It was a pleasure to finally meet Mike Haines in person this past Sunday. Mike leads the praise worship at Community of Hope Lutheran Church in Wilsonville, Oregon. Mike is as charming in person as his songs are to hear. Thanks for sharing your faith and talents Mike!
If you wish to see your local Christian musicians from the NW, the best place to do that is at X-Fest. XFEST is a Christian rock festival which takes place annually on labor day weekend in Stevenson Washington, just :45 minutes from Portland Oregon. XFEST is essentially, like Creation Fest, a 3 day music fest of camping, community, bands and artists. Xfest proposes that art, music and written verse convey the artists, the musicians, the writers sense and view of the world as they know it to be.
For a full list of musictians and schedule, visit XFEST band page. Here is a short list of local artists:
That's right, Portland based band Falling Up is back with a 5th album following a quiet split-up after their hit-and-miss album "Fangs!". Thankfully, it was not the end. Falling Up came back together on their new independent album "Your Sparkling Death Cometh".
Frontman Jessy Ribordy takes the wandering synth soundscapes of "Fangs!" and combines them with more traditional rock elements from earlier albums. Together, we have an epic progressive rock album that is wonderfully mastered. The lyrics are beautiful and Jessy's voice is so pure in this album. The song "Diamonds" is a great example of this.
For a full review of the album, check out Jesusfreakhideout.com. They rate this album 4.5-5 stars out of 5 stars!
Release date: Your Sparkling Death Cometh, June 28th, 2011.
The New Divide is a Rock and Worship band from hometown Vancouver, Washington. Formed in 2006, the band consists of band mates: Andy Ziesemer,Doug Ziesemer, and Cyrus Kohl. Currently in Florida touring, the band has a new record coming sometime this spring of 2011.
The band currently does not have music up on their Facebook, but be sure to stay tuned as their new CD is coming out soon. This summer will be full of worship and rock shows as well as summer camps along the West Coast. Keep both eyes out to see if they come near you here: Facebook/TourDates.
You can also check out The New Divide at their WEBSITE at www.thenewdivide.com. Make sure you check out the video below of their travels to Florida recently.
Warning: This band review will melt your face off with metal music!
Indie bands Adonijah, Fallstar and City of God are contending for spots on the Warped Tour. They need your votes today, but you first need to know who they are. I have recently posted about hardcore band Fallstar. Today, I will introduce you to another Hardcore/Metal band, City of God.
The Portland, OR based band is loud, exciting, and in love with Jesus! The members are: James (Vocals), Steve (Guitar/Vocals), Zack (Guitar), Mike (Drums), and Andrew (Bass). Their influences include Advent, Underoath, and Sleeping Giant. Here is what the bands Myspace profile says:
The Bible describes the city as a place that is secure and the personification of Gods strength, inspiring terror in her enemies and keeping safe those who seek refuge within her walls. We long to dwell in such a place. We look to the coming of the city of God as a day in which the old pains and the old struggles will melt away. We are ordinary men who love Jesus, and we all have stories to tell about His goodness. Our desire is to tell the world about this Savior, and will continue to do so until the end of our days.
Like their profile says, they are ordinary men... with huge gages, tattoos, growling vocals, and extremely talented musicians who aren't affraid to express their faith. That's my kind of people! Their music? If you enjoy head-banging to drums with double bass pounding, fast-fingered bass guitar work, and pure sounding vocal growls... they will not dissapoint.
But why explain their music when you can see them first hand with their music video "Song I" from their EP. Also, check out this interview from HurdCore.com.
Hailing from the city where Christian band Falling Up made it's debut, and worship leader at my church, Valley Christian Center, in Albany, Oregon is contemporary/worship singer Brian Coons.
I first recognized Brian's talent in my years as a radio dj for Oregon State University's campus radio station KBVR 88.7FM. It was during this time that Brian became more than just a worship singer at my church. During VCC's Timberline Park outdoor worship/concert event was Brian Coons rocking out on his violin in amazing fashion with band Jordan's Promise. My jaw dropped.
So, in amateur fashion, because I didn't know what the heck I was doing as a freshman radio dj who just loved Christian music, I asked Jordan's Promise to play live at the radio station on campus in Corvallis, OR. Talk about a blast! The guys played song after song, we joked over the air, shared some laughs, and they finished with my favorite song where Brian rocks out on his violin in an Eagle's remix/worship song.
That was my first interview and experience with talented musicians and I am able to listen to Brian's new solo music and worship songs at our church nearly every Sunday morning. What a blessing.
Check out Brian Coon's music at his Facebook page. Here is his pages bio:
"Brian Coons grew up singing A Cappella gospel in local churches. From those roots and with passion for violin that started in the 4th grade and after learning to play the guitar in college, He began writing his own faith-influenced tunes.
Brian started the band Jordan’s Promise with four friends in 2001 and began performing his original tunes at county fairs and festivals, local churches, charity events and local coffee houses. After writing and performing with the band for six years, the group went their separate ways and locally released a “farewell” CD containing 11 of Brian’s original tunes plus two new arrangements of previously recorded tunes by other artists.
In 2008 Brian began working on new material to add to his set list of songs for contemporary worship and locally released the CD “Mercy Surrounding” this year containing 10 new originals. Brian continues to lead worship at Valley Christian Center in Albany, Oregon with a passion for relationship with the Lord and His people. Brian’s focus is to communicate God’s goodness and answers for all things through the music he writes."
"I Heart Haiti" raises money to build a school in Haiti.
Former Oregon State football player, Yvenson Bernard, is hosting the "I Heart Haiti" Festival from 5pm to 9pm Saturday, May 14th, at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, OR.
According to OSU's campus newspaper, The Barometer, the event is going to be festival style with a live band, "Rootdown". Rootdown is headed by Paul Wright. Their music has a California beach reggae/pop feel that will be perfect for the Haiti fundraiser event.
There will be a silent auction of Haitian art, sports gear, spa packages, wine tasting trips and much more. Local restaurants will be at the festival along with Reser foods.
“Love will swallow me whole!” With this cry, Portland, Oregon, metalheads Fallstar reveal the heart of their latest release, Reconciler, Refiner, Igniter. With a very bass-heavy brand of metalcore, these guys deliver a message of God’s love overcoming the darkness and consuming this world with God’s power.JesusFreekHideout.com has just finished an Indie Music Spotlight review that encompasses how the band has matured through their last release and goes into detail of their new album, released March 29th, "Reconciler. Refiner. Igniter." With a testimate to their faith as a band and in their lyrics, here is JFH.com's review:
Having both your debut EP and debut full-length album go through an independent record label may not sound like a combination for success. But Come&Live! hardcore outfit Fallstar have seen their fair share of it. They've toured with national acts like The Glorious Unseen, Seabird and Spoken, and have been voted twice to play the Vans Warped Tour. Their debut EP, Your Eyes Don't Lie, was their small introduction to the world, and now they're back with their first full-length, Reconiler. Refiner. Igniter.
Fallstar is one of four hardcore bands that calls itself a Come&Live! artist, alongside I Am Alpha and Omega, Life In Your Way and See The Light. If you're familiar with those bands' music, you can xpect Fallstar's sound to be closer to IAAAO or LIYW, as it's a more structured sort of hardcore (unlike See The Light's more chaotic nature). The very first track, "Hunters," will give you a good impression of what to expect for the rest of the album, even after listening for just a couple minutes. You get some gang vocals, some chugging guitars and double bass, and an even mixture of a rock voice and a harsh screaming voice. That's not to say, however, that the rest of the album can easily be summed up by that. While Reconciler... isn't a groundbreaking or entirely original album, it is full of good songwriting and enough creativity to eliminate any potential boredom.
Some of the music reminds me of bands like Stretch Arm Strong with its speed metal and hardcore punk structure. "Saratoga Springs" is a good example, carrying this sound through a good portion of it. It's sort of a diverse track, though, in that it starts off pretty hectic before jumping into the speed metal, then utilizing a more death metal feel for a little bit later. The diversity comes in the form of the combination of music and vocals, with the vocals going from screaming to a southern metal sort of drawl, and then having some chanting and gang vocals as well. Fallstar goes all over the place, without ever sounding sloppy. And speaking of diversity, the track "Contortionist" spends the majority of the song with high-gear hardcore, but then for the last minute or so, it takes the music way down into a soft acoustic portion with soft vocals, which then kicks back in to heavier music in the closing track. "A Whisper In The Breeze" is the longest song of the bunch, and could've very easily been spawned after listening to First Came The Law by the now-defunct Once Nothing.
As with all Come&Live! artists, Fallstar is ministry-oriented. All of their music is written and performed with Jesus on their minds and hearts, which definitely shows in their lyrics. Whether it's simply worship, or if it's an admission of our need and desperation for some time with God, like the touching spoken word portion of "A Whisper In The Breeze," their lyrics keep the focus and glory on God.
Fallstar has shown a lot of maturity since Your Eyes Don't Lie. With their first full-length, they display lots more strength in their overall sound. They've clearly taken the necessary steps to improve the music and vocals without compromising their identities in the process. Reconciler. Refiner. Igniter. is a good source of Spirit-filled hardcore, and is available for free at comeandlive.com for anyone who would be willing to give it a chance. Fans of Stretch Arm Strong, I Am Alpha and Omega or even older Underoath won't want to pass this by. -
Review date: 5/6/11, written by Scott Fryberger for Jesusfreakhideout.com
To put it simply, Living Witness is a rapper. Hailing from Vancouver, WA, he is here to testify to what he has seen, and to challenge people; to rebuild and to ignite. His name? Shaun Elligott, rapper with Blast Master Miraculous on the beats and bassist for metal band Adonijah.
But who is Living Witness? Revival and restoration are his banner, "May the lamb who was slain inherit the reward of his sufferings" is his battle cry. His weapon of choice? A microphone. Accompanied by an arsenal of multi-syllabic, metaphor dense; punch-line packed song lyrics as well as a determination to escape the crippling confines of a 16 bar AA/BB frame of mind, Living Witness aims to revitalize and restore Hip-Hop by showcasing true respect for the art & science behind the Hip-Hop Emcee. "He who has an ear; let him hear.”
The song above, “Over 9,000!” is a lot of fun as well as passionate. You can watch his second music video here: An Elegy Called Nostalgia.
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