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Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park will add another Grammy Award winner to its list of performers this summer, as the highly acclaimed Christian rock band, Jars of Clay, will play at The Joe Aug. 5 for the Charleston RiverDogs’ annual Christian concert. The concert will immediately follow the RiverDogs’ home game against the Greensboro Grasshoppers, and admission will be free to all who attend the game.Jars of Clay, known for early hit singles “Flood” (1996) and “Crazy Times” (1997), has been one of the most celebrated Christian rock bands in the history of the industry. The group, which was formed in Greenville, Ill. in the early 1990s, has released eight albums, including a platinum record in 1997 and a triple platinum self-titled album in 1995.

Richard Young, owner-director of Young & Associates, has for the last decade booked and produced Christian concerts for the RiverDogs.

“Jars of Clay has always been a Christian band, but the great thing about them is that they had some singles years ago that the entire country heard,” Young said. “You couldn’t turn on any radio station anywhere without hearing ‘Flood.’ To have Jars of Clay performing there is a pretty incredible thing because everybody outside the Christian community knows them as well.”

RiverDogs general manager Dave Echols has seen several popular Christian artists play at Riley Park during his seven total seasons with the organization, but perhaps none more renowned than Jars of Clay.

“Every year, we aim to bring Charleston a first-rate Christian concert, and I feel like we’ve had a great deal of success in that effort,” Echols said. “Our promotional department should really be commended for landing the Jars of Clay considering that they’ve been the standard in the Christian music industry for years.”

Assistant general manager Jim Pfander has worked primarily on the promotional side of baseball and views the annual Christian concert as one of the most popular promotions each year.

“The Christian concert has been such a great event the last few years with groups like Jeremy Camp and Building 429 coming to The Joe,” Pfander said. “We’re thrilled to have someone with the popularity of Jars of Clay - a band that has made a huge impact on the Christian music scene for a long time.”

Jars of Clay is comprised of band members Dan Haseltine (vocals, percussion), Charlie Lowell (piano, accordion, background vocals), Stephen Mason (guitar, vocals) and Matthew Odmark (acoustic guitar, background vocals). They have made a worldwide impact through their international touring and concerts to benefit charities.

The band has won the Grammy Award for “Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album” three times with Much Afraid (1997), If I Left the Zoo (2000) and The Eleventh Hour (2002).

Fellow Grammy Award winners Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson played at Riley Park in 2004.

For ticket information, please contact the RiverDogs’ box office at (843) 577-DOGS (3647) or online at www.riverdogs.com.

Pedro the Lion’s David Bazan

Written by Laura Hamlett

FROM THE ARCHIVE: It makes a lot of practical sense to use that voice that people have from stage to encourage dialogue. Which, I think, is the real goal. I do want George W. Bush out of office, very badly. David Bazan is the heart, soul, and voice behind indie rock band Pedro the Lion. Through five albums and two EPs, Bazan has let his strong Christian faith guide his songwriting, creating images and landscapes that are more storytelling than preaching. He’s also a strident believer in espousing his political views from stage and in interviews—and they’re not what you might think. Bazan is one of the more open-minded, honest individuals with whom you will ever speak. In light of our cover story on music and politics, PlaybackSTL spoke to Bazan by telephone about his faith, and how it intersects with and affects his political beliefs. There seems to be a bit of a disconnect between your being a strong Christian and also a liberal political voice. I was born at a time when it was more natural for me to question things that my parents just socially weren’t as ready to question. People are a lot less willing to accept something on the basis of a person’s authority and they want to get down to the bottom of it themselves. I think that has defined my interaction with faith and politics. My analysis of Christianity has been extremely disconcerting because I think that Christianity, in most cases, the way that it’s practiced today, is the antithesis of Christ’s teaching and the virtues that he stood for or championed. You’re about to go on tour. On the road, do you speak your mind from the stage, hand out literature, register voters? This last tour, we registered voters with Music for America. Basically, I had a bit of a political awakening in the midst of being in this band; I think it was in about 2000. I still don’t know so much, but I was very unaware then. When Bush took office, I was a little more antagonistic. Then after 9/11, I was just so dismayed by America’s perception of that event and our response to it that I think just out of frustration I started—I don’t think I could call it anything else but shooting my mouth off from stage. It’s really easy to get up on stage and spew a bunch of anti-Bush rhetoric; there’s just so much, and it’s so valid. But what I would like to have happen is for people who come to see Pedro the Lion to be challenged to think for themselves about politics, to be analytical and to commit to reading about politics, and just trying to discover as much as they can. I just wasn’t sure if those anti-Bush statements were the best way to do that, or if it would just be a big rah-rah George W. sort of moment. Are you a Kerry supporter? The more I’ve been hearing about John Kerry, the more I’m pissed that people feel like they have to vote for that guy because he’s barely the lesser of two evils. I think we’re over a barrel, as we often are, in the two-party system. It’s just that it’s a unique one this time. Are any of the songs on Achilles Heel, your new album, political? I think, on the face of it, they’re more ethical and storytelling. I decided a long time ago that I thought dealing directly with religion and making direct statements about it was a bad idea, and I kind of realized the same thing about politics, to a certain degree. The art role is just a little bit more complex in making statements about those things. The last record had a lot more statements about it; this record has some implications but not a lot of really direct statements. Do you think musicians have an ethical obligation to speak up on political issues? I’m not sure. I do think that we have a responsibility, not as musicians but as citizens of a democracy, or a democratic republic. The majority of what a democratic republic consists of is that public dialogue, and so because we musicians are [speaking out], it doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that we are musicians or that we are standing in front of people, but that we are members of a democratic republic and that we all should be doing this all the time. The fact that it has become so—not that it’s rare, but it’s just less common to engage with each other. It makes a lot of practical sense to use that voice that people have from stage to encourage dialogue. Which, I think, is the real goal. I do want George W. Bush out of office, very badly. But the more long-term goal is we just need to create a more open dialogue, and for people to be more open to information and not be so freaked out. We have a lot of preconceived ideas about the messages people are trying to give us. Talking from stage, that’s our responsibility as citizens: to engage with people, and to challenge people to engage with one another.

Alex Sloyer, 25, has served two tours of duty in Iraq as a U.S. Marine and says he’s seen enough of man’s capacity for evil.

“I don’t see war as a necessity,” he says. “Very little is gained by war except for more war and regret.”

Now a self-described pacifist, he says he prefers to focus his energies on what he calls the New Covenant – the law of love proclaimed by Jesus.

“It’s having something like love as a driving force behind your decision-making,” he says. “You can only breed more positive things from that.”

Sloyer is breeding that positive energy with his band mates in Encomium, a Portland-based group that will perform at 7 p.m Wednesday, May 23, at the Youth Center at East Hill Foursquare Church, 50 N.W. 5th St.

Sloyer plays bass in the Christian band, the name of which means “expression of praise.” Bandleader Devy Jamin, 30, a native of Indonesia, says he plays music at Oregon City Blessing, a Portland church, and adds that he was divinely inspired to start the band.

“When God touched my life, I gave my talents to him to use me,” he says, noting he embraced his belief in Christ while attending college in Eugene. “God kind of shifted my vision to impacting people through music.”

Jamin plays guitar and sings for the band and also serves as primary songwriter. Formed in 2005, Encomium draws on diverse styles, including emo, grunge, folk rock, punk and new wave.

Musical influences

The band credits U2, Coldplay, Switchfoot and Delirious? as inspirations, and its eponymous CD sounds at times like something Blink 182 might produce, with just a whiff of P.O.D. wafting through the atmosphere.

“When I write music, I just use acoustic guitar,” Jamin says, adding that his band mates then assist him with the song arrangements.

He says he writes songs in both English and his native language of Bahasa-Indonesian, and proudly notes his band has been profiled in the Indonesian press.

Jamin’s wife, Sharon, is also Indonesian, and manages Encomium. She chuckles noting she pulls extra duty as the band’s photographer, merchandiser and roadie.

“It’s a way to give my talent and time to God,” she says.

Drummer Ariyanto Salim 29, loves hip hop, jazz and gospel, but says whatever he plays, he’s never far from his creator.

“My heart has always belonged to God,” he says. “I can’t play too much music without his presence close to me. It doesn’t have to be Christian rock, just whatever music I play I need his presence close to me.”

Isaac Munandar, 19, just joined the band and plays keyboards. Like the other members, he says his faith inspires him to perform.

“I wanted to maximize every opportunity I had to do something for God,” he says.

On that note, the band members say they’re trying to convey a hopeful message in a pop culture that’s not always receptive to it.

Keeping it positive

“Christian music conveys a lot of positive messages, be it for Christians or for others,” Salim says. “It brings good news to the world, whereas as we can see the secular music is becoming more and more immoral. Other than sex, money and stealing your boyfriend, they have nothing else to talk about.”

Jamin says some bands popular in the secular world, like U2, combine their oft-expressed love of God with more worldly political issues successfully. Encomium, on the other hand, is essentially a plugged-in praise vehicle.

“We are bringing a positive message of music and bringing a message of (Jesus’) love and mercy for everyone,” he says.

Encomium has played youth centers and such festivals as TomFest, an annual Christian music showcase in Camas, Wash., that is distinguished by its emphasis on bands appealing to young people who sport tattoos and piercings and who might not feel comfortable at tamer Christian festivals.

Indeed, Encomium’s members say they would even consider playing a secular setting if the opportunity presented itself, and emphasize that they’re not “perfect” and believe in a Christianity that is accepting of others’ spiritual quests. The band members are humble about their failings and have had to hash out disagreements, they say, but work hard to be friends.

“I think the best part of being in a band is the friendships,” Sloyer says.

Salim adds that the band simply wants to make an impact, and recalls a pastor telling him that his church used the band’s music in a worship session.

“There is no feeling like that, being able to touch people with music,” he says.

Free Concert

Encomium will play at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 23, in East Hill Foursquare Church Youth Center, 50 N.W. Fifth St. Admission is free.

CCM Magazine, the publication known for its coverage of Christian music, recently decided to expand its reach to include independent and general-market artists who are Christians.

The monthly magazine, published since 1978, also has changed the meaning of its CCM acronym, from “contemporary Christian music” to “Christ. Community. Music.” It adds content culled from its online social networking community, www.myCCM.org.

Jay Swartzendruber, the 39-year-old editor of the Nashville, Tenn.-based magazine, recently talked about CCM’s change in direction and the evolution in music performed by Christians. Following are excerpts.

Q: Your magazine says it now covers “Christian worldview music” instead of “Christian music.” Why?

A: Historically, our industry’s definition of “Christian music” has been defined by who distributes the music. It’s been based on whether or not that album is sold in Christian bookstores. I’ve had a problem with that philosophy.

We need to stop propagating that myth that that’s what Christian music is, because you’re defining this based on where it’s sold, not based on the content, not based on who’s creating it.

Q: Are there other reasons you decided to move away from the term “Christian music”?

A: What has come to be called “Christian music” was born out of the 1970s Jesus movement. Our magazine helped brand this genre “Christian music.” In reality, you can’t really accurately call it a genre because it’s encompasses rock, pop, rap, hard music, hard-core punk. It’s many genres.

Q: Has the magazine ever covered artists who might be considered Christians in the secular realm as well as those who recorded with Christian labels?

A: We did, but it… wasn’t a level playing field. When CCM magazine first started out, it was very inclusive. You had Bob Dylan on a couple of covers, you had Johnny Cash, Donna Summer.

(After the early 1980s) more than 95 percent were distributed in the Christian market.

Q: Your announcement said your coverage will now include “general market Christians” such as Mary J. Blige and Sufjan Stevens. Blige has worked with Ludacris on a song that’s explicit about sexual abuse of young girls; and Stevens has sung a song where he compares himself to child killer John Wayne Gacy Jr. Where do you draw the line?

A: I’m not as familiar with Mary J. Blige, but read Sufjan Stevens’ lyrics. What you just described is nothing further than saying “I’m the chiefest of sinners.” I don’t have any problem with that. The Mary J. Blige song sounds like it could actually be a redemptive song lyrically. I strongly believe that the Holy Spirit can bring healing into those situations.

musician Matthew Smith is not following the latest trends in popular music. Instead, his style of music is from the old school - the really old school.

At first listen, Smith’s music may sound similar to a lot of the contemporary Christian music out there, but listen a little closer and the words might start to sound familiar. That’s because most of the songs Smith sings were penned 200 to 300 years ago.

“Through my Bible study I fell in love with hymns,” Smith said.

During his college days at Belmont University in Nashville, Smith started attending a Bible study that sang hymns during praise and worship time. But instead of singing the songs the way they were originally composed, the group changed up the melodies and rhythms and created a new sound for the old music.

“The music put the words in a new context for me,” he said. “They taught me things about God that I hadn’t realized before.”

Smith, who started dabbling in music as a teenager, got serious in 2000 and took the concept of updating hymns and created a sound of his own. And living in Nashville, also known as Music City, he had plenty of inspiration.

“It’s not about coming up with cool songs to impress people,” he said. “A lot of people write songs to have hits, a lot of people write songs about God to have a hit. For me, it’s about the music.”

Smith said he has found a connection with hymn writers such as Robert Robinson, who wrote “Come Thy Fount of Every Blessing” and Robert Lowry, who wrote the ever-popular, “Nothing But the Blood.”

“It’s a strange-but-exciting experience to relate to them,” he said. “The more I delve into these hymns, the more I see just how honest these hymn writers are, and the more I’m free to be honest with myself.”

Smith said he finds the hymns refreshing because the writers wrote them for their communities and the people they cared for.

“It’s the truest form of folk music I can think of,” he said. “They talk about their sins and struggles and none of that woe-is-me stuff. They’ve helped me learn more about Jesus and what he’s done instead of focusing on myself.”

Smith, who is married and has one son, said he rarely plays in Nashville venues. Next weekend he will be travelling through Central Florida and performing at churches in St. Petersburg and New Port Richey. On Friday, he will perform songs from his first full-length CD, “All I Owe,” at CenterPoint Church in Ocala. Other songs on the CD include “His Love Can Never Fail,” “Thy Blood Was Shed For Me” and “The Lord Will Provide.”

When the venue Smith had orginally booked for his Ocala performance fell through, in stepped Ocala’s Center Point Church.

“We’re able to seat 600 and have all the sound equipment for a concert, so we were happy to do it,” said Mark Lynch, pastor of student ministries. “We are passionate about worship and him bringing those great words of the old hymns with a newer style really brings focus to the words. It gives us an opportunity to hear good quality music, but also the gospel message.”

Though he’s been around more than 15 years, Fernando Ortega isn’t exactly a household name. Unless, of course, you’re an aficionado of contemporary Christian music.

Then you know that his sound embraces bits of folk and classical, Celtic and Latin American music, and his songs aim to express how the Gospel filters into everyday life.

Before the New Mexico native arrives at St. Giles Presbyterian Church tomorrow, here are five things you should know about Ortega:

1. He is classically trained as a pianist, but his current album, “The Shadow of Your Wings: Hymns and Sacred Songs,” contains the rich playing of the Turtle Island String Quartet, though a different string quartet out of Minneapolis is touring with him.

2. That album, recorded in San Francisco and Nashville, also features vocals from Marsha Skidmore (of the Maranatha! Singers), Alison Krauss, Dan Tyminski and Vince Gill.

3. The inspiration for “The Shadow of Your Wings” was the death of two beloved aunts and a friend. Ortega says his initial concept of the album was as a Mass written for those left behind to grieve.

4. Since 1991, Ortega has released 15 albums. His 2002 effort, “Storm,” garnered his largest commercial success, eking onto the Billboard 200 at No. 197.

5. He has won three Dove Awards (Christian music’s equivalent of the Grammys): in 1998, for Bluegrass Song (”Children of the Living God”); in 2000, for Inspirational Album (”Home”); and in 2002, for Special Event Album of the Year (”City on a Hill”).

Jay Swartzendruber, editor of CCM, says, “We’re going to start mixing indie and general market Christians such as The Fray, Mary J. Blige and Sufjan Stevens in with artists with traditional Christian label affiliation. Rather than define ‘Christian music’ just by its label or distribution, we’re now defining it as Christian worldview music.”

As if the genre weren’t confused enough, this is going to clarify things?

CCM says:

As the grassroots contemporary Christian music scene mushroomed into a billion dollar industry, “Christian music” became widely regarded as an actual genre, even though it included rock, pop, hip-hop, punk, hardcore metal and other styles of music. As a result, many artists of faith who are reluctant to have their music defined by the Christian market have chosen to bypass it altogether. With this expanded view of “Christian music,” CCM Magazine now celebrates the full spectrum of faith-fueled music and musicians.

I always thought that bands avoided the CCM label because some people think most CCM music is not worth listening to. With this expanded view of CCM, won’t bands made of Christians who want to avoid the CCM scene only work harder to avoid it?

Listeners tuning in to the Gallatin Valley’s only local Christian radio station should not assume that they’ll hear organ-banging hymns or DJs preaching. At radio station KCMM-FM 99.1, The One, the DJs play rap, hip-hop, heavy metal, rock and pop music.

The artists love God, and their lyrics are clean.

The Christian music genre has been gaining a foothold across America and in the Gallatin Valley, host to at least five Christian music concerts this year. The Gospel Music Association in Nashville, Tenn., reports that Christian and gospel music sales rose from $381 million in 1995 to more than $700 million in 2005.

Having a local contemporary Christian station has helped the music thrive here, Bryan Brucks said Tuesday after finishing his morning show on The One.

Brucks, 54, of Manhattan, and Deb Bjelland, 48, of Bozeman, have been hosting “Bryan and Deb in the Morning” from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday for three years.

The show hosts prepare little. Their on-air conversations are unscripted, although they do read funny headlines and a daily top-10 list. Brucks and Bjelland wear headphones and speak into their microphones, but they converse with each other as much as with their audience. Their rapport is natural, full of laughter and jokes - and a few pauses for sips of coffee.

‘It’s just chemistry’

“We’ve known each other for years. It’s just chemistry,” Brucks said.

“But we do it off the air, too,” Bjelland said.

During Tuesday’s broadcast, Brucks read a story about a 5-year-old boy who tried to hitchhike home from his grandma’s house because he missed his mom. He also read one about a man who painted his sheep red to freak out passers-by. Brucks then asked Bjelland why the man didn’t paint the sheep construction orange.

“That’s just sick,” Bjelland responded, bringing them both to laughter.

“Christian music has become more mainstream. It’s really developed a following in the last eight years,” Brucks said.

“It’s not, ‘How great thou art.’ It’s good music,” Bjelland said. “We’re not going to preach at you. That’s not what we do.”

As the faces of The One - making regular public appearances and with their pictures on an Interstate 90 billboard - Brucks and Bjelland are at the center of the Gallatin Valley’s Christian music scene.

For a recent concert by Mercy Me and Audio Adrenaline, two Christian bands, Brucks and Bjelland took two busloads of local residents to the Billings show. Concertgoers ranged from families to men with long hair and women with tattoos, including children, teenagers, college students and people in their 50s.

“Every Christian you see isn’t toting a Bible and carrying an 8-foot cross,” Bjelland said. “We’ve wanted to break that stereotype because it’s not that way.”

Small space

Inside The One studio, Brucks and Bjelland sit next to each other in front of a control board and a couple of computer screens. The room, roughly 8 feet by 10 feet, has barely enough space for the single desk that holds the sound equipment, and for two chairs. Christian hits are archived on a hard drive, although a few compact discs are kept.

A poster on the wall features several different names for Jesus - teacher, the beloved, good shepherd. Others are promotional posters for Christian bands.

Neither Brucks nor Bjelland has a degree in radio broadcasting, but both are Christians who attend church regularly.

Brucks, a former family counselor, has some professional training from attending radio broadcasting conferences. Bjelland, who has a background in marketing and sales, has no training.

“I think that one of the things that makes us good at this is we aren’t highly trained,” Bjelland said. “We are definitely a team. Neither of us likes to be on the air by ourselves.”

The two met several years ago at The One’s sister station, KGVW-AM 640, which is housed in the same building as the FM station. Brucks co-owns KGVW and hired Bjelland to sell advertising 10 years ago. She also announced the weather, time and temperature on the AM station on weekends. She later turned that gig into an afternoon show.

The One began broadcasting five years ago. It’s a nonprofit station managed by Christian Media Ministries Inc. and supported by listeners. Funding comes from individual donors and sponsors. The station also sells some advertising.

After The One’s launch, Brucks realized it needed a morning show. He and Bjelland already joked around, yelled at each other and acted like siblings in the office.

“I knew that if we could transfer that relationship to the air it would work,” Brucks said, adding that the show has improved and grown in popularity since it first aired.

When the two of them aren’t on the air, the station plays a satellite feed from Nashville-based Christian Hit Radio. The One also has an afternoon show hosted by local DJ Korey Kindsfather, known on the air as Double K.

Growing popularity

Thanks to the growing popularity of Christian music, several Christian artists are getting air play on top-40 and adult contemporary stations. One recent example is The Fray, played on The One and on the local top 40 station, KISS-FM.

Brucks said artists are writing better music and the number of Christian record companies is growing.

To bring more Christian music to the valley, The One has been working with promoters, radio stations and concert venues. Brucks and Bjelland also talk to local churches, youth groups and Christian schools to promote the station and Christian music, and they have done their show live from the Family Christian Store.

“We do this because we are Christians,” Brucks said.

One sign of the show’s popularity is that kids have asked Brucks and Bjelland for their autographs. People often recognize them in public, they said, either by their faces or by their voices.

Karl Light, 50, said he has been a loyal The One listener since the station started broadcasting in 2002.

“The music has a message, and it’s a good message,” Light said. “Bryan and Deb are great. They’re very human and they have good hearts.”

As Brucks and Bjelland wrapped up their Tuesday show, they announced that rocker Rebecca St. James was playing at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman on May 4. She is a Grammy Award-winning artist who has been on the top of Christian charts for several years.

“I’m really, really excited about this concert,” Bjelland said.

As the show ended, she thanked the listeners for tuning in.

“We’ll see you tomorrow,” Brucks said as he turned off his microphone and played another rock song.

Though he’s been around more than 15 years, Fernando Ortega isn’t exactly a household name. Unless, of course, you’re an aficionado of contemporary Christian music.

Then you know that his sound embraces bits of folk and classical, Celtic and Latin American music, and his songs aim to express how the Gospel filters into everyday life.

Before the New Mexico native arrives at St. Giles Presbyterian Church tomorrow, here are five things you should know about Ortega:

1. He is classically trained as a pianist, but his current album, “The Shadow of Your Wings: Hymns and Sacred Songs,” contains the rich playing of the Turtle Island String Quartet, though a different string quartet out of Minneapolis is touring with him.

2. That album, recorded in San Francisco and Nashville, also features vocals from Marsha Skidmore (of the Maranatha! Singers), Alison Krauss, Dan Tyminski and Vince Gill.

3. The inspiration for “The Shadow of Your Wings” was the death of two beloved aunts and a friend. Ortega says his initial concept of the album was as a Mass written for those left behind to grieve.

4. Since 1991, Ortega has released 15 albums. His 2002 effort, “Storm,” garnered his largest commercial success, eking onto the Billboard 200 at No. 197.

5. He has won three Dove Awards (Christian music’s equivalent of the Grammys): in 1998, for Bluegrass Song (”Children of the Living God”); in 2000, for Inspirational Album (”Home”); and in 2002, for Special Event Album of the Year (”City on a Hill”).