Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world’s leading questionnaire tool. ]]> http://www.hmmagazine.com/2012/02/official-hm-magazine-2011-readers-poll/feed/ 0 http://www.hmmagazine.com/2012/02/exclusive-12-stones-lyrical-video-premiere/ http://www.hmmagazine.com/2012/02/exclusive-12-stones-lyrical-video-premiere/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:52:01 +0000 Doug Van Pelt http://www.hmmagazine.com/?p=17015 12 Stones’ new single, “Worlds Collide,” was released to Christian radio stations this week and it’s being released on February 7. Here is a premiere of a special lyric video to give us a sneak peek at the song. It’s the follow-up to the #1 single (on the CMW chart), “Bulletproof,” from their forthcoming album, details of which will be released in the coming weeks.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world’s leading questionnaire tool. ]]> http://www.hmmagazine.com/2012/01/hm-survey-imperial-cymbals/feed/ 0 http://www.hmmagazine.com/2012/01/mutemath-concert-review/ http://www.hmmagazine.com/2012/01/mutemath-concert-review/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:57:28 +0000 Doug Van Pelt http://www.hmmagazine.com/?p=16937

A lot of times I will try to manage my time so carefully and purposefully that I estimate my depart-for-the-venue time in such a way as to miss the opening bands – on purpose. I did this last night at the MUTEMATH Odd Soul Tour date in Austin at the infamous Stubb’s BBQ joint that serves as a spectator-friendly outdoor venue for mid-to-large shows. I didn’t immediately recognize the name of the band, so I figured I wouldn’t miss much. After arriving and taking a little trip to the merch table to gander at the new shirts and stuff I saw a set times posting. Turns out Canon Blue would not go on for a few more minutes. If the band wasn’t good, my estimations would have failed me and I’ll have to sit through a set just biding my time.

While at the merch tables I looked at Canon Blue’s stuff. I flipped their vinyl full-length over and read the “thank you” credits. I saw names like Chris York and Paper Route on there, along with another Nashville reference or two and then I knew I might be glad I came in time.

The good news is that I was pleasantly surprised. Canon Blue is a really good band – very good. It was a pretty good match for a MUTEMATH bill, as their rock music had a lot of pop bounce to it, but it was textured in a way that made it more interesting – on a lot of levels. It was a four-piece band and they all stayed busy. There was a guitar player that sometimes fidgeted with a small keyboard setup on a cabinet to his right. The bass player handled all the vocals – save for a few tasty BGVs by the keyboard/piano player. Their drummer was in the back, keeping a steady beat that you could dance to if you wanted.

They played a bouncing, lilting pop with lots of vocal layers. The guitarist added gentle harmonies with the keyboardist that were part Beach Boys and part Anathallo, I guess. Just really pretty and soft harmonies that added to the songs. The band used lots of long, building intros and didn’t waste a moment on the stage, which was a performance habit that would be the standard for the whole night. They ended with a nice song called “Chicago” and then they were done. It was sure nice to discover a hot new band (with two albums under their belt).

As a special surprise entrance, MUTEMATH came marching through the crowd with their marching/parade drums and a beat pad held high. Then they quickly plugged in, while Darren King wrapped headphones onto his head with duct tape and they stormed right into the off-kilter, distorted thumps of “Odd Soul,” which set the tone for the rest of the evening. After playing “Blood Pressure” they launched into “Spotlight,” and then they took their first tiny break to catch their breath, greeting the audience and announcing that, “As promised, we will play you all the songs from Odd Soul.” This was some information that I appreciated hearing. I think their new album is pretty spectacular and it seemed fitting to focus on brand new material when the band was breaking in their new guitarist, Todd Gummerman. “As an added bonus,” Paul Meany smiled, “we will also perform numerous selections from our other albums.”

There was a giant backdrop that had giant corrugated folds, kind of like a folding 20-feet-tall modesty screen in a dressing room. It appeared to be made of thick plywood and covered with thick material. Whatever it was made of, it was lit up with a projector that splashed laser lights that framed the structure, lit it all up or danced moving images up there. A nice creative touch on an oft-used concert dressing… During “Tell Your Heart Heads Up” it flashed close-up images of the band that must’ve been captured by small web cams mounted on pianos, amps and the drumset. The player close-up views were awesome. It showed some nice and trippy blobs and other microscopic eye candy during “Allies.”

The show was a constantly flowing cascade of melodies or droning fills that really kept up a brisk pace – but without feeling like we were being rushed. It was quite fulfilling. By watching closely I was able to determine how some of the sounds from the new record were made. First I noticed that some of those low-end fat noises were made by the guitar. During “Clipping” the bassist, Roy Mitchell-Cardenas, plays keys along with Meany. Then he starts playing a hollow-body guitar with a violin bow, while Meany sings about “anymore – I don’t know who to fight anymore, I don’t know what is right anymore – anymore!”

Meany pulls out his keytar during “Plan B” and stays busy with it. He bangs out the last couple of piano chords with his raised foot. “Calvalries” set up a nice atmospheric wall of sound with that big, droning bass. MUTEMATH does a great job creating “feel” and what’s got to be improvisation. They’re like great blues or jazz masters that really get it – plus they add an acid rock and straight-up rock vibe.

During “Obsolete” Meany joins Mitchell-Cardenas and a standing King as they all slub away at various floor toms and cymbals. Then they flowed into “Walking Paranoia,” which really thumped loud. The studio version is great, but live it really reaches its potential. The new guy, Todd Gummerman adds some really nice high BGVs – a lot of “ooh-hooo’s” near the end of “Stall Out.”

Meany’s voice stands tall and clear and carries nice over the sonic bed they create. It really commanded center-stage attention during the slower number “No Time,” where he sat on the piano and he carefully pronounced syllables and let each line of each verse with patience. The melodies are sweet in both the lower tempo and more upbeat tunes, like “Picture.” The music makes you want to dance and the melodies make you want to sing along. Move over Coldplay, you’ve been lapped.

The band moves from song to song so seamlessly and fast that time seems to disappear. “The is the second night of the Odd Soul Tour,” Meany announces, and it’s going so smooth that it’ll be scary how good this will sound in another week or two. After “Chaos” Meany stands up on a riser at center stage that walks over the pit and he starts punching a drum/beatpad. Then he stands up with just a mic for “Equals,” which revealed another mystery sound for me. Mitchell-Cardenas strums a hollow-body guitar for those big, fat tones that almost chime with the behind-the-bridge tautness. It’s a crazy, cool sound. He stays on the guitar for “All Or Nothing,” while Gummerman gets on the piano for another song that stretches into a long section with a nice mesmerizing feel.

The long segues between songs keep up a building feel that carries the audience with it. Meany croons the intro to “Control” by repeating the phrase, “Such a beautiful surrender.” It was a very different start to “Control,” which usually relies upon the blips and buzzes to wander into the first verse. Nice touch. Meany hunches over his piano during this tune like Schroder from Peanuts punching out those notes.

When the band started up the opening to “Break The Same,” I wondered, “How will this work? What will they do?” Normally it’s the start of a deconstruction that you’ll never forget, but it was highlighted by former guitarist Greg Hill picking up his effects/pedal board and playing it like an instrument. While Gummerman did pull off that trick during the song, the band changed it up entirely by swinging into “Quarantine” midway through the song. Wow. That was a surprise. It sounded great. And then Meany did many a handstand on his organ, which would make Elton John so proud, holding his inverted body up for a second before he swung back down to earth. It’s a fun moment in the middle of several fun and “watch this!” moments.

Then Meany took it to the next level. A giant inflatable mattress appeared out of nowhere at the edge of the stage. They tossed it upon the raised hands of the crowd awaiting and it rested there like a landing pad. Meany then hurled himself into the air and onto the mattress, which was a good two-feet think and trimmed with decorative and flashing lights. He sat up on his knees and sang the rest of the song on his wireless mic. The crowd moved like a well-rehearsed stagehand, passing the floating mattress back through the crowded outdoor audience at Stubb’s. It was packed all the way to the back, which stretches a good 50 yards or so. His floating platform took him out about halfway, where he never missed a note while the crowd roared with astonished approval. Then the mattress came back towards the stage. As it got close he tilted the thing with his weight and slid off into the crowd, which caught him of course – all the while singing the fast-tempo’d verses of “Quarantine.” Amazing.

Oh, another fun thing for this reviewer was that I whipped out my cell phone and videotaped some of this crowd surfing fun. I uploaded it on YouTube while the band was playing its first encore – “Reset.” Thanks to a good 3G signal, that video was posted before the band was done playing. How’s that for immediate technology?

During “Reset” the cameras came on and splashed giant close-ups of the various band members on the screen behind. Whoever was editing the different camera angles was doing a great job of keeping it moving and captivating at the same time. “Reset” gave way to “Collapse” and it was all a killer ending to a great show. I wondered, though, “Will they skip their biggest single, “Typical?” Meany jumped on his organ with keytar in hand and plucked the first few chords as if to answer my question. The crowd responded with a roar and “Typical” was going to end this 90+ minute set. Gummerman climbed on top of the organ, played a few chords and did his own leap, kick and landing. Welcome to MUTEMATH, Todd.

Not yet done with taking things further, Meany, dropped into the pit and walked around through the crowd with his wireless mic. With a big smile on his face, he waslked through the crowd, high-fiving when he could as he sang. He went from one side to the other and then back on stage where a satisfied band played its last notes and then took a bow.

Wow. MUTEMATH has rebounded after losing a core band member and they dominated and killed it in such dominating fashion that there was no room for doubt.

Copyright © 2012 HM Magazine. All rights reserved.

** more photos will be posted soon. I have to rush off to an August Burns Red/Texas in July concert tonight and didn’t have enough time to write this review and cull through my 572 pics from last night. I’ll get back to this asap.

Why did you tackle the subject of the existence of hell in your new book, Erasing Hell?

Honestly, from my own struggles about hell. I would love to erase hell from the pages of Scripture. How about you? Have you ever struggled with hell as I have? Do you have any parents, siblings, cousins, or friends who, based on what you have been taught, will end up in hell? What a bone chilling thought. Until recently, whenever the idea of hell—and the idea of my loved ones possibly heading there—crossed my mind, I would brush it aside and divert my thinking to something more pleasant. While I’ve always believed in hell with my mind, I tried not to let the doctrine penetrate my heart.

But I reached a point where I could no longer do this. I could no longer acknowledge hell with my lips while preventing my heart from feeling its weight. I had to figure out if the Bible actually taught the existence of a literal hell. How great would it be if it didn’t? Then I would be able to embrace my grandmother again someday. So I decided to write a book about hell. And honestly—I’m scared to death. I’m scared because so much is at stake. Think about it. If I say there is no hell, and it turns out that there is a hell, I may lead people into the very place I convinced them did not exist! If I say there is a hell, and I’m wrong, I may persuade people to spend their lives frantically warning loved ones about a terrifying place that isn’t real! When it comes to hell, we can’t afford to be wrong. This is not one of those doctrines where you can toss in your two cents, shrug your shoulders, and move on. Too much is at stake. Too many people are at stake.

You wrote Erasing Hell with a co-author.  Why?

I wrote this book with my friend Dr. Preston Sprinkle. I recruited his help because he can interact with issues at a deeper level than I can. His expertise in language, history, and the New Testament has helped tremendously in our effort to be thorough and precise. Preston studied first-century Judaism for his doctorate and has published many works in this area. We thought it would be a good partnership because we have different gifts but similar convictions. As we wrote the book, we decided to write it with one voice (mine). But, truth be told, the majority of research was done by Preston.

Is this more than just a book about hell?

This is a book about embracing a God who isn’t always easy to understand, and whose ways are far beyond us; a God whose thoughts are much higher than our thoughts; a God who, as the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, has every right to do, as the psalmist says, “whatever He pleases” (Ps. 115:3 NASB). God has the right to do WHATEVER He pleases. If I’ve learned one thing from studying hell, it’s that last line. And whether or not you end up agreeing with everything I say about hell, you must agree with Psalm 115:3. Because at the end of the day, our feelings and wants and heartaches and desires are not ultimate—only God is ultimate. God tells us plainly that His ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than ours (Isa. 55:9). Expect then, that Scripture will say things that don’t agree with your natural way of thinking.

How has writing this book refined your personal view of God?

I often hear people say, “I could never love a God who would …”Who would what? Who would disagree with you? And do things that you would never do? Who would allow bad things to happen to people? Who would be more concerned with His own glory than your feelings? Who would—send people to hell?

It has taken me forty-three years to finally confess that I have been embarrassed by some of God’s actions. In my arrogance, I believed I could make Him more attractive or palatable if I covered up some of His actions. So I neglected speaking on certain passages, or I would rush through certain statements God made in order to get to the ones I was comfortable with. The ones I knew others would like. I am just now seeing the ugliness of my actions. Like the nervous kid who tries to keep his friends from seeing his drunken father, I have tried to hide God at times. Who do I think I am? The truth is, God is perfect and right in all that He does. I am a fool for thinking otherwise. He does not need nor want me to “cover” for Him. There’s nothing to be covered. Everything about Him and all He does is perfect.

How should we treat those with whom we disagree – especially on theological points?

Jesus threatens hell to those who curse their brother (Matt. 5:22). He’s not warning drinkers or smokers or murderers. Jesus preaches hellfire against those who have the audacity to attack a fellow human being with harsh words. It’s ironic—frightening, actually—that some people have written books, preached sermons, or written blog posts about hell and missed this point completely. In fact, some people have slammed their Christian brothers and sisters in the process, simply because they have a different view of hell, missing the purpose of Matthew 5: Whoever calls his brother a fool may find himself guilty of hell.

Have you called your brother a fool lately? On a blog? On Facebook? Have you tweeted anything of the sort? So often these hell passages become fodder for debate, and people miss the point of the warning. Jesus didn’t speak of hell so that we could study, debate, and write books about it. He gave us these passages so that we would live holy lives. Stop slandering one another, and live in peace and brotherly unity. Jesus evidently hates it when we tear into our brothers or sisters with demeaning words, words that fail to honor the people around us as the beautiful image-bearing creatures that they are.

Your first book, Crazy Love, explores God’s love. How does that book tie into the topics addressed in Erasing Hell?

God is love, but He also defines what love is. We don’t have the license to define love according to our own standards and sensibilities. We often assume that love means achieving the ultimate happiness of everyone you are able to. If this were love, then yes, hell would be incompatible with God’s love. But Scripture doesn’t define God’s love in this way. Love is part of who God is. And God defines what love is. God does not have to save everyone for Him to show love. Love, in other words, is essentially wrapped up in the character of God. Though God acts in ways that seem unloving by our standards, they are not unloving by His standards—and His standards are the ones that matter.

Before this book came along, your family spent several months on a multi-country mission trip to Asia. What can North American Christians learn from the Christians you met around the globe?

It was wonderful to see the passion in some of these people.  It opened my eyes to how much we worship safety and material blessings.  It’s hard to put into words the testimonies I heard from those who had been persecuted.  It is so foreign to me, since my life has been pretty easy.

There’s a faith and urgency that we can learn from them.  They have faith that the Holy Spirit truly empowers each of them to go and make disciples.  They seek to be equipped to go and spread the gospel.  Because they expect everyone to be involved in making disciples, they are seeing many conversions.  They seem to be far more missional than the average church service attendees in the States.

We have a lot of expectations in our churches in North America, and many of those expectations are not biblical.  For the most part, believers in the States are not looking to be equipped.  They want to learn, but are not seeking to be equipped to make disciples.  We want the pastor to save our friends, and the staff to teach our friends, children, neighbors.  As individuals, we do not take the great commission seriously.  We treat it as optional or come up with reasons why it doesn’t pertain to us.

What are the most important practices of churches in Asia that North American churches should immediately adopt?

Prayer and discipleship. We need to get more serious about prayer and believing in it.  We need to pray for the right things.  Most prayer meetings here are focused on personal desires:  Help me feel better, get a better job, etc.  Not that these are wrong, but if we truly believe in a literal Hell, why is there so much focus on the temporal?

Regarding discipleship, pastors need to see their sheep as children.  You don’t want your kid living at home for the rest of their lives, eating your food, spending your money.  In the same way, we need to train our people to be able to survive without us!  They should be starting their own families!

Since returning to the States, what has ministry looked like for you?

I’ve spent more time with those who have been rejected by the world- the homeless, the addicts.

I’ve been spending a lot of time with leaders of ministries.  I’m trying to see if I can be a resource and encouragement to other leaders in the San Francisco area rather than starting my own ministry.

Where do you see God leading you in the next 6 months or the next year?

I really believe I’m going to be in the San Francisco area for quite some time.  I have enjoyed working with some of the leaders here and dreaming with them on how to reach this city.  I’m developing a discipleship experience that I’m going to launch here in the Bay Area in the fall.  Hopefully it will be a helpful tool to churches – increasing our knowledge of scripture and our boldness to make disciples.

# # #

Reprint permission available upon request:
Jana Muntsinger, McClure Muntsinger Public Relations, jana@mmpublicrelations.com

June 2011

Erasing Hell: What God Said About Eternity and the Things We Made Up

By Francis Chan and Dr. Preston Sprinkle

Available July 5, 2011

U.S. $14.99, trade paper, 192 pages, 5.5 x 8.25

ISBN-13: 978-0-7814-0725-0

BISAC category: RELIGION/Christian Life/General

FAQs included

Video trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnrJVTSYLr8

For review copies and interviews, contact: Jana Muntsinger,

McClure Muntsinger Public Relations,

jana@mmpublicrelations.com, 281.251.0480

]]> http://www.hmmagazine.com/2012/01/francis-chan-qa/feed/ 0 http://www.hmmagazine.com/2012/01/galactic-cowboys-the-one-that-got-away/ http://www.hmmagazine.com/2012/01/galactic-cowboys-the-one-that-got-away/#comments Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:24:36 +0000 Doug Van Pelt http://www.hmmagazine.com/?p=16823

When I converted to Christianity it became apparent that I could not reconcile my faith in God with my musical listening tendencies.  I soon found myself sorting through my compact disc collection and discarding those which I deemed incompatible with my Christian worldview.  With the exception of a few U2 albums, my complete collection, predominantly comprised of high profile hard rock selections from the eighties and nineties, had been completely purged.

I eventually discovered the Christian rock scene and uncovered a few hidden (at least from me) gems that helped fill my hard rock void.  However, for the most part I was disappointed with what I perceived to be a lack of musical, lyrical and surprisingly spiritual depth in this music I had been exploring.

It wasn’t till I rediscovered a dusty old misplaced cassette tape that my interest in music started to become fully renewed.  The name of that tape, ‘Faith Hope Love’ by King’ X.

When it was first released I didn’t really get it.  The music was heavy, but it was weird.  It just didn’t fully register with me…..too artsy, too melodic, too ambitious.

And the lyrics?  The words spoke of spiritual struggles and transcending love with an eye towards eternal redemption.  Definitely a far cry from the party anthems and calls to rebellion, which were the standard lyrical themes that I associated with the hard rock genre.

To their credit, King’s X did receive a fair amount of notoriety over the years and have been hailed as a major influence on the likes of pearl jam, alice in chains, and the whole grunge movement of the early nineties.  As I searched through their rich catalog I came across another group, Galactic Cowboys (never heard of them? neither had I) who had also emerged from the small yet noteworthy Christian metal scene along with King’s X in the early nineties.

I immediately got my hands on their first two major label releases.  It was evident, to me anyway, that Galactic Cowboys were a band destined for greatness.  Unfortunately their promise was derailed before the train even left the station when after being signed to Geffen they were immediately tossed aside as label mates Nirvana exploded onto the rock scene.  The future course of these two promising young bands would forever be altered.  Nirvana’s emergence transformed the musical landscape even though the band prematurely imploded while the Cowboys, despite their unique and intriguing blend of styles, quickly faded away into obscurity.

We all know about Nirvana….rebellious, cynical, raw, angry and unpredictable.  While Galactic Cowboys, although similar in terms of hooks, melodies and harmonies were polished, disciplined, witty and colorful.  The Cowboys hard rock aggression were a nod to the mighty thrash of Metallica rather than the stripped down simplicity of the punk movement (despite the fact that bassist and primary songwriter Monty Colvin is the cousin of the late bassist and primary songwriter Douglas Colvin a.k.a. “De De Ramone” whose band was an early forerunner of Nirvana).

Galactic Cowboys were not a Christian band (although maybe they would have met with greater success if they were marketed thus) but a band full of Christians who were not afraid to wave the flag for Christian morality.  Heck, this is a band that recorded three candid, unapologetic anti-abortion songs (two released as singles) for their first two albums with Geffen.  The diverse lyrical themes of their music covered a vast array of social and spiritual topics including poverty, isolation, hard-heartedness and environmental protection against the likes of Exxon Valdez.  The band could have and should have been huge.  They are a criminally overlooked band that blended the layered-harmonies and melodies of classic Chicago with the bone crushing riffs of old school Metallica.  In one song they can go from rocking your face off to seducing you with a sweet harmony or heartfelt lyric while thinking nothing of integrating acoustic guitars or blues harp into a musical mix grounded in heavy metal.

On their last album, 2000’s unpromoted ‘Let It Go’ the group expanded its social commentaries to include the loss of innocence, teen angst, the gun culture and the glorification of violence in the media.  And on this release more than any other the band was not afraid to express their dependency on Jesus Christ to get through this life and remain grounded in eternal truths over temporal riches that ultimately fade.  Unfortunately the Cowboys did fade immediately following this release and despite a few reunion shows in 2009 have remained inactive and relatively unknown.

Do yourself a favor and check out this great band!  A band of great promise………the one that got away!

And here’s a related article: HM archives

Check out the wonderful new video by The Skies Revolt. Also be sure to check out the wonderful new full-length feature story on the band in the new January issue of HM Maga-digital-zine.

For one week this is exclusive to HM Magazine, so please share it! Spread it like fire! Like fi-ya!!!

The quote “It was a dark and stormy night” is not exactly how you would probably imagine an article relating to one of the premier Christian festivals of the year to begin. But truthfully, by the closing of the 16^th annual Purple Door Arts and Music Festival, it was a dark evening, and stormy enough in Lebanon, Pennsylvania for its closing acts to be re-located inside to the second and third stages. The festival organizers need commended for dealing with numerous scheduling issues throughout the weekend both efficiently and professionally.  With the recent events of disasters in this season of outdoor festivals, the Purple Door staff ensured everyone was safe and accounted for, and still got their ticket’s worth in the face of the weather obstacles.

Facedown Records artist Sleeping Giant had to pull out at the last minute, causing Saturday’s LBC Insider Stage schedule to be shuffled around. The Purple Door crew had enough time to communicate that change with an insert in the program, with local band My Heart to Fear stepping up to take the spot of Sleeping Giant.

The hectic schedule changes of Saturday started with Disciple, the band scheduled to kick off the main stage’s final three acts of the festival, got delayed, and their set moved to closing the fest inside at the LBC stage, with Aaron Gillespie stepping up to play a second set. And then the rain came, with the forecast showing no letting up of dangerous conditions. They started tearing down the stage as Abandon Kansas was playing, then informing people that Project 86 and Underoath would be taking place inside the second stage, while Disciple would be moved to the third stage taking place after official headliner Underoath finished their set. Sadly for Gillespie fans, his unplanned second set was then cancelled.

For the past 10 years, Purple Door has been held at Ski Roundtop, about an hour away from the Lebanon Fairgrounds location that hosted this year’s festival. It was a good move, as the rain would have probably caused a cancellation or shortening of the festival at the old Ski Roundtop location, which lacked sufficient indoor seating. In the ten years since the Fest was last held in Lebanon, the landscape of the Christian scene has certainly changed. If you look back to 2000, the last time Purple Door graced the Fairgrounds of Lebanon, of the 31 acts that appeared in 2000, only Project 86 and Denison Witmer returned to the stage this year. Some bands from 2000, like Relient K and Switchfoot have gone on to bigger and better things. Some, like Burlap to Cashmere and The Supertones, have split up and reunited in the space of a decade. Others like Beanbag and Skankin Buvas are barely footnotes in the history of the festival.

The majority of the teenage collective that made up this year’s Purple Door attendees probably were not listening to 2000 Purple Door headliner Supertones a decade ago, and sadly probably can’t name a single Joy Electric or Pedro The Lion song, two other acts from that year’s festival. But they can sing along with the barely intelligible screams of the Spencer Chamberlain lead Underoath and mosh to the chaos that is the Chariot.

The festival began Friday night with local band The Historic kicking off the LBC Insider Stage, formerly the stage named after HM Magazine. The second stage in traditionally the harder of the two stages, The Historic is not however a metal band. The early arrivals to the stage, securing their front of the barricade placement for the harder acts later, gave polite applause to the Lancaster based Americana band.

SisterBrother and Ocean Is Theory followed, again neither being of the metal variety, but providing perfectly enjoyable productions for the lead up to more punkish Yesterday Is Waiting. I must give props to Ocean Is Theory, as they were one of the very few bands to actually promote themselves throughout the festival grounds with flyers and posters. Local violin rock band Reilly kicked off the main stage, while I missed the Hershey, PA based band Yesterday Is Waiting on LBC, choosing rather to check out a personal favorite, House of Heroes. House of Heroes played a pleasant seven song set, which included songs from their last two full lengths “Surburba” and “The End Is Not The End”

The volume finally got turned up with Texas In July on the LBC stage, a local band that has been making national headway. They recently went through a somewhat controversial situation with Bryan Kemper, as Kemper attacked them for not pulling out of a major mainstream tour that picked up a sponsor he felt endorsed abortion.

I did not catch the entire TIJ set, so I’m not sure they addressed the situation. Kemper was at the festival the next day, but I bowed out of his talk early due to him using descriptions of an explicit nature, which were frankly unnecessary and stomach turning.

I tried to catch some of Lacrae at the main stage, but got distracted by some friends. I wasn’t too concerned as I saw him two years ago at the 2009 Purple Door mainstage, and was quite surprised how popular he was, considering I had never heard of him. Granted, I don’t follow the Christian Hip Hop scene at all, but apparently he is quite popular. Shortly after 8:35, the band I came to see took the stage. Douglasville, Georgia only has about 20,000 residents, but a few of them got together and formed the incredible metalcore band The Chariot.

If you have never seen a show by the Chariot, please, and I do mean please, do everything in your power to catch them live. Do not pay attention to their recorded sounds via CD or LP, go to their show, and experience rock music like you always wanted, but never knew you needed. The albums are pretty great, too, but the live show is out of this world, and a show I would recommend to anyone who could possibly enjoy the current metal scene. They will be touring with Underoath in September and October before heading out on their own headline tour in November and December.

The chaos of the Chariot is a beauty to behold, like a Viking Warrior giving birth to a bolt of lightning while experiencing roid rage. I’m pretty sure even attending a Chariot show will cause excessive hair growth on your chest, no matter your gender. A true leader of mainly rock shows, lead demolitionist and singer Josh Scogin is backed by a somewhat revolving cast of characters, as he is the only remaining member of the original lineup from 2003.

Highlights of songs I could make out from within the sandstorm of sound that blasted from the speakers included “Back To Back” from the 2007 album “The Fiancée” and “Calvin Makenzie” from their newest release “Long Live”

After the dust had settled and the indoor stage cleared, Nashville, TN Sony recording artist RED closed the Friday portion of the festival, playing their popular version of Christian alternative rock. Saturday came early, with some bands starting up at 10am. Seeing as how my plan was to stay until after 10pm, I chose to skip a few of the earlier bands and kick off Saturday with Ace Augustine, the second band to play the LBC stage.

Ace Augustine signed to Strike First Records last year after being noticed at Purple Door and they released their full length The Absolute. They recently launched their first tour earlier this summer with fellow local act I Am History. The Lancaster/Lebanon area were familiar with Ace, and the out of town folks got a quick education with songs such as “Delorean” and “The Merchant Tales”

When Sleeping Giant had to pull out, last year’s winner of a battle of bands to play Purple Door, My Heart To Fear stepped up and was able to take their slot. They were followed on the LBC stage by As Hell Retreats and then the Baltimore band I The Breather.

While all that was going on, I took glimpses of the Relevant Magazine stage, the number three stage this year, for Mike Main and the Branches, and Deas Vail as Ascend the Hill and The Ember Days played an extra long worship set on the main stage outdoors.

Showbread took the LBC stage shortly after 3, and was a refreshingly honest approach to the metal scene. You can go to their website and download their newest album for free of charge.

For Today closed out the afternoon on the second stage, speaking a message that seemed to have touched a lot of hearts in the audience. I split a few songs into their set to chill at the Relevant stage with the soothing sounds of Denison Witmer and then a powerful worship set by Aaron Gillespie.

Then the schedule basically went whacky, and as the rain started to drizzle down on the people watching Abandon Kansas on the main stage, the race was on to move Project 86’s and Underoath’s gear to the LBC stage indoors to avoid the storm coming.

A little bit behind schedule, but nonetheless ready to produce a pounding show of excellent rock, Andrew Schwab led his band Project 86 to the barricade separating them and the masses. They leaned over the barricade and basically played the entire first song in the sea of fans.

After a loud and powerful set, the long set change for Underoath was underway. Using a video projector and lot of blue lights, the boys rocked out and gave the people a show to remember.  Some people chose to forgoe the end of the Underoath set to get in line for the closed building that was about to host Disciple, who after their flight was delayed, and having been up for over 20 hours, took the Relevant Stage and played for the hardcores that stayed around until 11pm to catch every last song.

After that, it was kind of sad to end the 2011 Purple Door experience. While the crowd was tired and worn out after a 12+ hour day of sun, heat, music and worship, you almost wanted to push through and keep going.

One of the great things about Purple Door is you get a decent variety of music, and you can either chill all day by one stage, or move around hitting all the bands for a song or three. While I didn’t catch entire sets, I was also able to hear a little bit of a lot of different acts. A smorgasbord of sonic delights, your basic fair food, and some interesting characters of attendees make up a pleasant way to spend a day and a half in the Pennsylvania sun.

Purple Door is highly recommended if you are near the area and enjoy at least some of the bands listed. You can watch the few bands you enjoy, and relax and enjoy the atmosphere and fellowship the rest of the time. —

Michael Todaro 717-460-3980 mike@michaeltodaro.com www.michaeltodaro.com

Scream The Prayer is the tour every kid waits for each year. It’s the perfect tour that gives those who missed Cornerstone just a taste of how awesome that week just is. Scream The Prayer is now on its fourth leg, and this year’s line up is debatably the best ever! The bands that played this year were Sovereign Strength, As Hell Retreats, Texas In July, The Great Commission, I The Breather, Close Your Eyes, War of Ages, The Chariot, Sleeping Giant, and Norma Jean.

We [Nick and Matthew of This Moment in Hardcore] spent the day in Charlotte, NC at Amos Southend. Doors opened at 2 PM and the show started at 2:45 PM. There wasn’t a lot of people there at the opening of the show. We estimated about 250-300 people, but that didn’t matter to the bands or the fans already there. The energy was already high and the kids were ready to rock out! The anticipation of the show was well worth the wait.

The first band to take the stage was Sovereign Strength. This band is fairly new to the scene, so many people were unfamiliar with their music. Lead vocalist Jordan King entered the stage pumped and ready to rock! It took the band a few songs to get the crowd into them, but their effort paid off. Their passion was felt and by the end of the set there was a decent pit filled with kids kicking and punching the air. As fans of the genre we particularly didn’t enjoy their sent. We found their music very repetitive and lacking of any really memorable moments in the songs. Maybe it was because we were unfamiliar with their music, but when their set ended we did not feel like we needed to rush to their merch table and buy their album. Although it didn’t make an impression on us, it did on the rest of the kids. By the time the next band was on stage we spotted several “Go Hard In Da Pit- Sovereign Strength” shirts.

The second band to make their way on stage was Ain’t No Grave Records, As Hell Retreats. We were already unenthusiastic about this band. We were familiar with their two albums, Revival and Volition. We did not like either album. However, their live performance is much better then their studio. The band’s set was very tight and caused the crowd to get pumped for this young band. The audience seemed to enjoy them very much. We hope to see where they are in a few short years.

The next band to take the stage was supposed to be The Great Commission, but for whatever reason it changed to I, The Breather. We were both super excited to see them play. This was the first time Matthew had seen them, but Nick caught their act last year at Cornerstone Festival 20Ten. So anticipation was high for Matthew because of the high praise Nick already had for them. And he wasn’t lying! I, The Breather took the stage and made it their own! A pit opened as soon as the first note rang through the air. The crowd was ready to mosh. It was great to see the two guitarist Chase Kozlowski and Justin Huffman shred live. It was evident that these two guys knew how to rock their guitar. But just as fast as the band got onto stage, so it was the same when they left. Their set seemed really short, and we were very sad when it ended. We cannot wait to see them on another tour.

By this point at a show, almost all the bands would have already played, but not at Scream The Prayer. We are not even half way done! The next band was our good friends, The Great Commission. This band has just finished recording their second album, Heavy Worship, with Ain’t No Grave Records, which is an amazing album for those who love super heavy music. The band made a grand entrance by having the stage lights off and Justin Singh screaming, “Open this place up!” However, the band did not get the reaction it wanted because like Sovereign Strength, they are fairly new to the scene and lots of people don’t know them yet. Regardless of how the crowd responded to their opening song, Every Knee Shall Bow, by their third song the crowd was into them. Justin and Angela pulled off amazing gang vocals in several of their songs, and rocked everyones face off from their sometimes unpredictable breakdowns. The pit was huge by the end of their set, and it included yours truly. The Great Commission’s last song was going to be When it Rains, it Pours, but several people requested their cover song Came to My Rescue by worship band Hillsong United. The song truly brought the presence of the Holy Ghost into the venue. Almost everyone was singing the song and even after the band stopped played everyone continued to worship by singing a cappella. It was truly moving.

The fifth band to play was Texas in July from Lancaster, PA; home of August Burns Red. This band seems to be growing by leaps and bounds in popularity, but we cannot understand why. This band had to be the biggest snooze fest of all the bands that played. Each song sounded the same, was very predictable, had way too many breakdowns, and their stage presence seemed amateurish. Also, lead vocalist Alex Good only said about two things to the crowd. While their set seemed to last forever, they actually only played four songs and then exited stage left to never be seen again. We could be wrong, but we didn’t see them at their merch table to greet their fans, which seemed very odd to us.

After Texas in July played their set we noticed the audience had grown a little bit. We were excited to have more people come in to help us rock out with the bands. Close Your Eyes was next and they were probably the band with the biggest name recognition because they have been on several big name tours including Van’s Warped Tour. This band also was a little change in style. They are more on the lines of pop-punk/hardcore, while the other bands are more metalcore. The energy from the crowd was very high. When the band finally took stage everyone cheered. The band performed a tight set proving their musicianship. The bands poppy sound sprinkled with screams and breakdowns made us smile. It was very fun to hear them play songs like Song for the Broken and Digging Graves. Shane Raymond and Brett Callawa’s singing and vocals were just as good live as they are on album. Let’s also not forget their awesome drummer Tim Friesen! After their set we chatted with the band and they gave us a little inside knowledge and told us they are back in the studio working on a third album and headlining a tour in the spring in support of the album.

Next, one of the most popular bands in the hardcore scene today, The Chariot, took stage. Every time The Chariot plays you can expect something new and exciting. Their energy on stage was incredible. Josh Scogin stood on drummer David Kennedy’s set and screamed. During the song Daggers, bassist Wolf jumped off stage and rocked his way up the second floor and continued to play till the song was done! Once their amazing set was over Wolf was still high energy and told the audience, “This is nothing! This is nothing!” We think he meant this show here means nothing compared to the price Christ paid for us on the cross.

While we waited for War of Ages to start their show we took time to walk around and check out all the merchandise the bands were selling. All the bands shirts were awesome. We were especially big fans of War of Ages’ new design that featured the beast from Lord of the Rings called Balrog. We always love their designs because they are so metal! It was just a shame we didn’t have enough money to buy everything.

War of Ages is one of our favorite bands to see live. Each time we see them perform it’s a blast. You can tell these dudes are having so much fun shredding it up on stage. Lead vocalist Leroy Hemp always has a big smile on his face. It was great to hear all their classics and some new favorites off their latest album, Eternal. After their show we chatted with Leroy about future stuff and was told that he has a new album in the works. Of course, he wasn’t sure if he was going to have any big name special guests like he had on his last album. I guess we all will just have to wait and see!

Everyone seemed to be there for Sleeping Giant because once they had finished their set up and took stage the place erupted into a loud cheer. Much louder than the other bands had received thus far. Before they played lead vocalist Tom Green dedicated their set the the Lord and prayed for the people there. Each song they played, new and old, was a full throttle heavy worship for God. It makes you think, “Gee, why can’t my church worship be like this?” After about three powerful songs where played the band stopped played and Tom again prayed, but this time he had all the believers raise their hands high and pray for those were there and not believers, and he felt a evil spirit in the room and prayed that it would be bound in the name of Jesus Christ. He then told us about a ministry he and his wife head up called Revolution Reality. [Check it out at revolutionreality.com] The ministry is a great way to reach out to those who are left outside of the church. After Sleeping Giant finished their show the crowd chanted for one more song. So Tom came out and instead of playing one more song witnessed to the audience. It’s bands like Sleeping Giant that make me proud to be apart of this scene. They are changing it in amazing ways with the power of the Gospel! We had the chance to talk to him after their set and ask how we could help their ministry thrive. He responded, “Prayer. We’re out of Salt Lake City which is a pretty sketchy place to be. We obviously need money to build the ministry so buy some merch!”

After a long day of dancing and getting our faces rocked off by all the other bands, Norma Jean finally took stage. Their set up and sound check seemed to take forever. We knew it was going to be an amazing show because of all their set pieces they had like a giant screen behind the drums, strobe lights, and a smoke machine. The lights shut off and everyone’s eyes were drawn to the screen behind them that were painted with images of bugs, burning typewriters, nurses with syringes, and shattering TV’s. The images seemed to be a collection of scenes used from their music videos. If you have seen a Norma Jean music video then you probably can imagine how creepy this video was. On stage left there was a box that read NORMA and stage right that read JEAN.  Once the intro video was complete the screen went blank and the Norma Jean boxes lit up and the band walked on stage and grabbed their instruments. Boy, was the wait worth it. Matthew has followed Norma Jean for the past ten years, since their first album Bless the Martyr, Kiss the Child, and has seen them multiple times. He says this was probably the best show he has seen them play in many years. The band played about 45 minutes and picked songs from each of their albums. Norma Jean even played a song they said has never been played live until this tour. They played the song Disconnecktie off their second album O’ God, The Aftermath. Lead vocalist Cory Brandon even played guitar for this song and explained how this is an emotional song for him and means a lot to his relationship with Jesus Christ. The band ended with their song Memphis Will Be Laid To Waste. Unfortunately, after they played, just like The Chariot, they split really quickly and was headed to the next show, which was their home town of Duglasville, GA. So we were unable to talk with the band.

This was the most fun we had at a Scream The prayer show yet! We had lots of fun meeting new bands, and seeing old friends in others. Also, it was good to see the North Carolina curse for Scream The Prayer had been lifted! Each year something bad or negative seems to befall on a random band here in North Carolina. With Impending Doom being beaten up and sent to the hospital, The Chariot’s trailer braking down, or Andy from A Plea For Purging not being able to show up; this year it did not happen. In fact we are sure it was God blessing us and the bands! We want to thank all the bands for their hard work and continued message of hope of salvation through Jesus Christ that they preach. We love you all and cannot wait to see you again on another tour!

Hating Tim Tebow

By Matt Barber

I grew up in Denver and am admittedly biased. I’m a Denver Broncos fanatic. In the Mile High City, the Broncos are more than just a football team; they’re an institution.

Everybody loves a comeback. Former Broncos quarterback John Elway — one of the greatest QBs in NFL history — had comebacks in his DNA. Since he retired in 1999 after back-to-back Super Bowl wins, Denver fans have been jonesing for that regular shot of adrenaline Elway provided week in, week out.

Enter Tim Tebow. In the category of, “Holy cow, can he actually do it?” no Broncos QB since Elway has delivered like Tebow has. He feels familiar. This is what Broncos fans expect. We don’t do steady. We prefer up and down, high and low until that improbable rocket launch to victory in the final seconds of the game.

Will Tebow end up an NFL great like John Elway? That remains to be seen. Opinions are all over the place. But what is certain is that Tim Tebow is more than just a sports phenomenon. He’s a cultural phenomenon.

For starters, Tebow’s very existence is somehow controversial. He’s a walking pro-life testimonial. He’s been pulling off comebacks since before he was born. Pam Tebow, Tim’s mother, courageously chose to carry baby Tim to term despite doctors’ recommendations that she abort him.

You may recall that before Tim went pro, the Christian group, Focus on the Family, commissioned an innocuous TV ad that ran during the 2010 Saints-Colts Super Bowl game. It briefly told the story of the Tebows’ pre-natal struggle. The word “abortion” was never even uttered, but a positive portrayal of childbearing was all it took.

And so began the left’s hate affair with Tim Tebow. Radical feminist groups, media-types and liberal pundits alike lost their collective noodle even before the ad ran.

Erin Mattson, vice president of The National Organization for Women (NOW), told ABC News that Tim’s story of survival was “really quite offensive. … This ad is hate masquerading as love!” she barked. Tim wasn’t dismembered alive and scraped in pieces from his mother’s womb, you see.

The New York-based Women’s Media Center launched a failed censorship petition drive to pull the ad, framing it as an “attack on choice.” Get it? Pam Tebow chose alright; she just happened to make the wrong “choice,” and dared to share about it publicly.

But as a Denver Bronco, Tim Tebow’s profile has grown exponentially. So too has the left’s hatred for him.

This is due in large part to his very open Christian faith. After each game, Tim begins by thanking God: “First and foremost, I’d like to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

And who hasn’t heard of “Tebowing,” wherein one drops to a knee in prayer?

Then there’s Tim’s favorite Bible verse, John 3:16, which he’s known to wear painted in black swaths under each eye. After the Broncos’ recent electrifying playoff win against the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime, John 3:16 was reportedly the most popular search term on the Internet.

Remarkably, during the game Tebow passed for precisely 316 yards and averaged 31.6 yards per completed pass. The television viewing audience for the last 15 minutes of the game was 31.6 percent. This only added to the mystique.

So big was the story, in fact, that major news outlets like CNN ran the text of John 3:16 in its entirety: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The attention that Tebow’s bold Christian faith has drawn to the Gospel message has secular “progressives” and other God-deniers tied in knots.

American Atheists, a New Jersey-based group that promotes religious cleansing from the public sphere, says that Tebow is “full of cr*p.”

“Tebow takes religion and injects it into the mix and divides the fan base,” complained David Silverman, the group’s president.

“[Religion] injects the divisive force into football,” he continued (because, absent religion, football is just a touchy-feely snuggle fest). “Why in the world are we talking about religion when we are talking about football?” he demanded.

Of course, Tim Tebow is merely doing what Jesus asks of his followers: “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32)

The problem is that secular “progressives” don’t want Christ acknowledged before anyone, period; and they endeavor to shut down or mock anybody who tries.

During the Broncos’ regular season loss to the Buffalo Bills, for instance, “progressive” troglodyte and pseudo-intellectual funnyman Bill Maher tweeted about the game, encapsulating the left’s visceral hatred for Tim Tebow in 140 characters or less: “Wow, Jesus just [expletive deleted] #TimTebow bad! And on Xmas Eve! Somewhere in hell Satan is tebowing, saying to Hitler ‘Hey, Buffalo’s killing them.’”

Jesus addressed the Bill Mahers of the world — past, present and future — on more than one occasion. In John 15:18-20, for instance, He reminds His followers: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”

Those who belong to the world do indeed hate Tim Tebow. He stands for much of what our postmodern popular culture despises: sexual purity within the bonds of natural marriage, the sanctity of human life, selflessness, personal charity, humility and much, much more.

I mean, Tim Tebow has never even been arrested for drug possession or sexual assault, for crying out loud. We simply can’t allow children this kind of role model.

So, does God care about who wins NFL football games? Probably not. Does he care about those who play, watch and love football? Unquestionably.

Win or lose, no matter what happens with the rest of the Denver Broncos football season, one thing is for sure: people will keep talking about Tim Tebow. And when people are talking about Tim Tebow, they can’t help but talk about the profound faith that drives him both on and off the field.

In the meantime: Go Broncos!

(First published at Daily Caller)

Matt Barber (@jmattbarber on Twitter) is an attorney concentrating in constitutional law. He serves as Vice President of Liberty Counsel Action . (This information is provided for identification purposes only.)