We here at Down The Line love good music. Yes, we are a “Christian” magazine (whatever that means), but we are also happy to bring you articles and reviews by bands that relate to that exploration between faith and art. Seventh Circle is one such band… they are not a “Christian” band, but we will discuss that in more detail later during the interview. Without getting into the whole “Christian/not Christian/not Christian but comprised of Christians” argument I will just say upfront that this band is worth checking out on every level. This is great music, and while not “Christian” per se, it is heavily steeped in spirituality based solely on the subject matter alone. Adam Pederson is the architect behind Seventh Circle. It is his brainchild and his band. I first came across Seventh Circle because Adam is the moderator of the Saviour Machine message board entitled the Arena, and I spoke with him there at one point. I was happy to hook up with Adam, he’s a super nice guy and his music is genuine. I immediately noticed a resemblance to Saviour Machine and that is always a welcomed plus. In addition to this interview, Adam is also helping us at Down The Line with a special surprise for the future, another special edition by a phenomenal artist. I won’t give away the surprise just yet, but it will be well worth the wait! So, enjoy this read and check out this band!

1) Can you tell me about Seventh Circle and how it came to be? Where did the name come from?

In 2000 I released a demo under the name The Crimson Sky Project but it wasn’t great quality and it was thrown together pretty quickly. I can hardly listen to it anymore. After that is when I decided to switch gears and I started writing new music. It was back in 2001 or 2002 when I decided to use the name Seventh Circle. I don’t remember if it was something I saw somewhere or something that just popped in my head one day. A lot of people think it’s in reference to Dante’s Inferno but it’s really just something I thought sounded cool and captured the sound I was going for.

2) Seventh Circle is comprised of just you and a couple of contributing artists, are there ever any plans to play shows live?

I would love to play shows one day and I am actually starting to seriously think about it. Kevin Wiler is a longtime friend and he would definitely be there to play guitar if we ever did a show. I’m working on finding a good drummer, a bass player and a piano/keyboard player. My goal is to find people that will share the same vision I have and will have the desire to work with me on a long term basis. I want Seventh Circle to be around for a long time to come.

3) The music is reminiscent of Saviour Machine, are they an influence on your work?

I have been a fan of Saviour Machine since 1993. It was some years later when Eric and I really became friends and a few years we ago starting working together on some SM projects. The music of SM is a very big influence on me and being close to Eric I have really learned a lot about his composition style which in turn has made me a better composer I believe. I don’t listen to SM nearly as much as I used to but they will always be a part of me and my music for sure.

4) Given that you are the moderator of the SM board (and friends with Eric), have you ever played with them in any capacity?

I have never played with SM before but as I said above, Eric and I have worked together on some SM projects the past few years. My role has been on more of the graphic design and merchandise operations side of things. I was most involved with the Rarities Box Set as I actually was involved in some of the editing and choosing of the material for that release.”

5) Are you involved in any projects outside of Seventh Circle?

Currently I am not involved with any other projects, at least not on a creative level. I do have future plans of doing other solo projects though as there are many different styles of music I would like to do and I can’t do it all with Seventh Circle.

6) I believe The Struggle was based on your grandfather? Can you explain that a little more?

The Struggle deals with the last couple years of my Grandfathers life and the events leading up to his death. It is taken from many different perspectives and touches on life, death, love, loss and greed. It’s a story that I wanted to tell for a few reasons. I think mainly it was probably my way of coping with the loss but also a testament to a man I loved very much and he was someone who was always there for me when others were not. It was the first time someone really close to me ever died and it was difficult for me for many months.

7) Your website says that The Struggle Remixes are coming, tell me about that project?

I have always been a big fan of remixes and alternate mixes of the music I listen to. I decided very early on that I wanted to do a couple remixes of these songs and decided to take it a step further and actually make a release out of it. I have a couple friends doing remixes as well. The ones I have completed so far turned out pretty good I think. It’s not something for the average fan really, it’s more for the bigger fans so hopefully I have a few of those out there, we’ll know soon enough. I am hoping to release it in June or July. I am also working on a couple other projects for release later this year and sometime in 2010.

Given the length of time to make The Struggle, why have you chosen to give it away as a download? Are there any more physical copies that are left?

Being that Seventh Circle is just starting out, I thought it would be better to just get the music out there and try to build a fan base than to try and sell the CD’s and maybe only have a couple hundred people hear it. In my opinion it has been a success since it has been downloaded something like 3 or 4 thousand times. I’ve got nothing but really good feedback across the board and that has definitely helped me in working on future projects. It kind of lets me know that I’m on the right track. I spent a long time on that album and I’m very proud of how it turned out. It’s comforting to know that people are enjoying it.

9) I know that Seventh Circle is not a Christian band, given that you work closely with professing believers, is that uncomfortable at all?

Some of my closest friends are Christians so I’ve never been uncomfortable around it. We have a mutual respect for each others beliefs and we don’t try to influence one another either way. There are people I have met over the years that assumed I was a Christian and when they found out I was not, they actually stopped talking to me or expressed that they felt deceived. I think that kind of thinking is unhealthy, I’ve never understood why some people of faith think they can only have friends who are of that same faith. If there is a mutual respect than it shouldn’t matter as far as I’m concerned.

10) What difference do you see that exists in the Christian and secular markets?

This is kind of a hard question for me because I really haven’t been too involved in the Christian market for some time. Back in the mid-late 90’s there were several bands I liked and would listen to and I even went to Cornerstone a few times. One thing I do remember is what non-believers views often were regarding Christian music. I would tell friends of mine that I really like this band or that band, I would play it for them and half the time they might like what they hear but as soon as I told them they were a Christian band, some of those people would immediately write it off… It was like, because it was Christian it automatically had to suck or something. I never understood that way of thinking. I’ve always been a person who just likes what I like, regardless of its message. I hear about that a lot though, even today. There’s a lot of great music out there and there is a lot of not-so-great music as well… I don’t think the good belongs to one market just as I don’t think the bad does either. I’m not sure I answered the question the way you wanted but that is what came to mind when I read it.

11) Who are your musical influences, and who are you listening to right now?

Some of my main musical influences are Saviour Machine, Tool, Nine Inch Nails, The Mars Volta, Pink Floyd and The Doors. I also listen to a lot of electronic music as well as classical music and movie scores.

As far as what I am into right now, I have been listening to Fischerspooner, The Mars Volta, Tori Amos, Tool and I actually recently re-purchased the Mortal album Wake and the Argyle Park album.

12) What do you think about the digital revolution and how it affects the music industry?

There are good things and bad things in my opinion. I love that you can release an album digitally like more and more artists are doing, but my biggest problem with that is the whole MP3 thing. I’m really excited for the days when we start using wav files in our iPOD’s instead of MP3’s. The sound quality of an MP3 is just not that good. With technology going the way it is, I think in a few years time we will probably be at that point. I actually said many years ago that what I thought what would eventually happen is you would be able to get a full album on a digital music player. You would have all the artwork, lyrics and the songs in CD quality. It would be like having the CD itself right in a small player. I’m still very much into buying actual CD’s though, there is something about holding that CD in your hand and being able to flip through the booklets that I don’t think I will ever want to give up.

As far as how it affects the music industry, I think over the course of the next ten years maybe we will near the extinction of record labels all together. More and more artists are releasing albums without labels and are finding success on their own terms. This is the way it should be. Why should some record exec get filthy rich off the music you pour your heart and soul into? It’s always been something that bothered me so I say good riddance to the labels. Distribution companies are a different story though and I think they will always have a purpose in the music industry. Sorry I went on a little long there but I see what happens to some bands when their labels screw them over and it really makes me sick sometimes.

After we had already done the bulk of this interview, Adam updated his website with a couple more releases that are coming. As you read above he released The Struggle in 2008 and those remixes are coming in August (he just completed them). In addition, Adam is also releasing two other projects. The first is called Human, another full length release that will be coming out. The second project is called Horror Show. Next is the brief question and answer session we had about these upcoming releases.

1) In regards to the upcoming Human release, who are the players on this recording?

As of right now, Kevin Wiler will likely be playing all the guitars on the entire album. I would like to add some other musicians but I won’t know for sure what that will be until I get back into production on it this Fall.

2) Musically is it similar to The Struggle, or what are the differences?

Human will sound quite a bit different than The Struggle. It’s much more riff and melody orientated and will also be more up-tempo and heavier than The Struggle. There are a lot of electronic and percussive elements as well. That’s about all I can say right now until production resumes.

3) In what formats will this one be available?

It will likely be available on CD as well as a digital download.

4) Can you tell me a bit about Horror Show and who plays on that?

This one is all me…

5) Musically, what is the style here?

Basically, it’s like a score to a horror movie. A lot of orchestration and percussion as well as different sound effects and samples interlaced throughout. There will be no vocals so I really want to tell a story through the music. So far, I think it is working well.

6) Is there a back story to the imaginary film? If so, what is that?

I wrote a very rough story outline just to give me direction in writing each movement. There will be song titles but that will be all the listener will have to go by. I want the music to fill in the gaps.

7) Will there be any other media accompanying this?

At this point, it will likely just be the CD/download.

So, in conclusion, check out this band! There is so much in the works, coming out soon. Seventh Circle is a group that should be around for a long time to come. As you can tell from Adam’s influences, the genre here is broad and encompasses goth, industrial and ambient. I was honestly impressed at the quality of The Struggle when I first heard it. In this day and age where everyone has free downloads through MySpace, the problem for me is finding something that is of good solid, lasting quality. Seventh Circle is that band. You will be able to check them out on FaceBook soon, but for now here are the links to their MySpace site and their regular website. Please support this music and purchase upcoming releases if you like what you can hear. Thanks for reading, and thanks again to Adam for his generosity!

www.seventhcircle.net
www.myspace.com/seventhcirclemusic

I-Dragon-I is another band that I found through MySpace – which might possibly be one of the best networking sites for bands that has ever been created. I’ve found a bunch of great stuff there. Anyway, I found IDI after looking for a band that I am fond of that you might remember called Wedding Party. William A. Knight and Jamie McCavanagh were both members of Wedding Party and are now the sole members of IDI. Wedding Party only released one album entitled Anthems back in 1998. I found them through their affiliation with MCM music, which was originally the label and management company for Saviour Machine. Back in the late ‘90’s MCM released a compilation that had, among others, Saviour Machine and Wedding Party.

As it sometimes happens with bands (even the great ones), after an album or two they quickly disappear. But I feel fortunate to come across them again at some point. I think the internet has made things much easier to follow, and fortunately I don’t lose track of things like before. Anyway, back to the music… I Dragon I formed and released a limited edition album which I missed. They have only played live once, but they have a double album coming out soon. The future is looking brighter for IDI and hopefully we will be seeing them in a much more visible capacity. If you go to the IDI MySpace page you can sample songs from their upcoming release entitled Ocean Of The Divine Inferno. The samples that are up are just what I love to hear… driving guitars, spitting vocals above the backdrop of deeper, more melodic vocals. I cannot wait for this album to come out! I was able to catch up with Jamie and William and ask them a few questions about the upcoming release. Enjoy all that is IDI.

1) After Wedding Party dissolved, were there any other bands that Jamie and William were a part of?

William Knight is the lead singer and founder of I-Dragon-I. He founded the band after Wedding Party dissolved in 1999 and Jamie was invited by William to be a part of I-Dragon-I in 2001 as the lead guitarist and co writer.

2) Are there any other contributors to I-Dragon-I other then Jamie and William?

Libby Luckey sang background vocals on the Limited Edition CD, Steve Casto and Sean Savacool played bass and Kari McCavanagh sang the intro on the Limited Edition CD.

3) As a point of reference for our readers who might be familiar with Wedding Party – did any of the other members go on to any other bands or musical pursuits?

William Knight went on to form I-Dragon-I in 2000 and also appeared on Midnight Orchestra and sang with Eric Clayton of Saviour Machine in Mexico City. Sheri Luckey went on to sing in Psychosis, Lucifer’s Key, Dark Valentine, and Iron Scepter. Libby Luckey went on to sing background vocals in I-Dragon-I before joining Iron Scepter. Sean Savacool played bass for I-Dragon-I before joining Eastern Block in 2007. John Williams is now a pastor and Ken Lemery went on to form the band Bridgeshadows and now plays keyboards for Coriolis.

4) How would you describe the music of IDI? How is it the same/different from Wedding Party?

IDI’s music is music filled with raw emotion. It is music that tells a story, a story that began in the Limited Edition album and will be finished with Ocean of the Divine Inferno. It is a concept album.

5) Are there any plans to tour behind the album when it comes out?

Ocean of the Divine Inferno is set to be released 2010 so when it is released we plan do festivals as well as other venues. William Knight is of course available for speaking engagements. For booking info or questions please contact Inferno Management at: Inferno_Management@hotmail.com

6) Where did the name I-Dragon-I originate, and what does it mean?

It originated from William Knight. The church blames the devil for everything all the time, but we are the dragon ourselves. Instead of blaming the devil for everything we should look at ourselves and take responsibility.

7) What are your thoughts and ideas about the digital age of music, and how does this affect/impact I-Dragon-I?

The digital progression of music is a benefit to many, many bands. Speaking of the digital age, Ocean of the Divine Inferno will be mainly released digitally on iTunes.com with a limited amount of CD’s available for purchase. Also a few vinyl copies will be available for purchase as well.

Can you give anymore info on this – who it involves, etc.?

This album is still in production and is set to be released in 2010

(Beginning in January 2009 they both began working with an all star cast to produce an all new, one of a kind Sanctuary Praise and Worship Album. This album is being co produced by Jim Laverde of Barren Cross and Jamie McCavanaugh of IDI. It is set to be released in 2009.)

9) According to the MySpace site there was merchandise available at one time. Is there still anything that people can order? Without PayPal what is the best way to order?

We still currently have merchandise available for purchase. We have Limited Edition CD’s as well as I-Dragon-I T-shirts. Since we are without a PayPal link at this present moment we are looking for alternate methods to sell this merchandise. We are going through Ebay and we will be at Cornerstone 2009 with merchandise for purchase. CD’s are $6 each and T-shirts are $7.

10) What is it that you would like to share and have our readers know?

It seems over the last 10 years since the demise of Wedding Party that people believe Wedding Party was just a fad or a phase, but it wasn’t. It was only for a short time. The seeds that were planted from the ministry of Wedding Party have been watered and grown. It was never about being a rock star. It was never about the thousands. It was about the one. If only one person had been touched by the ministry of Wedding Party it completed its mission.

I-Dragon-I is a completely different entity than Wedding Party. It is still an extension of the unconditional love, grace, forgiveness, and full acceptance of our Father, our Daddy, God. I-Dragon-I represents a minion of mainstream and underground people who have been wounded, outcast, and left for dead. We do not blame the church nor do we blame the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit. We do hold the shepherds of all the flocks accountable and responsible for such great losses in this secret war. The shepherds have abandoned their flocks. Don’t get me wrong, I do not believe that all shepherds have done so, but if the shoe fits, wear it.

Ultimately God is the judge. Theology, doctrines, and denominations have ruled the believers thought life, spiritual life, and even our pure existence as God’s creation here on this earth. Though imperfect, God created man in his image and through the blood of Jesus we are made perfect. The millions of prayers, screams, and deaths (spiritually and physically) surround his throne in the eternal. He is long tired of calling his people to their aid and only a few have answered his call when there should be the many. The army that is the church has failed its mission today. If we could lay down our ideals and our divisions and be one body, one denomination, one creed, one doctrine, one belief in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior – to bind together to fight what seems to be a war we cannot win, and to beat an unbeatable foe which ultimately is ourselves.

We have blamed the devil for far to long for our indiscretions. He can influence, he can definitely destroy, and his armies are poised even at this very moment to lie and to deceive all of us into thinking that we have no authority or power. Yet we were given the understanding through the word of God, through the blessed hope of forgiveness and grace and love to defeat the enemy on their own turf. In Wedding Party, as well as all the other Christian Goth bands, we brought light to places that were created void of light. But nothing, and I repeat nothing – not drugs, not alcohol, not sex, not the way you look, not doctrine, not race – nothing can separate you from the love of God. I-Dragon-I over the last 10 years has performed 1 concert, released 1 limited edition album and most peoples would say this band is going nowhere, that these people are not qualified to minister, that even I have committed so many sins from the time Wedding Party ended till now. From death to resurrection, in living, trying to find who I am after all was said and done. To relearn the ways of God in total humility, being lost in a wilderness, walking between heaven and hell as a ghost and looking for my home and finding no where to call home, so with this even though I may have lost heart at the state of the union of our ‘body’, we will complete the mission that God has set before us. We are not out to be rock stars. We are not out to be famous. We want to tell the true spirit of prophecy, which is the testament of Jesus Christ as well as our own testimonies, our stories, our legends.

They overcame him by the word of their testimony and the blood of the lamb

Selah,
William Ashton Knight

I hope that this article has brought you up to speed on the exciting developments that are in the works with William and Jamie. Definitely give them a listen over at their MySpace page. As soon as the payment system is figured out we will update our ‘zine and let the readers know where to buy merchandise. In addition to the upcoming album (Ocean Of The Divine Inferno) that was mentioned above, there is a part two to that release that is called A Season In Hell. Here is the little bit of info on that I found on William’s MySpace page:

“A Season In Hell is the acoustic project written and recorded by William Knight (aka: the Dragon) during a 2 year recovery period, after surviving a near fatal gunshot to the chest!……It is the second half to a double album Ocean Of The Divine Inferno & A Season In Hell to be released this fall….. Albums are written and produced by: William Knight & Jamie McCavanagh both formerly of Wedding Party”

www.myspace.com/idragoniidi (band)
www.myspace.com/dragonidi (William)
www.myspace.com/inferno_management (for booking and information)

BATZZ In The Belfry was one of those bands that I somehow came across on MySpace. I can’t remember who I was looking for, but when I found these guys I was so moved by the music that I bought both of their CD’s immediately. This is gothic music in the truest sense. It’s deep, dark, emotional and moving. It would satisfy the purists among us. Nelson is the founder of the group and started recording the music back in 2003. I was able to catch up with him for a few questions about his band. Below is our conversation in straight question/answer sequence. If you like goth music that hearkens back to the early days, you will enjoy this band. Check out their MySpace page and support them by purchasing their albums, you will be pleased at the depth and sounds on these discs. In addition to listening through MySpace, their website has several songs that are free as a download. Each CD also has a couple of instrumental tracks which is always nice, kind of like a sonic freeway to just keep moving without being interrupted by anything else.

1) Give us a history of BATZZ In The Belfry and how the band came together?

I started BATZZ In The Belfry in 2003. At the time I recorded a few tunes and worked with Marc, who played some guitar on one of the tracks. We spun up the website, posted the tunes and sent out a few e-mails and demos. We received some really nice support and feedback, so we kept going from there.

In early 2004 we officially released a small collection of songs. By then Deena and Araina joined in on keyboards and violin, respectively. The EP got some good reviews from Automata, Chain D.L.K., and Mick Mercer.

We started to get airplay on some radio stations and at clubs in various parts of the world. By 2005 we re-released the EP with a couple more tracks, which included Rick on guitar. Cold Fusion invited us to be on the Lunar Eclipse compilation CD that year as well.

In early 2007 we released Sparks Fly Upward, our first full-length CD. People said nice things about it, which made us very happy. We appeared on a compilation CD put out by Gothic Magazine in Germany called Goth Is What You Make It, Vol.6. We were in good company and it was a lot of fun. Sparks Fly Upward was reviewed in a few magazines and websites in Europe, South America, and Russia.

In 2008 we were included in HM Magazine’s Pick of the Litter. We appeared on a couple of compilation CDs; one put out by Crawling Tunes Magazine, and another by Gothic Magazine (our second time around with them).

We’re currently hard at work finishing up our next CD, which, Lord willing, we hope to release sometime this summer.

2) Is the band still predominately just you with a few contributing artists?

Yes. On the new recordings only Rick played a little bit on a couple of tracks.

3) How would you describe your sound, and who are your musical influences?

I would say our sound is unashamedly old-school goth predominantly. There is a bit of a mish-mash in there (some art rock, ethereal, dream pop, and shoegaze), but for the most part, it’s goth rock in the classic tradition.

Going way back my influences were hard rock (Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, etc), along with glam rock (David Bowie, Mott the Hoople, T-Rex, Roxy Music), art rock (Yes, early Genesis, ELP, PFM), and some jazz fusion (Return to Forever, Weather Report, Area). After that I was heavily influenced by English punk rock and the post-punk bands that followed (Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Killing Joke, Bauhaus, The Cure, The Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim). There were a number of death rock groups in San Francisco (it wasn’t called goth back then) that were a huge influence: The Black Dolls, Fade to Black, Dangerous Visions, and Vile Under Vile. There are probably many others, but some notable ones would be Iggy Pop, The Cocteau Twins and Switchblade Symphony.

4) Your new release that will hopefully come out this summer – musically what is it like, are you staying with the sound you have, or has it changed at all? (Obviously sounds change as art progresses, but BATZZ has a very distinct flavor, as you called it ‘old-school’)

The new record is pretty similar to Sparks Fly Upward. It’s a little more guitar-heavy and up-tempo, but otherwise pretty traditional old-school goth. We got a little musically adventurous on a couple of tunes, but
nothing drastic.

5) Do you have the ability to get out and play live much? Any plans at a tour that will follow the new release?

We have the ability, but not the will.

I just haven’t been able to convince like-minded musicians with whom I’m acquainted to put in the time to play live. It’s too bad because I think it would be fun, but I know the time and effort it takes and everyone is busy with their own stuff. We’ve talked about it, but it hasn’t materialized. So at this point, no plans to play locally or elsewhere.

6) What do you think of the digital revolution in regards to the industry? How has that helped/hurt BATZZ In The Belfry?

I think the digital revolution is a double-edged sword, in terms of music sharing and digital downloads. On the one hand it helps to get music out there and get heard by a lot of people, but on the other hand, there’s no way to make money with recorded music unless you’re very popular. It’s been going on for so long now that I don’t think about it much and there’s certainly no way to reverse it. For BATZZ In The Belfry it has been a great way to promote the band, especially since we don’t play live, but it does make it a little difficult to keep things going. By the same token, being able to record digitally on the computer is really great.

Just as a side note, after we had wrapped this interview I got a message from Nelson that the new release will hopefully be finished in August. He said that they were putting the finishing touches on iTunes and getting the artwork done. Below are some lyrics to one of my favorite songs by BATZZ In The Belfry. Drop by their website for some free downloads, check them out on MySpace and help support independent music!

Sunday Mourning
Sun, rise today, like the sunrise long ago
This day, we say goodbye, you are going home
Days begin, like grains of sand, falling
Through the hourglass, held in God’s hand

Somewhere the days are all brand new
Sunday mourning

Hiding from the thought, that someday you’d be gone
We may never understand until we meet again above
I never thought the tears would fall so easy to the ground
Before the day, before the dawn, the pain would be set free

Somewhere the days are all brand new
Sunday mourning

(Sunday Mourning off BATZZ first, self titled release)

www.myspace.com/batzzinthebelfry
www.batzz.com

Photos courtesy of Marie Healy, skelton photos by Bob Healy

You are about to embark on what is possibly the longest interview ever written. This one was a lot of fun to do. Brian and I have talked numerous times through this process and I have enjoyed talking to him because he is very articulate about what he is conveying. Many of his beliefs and ideas I relate to, and to top that off I have always loved the music of Dead Artist Syndrome. This has been a hard article to write for numerous reasons. The disclaimer is below, I felt kind of like that had to be written. The other thing that was kind of hard was that Brian kept joking about this being his ‘career ending’ interview. It is definitely controversial, especially if you fall into a more fundamentalist mind set. Trying to understand (and recover) from the modern church in America has always been a personal thing to me, and DAS’s music has always been very tongue in cheek with the issues regarding Christendom as a whole. I enjoyed discussing this stuff with Brian. I started this interview to find out if DAS was going to be making more music in the future, but we definitely ended up talking more about the church then music. One issue that we won’t touch on very deeply, even though I’m sure many are wondering, is the issue of Brian’s health. How is it? Well, I guess it is safe to say that Brian is on a timeline… the doctors have told him that. I won’t go into great detail because Healy lives with the ins and outs of his condition and he doesn’t want to invite the vulture watch (as he calls it) every time there is an issue. The best thing that we can do is pray for his health, and pray for his family. For now, enjoy this marathon interview!

6:55 PM… sitting down to start writing out the interview with Brian Healy from Dead Artist Syndrome. Going over my short checklist… sugar free Red Bull – check – pop in DAS CD – check – printing out the most profanity laced interview that I have ever done – check. Yep, that’s the way this one started out. I’m not a stranger to profanity, and I’m not really offended by it because I realize that this is just the way some people talk. However, since you are reading this I feel it necessary to put a disclaimer here. The reason this article is so heavily edited, and the reason you see all the little * signs here is because I had to tone down the language so we didn’t have to put age limits, etc. on our website. Obviously we understand that people are free to express themselves in the fashion that is most comfortable to them, but we want to keep this one clean so the kiddies can read if they so desire. It’s not about censorship, I do not believe in that, it is about trying to maintain the vision and goal of our ‘zine, and have it available to as many people that want to read it without having to worry about filters and being over 18 to read, etc. Fortunately Brian did call me one evening and said he understood and we had his permission to do what we needed to so this interview did not adversely affect us. So, if you like profanity you are free to use your imagination. The difficulty in writing this was that the profanity (in my opinion) actually expressed the emotion behind what Brian was saying, and to edit it out completely took away the passion behind what was being said. Hopefully you, the reader, can understand what I mean by that. Still, I have tried to be as clean as I could figure, and still convey the emotion and intent behind Brian’s words.

It took me getting used to Brian when emailing him, talking with him is easier. Because he is quite possibly the most humorously sarcastic person I have ever met, the written word came across harsh… I never quite knew how to take him until we actually spoke. Once we spoke, things moved along well. Brian is actually an extremely light-hearted and funny guy. He laughs frequently and tells plenty of jokes as we have poked fun at everything in Christendom, even ourselves. In addition to being humorous, Brain is very passionate. When he talks about Jesus, he is talking about the grace that he obviously values deeply and appreciates on a very personal level. With that passion comes an almost overwhelming disdain for those who cast God’s grace to the side in favor of a homogenized religious system of do/don’t and do what you’re told. He equally finds humor and distaste for those in Christianity who make a buck, or a healthy living, off Jesus and his name. Just remember as you read this, Healy’s words are directed at a specific group, he’s not out to offend everyone, rather I think he wants to illuminate those who are missing what is important… those who have been mistreated and misdirected by the system of religion.

I don’t know when Brian started DAS, I forgot to ask him. I know that Prints Of Darkness, his first release, was re-released by Blonde Vinyl back in 1991. It was first released on a different label the year before. Anyway, doesn’t matter really, Healy has been around for a long time. When I asked him how DAS came to be, this was his answer… “I was herding sheep and an angel came and spoke to me… D**n dude, I answered that question years ago, look up other interviews on Google.” Sarcasm firmly in place, we moved on. I was curious about many things with Healy. DAS was really the first Christian band that I remember carrying the ‘goth’ title around. Other bands came later, but DAS was the first. Back then times were different. This was back in the days of all the televangelists preaching to the converted about the evils of rock music. Even the faithful wrote books about the evils of Christian music. It was a strange time. Enter DAS with an album titled Prints Of Darkness. I asked Brian what some of the obstacles were that DAS faced early on, and here is his charming response. “Early on and to this day I’m the biggest obstacle to Dead Artist Syndrome. I’m a total a**hole when it comes to doing the business end of things. I used to do management and most people want some fluffy artsy guy they can rollover and jerk around and then deal with the dirty parts of the industry with some fat idiot agent on the phone or some passive aggressive women they can flirt with. Well, I am the fat idiot in DAS and I upset people by wanting them to do what they agree to.”

“Music people don’t mind screwing you behind your back while telling you how much they love you. I don’t suffer fools gladly. It’s common for club owners, stage managers, A&R guys and promoters to try and renegotiate their negotiations and most don’t want to do that with the artist, most of whom are usually pretty easy going. And let’s face it, a lot of artists need business people because they sure as hell aren’t the type of people who are bringing the potato salad to the MENSA picnic, otherwise, they wouldn’t be artists. They would be on wall street or out making the big bucks instead of doing what they love at midnight in a half empty room in some god forsaken holler. I get things done, I collected what the promoter said he was going to pay the band.”

“This is not everyone in music, but for some reason Christians are the worst because they actually use Jesus and the Bible as weapons to manipulate people and it really pisses them off when you call them on it. Besides, I make it easy for them – I don’t give a flying f**k what they say about me. I am who I am and I’m not turning into Ned Flanders just to whore myself out so Jesus can pay my rent. The best part is someone reading this going ‘Oh gee, he’s a potty mouth, I thought he was a Christian, I thought you are ordained? I don’t think he’s surrendered to the Lord? We can’t have that, it’s not Christian, and of course in interviews like this I give them the excuse they need. I want too, it’s who I am. The best thing that has happened in my walk with the Lord is when they started treating me like the unsaved friend. I was already liberated by Jesus’ blood and they wanted to jam me in a ‘American Christian fish on the car box’ – I’m free of that sh*t. My God is bigger than yours; He takes people as they are and too d**n bad for you.”

Obviously, I thought I’d hit a nerve here with Healy, but he told me he wasn’t angry he just sounded harsh on paper. So, we continue… “The sad truth is I have out lasted most of these f**kers. I still believe in Jesus and his grace and mercy. I want to do Gods work as the salt of the earth and 90% of these a**holes returned to their own vomit. They’re f**king worse off than I am or ever was, they were mostly a**holes before they found Christ… they found him, used him, became religious a**holes who judged the crap out of every one who didn’t want to sit around majoring in the minors, debating shades of white, and the second real life showed up with real problems that couldn’t be solved by simple solutions they hit the f**king door. Well, I’m still here and my faith is stronger than ever. I didn’t run, I didn’t turn my back on my faith and I live it the best way I know how, as ugly as it looks at times. Regardless of how bad I f**ked up, I know it’s real. Some people didn’t have that, they lived a lie and tossed the whole thing and if they did, so what! We are dealing with the Creator of the universe here, they can get their f**king heads out of their a**ess and Jesus is still waiting for them, I just hope they do it right next time.”

For those of you who have listened to DAS over the years, there has always been the underlying stream of sarcasm and disdain towards what Healy calls “a small but vocal minority” in the church. As you read, that is really what is coming out from the answers above. It sounds harsh I know, but it is directed at those who have held others down and judged some for not lining up to what the ’church’ thinks is right. It is directed at those who want to debate unimportant issues and those who want the church to be an exclusive club. We’ll come back to that, but for now let’s move on.

I know some of the readers here will be interested in the other artists who have contributed over the years on numerous DAS records. DAS is really a ‘virtual’ band as Brian describes it. Healy is the only reoccurring member, but some of the finest in Christian music have contributed at various times. Players have included Sean Doty of Veil Of Ashes, Mike Roe of the 77’s, Steve Hindalong & Derri Daughtery of The Choir, Ojo Taylor of Undercover, Michael Knott of L.S. Underground, Eric Clayton of Saviour Machine, Jeff Elbel of Ping and numerous others that have been a part of the ‘casts of thousands’ during different seasons. When asked how he got so many different artists from such diverse genres to play on his albums, this is what he said. “I think you should really ask that of the people I’ve worked with. I wouldn’t want to hang out with me if I didn’t have to. I just ask them if they want to play. I’ve known them as friends for years, not as rock stars or artists. Friends do things they like together, most of my friends do art so it’s no surprise that we would be doing it together, it’s not for the money that’s for sure.”

“I think DAS is fun for them, it gets them out of the box of their main project. They are the genius’s… they are brilliantly talented musicians and I stand on the shoulders of giants holding it all together. DAS is more of an experiment than a band. It’s never the same, it always evolves and changes with every gig. I never promise it will be great but it will always be a memorable musical experience and even if someone didn’t like the songs, the show and the players are too good to not be appreciated as artists and the talents they are. They just have to tolerate me as the weakest link in the chain. I also think for the players who all have their own well known bands, they like the risk of me as the lunatic leading them to the edge and seeing where I will take it that show. Hell, maybe they are just grading life on a curve and I can make anyone look like an A+ in a heart beat. The other thing is they get to work with each other as artists and the music has a life of its own. Music takes over, as a musical conversation can start in the studio or at a show. At any time musicians who have totally different backgrounds in taste and style can start playing together and they communicate musically… they create something just for the sake of doing it, and I try to capture that lightning in a bottle… that moment, that performance in a live show that unless someone records it is gone forever. I love that part of life – creation is beautiful. I guess that’s why we do it. DAS doesn’t really exist, it’s a virtual project, it lives only in the music recorded or at the live show at that moment and it goes away till it rears its head again.”

In keeping with the conversation of music, I asked Brian what advice he might have for bands starting out. His answer was funny… well, funny and long. “My advice is always the same… don’t do what I did because you don’t want to end up like I have! While I have a wonderful full life that I choose to live (and always have) very simply, on paper I am a total failure, like a notch above bum. Semi-poor and semi-famous totally sucks! All the judgment for everything and none of the perks of real fame. It’s a lot of good times and fun but even that is just a memory at a certain point and you look around and go, “was it worth it”? All my non-artist friends have RV’s or boats, houses, real families and of course 20 years in a REAL JOB where they can retire and enjoy life. With art you will end up saying, ‘I’ve got a closet worth of CD’s, a couple file cabinet drawers of articles, my beloved songs and some gear and the dream….. but you never know, it can still happen’. Oh pleeeeeeaazzzze….. Remember next time you see a singer on stage staring upwards into the lights, he’s most likely looking for his lost youth. Unless you die young, that’s the future – I’m not talking about Bono here. I’m talking about the guy singing in the lounge that you make fun of. The guy doing his lame dreadful act at the fair, the mall or open mic night. Take a good hard look because that’s gonna be you. The numbers don’t lie, the odds are way too long to think you are going to make it. If you want a life as an artist it will cost you everything before it ever gives anything back.”

“Whatever you do, never, never, never claim you’ve got a mission or you are doing it for Jesus, because if you do, you are full of s**t. God and/or Jesus don’t need you or your crappy songs to do anything. He can use an ass and has an army of angels, so die to that vision! You can’t do a d**n thing for God, he doesn’t need your f**king help! Repent for your arrogance you poor deluded fool. If you are writing songs you think will lead others to the Lord, you are a hack, shill salesman and you might as well be doing beer commercials, because at that point you have a utilitarian purpose and your song is just a f**king jingle for God and anti-art as far as I see it. Like most CCM, it’s more propaganda than art if that’s what you want to do. If you do that then fine, but it’s not a “calling” or a “mission”, it’s a gig selling a product called “God” in CD form. If you want a “calling” go teach children in Ghana music, English and the gospels or go and teach music to children in China. How about working with inner city kids in the US or playing senior centers for free, but do not claim the honor of ministry if all your life and music is just to entertain bored house wives and entertain Christian youth in rated “G” entertainment. That’s babysitting, not a calling of God. Of course I’m not talking about hymns or praise music that is designed for worship – that is a real but totally different art form.

“There are a few ‘sure fire’ proactive things someone starting out should do. Take in as much education as you can stand and learn a craft that can be done anywhere. Skills like welding, building skills, auto repair, etc. Get a teaching credential because that will free you up to go anywhere and know you can make cash to support your music, because chances are it will never support you. Never quit school for music until you have a degree. I know there are situations that look like once in a life time chances, but in the long run keep education in your career plan because you will use it in the long run no matter what the major, it will work into your art. Always give credit where credit is due, especially in song writing. Willingly sharing credit will never hurt you as much as the harm you cause yourself and others if you don’t. I have seen lives wrecked because of pennies years after the fact, it’s like a toxic splinter that is never ever going to heal, so when in doubt give credit. In general always share the pie and make the pie bigger, everything does really count in large amounts. Be inclusive, not exclusive, and get others involved. Give them a chance to profit as well as make your dream bigger for everyone involved. If you make promises always keep them and don’t make any you can’t keep…that’s one for life and music. Another thing I tell everyone is always keep your publishing whenever possible, but that takes forever to go into and if you don’t know what that means you’re not ready for the real world of music and need to learn so you can earn…get a copy of the book ‘This Business Of Music’ and learn it like a Bible so you know what you are dealing with.”

Moving back into the territory that really interested me the most, I asked Brian again about his views of the church. If you have listened to his records, there are so many lyrics and songs that come to mind. One of my favorite lines is, “Jesus I love You, but I don’t understand Your wife, she wears such funny make-up and she always wants to fight, every time I turn my back she’s waiting with a knife.” Healy has the talent to drive a point home with humor and sarcasm, but in a way that has never come across as alienating. Perhaps it alienated some, but for me I always appreciated the lyrical style. In talking about the church with Brian and after soaking in his first, somewhat abrasive, response I pushed deeper. I told Brian that I understood his frustration with the church. I knew it had been somewhat of a focus with DAS, but I asked him that if he thought he might have become close-minded himself, just from the other point of view? From his earlier response I asked if he really believed that people didn’t think that God accepted him as he was? Brian relates, “I think I need to clarify that I have no problem with the church at all. I think the majority of the church is doing just great and they are trying to be Christ on earth and do his work. I have a major problem with a small, but vocal, group of fundamentalist dominion theology based people in America who have hijacked Jesus for their own twisted view of Christianity… for their own power, financial and political gain. These people do not accept people as they are until they either whip them into submission to their causes/belief system, or drive them from Christ unless they build him in their image. This is not something new; this is something that has always been a problem. It is something Jesus faced in his time on earth. It was the vehicle which was used and that lead to Christ’s crucifixion. Still that lesson has been lost or ignored. I find I am in a place of God’s grace and mercy in spite of myself, not because of it. I truly believe that God is the author and finisher of our faith, but I keep running into or seeing people who want to act as editors by demanding more from people than God does.”

“Jesus wants people to be themselves and be honest with Him, but to a group of people in America that’s not good enough for them. They have to sign off on a list of bulls**t to prove they are saved and most of it is more culture based than faith based. I’ve seen people’s faith called into question because of who they voted for and because they disagreed with Rush Windbag, James Dobson or Glenn Beck. Seriously!? D**ning someone to hell because of a f**king talk show host!? How f**ked up is that? God forbid they have a real issue or they might be gay or they’re liberal or the ultimate… had an abortion. Oh please come to our church so we can tell you what a murdering slut you were, or its okay fag we don’t hate you anymore now that you’ve joined our club… just don’t be gay because we will disown you. Meanwhile with straight sex issues people look the other way. The people I’m talking about are the people who build walls to keep the wrong people out of our churches. Well f**k that! I want churches filled with whores, junkies, gay, straight, rich, poor, homeless, all colors, legal and illegal aliens, all backgrounds and the more f**ked up the better… WELCOME! Christ came to heal the sick and save us, not start a country club. The group or individuals I b***h about claim they want that, but really they don’t. They want to hide and keep their life from the evil sinners. I want to vaccinate people from evil, not quarantine them. Real faith is dangerous and churches aren’t suppose to be safe. Jesus isn’t safe, look who he hung around with. The church should look like Matthew’s party, not a hiding place from the world.”

“As for the second part of your question, it’s kind of ironic… usually I’m accused of being too open-minded or liberal. I can understand how someone might interpret me as close minded, but rest assured that’s not the case. To quote Leonard Cohen, “They sentenced me to 20 years of boredom for trying to save the system from within” The easiest thing for me to do is walk away and not care. I have many Christian friends who have given up on evangelical or non-denominational churches and have fled back to orthodoxy which is fine if that’s where they feel they need to be. I would rather try and expand the body of Christ to the point where the whack jobs are marginalized so the people that don’t fit in have a place to land. I know a lot of what I’m saying is hard for some people to hear and I know I have a very loyal fan base that has to put up with a bunch of crap even if they wear a DAS shirt to church or Cornerstone. I’m very grateful for them for defending me and my music, but I don’t do this for money, I don’t do it for fun , I do it because no one else can take the risk. I have lost a lot of things in life I cared very deeply about, and that has freed me up to be controversial and be the bad guy bursting the bubbles and myths that have been sold off as Christianity in the church and in CCM. Most my other friends in music don’t have this luxury. They know the rules and they play by them, I can’t. I would rather try to change the game and let the chips fall where they may. If this all ends tomorrow at least I know I did my best to do what I believe God and this life have given me to do.”

Okay, I know this is a long story, but I wanted to figure out how to bring this back around. I see the flaws with the few, vocal fundamentalists. Oddly enough, while we were doing this article one of these guys popped up in a thread that Brian started online. I won’t say who it was, but the anger and intensity behind this guys words was almost unbelievable. So, my next question to Brian was how we take back the church seeing that it has gone so far off course. How do we bring it back around to being about Jesus, not a political party, not of set of rules and not a system of ‘do & don’t’ so God will be happy with us. I knew his answer would be controversial, but it was eloquently simple as well. Healy said, “I have yet to see any scandal, any problem in the church, or with any ministry, that could not have been solved a lot sooner had someone just done something really simple, and oddly enough it’s something Christians are very reticent to do… that’s call bulls**t!. I have seen more lives or ministries and more people go under because no one had the nerve to just say bulls**t! They heard someone say something that they knew was untrue, that they knew was ridiculous, but they didn’t have the nerve to just say bulls**t!”

“I mean you think about it , Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart , James Dobson, Ted Haggard, Larry Norman, Keith Green and all these guy’s… if someone would have just said Bulls**t, you’re out of your f**king mind! That’s not the way the faith is, it’s not the way it works. There’s no scripture to back that up, what the hell are you thinking! WAKE UP! They were just as betrayed as the people they let down, we owe it to our pastors and leaders to call bulls**t! Now, while I think that needs to be handled with grace and compassion under the same way you would approach someone under Matthew 18:19, I also believe at the same time calling bulls**t would save the church a lot of trouble.”

“Oddly, the church would rather not do that, they’d rather let the insanity go on as long as it appears people are getting “saved”. Folks just look the other way even though it’s something that they know has nothing to do with Scripture or the Bible. It’s almost that it’s so socially uncomfortable, or so popular and profitable, they’d rather just let it go south and burn the bridge and the good, misguided or simply wrong people who got suckered are just grist to the backslidden mill because they were betrayed. We sort of use it to just glean the herd as if their lives or hearts mean nothing. We have to get to a point of maturity and as the body of Christ to just know bulls**t and not standby while some guys try to make a cultural issue spiritual, call Someone’s giving some testimony that obviously doesn’t make sense about how many thousands of dollars a day they spent on their drug habit, call bulls**t. Not only do we owe it to ourselves as His church, but we owe it to them as brothers and sisters in Christ not to be this deluded and not to be falling down or running toward the wrong path. By us calling bulls**t we are doing them a favor. If someone called bulls**t on Jimmy Swaggart when he preached on rock music, it may have saved his ministry… but to not have the nerve to do it when some pastor was going off on rock music?! If someone had just said, “bulls**t, you’re nuts”, instead of going to start going down this insane slope of your own opinion becoming equated to scripture. That would have saved others a lot of time, pain and struggle. When in doubt, call BULLS**T!”

After numerous releases that have pleased the ears for the last couple of decades, what is up next for Dead Artist Syndrome? That brings us back around to the beginning of this interview, back to where we asked Brian about obstacles. Healy confesses, “The other problem (back to the original question) is that I’m lazy and I get bored easily, hence the sporadic work habits. When I work at it I’m tireless to the point of manic but knocking over the first domino to get the ball rolling takes me more effort than the task at hand would. I put it off until I d**n well have something to say. I love doing it; I just hate the crap it takes to put the pieces together. I got into music, acting and the other arts I partake in to get out of having a real job, but it is in fact a real job and hard work to create. That said, it has great perks and its the real job I hate the least”

“I have a lot of unfinished stuff on my hard drive like Kissing Strangers, which is the next DAS project. Now I just need to get the lyrics and vocals done, but by the time I start to mess with it my mind has moved on and I simply can’t fain interest because probably have a new idea I’d rather start. I feel bad about it because someone would kill to have my gear or my home studio. I use to bag on Derri when he had Neverland that if I had his studio I’d be in it everyday… well, thanks to technology I have a pretty good studio but what I didn’t understand was it’s not just looking through the glass saying ‘OK, hit record and I sing.’ It’s like living on own your own the first time and you realize butter doesn’t magically appear in the fridge like when you were a kid, you have to buy it and put it there. Well, the mic just doesn’t set itself up, the EQ doesn’t dial itself in, the mix just doesn’t magically appear in the headphones, you have to do it. When it was the old days you went to a studio and you did it, and did it quickly because time is money and you are paying for it. When it’s a room down the hall and it’s always there taunting you, it’s hard to say goodbye to a book or Speed TV to go down the hall and get it done. It can make you lazy or a workaholic. I kind of choose lazy… that and you spend so much time learning to use the always changing technology that you’re too bored to use it and you convince yourself you got something done when the actual art hasn’t really progressed. Me and Eric Clayton joke about it all the time because we both like to live in all night hermit mode till the last possible minute when you bring other people into a project.”

“The down side is when working alone no one is there to say ‘hey, you wasted eight hours running down every rabbit hole the gear has, pick one and move on’. To us we can lead ourselves to believe its productive because the more you get done on your own, the smaller the box becomes for someone to come in and mess it up with their creativity and talent, which you want, but at the same time you want that maniacal control over the song. Of course it cuts both ways… like a Mike Roe or a Derri will show up, totally get where you’re going and it works. Better yet is after all that time you put in and they think you’re crazy, hearing it totally different than you do and take it to a place you never thought of but it magically sounds exactly like what you were hearing in your head. It’s not always parts or notes; it’s a feel, a tone, a sound or something that’s almost mystical where it just sounds right. That’s the most incredible feeling when you all look around the room and go ‘Oh Yeah’ and everyone knows that’s it!”

Well, after wetting my appetite with the Kissing Strangers nod, I asked (and hoped) that maybe Healy might have that album coming out sooner then later. I asked him about the upcoming release being this year, and even asked him about a possible collaboration with Eric Clayton. The collaboration was not something rumored; it was just something that I, as a fan of both bands, had often thought would be really cool. After hearing them work together on Jesus Wants You To Buy This Record, I was hoping something else might be on the horizon. Healy responded, “I’d like the release to be this year, but no promises. I have to start liking it again and get to know the songs a little better and see if that’s what I really want to say or do. Today I like it, the next time I mess with it I might wonder what the hell I was thinking and toss the whole thing and start over. For all my lack of talent I really take this part of my life seriously and don’t just like tossing out product for the hell of it. In regards to working with Eric Clayton, someday that will happen. We talk about it all the time, but we work so slow apart from each other, together it would be like who outlived the other to get to the final mix.”

So then, in conclusion I ended by asking Brian about the subject of (you guessed it) the church. There has to be a way to bring this home, to share the idea of bringing unity in this body of believers. Since it is such a small part of Christendom that seems to speak so loudly, how do we take back the small part of the church that has lost its way? Brian answers, “Well that’s the easiest question you have asked because Jesus gave us the answer on the cross: Forgive them, they know not what they are doing. It’s that simple and it’s that hard. People of faith need to revolt in love, grace and forgiveness, it’s time to turn the tables on the church and the world. We need to trust and believe in the grace that we are saved by and not our own desire for fairness… look, I have said some very harsh things in this conversation and I’m people can and will say I have been unloving, ungracious and judgmental and like everyone else I’m sure I can and have been guilty of that and will be till the day I die. I don’t claim superiority, just the opposite because I am as guilty of all that I accuse others of. I am a sinner saved only by the grace of God, the complete and total undeserved favor of God bestowed on me by the death of Christ , the only begotten Son of God, on the cross. Nothing I can say or do will add or take away from that simple fact that though I am a sinner, Christ died for me. While I know all that, at the same time I have seen the church go down one stupid rabbit hole after another like Alice in Wonderland buying into to whatever crack pot idea that other Christians, the media, or the big name author/pastor of the month hands them.”

“A lot of it can be avoided if people actually learned what historic Christianity, and our church fathers, are about. The church fathers, you know the guys who lived and died 1000, almost 2000, years before 1776. Before our country, before Columbus, we had a long historic Christian faith. What was accepted? What was rejected? The talk, the debates, their writings, learn to understand the pitfalls and strengths of your current beliefs in light of how the church fathers saw those ideas you hold and simply trust in God and His grace. All that said, I always stress three basic things in all these stupid interviews because I’m just like any other idiot looking for the light in darkness. Remember, always question authority, be yourself and be honest and never believe you totally understand the ways of God. Always live everyday under God’s mercy and grace with the full knowledge that there but by the grace of God go I.”

Writ on Water
In celebration of Midsummer, as well as having reached 10,000 plays on their Myspace page, Writ on Water have uploaded an extended mix of “A Midsummer Wish” to their MySpace play list. The band is continuing to rehearse in preparation for some live appearances later this year, but they say that there isn’t much more to report at this time. Check back on their website for more information in the coming months: WritOnWater.com

Michael Roe
Michael Roe is releasing a new solo album, We All Gonna Face The Rising Sun, while on tour this summer with Michael Miller (MichaelMillerCrusade.com). Roe’s new solo venture is another collection of covers of classic spirituals and hymns. Roe played all instruments on the album, including mandolin and banjo. The first 400 orders also receive a bonus disc of alternative versions and out takes.

For the live concerts, select shows on the tour will be a Master Class, where attendees will have an opportunity to ask Michael Roe questions about songwriting in an intimate setting and learn some guitar playing secrets… as well as receiving a free CD of rare and unreleased tracks as a limited edition souvenir! MichaelRoe.com

The Violet Burning
The Violet Burning has released a new Live CD, Sting Like Bees and Sing, as a digital download or physical CD. This album was recorded by Jeff Elbel live at Cornerstone Festival 2007. They are also having a massive sale on older CDs, as well as digital re-releases of older Violet Underground releases. See TheVioletBurning.com for details, as well as upcoming European tour dates.

Galactic Cowboys
The Galactic Cowboys have re-united for three shows in Texas. Word is that all 5 former Cowboys will be on stage. See GalacticCowboys.com for more details and ticket information.

Blackhouse Re-issue
We Will Fight Back, originally recorded in 1988, has been re-issued on Klanggalerie records from Austria. This is the ultimate version of the album as it was originally recorded by Brian Ladd. Due to the time restrictions that exist with vinyl, several tracks had to be taken off the original album. Now this classic record comes full-length, with the original intended running order – plus a booklet that explains more about the recording, as well as some rarely seen band photograph. See Klanggalerie.com for ordering information and MySpace.com/theRealBlackhouse for the track list.

Steve Scott
Although it has been out for a while, don’t forget to check out Crying for a Vision and Other Essays: The Collected Steve Scott Vol. One. I bring this up because the ads for Crying for a Vision have started to mention that a new CD by Steve Scott is coming out in Fall 2009 called Emotional Tourist. Is this a shelved album from back in the 80s finally released? A re-recorded version of an existing album? Or maybe a totally new CD with the same title as one of his older songs? See aLivingDog.com for details as they become available.

One Bad Pig
HM Magazine reports that the Pig is considering doing some reunion concerts for their upcoming 25th anniversary. If something does happen, watch OneBadPig.com for details. Paul Q-Pek of OBP now also has a side band called We2. We2 is a band that does all unplugged U2 cover songs.

Western Grace
Western Grace features Joshua Lory of L.S.Underground – and they have finally finished their new album. You can preview the entire album on MySpace:

MySpace.com/WesternGraceMusic

The new album Take Back the Scene drops on August 9th.

Velvet Blue News

• Map has finished recording and mixing Speechless. Release has been delayed a bit to August.
• Kissing Cousins has shot a video for “Don’t Look Back” from their new record Pillars of Salt. Look for a vinyl version of Pillars of Salt in August.
• Doug Burr is getting ready to enter the studio and record a new album.
• VBM has signed Fort Worth, TX based Telegraph Canyon. Their “Indie / Folk / Other” debut VBM album The Tide and The Current will be out August 8th.
• See VelvetBlueMusic.com for details and links to MySpace pages with samples.

SLIDE
SLIDE (featuring former members of Sincerely Paul) is in the studio working on their first single “January.” “January” is planned to be a free download single. Watch SlideMusicGroup.com for details.

The Reign
Not the Stryper song, but an roots rock/alternative band from the late 80s that released one album called Back From Euphoria (produced by Gene Eugene) before calling it a day. Remember them? They had a reunion concert recently that was filmed and recorded. The DVD/CD combo will be combined with a re-issue of Back From Euphoria. See their FaceBook page for more details here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Reign/37569052885

Regeneration Radio
Jeani Bond of Key Records has started a new online radio station playing classic Christian alternative music. Jeani also reports that a new website is in the works. Check out the music station online at:
http://www.live365.com/stations/jeanibond.

Phil Keaggy & Randy Stonehill
Yep – you read that right – Keaggy and Stonehill have recorded a collaboration record called Mystery Highway. Twelve news songs and one Mark Heard cover. Available at Amazon.com or PhilKeaggy.com.

L.S. Underground
Limited edition L.S. Underground T-shirts are available, and the band is looking to do select live shows. If you are interested in either of these, see their MySpace page for more details:

MySpace.com/LSUnderground

The Lost Dogs
The Dogs still have an album in the works, inspired by their recent tour down Route 66. There is a DVD in the works, edited by Jimmy Abegg. From what we have heard, there is no release date for the album yet, as they want to do a good job with it and not rush it to market. Keep an eye on TheLostDogs.com for updates.

Duraluxe
Duraluxe has a new album (simply called III) out – and you can listen to the whole thing before deciding to buy it. See:
http://duraluxe.bandcamp.com/album/duraluxe-iii

Starflyer 59
Tooth & Nail Records has released a collection of sorts for Starflyer 59 called Ghosts of the Past. Disc one is the Ghosts of the Future vinyl set in its entirety. Disc two is a collection of most of the songsfrom various recent eps and a bonus track from Dial M.

Neon Horse
The mysterious anonymous band Neon Horse has released a new album. Still claiming that they do not want to take any attention away from the music, the Horse has still not revealed the names of anyone involved. But most people seem to know anyways. Remember back when the anonymous band thing was just a gimmick to bring more attention to who was in the group and distract us from bad music? Guess the members of Neon Horse missed that whole era of music. No anonymous band has ever done anything but bring massive attention to guessing who was in the band. So, anyways – if you want to see what Jason Martin of Starflyer 59 and Mark Salomon of The Crucified & Stavesacre have been up to recently… you didn’t hear it from me… but check out Haunted Horse: Songs of Love, Defiance, and Delusion and you might get a clue.

The Huntingtons
The Huntingtons recently got back together for a reunion concert with a reunited Ghoti Hook. In addition to the concert, The Huntingtons released a collection album of B-sides, rare tracks, and two new tracks called Punk Sounds. Proceeds from the album go towards cancer treatment for the wife of Huntington’s drummer Mikee. Details and ordering information can be found on the bands MySpace page:

MySpace.com/huntingtons

Terry Taylor
Terry Taylor recently wrapped up a tour, accompanied by Steve Hindalong on drums and Terry’s son Andrew Taylor on bass. Even though that is old news by now, it is too cool not to mention.

WHAT THE @#$%?
I knew the whole cussing issue would come up soon enough.  Just didn’t know it would come up so many times in one article! So here is where we get to deal with it, like it or not.

Some people think that Paul cussed in one of his letters.  That is controversial at best – with some Greek scholars disagreeing with what others say on the issue.  Those nutty Greek scholars – always disagreeing with one another!

Think of us like some gritty modern action movie that has no cussing. You know that the people making the movie cuss, and that the characters in the movie would also cuss in real life, but they choose not to show that because they want the movie to be seen by the widest possible audience.

So I guess you could say that we are like the Joker in The Dark Knight – creepy enough even without all the cusswords.

Action Spotlight:
Don’t just complain about the world – do something to change it

The Not For Sale Campaign is designed to equip and mobilize Smart Activists to deploy innovative solutions to re-abolish slavery in their own backyards and across the globe. The Not For Sale Campaign seeks bridge knowledge to action: “With your help, we are working to raise awareness and collective understanding about human trafficking. But we live in a time and place where people are restless “to do something”. In recognition of this desire to act we will be completing and distributing handbooks for action. What can your athletics team do? What can your university do? What can your community of faith do? What can your business do? What can you do as a musician?” See www.notforsalecampaign.org (The Not For Sale Campaign did not buy this ad nor do they endorse this magazine – just givin’ ya food for thought)

Print Articles:

• Letters to Us
• News
• Steve’s Corner
• Matt’s Musings and Meanderings
• Brian Healy / D.A.S.: “Jesus Wants You to Read This Interview”
• BATTZ in the Belfry: “Sparks Still Fly Upward”
• I-Dragon-I: “Oceans of the Divine Inferno”
• Seventh Circle: “From The Struggle to the Forthcoming Human”
• D-T-L Live Report
• Change of Season by Matt Crosslin (1997)

Reviews:

• Sincerely Paul – Grieve re-issue
• Seventh Circle – The Struggle Remixes
• Dead Artist Syndrome – Prints of Darkness
• Eva- O – Ride the Madness
• The Awakening – Ethereal Menace
• The Last Dance – Whispers in Rage
• Virgin Black – Sombre Romantic
• Idle Lovell – Surge et Illuminare
• Book Review: Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music by Mark Allan Powell

Credits:

EDITORS: Matt Crosslin and Steve Ruff
MARKETING: Ulike-a Youtellafriend
WRITERS: Steve Ruff, Matt Crosslin, Joshua Lory
COVER IMAGE: Brian Healy
LAYOUT: Matt Crosslin
WEB DESIGN: Matt Crosslin for Monsoon River Designs

Contact:

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EDITORIAL: downthelinezine@gmail.com
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Vision:

Down the Line covers bands that explored the intersection between faith and art in the 1980s through the early 1990s – even though they were probably never accepted in to what is called “Contemporary Christian Music” because they were too edgy or alternative or liberal or for whatever reason. Some of these bands may still be making music today, and others may have moved on. We cover these bands (active or dormant) as well as any new projects by former members of these bands and any new bands that may have the same spirit as these bands.

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