was pleasantly surprised by Mac Powell's "country" release because it didn't stray far from Third Day, there is nothing like amplifier here. I had expectations and they were not met. Lost Boy is the only rock song on the album. Though the characters are the same, the music bears none of the magic. In that light, I can only give The Way Back Home 3.5 Emeralds. It wasn't gag inducing, as some country is to me, but there was nothing to get me going. I prefer to remember BTR this way. This is What Would Jesus Do?

I expect to be a lot more upbeat with my next few reviews, as I have Third Day and Disciple in the mix. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.