Looking Inside by Matt Crosslin (watercolor, 1997).  “This image makes me think about what we find inside of our hearts whenever we take a long hard look at ourselves.”

Allan Aguirre… The ‘Godfather’ of Christian punk. Allan and his band Scaterd Few broke into the scene back in the days before there was a real punk band in Christian music. All you music history buffs may disagree, but Scaterd Few was the first genuine punk band in the market. Not Undercover, not the Altar Boys… Allan and Co. were it.

The history of the band is long and established, but it went way deeper than I even knew. I had the opportunity to do an email interview with Allan a couple of months back, and now it is coming to fruition. It has taken me quite some time to wade through the knee deep pool of exchanged emails, dates and times, but finally it has come. It was a great opportunity for me, a fan, to catch up with the man that started it all. So, sit back, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy this interview about the history of Allan’s bands and what he is up to now.

Punk music has been around for quite some time. There are many facets and faces to the punk scene. For me, the core that has always defined punk was the music and the message. There was the Boston scene, the LA scene, the DC scene, the Ramones in NY, the Sex Pistols in England, etc. etc. etc. The arguments and origins are tiring and exhausted… but the music has survived. The DIY ethics are still intact, and I still believe that punk is one of the few genres left that has the ability to organize and promote change. It is what it is, and it is hard to define. It breaks through boundaries and defies the definitions. The variety of styles that are infused are long as well. The OI and skinhead music has been infused, the reggae beats and island vibe that has been bread into the music still exists. The three cords and lack of proper guidelines are what still carry the music today. Punk is punk.

Allan has fronted several bands, and each one is varied and unique in their own right. Each one has been before its time, and each one has blown doors off of the conventional Christian thinking and set a standard that has yet to be touched by any other band in the market. Just for a reference here also, I will go by the name Allan, not Ramald Domkus. As fans know Allan went by Ramald for quite a while. He explains, “My school records were Allan R. Domkus up to first grade, then my mom married Ray Domkus, my Lithuanian step-father. He’s Roumald Domkus. My birth certificate has a middle initial of R for a middle name, and no middle name. It was supposed to be Riley but my mom didn‘t think Riley was a middle name, she thought it was a last name, so she left it as the initial “R“.(my biological dad’s middle name was Riley even though it should have been his last name – he was illegitimate so his mother gave him her last name, Aguirre, and his biological dad’s last name as his middle name) So, when my mom married my step-father, my name changed to Allan R.Domkus. In my pre-Christian/pre-Guatemalan days my punk name was Allan Ramald (I changed the spelling) and when I went to Guatemala, I had to use my birth certificate name of Aguirre. I had never used that name since the first grade. When we started Scaterd Few in ’83, our singer was Allen Pellerin, so I went with Ramald Domkus”. For more info on the name change, and a great article as well go to this link -  http://www.chrismshort.com/aguirre.htm – it was an article that ran a few years back in HM Magazine and has a really cool story behind Allan going back to the name Allan, and leaving Ramald behind.

Allan wasn’t raised in a Christian home. The concept of a ‘Christian’ music industry was the furthest thing from his mind. His first ‘experience’ with God happened when he was only five years old. “I remember playing in the dirt with my toy trucks, Tonka trucks actually, and the Lord just started speaking to me saying that I wasn’t like the other boys, and I said I knew that. He said that I wouldn’t have many friends, that it would be a lonely life and I said that I knew that, but He said that He would always be with me, and I said I know”. “I’ve never forgotten that”.  “Did I understand what was happening? No, not consciously”… but Allan absorbed what he heard.  In January of 1980 Allan’s parents kicked him out of the house and sent him to live with an uncle who was a missionary in Guatemala, Central America. His uncle was an ex hippie Jesus freak who had gotten saved during the Jesus Movement of the late 60’s and early 70’s.  His uncle knew of the music in the Christian world, and this was Allan’s introduction. “My uncle turned me onto some early Jesus movement music and one of the albums was Shotgun Angel from Daniel Amos. There were some real gems on there like “Meal”, “He’s Gonna Do A Number On You” and “The Whistler” that I could relate to. Even though I was a punk rocker I knew the importance of the Beatles, Elvis and I was a Bowie freak so…” “Then on a trip back to the states in ‘81 my cousin Eric and I picked up DA’s Horrendous Disc, Alarma, a band called Lifesavers and their album “Us Kids”, Andy McCarrol and Zionic Bonds and a band called Barnabas. Hey, now we have some Christian New Wave! I remember telling my cousin that if I ever went back to the states to do music, I wanted Terry Taylor to produce it”.

Scaterd Few had a couple of incarnations. The original SF was between 1983 and 1985 earning them the moniker of the first Christian Punk band in the USA!!! The original lineup was Allan on guitar, his brother Omar on bass, and then briefly in ‘85 it was Allan on drums and Ben Escbach on guitar. The original Scaterd Few lasted about fifteen months. They started as a band along a grass roots ministry effort to the street punks in Hollywood. The street ministry got them in front of the punk gangs as well as allot of other bands. The Cathy DeGrande was the big club hangout in Hollywood back then and SF had a regular presence in the scene, as well as the respect of the punks on the street. Allan says, “We wanted to start a band that had a positive spiritual message. Bad Brains were the only punk band with a positive message back then, but they were Rastafarians, that’s why SF started”.

Scaterd Few’s dealings with Terry Taylor did come to fruition. Within a few weeks of Allan’s returning to the states he was in the studio doing a SF demo on March 8, 1983. Upon completion of the demo he started tracking Terry down with a number for Rebel Base Products. The rabbit trail ended up with Allan finding Ed McTaggert. Allan says, “ I left all my info with Ed along with a request that he would have Terry call me. I’m at my parent’s house one night (before getting kicked out again) and during dinner Terry calls on the phone. We chat for a bit and decide to meet in two weeks at a North Hollywood studio where he’s producing someone. We meet, talk for maybe ten minutes, I slip him the demo and that was that. He actually listened to it, called me back, came out for a day to do some pre-production, and then we spent two days in Whiefield Studio with him and Thom Roy in July recording eleven songs, five of which made it on “Out of the Attic” along with the two song demo”. “Terry had tried getting us a deal back in ‘83 with the eleven songs we had recorded, but it basically freaked everyone out. The words “Christian music will never get harder or stranger than Undercover” were spoken a lot back then from the labels in regards to us”.

Allan stayed in touch with Terry after Scaterd Few ended in ‘85. “I met with him in ‘87 regarding Cygnet, but the label he was on wasn’t interested”. Cygnet… another one of Allan’s bands. Let’s leave the Scaterd Few trail for a second and talk about Cygnet. Cygnet is a French word that means ‘young swan’. It was the blueprint for Allan’s last band Spy Glass Blue and it included Allan, his brothers Drew and Omar, and Paul Fig, all of whom were also Scaterd Few members. They existed about three years, between early ’86 until about early ’89. “We were playing 3-5 shows a month in and around Hollywood for most of early ‘87 and well into the end of our run in early ‘89. We had the support of KROQ and their DJ’s, their local music showcases at The Palimino. Peter Murphy endorsed us during an interview on KROQ, that was special, and the late great David Byers of the DC hardcore and Human Rights fame played guitar for us for about nine months”.  (more on David Byers/Human Rights in a moment -) Cygnet broke up in the spring of 1989 and only put out  a 5 song cassette E.P. and a 7” vinyl E.P. If you’re super lucky you might have one of those, if not, eight of the twelve tracks on Spy Glass Blue’s “Shadows” were Cygnet songs, as well as “Look Into My Side” from SF’s “Sin Disease” and “Holding Stare” from SF’s “JawBoneOfAnAss”.

Again, here is another rabbit trail before we get back to Scaterd Few. As we mentioned David Byers and Human rights earlier, this needs to be stated.  HR is the lead singer of Bad Brains, who Allan is a big fan of, and I’m sure that if you have ever listened to Bad Brains you can hear their influence in Scaterd Few. David Byers was the guitar player for Human Rights who had HR on vocals and HR’s brother, Earl,  on drums. Earl is also the drummer for Bad Brains. There’s some cool info here so stay with me… in late ‘87 or early ‘88 Cygnet was in the studio with HR doing guest vocals and David Byers playing guitar. Allan had become friends with HR after Bad Brains “I Against I” tour. Working with Bad Brains got Allan and his band in front of Greg and Chuck (punk legends from Black Flag) of SST records. They had a letter of intent from SST but they never did get signed. Cygnet played the SST Records staff party in ‘88 with HR and then again two years later with HR as Scaterd Few. Scaterd Few also played as the opener for Human Rights on the “Charge”  west coast tour in 1990, and then played as HR’s band Human Rights on the same tour. So, on that tour they were opening and headlining… opening as Scaterd Few and headlining as Human Rights, with a lineup that was HR: vocals, Allan: rhythm guitar/vocals, Omar Domkus: bass/bgv’s, Jamie Mitchell: electric/lead guitar, Sam West: drums/bgv’s, Drew Domkus: keyboards, Paul Fig: keyboards. That’s an amazing chunk of history right there, so don’t just skim over that, go back and read it again.

Okay, so now back on Scaterd Few. Scaterd Few put out four solid releases. “Sin Disease” was the first album and was released at Cornerstone festival in the summer of 1990. Christian music had nothing to compare it to. For this writer it blew the lid off anything I had ever heard in Christian music, and it opened me up to the world of Terry Taylor. Taylor produced this one again, and I promptly purchased anything that I ever saw he laid his hands on again… but that’s a different story. Taylor produced, Gene Eugene engineered, Greg Lawless and Greg Fletsch played guitars and even Riki Michelle sang on one of the tracks. It was a who’s who that collaborated on this album. It was new for the Christian market and it was badly needed. There was never a band before that brought the intensity and the raw sound like Sin Disease. Allan had stayed in touch with Terry Taylor after the first incarnation of Scaterd Few had disbanded, and in late ’89 Allan contacted Terry again, he came to a show, landed them a deal with Frontline records and Sin Disease was recorded between February and March of 1990 with the release at Cornerstone that year.

Scaterd Few soon after courted controversy.  Unfortunately, Scaterd Few was pulled nationally and banned in Christian Bookstores. The album had actually sold out before the pull went into effect, but the move hurt the momentum of the band. The reason for the pull? Rumors, lies and jealousy. All of it untrue, and all of it now is what Allan calls “water under the bridge”, but it definitely hurt the band. Benson was the manufacturer and distributor for Frontline records, the label that Sin Disease came out on. Benson’s parent company at the time was Zondervan (Zondervan Christian Bookstores is now Family Christian Stores, probably the largest corporate Christian retailer around). Allan recalls, “A zealous music buyer for the store was told by his then girlfriend, a girl me and my brothers knew, that we weren’t Christians at all, but drug addicts, like heavy crazy drug addicts, and that we had duped the market into thinking that we were Christians. She was pissed because I wouldn’t sleep with her and told her boyfriend in hopes of discrediting the band. Well, he told the sales rep for that store and apparently did a good job because the sales rep told his superiors, who was Benson records, and all hell broke lose.” Evidently the two individuals responsible were confronted and exposed, but it things hard on the band and its members. According to Allan, “If you went into a bookstore back then and asked why they didn’t carry Scaterd Few, you wouldn’t believe the slanderous things that came out of the mouth of the minimum wage earner behind the counter about me and/or the band… it was surreal”.

Scaterd Few went on to release “Out Of The Attic” in 1991 on cassette only. It was a co-op between Allan and Flying Tart records. In ‘91 there was also a botched attempt at making “JawBoneOfAnAss” for a different label. The guy that ran that label didn’t keep up his end of the deal and the record wasn’t made. Around this same time the now infamous article with Allan admitting smoking marijuana came out. Actually, there was the admittance, but Allan also said that he was diligently working on stopping smoking pot, but that seemed to fall on deaf ears. The article drummed up even more controversy for the band which didn’t help in regards to Frontline Records picking up the next album option, but let’s pause here for a minute… this has never made any sense to me. Allan is upfront and honest about smoking pot in an interview, says that he is working on stopping, and instead of people appreciating the honesty, the stones start flying. It doesn’t make sense. The church then, and now, seems more comfortable with freaking out than with trying to understand. Maybe that will change one day… it sure is long overdue. Allan did stop smoking pot by March of ‘92, further proving what he said was true – he was working on it. So, back on Scaterd Few… The band signed with Blonde Vinyl in 1992, but that was short lived. The label where they originally tried to make JawBoneOfAnAss pitched a fit and served Blonde Vinyl with cease and desist papers. That left Allan with two versions of the album only 65% done. The first version had Terry Taylor co-producing and Gene Eugene engineering. The second version had Taylor again, and Dave Hackbarth engineering. Broken records wanted in on the album as well, but the original label blocked that also. The album was finally recorded in the fall of ‘93 at Blood’s Knotty Pine Studio. Blood as you may remember was Mark Rodriguez and Gyro & Jerome from Mortal. Mark and Allan engineered and Allan held the reins of producer. JawBoneOfAnAss was finally released at Cornerstone in ’94. At the same time Allan released the CD version of Out Of the Attic. Both the CD and cassette versions (released in ’91) were identical except for the artwork, and they consisted of the original 2 song demo, five tracks from the 11 song sessions with Terry Taylor from ’83-’84, and the last show/party they played in ‘85. The lineup consisted of all the variations of the band during those 15 months between ‘83-’85.

In 1995 Tim Cook, manager at the time, secured Scaterd Few a record deal with Tooth & Nail records, and again it didn’t pan out. Allan explains, “We lost the deal with Tooth & Nail because Sam and Omar wanted to do more of a Peter Gabriel/world beat CD and not a punk rock record. Tooth & Nail was only interested in a punk rock record. Their words were “We want a ’sin disease’ not a ‘JawBoneOfAnAss’.” So I replaced Sam and Omar and guaranteed them a punk rock record. Then they said they weren’t interested in signing Scaterd Few without Sam and Omar ( I understood and wanted them on board as well ), so I told them I wrote ’sin disease’, Look at the writing credits, JawBoneOfAnAss was written by all of us, you want a punk rock CD that’s what I’ll write”. They declined. It was late winter of ‘96 at this point, Scaterd Few broke up and Tim Cook went on to manage P.O.D. (head scratching here)…

After Scaterd Few broke up Allan went on to form Spy Glass Blue in 1996. Spy Glass Blue was a definite one of a kind band. They have been described as ‘brit pop – edgy new wave – and post punk psychedelic’. There is a definite David Bowie vibe that is present as Allan’s voice is very reminiscent of Bowie, but it truly stands apart from anything that I’ve ever heard. Cygnet was somewhat of the blueprint for Spy Glass Blue and they had a much artier sound to them than Scaterd Few. Spy Glass Blue (SGB from here on out) put  out their first release, a cassette and vinyl E.P. Then in ‘96 SGB released ‘Shadows’ on Pinnacle records and in ‘97 released the exact same album on Organic records. The lineup was Allan on vocals, Kris Rosentrator on drums, River Tunnell on bass, Joshua Pyle on keyboards and Kane Kelly on guitar. ‘Shadows’ was a great album and kind of reminds me of Bowie meets Joy Division jumbled up with The Cure and served with a side of New York Dolls. Again, in my opinion, this one was way ahead of  its time.

After the release of ‘Shadows’ Allan changes hats and put out another Scaterd Few record, ‘Grandmother’s Spaceship’. The lineup was Allan on vocals, Steve Martens on drums, Steve Meigs on bass and Russell Archer on guitar. It was released in ‘98 on the Jackson Rubio label, and according to Allan was , “a big mistake”. “It hurt the momentum of SGB, and some of the members, because I jumped ship and did another Scaterd Few record. Another bad move on my part. The recording quality sucked because of the gear we were using and the five month tour was an utter disaster in every way imaginable. We almost physically died, it broke us financially and it almost killed my marriage. Sales sucked and I got out of music as soon as I got home. The cool thing is the Lord warned me about what was going to happen in April of ‘98, and it became manifest in September. Grandmother’s Spaceship, 1998, was hard… really hard. The only good thing was the Lord had warned me and prepared my heart to get out. He provided not only a way out, but a means to restore everything; my family, marriage, finances and my sanity”.

Allan went on hiatus from the music industry between ‘98 and 2002. In 2002 he came back in full force releasing two records, one from SGB and the last record from Scaterd Few. “God presented the opportunity to start the record label, Accidental Sirens, and the studio after the internet economy collapsed. Starting the label and having the studio made it easy for me to do one glorious Scaterd Few punk rock CD… ‘Omega 5’. The lineup for O5 was Allan on drums, guitars and vocals, Chrsi Smyers on bass and Brad Bevill on guitar. Allan said, “Closing the chapter of Scaterd Few with Omega 5 was satisfying. It’s a great record, it’s a great punk rock record and we worked really hard on that and I think that’s evident”. 2002 also saw the release of SGB’s  ‘Loud As Feathers’, it was a much anticipated follow up to ’Shadows’ and put out on Accidental Sirens, Allan’s label. In 2003 SGB released their last album, ‘The Blue E.P.’ and they toured over 90 cities nationwide.

Spy Glass Blue was innovative and groundbreaking in its own right, just like Scaterd Few was. Their run was too short. I asked Allan why it came to an end… “I stopped after every record label loved it, but wouldn’t sign it. The amount of time, money and resources that go into a band, getting signed, touring, etc. is designed to break you financially and isn’t something that I’m interested in. Any push towards fulltime music would just be bad stewardship”.

In addition to his own bands Allan also produced a number of other acts. He gets the production credits on Mortal, Headnoise, I the Passenger, One Minute Halo, The Subject, American Culture eXperiments, Zero Theory and Drama Dust, just to name a few. As you may recall Drama Dust was all Allan’s kids. They have a unique sound and an obvious talent that runs in the family.

I asked Allan what he thought about being the “Godfather” of Christian Punk, and what he thinks about the Christian music industry today. “Being the “Godfather” of Christian punk is a double edged sword. You have those that respect you, and those that hate the fact that it was you that can claim being the first, or the forerunner, or the standard. It brings a lot of professional jealousy your way. It also brought a lot of financial hardship because pioneers are always trodden under foot by commercialization. Everyone else benefits from your hard work”. “The industry is worse now than it was back then because now all the labels are in bed with a secular label and/or distributor. Unless they can guarantee “x” amount of sales from a single release the first time out they’re not going to get a deal, and the Christian labels is not going to get paid… they’ll be dropped and they’ll go out of business. So much for creativity, innovation, art… oh yeah, and God’s leading. Back then, yeah, it was about sales and marketing… now?,  even more so because their little secular deals have made them even more subservient to the world”.

When asking about the high and low points of his music career Allan replies, “ The highs?… There are a lot of live shows that come to mind. The lows…? The B.S. that came with it: the record deal fiasco’s, the rumor and slander campaigns against us, the things that made it very difficult to succeed based on fear, hate and ignorance”.

Any chances on an original Scaterd Few reunion?  “Original lineup? I don’t see it happening. Sam is committed to Stavesacre, Paul is locked in studios all the time, Omar would never do it because of his religious beliefs. His beliefs don’t condone Christianity or anything we did so he would never do it. Drew is busy being a pod cast star, it was good while it lasted…”  Allan does have 2 shows and offstage footage of Scaterd Few that he wants to release on DVD, but it’s not a priority. He’s toyed with the idea of a reggae only CD, and says that many have made that request, but first needs to do a worship CD.

So what’s Allan up to now? He owns and runs a successful interactive and traditional services agency, The Riley Agency.  Here’s what they offer:

Interactive Creative Services: (design, front end/back end code architecture, database development, flash animation, 3D modeling, audio/video, consulting, integration, project management, etc.)

• Brochure Websites
• E-Commerce Websites
• Marketing Websites
• Online Contests
• E-Mail Campaigns

Traditional Creative Services: (design, production, audio/video, consulting, product management, etc.)

• Corporate Identity
• Business Collateral
• Marketing Materials
• Packaging

The Riley Agency also does some photography when the opportunity arises.

There is also a MySpace Scaterd Few page http://www.myspace.com/sindisease, and there are copies of Scaterd Few’s Grandmother’s Spaceship, Omega 5 and Spy Glass Blue’s Blue E.P., Loud As Feather’s and Shadows for sale. Allan also has some limited sizes of Spy Glass Blue t-shirts for sale, maybe if you’re lucky he’ll have your size. Also, check out http://www.scaterdfew.com where there are some cool pod casts you can listen to. In regards to the website Allan said, “I want to finish the pod casts. I really enjoyed doing them. What I need to do is scan a bunch of photos of Scaterd Few, rebuild the website and continue the pod casts. That’s what I really need to do”. There is also merch to be purchased at the Accidental Sirens store found here http://www.accidentalsirens.com Spy Glass Blue also has a website found here http://www.spyglassblue.com. The websites are a little outdated, but there are still posts there that are interesting to read, as well as directions to merchandise and cool pictures.

So, I hope that this was as interesting for you to read as it was for me to put together. There is a lot of history here and it was cool for me to learn the relationship between Allan and the DC hardcore/punk scene, as well as the East Coast scene. Allan said that becoming friends with HR put him in front of other great bands like Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Primus, etc. For me, back in those times those bands were allot better too. That was back before the money did the talking and the bands didn’t have the status that they do today. There is something pure in indie music. There is a loyal fan base there and the money is not as good, but the product always seem to be much better. It’s nice when the artist can put out a product that is not hampered by executives, record sales and marketing. Hopefully Allan will be able to put together the worship CD as well as the reggae CD and the Scaterd Few DVD. His bands have always been one of a kind. There is nothing else, new or old, in the Christian market that even compares. I miss Scaterd Few – I love punk that has the reggae vibe to it. I love the rawness and the stripped down bare-bones approach that Allan has to punk music. The scene could definitely use a healthy injection of something real again. My thanks to Allan for giving me the opportunity to do this.

Interview by Matt Crosslin

Writ on Water is back with a new album and a whole slew of re-issues.  If you are keeping count, this is the second time they have done that without the support of a label of any kind.  Jeff MacKey & Daniel Johnson recently answered several questions about the past, present, and future of their band.  They shared several insights that any Do-It-Yourself band, as well as fans of the band, would do well to check out.  Read on the see how they have accomplished the rare feat of living without a label….

For those who are not familiar with your music, how would you describe your sound, influences, and direction as a band?

DANIEL:  From the beginning, we were very heavily influenced by the classic 80′s 4AD sound (bands like the Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, early Wolfgang Press, etc.) and atmospheric specialists such as Brian Eno and David Sylvian. We were big fans of people creating expansive guitar textures, such as Kitchens of Distinction and The Church. Personally, I listened to a lot of Joy Division and early New Order (I think Jeff originally introduced me to them). We strove to create somewhat unconventional songs wrapped in dense sonic textures.

Nowadays I think our listening habits have expanded a great deal. I’ve gotten into a great deal more world music and choral music.  Additionally, I’ve done quite a bit of study and research on 17th- and 18th-century neo-Byzantine music, and I think that has opened me up a lot to modes and scales that aren’t ordinarily incorporated into pop music.

JEFF:  That’s always a tough question to answer because there are different types of influences.  From a structural standpoint, I think artists like David Sylvian and The Wolfgang Press played a major role in opening up my eyes to getting outside traditional song structures and deliberately avoiding a lot of foundational pop concepts like repeated choruses and whatnot. Texturally, I think bands like Cocteau Twins, Joy Division, the Virgin Prunes, the Church, the later Talk Talk/Mark Hollis work were all important for me, although I don’t know how much of that can really be heard in our finished work.  Also, Daniel and I are both listen to a lot of classical music/opera, which probably affects the way we hear and arrange things as well.

How did you become connected with Blonde Vinyl?  What was it like being on that label?

JEFF:  We had recorded a complete 4-track demo version of ‘Sylph’ (just as we later did for The Greyest Day) before we had a deal in place, and we got that into the hands of some people at Blonde Vinyl.  We had a lot of support from some people at the label, like Ken Bauer and Chris Rumbaugh, who I think understood what we were doing.  BV put us in the studio with Chris Colbert and Dave Hackbarth, which was a very good experience.  I’m not sure Chris had ever recorded anything quite like ‘Silence Broken’ or ‘Conception’ up to that point, but he made some lovely contributions to the album.  I think ‘Sylph’ pretty well captures our sound at the time.  ‘Sylph’ came out in December of ’92, and the label was a memory a few months later so I’m not sure it ever got a great deal of promotion from the label.

DANIEL:  We personally knew several people who were affiliated with the label, so we may have had an unfair advantage in getting our demo tape heard. We had recorded all the tracks from Sylph (with one substituted track) at home on a 4-track cassette recorder, and we submitted that.  Apparently they liked it quite a bit, because they made us an offer.  We always had a good relationship with everybody in the BV office (when I was unemployed they briefly hired me to do some computer work).  They let us co-produce, which as I understand was pretty rare for first-time bands, and we got away with making a lot of not-so-accessible music.

What was the one track substituted from the Sylph 4-track demo version that Daniel mentions?

JEFF:  There is a track called ‘Offering’ that is available as a free download on our website in its original home 4-track version that was initially slotted as track 8, where ‘Repose’ ultimately appeared.  It’s an instrumental Daniel composed/recorded which we liked a great deal but determined didn’t quite fit with the way the album was coming together.  I thought we had lost this recording over the years until I ran across it among some old tapes I was cataloguing last year.  We might put up a couple more of the 4-track recordings made for ‘Sylph’ as free downloads at some point.

For those that don’t know, can you tell us about how the Internet played a role in keeping the band going for close to two decades now?

DANIEL:  After about 1994 or so, the band kind of drifted apart. A few years later Jeff and I got to emailing about the possibility of re-recording The Greyest Day.  I had just installed some digital audio software, so we got together (either at his home or mine) and started playing around. We only recorded one or two Greyest Day songs before we got sidetracked with new ideas. That was the basis for the Pelleas EP. Meanwhile, our friend Chris Nandor had made MP3′s from our Greyest Day demo cassettes, and MP3.com “released” them as either downloads or a CD-R.  When we finished work on A Wingless King, we sought a better solution (since MP3.com had folded), and after some research we decided to go with a self-release using CreateSpace, which made our album available on Amazon.

JEFF:  It has kept us going off and on, at least.  Dan and I looked for another record deal after BV, but we stopped playing live altogether following the departure of Joel and Miles, which made things tough.  We took several years off before the MP3 thing really hit.  Talk of ‘The Greyest Day’ demo had gotten around somehow, and we’d actually sent out some cassette copies to fans who had requested them.  Our friend Chris Nandor cleaned up the 4-track recordings for us, and we made them available via mp3.com back in 1999.  Dan had also set up a digital studio at his place, and we decided to take a stab at a few of our songs from the mid-’90s that we’d never gotten around to recording at the time, which eventually turned out to be the ‘Pelleas’ EP. The internet gave us a chance to release our work without going through a label and working at our own pace, which was nice-especially for a band that, as of today, hasn’t played a live set in more than 15 years.

You’ve mentioned possibly re-recording The Greyest Day demos to make a full release.  Is that still a possibility?  If so, how is that progressing?

JEFF:  It’s not progressing at all currently, but it’s still a possibility–an idea I sometimes kick around.  I actually think that we did a decent job of realizing some of the songs despite the 4-track limitations, and it would be difficult to recapture material that goes back so far at this point.  I don’t think we’d ever re-record it in its entirety, but I could perhaps foresee an EP or mini-album containing new/re-worked versions of some of the songs.  Or perhaps not.

DANIEL:  I doubt that we will ever get that far. Those songs are from a completely different time in our lives, and we have both grown personally to the point that it’s difficult to relate to them anymore.

How would you compare A Wingless King to Sylph?

DANIEL:  When we recorded Sylph, we were allotted two weeks in the studio to record and mix the whole album. This meant that much of the producer’s job had to be done before we even got there (though Chris Colbert came up with some great ideas in-studio, including the wonderful fan-guitar shimmer in the first half of Silence Broken).

When we started work on A Wingless King, we recorded most weekends for as many months as it might take.  This allowed us to play around with instrument texture and song structure a great deal more than we had the first time. As a result, I think A Wingless King has something of a looser feel than Sylph.

JEFF:  I’d like to think that A Wingless King shows quite a bit of musical growth from Sylph, if only because we’re so much *older* than we were in ’92.  As an album, we had tried to construct Sylph with a deliberate aural and thematic arc from start to finish, ‘Conception’ to ‘Colder,’ with ‘Burning Heart’ in the center.  I think A Wingless King has more of an ebb and flow as it moves along, although there is a definite symmetry there as well.  In terms of sound, I’d like to think there’s a cohesiveness across the decade and a half between albums.  I tend to think of ‘A Wingless King’ as being more song-driven than ‘Sylph,’ although I’m not sure how well that characterization holds up to a track-by-track comparison.

What kind of theme/themes did you hit on with both albums and why are/were they significant to write about to you?

JEFF:  The curious thing about ‘Sylph’ for me is that I see more of a thematic arc now than I was aware of at the time.  When we were putting the album together, we were thinking about an arc more in musical terms, as I think there is a symmetry about the 11 tracks on the album from an aural perspective.  And while we were conscious of starting our first album with an instrumental called ‘Conception’ and concluding it with a song (‘Colder’) that finishes with the line, “this is the end,” it was certainly not intended as a “concept album.”  Looking back, and having had this called to our attention by fans over the years, it is possible to view the tracks as almost providing some type of running narrative throughout–some of which was deliberate and some less so.

As for ‘A Wingless King,’ there are numerous themes.  I think one recurring theme might be summed up as the gap between reality and the ideal, and how one deals with the space between–both in the past and present.  I generally write words to music rather than the other way around, and the music therefore dictates the direction of the lyrical content.  That has always been my process, although I have come to realize over the years that it’s not the most common approach.  Whereas poetry that I write tends to remain separate from music.  I think there is a thread connecting ‘Angie Swirls’ to ‘Things Only Heaven Knows,’ the two tracks that bookend the album, but it is something ambiguous that each listener may or may not find for himself.

What are some of your favorite moments lyrically or musically from A Wingless King?

JEFF:  I’m not sure I can answer about the lyrics, having written them.  Musically, I am very pleased with the organ-like guitar in the first section of ‘Bittersuite,’ and the way Dan wove that theme back into the final movement of the piece, tying it all together.

DANIEL:  I’ve been especially proud of the way The Laughter Ceases turned out.  I recorded most of the basic tracks in a single day. There isn’t a single synthesizer on that track; everything is a real analog instrument.  Also, after we finished up the mix, I couldn’t get the bridge section from Rain Over Unmapped Sea out of my head.

Writ on Water was been around for over 17 years now.  How is being in a band different now than it was in the early 1990s?

DANIEL:  We no longer feel the least obligation to perform live, or to produce any music at all if we don’t feel like it.  I don’t think we’re so much a band as a two-person musical collective.

JEFF:  In the early days, three of us lived in the same house, had instruments literally set up in the garage and worked on music together regularly. Today, most of the work is done individually and then shared via internet.  Jared recorded the drum tracks for ‘A Wingless King’ up in the Bay Area, quite a distance from us.

Any chance we’ll see any of your albums re-released on a label, or are you wanting to stay independent?  Why or why not?

JEFF:  Anything could happen, I suppose.  At this point, we don’t have any plans to change our independent status, but I’m not opposed to working with a label again if we could find a good fit for what we do.  It’s nice to be able to record at our leisure and also to be able to release a project essentially as soon as it’s deemed finished.  On the other hand, there are obviously benefits to the support of a label when it comes to marketing and promotion, which we are essentially left to do for ourselves.

DANIEL:  I don’t suppose we’d object if somebody wanted to repackage our material and give us money for it… but we aren’t expending any energy at the moment to shop our records around. Prior to the release of Pelleas we really pushed to get noticed by a record label, but the only label that gave us the time of day wanted full publishing rights with no assurance that they’d stay in business. (And sure enough, it seems that they disappeared without a trace.)

Any chance that Three Broken Chords and a Half-Truth might ever make on to CD?  Is there any other unreleased material sitting around like that?

DANIEL:  I think the whole point of the Three Broken Chords idea was that it’s a graveyard for songs that aren’t releasable but are interesting enough that someone might want to listen to them. You have to be a juggernaut like REM to get away with trying to sell your unfinished experiments.

JEFF:  We only intend Three Broken Chords and a Half-Truth as place to download freebies from our website.  We have a decent amount of other demo material lying around, although I’m not sure how much is suitable for download.

When I first saw that your CDs currently for sale are CD-Rs, I was a little concerned about packaging quality.  But when I got them, I was pleasantly surprised at how professional the overall package was. Many CD-Rs for sale on the web just don’t have very high quality CD booklets and such.  Do you print up your packaging yourselves, or is there a company out there that did that?

JEFF:  We are using a company called CreateSpace, which is an Amazon self-publishing subsidiary.  We shared your concerns initially, but we were pleased enough with their product to go ahead and use their services.  I’ve gotten positive feedback from fans regarding their customer service and quality.  We will continue to look for the best options for release of our future projects.  At the same time, I think that the bias against CD-Rs will be a thing of the past as a result of the quality work of companies like CreateSpace.  A good album is a good album, whether CD or CD-R.

DANIEL:  After looking at several publish-on-demand businesses, we decided that CreateSpace looked like it allowed the most artistic creativity with packaging. We were pleasantly surprised when we saw how nice it all looked.  When you compare that to, say, Cafe Press’s product, CreateSpace wins hands down.

Speaking of CreateSpace, do they give you any type of sales logistics, like who is buying your product or where it is being shipped?  Or is it just straight sales numbers?

JEFF:  They do provide logistics for direct sales but only numbers for cds/downloads via Amazon.

With all of the great insight you have on the history of the band, I want to throw in the cliché question just to see your thoughts on it: is there anything you would do differently?

JEFF:  In hindsight, I wish we’d played live more when the original lineup was together and that we’d documented our live shows better.

Speaking of cliché questions, do you get the questions like ‘what does the band name/this song title mean’ questions frequently?

JEFF:  We used to get quite a few questions about the title ‘Sylph,’ but there really is no single answer as to why that or ‘Pelleas’ were chosen as album titles–the various connotations evoke something we felt fit the project, and both have a connection to a composer or songwriter we admire.  A few people have asked about the title ‘A Wingless King,’ which comes from the lyrics.  These days, the origin of the band name can be found quickly enough via a Google search.

What other future musical plans do you have (studio, live shows, side projects, etc)?

DANIEL:  We are working on getting some final mixes for our two EPs to be released this autumn.  Beyond that, Jeff has some new material that has been in the process of creative ferment for several months, and I’ve had a couple ideas for sonic experiments.  I don’t think a live show is going to happen anytime soon.

JEFF:  We’re very close to releasing two new EPs, which may or may not be available before the publication of this article.  Both consist of material written around the time of ‘A Wingless King’ but are quite different in sound from each other.  ‘Ancestral Echo’ is made up of songs with something of a structural minimalism but are texturally consistent with the majority of our work.  ‘Wunderzeit’ is made up of songs I wrote for some acoustic sets that I performed back in 2001 so they are a bit more acoustic in foundation.  Once that is done, we plan to start work on a full-length album of new material.  I’ve already written a few things that may or may not be a part of it.  There are some other songs from the ’90s that have never been recorded properly that could also either become an EP or perhaps additions to ’3 Broken Chords’ down the road.

Live shows…I think it’s possible at some point.  I’m not sure how, and I’m not sure where, but I would like to hear how the material would sound on stage again.  But first we’d have to put together a live lineup, and there are some other logistic issues that would have to be addressed.  But it’s not outside the realm of possibility.  As of today, Writ on Water hasn’t been on stage since 1993.

I’ve been working on mixing the two EPs this week, and it’s getting close.  Jon Sonnenberg is doing a remix of ‘Wondertime’ (from ‘A Wingless King’), which will be included.  Once he is finished with the remix, we’ll get started mastering and set a release date.  It’ll be 11 or 12 tracks altogether, so basically the equivalent of a full-length.  With our prior releases having all been separated by quite a few years, it’s exciting to be on the verge of releasing two projects within a calendar year.

If another band wanted to re-release old material, or formally release unreleased material such as you have, what advice would you have for them?

DANIEL:  First, make sure you have the copyrights to re-release your old stuff.  Blonde Vinyl has been very good about releasing their artists from any old obligations, allowing us to do a re-release of Sylph. Second, make sure you retain all rights on your material. Third, try to release in a downloadable format; either iTunes or an online megamerchant like Amazon.

JEFF:  Go for it.  The internet makes things possible that bands couldn’t even consider twenty or even ten years ago.  There are enough options out there that there is no reason for anything to be unavailable IMO.

From your perspective, are there any problems with the current music industry?  If so, what can be done to solve them?

JEFF:  The end of the major label’s virtual monopoly over distribution is good for bands that want to do their own thing, but it can also be extremely difficult to get one’s music heard in such a wide open marketplace.  The predictions that ‘In Rainbows’ was going to be the end of the music business as we know it have proven somewhat premature, and most of us who are independent aren’t in Radiohead’s position when it comes to self-releasing material.  I appreciate what MySpace has become in the music world, allowing bands an easy way to connect with fans and be heard.  Anything that puts the quality of one’s music at the forefront at the expense of the mere marketing of image/product is a plus in my estimation.

When I was talking to Michael about the new L.S. Underground record, we also started talking about songs and their meanings. Songs are really interesting in the sense that they can take on a life of their own. I have always been attracted to music based generally on the lyrical content first, and then the music second. That’s not to say if Brittany Spears put out a thought-provoking album I would buy it, I do have to like the music, but the lyrics have always come first for me. That is what drew me into Michael’s art in the first place, the fact that he puts out amazing music that ranges from goth, to new wave, to surfer punk and everything in between, was just icing on the cake. I asked Michael about the meaning, or inspiration, behind five of his songs. It was hard to choose just five, seriously I mean how do you pick out five when he has over four hundred? Anyway, it was a great conversation where Michael flipped the table, and asked me a question or two. It fit great with the story, so it’s all here below for your reading enjoyment.

1.

First up was the song “The Bitterness” off of Life Of David. “That’s basically about being a human being and dealing with life as it comes at you, and understanding that we can learn from the hard times that can make us better. If we didn’t have the hard times, and we only had good times, we couldn’t become a better person. That’s why ‘I love the bitterness’. You gotta love the hard times because they’re gonna grow you as a person, a more loving person and a more whole person.”

2.

The next song we talked about was “Serious” off of Rocket and a Bomb. “That’s all about just not taking life too serious. You know, everyone’s talking about how they lost this girl, or that guy, or they lost their house or their job… why do you take it so serious? You know there is hope at the end of this dark time, there is hope. That’s what I am saying in a nutshell, because there is hope, we don’t need to commit suicide, we don’t need to jump from the Empire State, we don’t need to hang from an oak tree. We don’t need to do that because there is a reason for us to be here, so let’s stay as long as we possibly can.”

3.

Third in line was “Beg and Kick” off of Radioactive Hits. “The lyric that sums it up is ‘you’re sloppy sick when you beg and you kick’. It’s not about begging, it’s not about kicking, it’s about living. There’s no hope in begging and kicking. What about the flow, the flow of humanity, the flow of love and the flow of life. You know, there’s faith, hope and love… there’s no faith, hope and love in begging and kicking, that’s the opposite of Christ, so I’m blaming myself there. I beg, I kick and I’m sloppy sick when I beg and kick.”

4.

Next to last was “Down”, one of my favorites off Comatose Soul. “That’s about Christ in the garden of Gethsemane. He’s praying to the Father, ‘if You can, please take this away from me’. Christ knows what’s going to happen to him, and that’s when He sweats blood, which is one of the most intense things in history. That’s Him talking to the Father, ‘won’t You save me from the down, won’t You throw away this cup that’s hanging around, Your ways, not mine will be found, won’t You save me from the down.”

5.

Last of all was the song “Radio Satan” from Cash In Chaos. Radio Satan was always my favorite track from that album, but after years of trying to figure out the meaning, I decided to ask the man himself. Michael explains, “Basically I was so upset at this Christian radio programmer, and I will never name his name, but he was so against me that I wrote that song about him. Here he was, he was a Christian with a Christian radio show and occasionally he would throw in some alternative rock… his wife really liked my stuff, but he hated my stuff. So, I turned him in to Judas in the song and that’s where ‘the kiss’ leads to murder, and in kissing Christ, Christ becomes the martyr, and, I called this guy Radio Satan. Straight up, straight forward, that is what that song is about. I had some angst, I was a little upset and it made for a decent song that really had a home-run chorus. It’s weird to say ‘Satan’ and put it in a nice chorus you know, it wasn’t giving points to Satan though. It was tearing this guy down, and I was being human, I was being a little judgmental… I never said his name though, and I also knew that people would take it in their own way and it would mean something different to them too, in a cool way, and maybe in an even better way.” This is where Michael flips the role on me and says to me, ” I want you to print this too, what did that song mean to you? This is a perfect example of where a song can transcend from the birth and spawn all sorts of things, what did that song mean to you personally?” My response was that I really had no idea… but Michael said, “C’mon, you must have some thoughts on what it meant?” I honestly didn’t, but then I referred back to the song “Down”, because I could explain that one and what it meant to me. When I purchased Comatose Soul, I had just come out of rehab for drug and alcohol abuse, and being sober I had the daily fighting with myself to stay on the track of being ‘clean’. The lyrics to me spoke of fighting my intuition to drink and use again…”nothing helps the raging trigger when it calls, nothing stops the clever digger when he falls, nothing’s there to convince the will at all.” Those lyrics spoke to me of my will, and how when the pull of substance becomes overwhelming, nothing can convince my will to do anything else. Anyone who has struggled, fallen and struggles some more with drugs and alcohol can relate. The song continues to the chorus, “Won’t you throw away this cup that’s hanging around, Your ways, not mine will be found, won’t You save me from the down.” The cup in that song was a representation of a bottle, or a drug, and it was, for me, a cry to God for my will to find His way and to save me from going ‘down’ again. That song was profound when I first heard it because of the struggle and the fight that I faced on an hourly, and sometimes minute to minute, basis.

That’s where Michael picks back up and says, “That’s what I’m talking about, you see people that read this are going to have their own experiences with the songs if they’ve heard them. Their experiences are just as important, if not more important, than what the original writer thought. That’s why sometimes it’s not good to do an interview and explain the meaning of songs unless people understand that their interpretation many times trumps the writers intent because of what it means to them. That’s the beauty of a song, because of course Christ would also want to help a person trying to get free from an addiction.”

interview by Matt Crosslin, photo courtesy of Joshua Lory

Some may not know how much of a veteran you are.  What is your background in the music scene?

So for me it started in 1991, I went to my first show and saw the Crucified at the Omni in Oakland, Ca. I was hooked after that and tried to make every show I could. A few months after that I saw Veil of Ashes, Dead Artist Syndrome, The 77′s, and The Choir at the same venue. During those years it was rare to see any Christian bands play in Northern California. So Cal was blowing up with great bands. Aside from the Christian shows the Bay Area had an incredible local scene with bands like Green Day, Rancid, AFI, Samiam, Jawbreaker, The Donnas, the list goes on and on. I used to watch all those bands for around $6.00 at either 924 Gilman or the Berkeley Square. Bands like Deftones, No Doubt, and Weezer used to be the opening acts, crazy!

The first time I saw LSU play was in the Las Angeles area 3 days after the Rodney King riots. The show was LSU, The Choir, Altar Boys, and Undercover! Spectacular show, Knott wrapped himself in duct tape and was rolling around on the floor screaming, great set, just to short. When The Choir came on Steve Hindalong came out and wrapped masking tape around his legs in jest of Michael, that was pretty fun.

Around 1992 a place called The Screem started up in Concord, Ca and threw some great shows. Frank Tate was running it. He later went on to manage The Prayer Chain and The 77′s and later started 5 Minute Walk Records. The Screem lasted for quit some time. I was in a local band that played there a couple of times. That’s back when I met Masaki Liu, I recorded at One Way Studio a few times and used to hang out in the background learning as much as I could gather. I also used to roadie for Dime Store Prophets here and there. Masaki taught me so much about music, writing, playing, recording, the business side, and I’m forever grateful for this.

To you, what is the difference between today’s music scene and the way it used to be?

This is a tough question, I could rant for hours on this one. Overall with the state of “Christian” music, I don’t feel the spirit moving the bands like I used to. Everyone is to concerned with image, worst of all worried about being sexy. It sickens me, it really does. Look at the pictures in the album sleeves and magazine adds, pouty lips and all. I think the message is very skewed to Christians and non alike. The bands I grew up on focused more on the music, art, and spirit, not MTV and magazines. It seems like image takes priority over beliefs, I guess. The passion is almost gone, music and art in general is pointless without passion. It also seems like people just gave up on singing and being different, with the exception of underground bands. Also the older bands get little to no respect and that’s sad, Daniel Amos, The Choir, The 77′s, Scaterd Few, The Crucified, LSU, these bands should be bigger than ever. They were the pioneers, I mean The Cure can still pack out venues, and not that these bands were ever that big, but the Cure is still gaining new fans all the time. All the bands I grew up on are all but forgotten. There would be no POD or Underoath without them, but would those bands ever take someone like Scaterd Few on tour now that they’re huge? I doubt it. It’s all business, It’s all very frustrating.

What or who got you interested in music in the first place?

Four things got me interested in music, seeing live shows, hearing the Ramones for the first time, my older brother being in a band, and being the weird kid wanting to fit in. That last one was the biggest, I never fit in with the kids at church, I was a little different, but I loved God all the same and as much as anyone. God used the rock n’ roll in my life to give me the sense of belonging that I was wanting. I finally fit in and had friends, I was the total loner/quiet kid and now I have a purpose and I’m still an individual. I hope that makes sense.

Can you give us a run down of the projects that you are working on?

Aside from the new L.S.Underground, I have a band with my friend Jason Groff. It’s called Western Grace, we play melodic punk in the vein of Hot Water Music and Rise Against. Knott and I are also working on a new Lifesavers album that’s going to be a real fun in the sun kind of record. Andy Verdecchio from Five Iron Frenzy is drumming on that one. Andy and I had a short lived band together while I lived in Denver for a couple of years, so I’m real excited to work with him again.

How did you get connected with L.S.Underground?

I commissioned Michael to do a painting of the Ramones because I knew he was a big fan and he was stoked to do it. In the email I mentioned that I had a home studio and that I wanted to record him someday. We started talking and became friends and he mentioned he wanted to do a real heavy L.S.U. album and I was like “I’m your man!”. He asked if I knew any drummers that were good at double kick and I really didn’t know anybody, though I never told Mike that. I asked Masaki if he knew anybody and he said “what about Jim Chaffin?”….brilliant idea. I got on Myspace (the greatest networking tool ever if your in a band), found Jim, sent a message, he was down, and that was that. So the lesson is never be afraid to ask, but be tactful at the same time, no matter how big of a fan you are, don’t act crazy and scare off the artist, you may get to work with your favorite artist someday. God played the biggest part in bringing this together, answered many, many prayers.

What is it like working with Michael Knott in the studio?

Mike in the studio is very casual, but down to business, he knows what he wants, but also wants to capture the moment. I’m sure he approaches every record different though. He would lay a temporary bass track down to a click and then guide Jim through his ideas for drums. Jim went above and beyond, blew us away with tasteful fills and beats. A few songs were written on the spot at the studio and turned out amazing. We never rehearsed any of these songs as a band. It’s like a freestyle album, no one knew what the finished product would really sound like.

Are you part of the song writing process for the L.S.U. material?  If so, how does that or just the whole band thing work with the distance factor?

I did get to do some writing on this album and that dropped my jaw. During a break I was outside the studio strumming away on an acoustic and Mike was like “that’s really cool, do you want to lay that down for the album?”, heck yeah I do. I worked out the one he heard and in the process came up with another song. I told Knott I had two songs, ran them both by him and Jim, they liked them, then we put ‘em on tape…or computer I guess.

As far as the distance thing goes, most of this album was done by sending disc’s back and forth via mail and email. Once the drums were finished Michael trusted me and left it in my hands to do as I please, I had some direction, but a lot was up to me. I recorded guitars and bass in Northern California while Knott was in SoCal. Casey Prestwood recorded his own guitar tracks out in Denver. I recorded Matt Biggers guitars in the bay area. Michael came back up to record a few vocal tracks a few months later, then went back home with a set of masters to finish up the record with Rick McDonough.Back in the analog tape days that would have been very hard to pull off, ProTools rules!

There are some pretty high caliber people working on the new L.S.U. project.  How did they get involved?

Well, like I said, I found Chaffin on Myspace, by the way Jim is the coolest guy alive, so kind and loving. Casey Prestwood, who is best known for his guitar work in the band Hot Rod Circuit, was my across the street neighbor when I lived in Denver. One of my old bands opened for Hot Rod years before we became neighbors, small world indeed. I’ve known Masaki for a long time. Matt Biggers is an old friend of mine since our teen years. When I get the chance to do studio albums, I try to get all my favorite musician friends involved.

Any future plans for any of the projects you are working on?

Future plans for these projects is to get them in the hands of the people. I’m not out to make a bunch of cash, I’m in it for the art, but I do want the art to be the best it can be, and a little cash is never a bad thing. I’m dying to play some live gigs with Knott, I really hope he wants to do Cornerstone 09, that would be a dream come true. I want to play a lot of live shows with Western Grace as well. We have one album finished and another ready to record. If you want to check us out go to www.myspace.com/westerngracemusic.

Aside from that I want to work with Allan Aguirre someday.

Michael has to be the busiest man in music. If you didn’t already know, not only is he a musician, but he is also a painter, the curator of an art gallery and hard at work on several different projects. In addition to the new L.S. Underground album, there are many things on the horizon. This is good news for all the fans, because there will be a steady stream of Knott projects, as well as projects that he has contributed to in some way. All the pertinent links will be listed at the bottom of the page.

Many of you probably remember Windy Lyre, who was on Michael’s Blonde Vinyl record label back in the early ’90′s. Windy has a new release that will probably be out by the time that you read this. Michael and Windy co-wrote all the songs together. Michael plays guitar and bass, as does Rick McDonough, Michael’s partner in Struck Last May. Michael says, There are some live drums and some loops, it’s a Christian record, it’s very uplifting and was a lot of fun to work on.” The title of the album is Overflow, and can be purchased through Windy’s MySpace page.

Lifesavers are working on a new record as well, the line-up also has Josh Lory from L.S. Underground, as well as a couple of guys from Five Iron Frenzy. That one will be available sometime next year.

Michael is working on a solo record that will also have Brian Doidge playing bass. The title is Even Star, and this one is not a re-working of the oft rumored Losing Angel. Losing Angel, for now at least, has been ditched. Even Star will hopefully come out sometime before Christmas. Michael explains it, “This record is a trip, it’s not super heavy, it’s kind of light as far as the mix and the tones. There are some really cool songs on it.” This album was inspired by Liv Tyler’s character in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and as Michael relates, “It’s not like I’m really in to that kind of stuff, but I was in to her character, so I decided to do a whole record about it. It’s real interesting because it starts to change in to this spiritual thing as well, one where God is involved. It’s a whole different angle, but it’s a trippy record.”

Struck Last May, which is Michael and Rick McDonough, is also working on their second album, due out next year. Knott says, “This one is not as experimental as the first one, but it’s a very fun record. I wish I could give away one of the songs, it’s so cool, but I can’t… I gotta keep it under wraps.” Michael has also helped Rick McDonough mix, and co-produce, the upcoming album for his solo project Hidden From Blackout.

Michael is still in The Rover’s Three, a ‘sort of’ Irish band that also includes his dad Howie, and their friend Chuck. The new release is “Go Irish” which Howie says, “It has 21 hits on it. Some we wrote ourselves, and the others are traditional old school Irish songs.”

Michael is still painting, and I want to say thanks for the self portrait that he graciously did for our cover here at Down The Line. You can check out Michael’s latest paintings available to view, and purchase, at his website listed below. He said when talking about his art, “It’s my heart… it’s my heart, you know, on the canvas.” There will also be original art on the packaging of Even Star. Also, check out www.artloft205.com, which is the gallery that Michael is the curator of. Art Loft is now completely online, so stop by to browse and shop some amazing artists.

In addition, keep an eye out from several projects from Rick McDonough, Michael’s partner in Struck Last May. Rick has the solo project Hidden from Blackout, and that release titled “Break Ups & Fur Coats” is due out later this fall. Rick is also in an amazing band with Peter Kusek called While Rome Is Burning, and their E.P. is due out at the end of this year or the beginning of next year.

Michael Knott: www.michaelknott.com or myspace.com/michaelgerardknott
L.S. Underground MySpace: www.myspace.com/lsunderground
Lifesavers MySpace:  www.myspace.com/lifesaversofficial
Windy Lyre MySpace:  www.myspace.com/windylyre
Struck Last May:  www.myspace.com/strucklastmay or www.strucklastmay.com*
Hidden From Blackout:  hiddenfromblackout.com or myspace.com/hiddenfromblackout
The Rover’s Three:  www.theroversthree.com
Gerard artwork:  www.gerardartwork.com
While Rome Is Burning (Peter Kusek & Rick McDonough): www.whileromeisburning.com* or myspace.com/whileromeisburning
Hail Mary Studios:  hailmarystudios@gmail.com or www.hailmarystudios.com*
* web site under construction

THE MUSIC AND THE MESSAGE, THE HEAVIEST TO DATE

“I’M SCARED ABOUT THIS NEW RECORD, BECAUSE I’VE HAD TO TOTALLY
ENGULF MYSELF IN THIS SUBJECT TO MAKE IT SEEM REAL TO ME”

L.S. Underground is back. It’s been ten years since we have heard from the band that last brought us Dogfish Jones. This is no return to form however, this is Michael Knott doing what he does best, carving out new musical territory and leading the way with what he promised in 2007 would be the heaviest L.S.U. record ever made. Knott has a faithful fan base, and we have been waiting for over a decade, but as Michael says, “I really wouldn’t do a record unless it was about something, and this is definitely about something real.” This, as yet untitled, album tackles the heaviest subject that Michael has ever delved into. It brings Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, or PTSS, into the public arena in an attempt to bring attention to this seriousness of this issue, and the desperate need for help that exists in a very real way. The players on this album are many and include, Michael Knott, Josh Lory, Jim Chaffin, Matt Biggers, Daniel Sonners, Rick McDonough and for the long time fans, Brian Doidge is back! The album is due out on sometime in mid-November 2008, but for now let’s talk about the record and the catalyst that it will be to raise awareness about this sobering syndrome.

For those who are unfamiliar with PTSS, the textbook definition is “an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to one or more terrifying events that threaten or cause grave physical harm. It is a severe and ongoing emotional reaction to an extreme psychological trauma.” PTSS can be brought on by numerous things including rape, physical and mental abuse and war trauma. Statistically 7%-8% of people in the U.S. will develop PTSS in their lifetime, with a life long occurrence in combat veterans as high as 10%-30%. The symptoms include (but are not limited to) nightmares, flashbacks and severe anxiety, and the effects are severe depression and suicide. It is a crippling problem that needs to be addressed. That is what Michael is doing on this album, bringing the attention to the front of his listeners mind. In talking Michael says, “This is not a political album, it is not a pro-war or anti-war record. This is a record about our troops returning from war in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are plenty of stories about them coming back and I wanted to do a record that got to the heart of the fact that some of these men and women are coming home and killing themselves.” He goes on, “The new word is PTSS, because it is a syndrome, not PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) which it has been called because it is not a disorder, but whatever they call it, it’s real.” Michael goes on to tell me a story about a soldier that had just returned home from service, and suffering from PTSS he tried to get help.” His family didn’t know what was going on, he left his wife and his children, he called to try and get help and was told that he would have to have his superiors call in for him. So, he did that, but then he was put on a three month waiting list, and he ends up killing himself.” “There are tons of these stories”, Michael continues, “In Newport Beach this guy with a purple heart, a purple heart, the medal for bravery, he just killed his girlfriend last week, and the government, and us as Americans, we’re not doing a damn thing about this… I knew one thing I could do, I could write a record about it, that’s what I can do.” When I told Michael I had just read a report that the Army’s suicide rate is the highest it has ever been he said, “Yeah I know and CNN is not reporting this, Fox News is not reporting this, there is no one that is going to report that. That is why I am here to make this record, and why you are here to promote this record, because people have to understand that these soldiers are completely hurting and they are killing themselves at record rates.”

There is an urgency when talking to Michael about this record, because not only are people hurting, but there is not readily available care for these soldiers either. The obstacles are many, and these soldiers are trained and conditioned to not ask for help. So asking is the first hurdle, but when asked there needs to be something in place to accommodate these men and women right away. Knott continues, “These soldiers are trained to be self reliant, you do not cower down, you suck it up and you deliver. That’s just not human nature, we are under our Creator, and we are not God, people are just not getting it. You know we still have all these veterans from Vietnam, and now there’s a whole new crop from Iraq and Afghanistan. These guys come home and it’s supposed to be all rosy? Well, it’s not! These guys gotta stand in line, get on a list and then maybe, maybe in four months someone will see them. Think about this, at least in the Marines you know that you may see your friends die, but not in the National Guard, not at all, or at least not in the beginning. These men and women serve one weekend a month, but now they are being sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, and they are watching their friends get their heads blown off, they are having to shoot people… the point is when they come home we say, “Congratulations, you made it,”… what are we thinking!? We are in complete denial about what happens to these soldiers when they return home, big time denial. I will probably be able to touch on 10% of what happens to these soldiers on this record, 10% if I’m lucky.”

This record is about the specifics of PTSS, but there are many scenarios in which the point is driven home. This is not a concept album, or a rock opera like many of L.S.U.’s previous offerings or Michael’s solo endeavors. There are many different stories in this album, different stories found in the different songs. “I have one song on the album,” Michael says, “a song that’s called ‘Child’s Prayer’… and it’s heavy, the lyrics just say, “Jesus, Jesus help my dad,” and this child just keeps repeating this because his dad has just screamed, broken stuff and then left. The little child is freaked out and he’s left wondering “what has happened to my Dad, this is not the same Dad that I had before he went to Iraq or Afghanistan, this is very bad’. That’s the idea for this album, if I can touch on several different issues so that people can hear about the guy that committed suicide, or so people can hear about the child’s prayer, or people can hear about someone who has come home and after enduring war and doesn’t understand why he still gets struck by lightning.”

As mentioned earlier, the problem that exists is not just getting these soldiers home, but also what to do once they are home. As Michael says, “You know what pisses me off the most? We bring them on home, we say ‘okay’ now you’re out of harms way. Congratulations, go back to work, go back to your family, and you know what they think when they wake up in the morning? They think GUN, AMMO, FOOD… that’s the three things they think when they walk out the door, do I have my gun, my ammo and my food. Then the reality comes back and they think, ‘Wait a minute, I’m here in America’… but they get in their car, and they drive down the middle of the road, not the left or right, but the middle, and everything on the side of the road is a potential bomb, and WE are not dealing with that.” There are not programs set up that deal specifically with PTSS. There are not treatments for these troops where they can call, and then come in and get help. Once they come to grips with their issues, they are placed on waiting lists that can last for months and months on end. Michael continues, “There are all sorts of things dealt with in the record, and it doesn’t give you a complete map to hope at the end… but, the point is that we need to find places for these people so if they call, if they work up the courage to call, or if their wife or husband call, or if their kid crying pushes them to call, then they need to get help right then, that day, period!

As you can tell, this is a heavy subject matter, and one that Michael feels very deeply about. It is a record that Michael describes as, “Not the prettiest record, it’s gonna be dark, but these people are hurting.” So, what can be done, and is there hope for a solution? It is a disturbing reality that these soldiers face, and it is something that we, as a society, have to do something about. Michael, discussing one song, says, “This one song on the album comes to this final point, where all the little children are holding hands and believing in love. If God is love, than what is love fighting for? I don’t understand why people believe that God has told them to kill somebody, I don’t get that? I understand that God is fighting for love, because God is love and He’s fighting for truth. I’m a little upset about… ya know, the radicals, and I don’t want to name religions here… but the ones that believe God has told them to wipe out America… so, if all the children, all the little children, before they were inducted into this or that, if they all held hands they would believe in love. Allot of times when we become adults and start believing in many things, we find rifts between us all, and we need to look back at the little children and how Christ said, ‘Let the little children come to me, because unless you become like a little child, you will not enter the kingdom of God’. There are so many aspects of this war, and this PTSS, that we haven’t even tapped into at all. I’m mainly singing about the troops that come back home to America. This is about one part, one angle, one vehicle that I have that I feel strongly about and that is that we need to help these soldiers here in America.”

There does seem to be a sign that maybe things are getting better, or at least social attitudes have improved. Michael relates, “It’s better than it was in Vietnam, those kids came home to people spitting at them and being called murderers, and then what, they’re supposed to just go live their lives? So, it’s better today than it was, but the problem is there is still no help.” He does want to make it clear that not everyone who returns from Iraq and Afghanistan suffers from PTSS. Again, this is just a record that deals with those who do suffer this particular syndrome. He explains, “Most of the soldiers that come back are fine, and they are not going to be having these problems. But, there are allot that are forgotten that are going to need help. So I don’t want to make a blanket statement that everyone who saw combat will suffer from PTSS, the statistics don’t show that and just because they come back from war does not mean that they are going to be affected. It’s the ones that want help… that know that they need help. So, I don’t know what the answer is… I mean I think God is one of the answers, but at the same time the mental health field needs to be setting up programs where these guys can sit down and talk about stuff together. Where they can cry, and get pissed off and break something and work their way through it. There’s just nothing like that right now, but I’m sure there will be soon. In our day and age I think something will be done because stuff like this doesn’t get swept under the rug as much as it used to. There’s allot of people that care.”

This record will drop, and drop hard sometime in November of this year. Musically it is the heaviest L.S. Underground album to date. Michael wrote most of the songs on bass and guitar, but he handles primarily just the vocals. As he describes it, “There are some ethereal moments on it, some ‘Bowie vocal moments’ in there, and some screamo vocals… it kind of runs the gamut in a lot of ways. I hooked up with Josh Lory who was a believer in L.S.U., and I had always wanted to do a heavy album with double kick, so Josh went out and found Jim Chaffin from The Crucified, and Chaffin was perfect with the double kick. Rick McDonough is also on board, who most will recognize as the other half of Michael’s other band Struck Last May. In addition, Brian Doidge is back and that will surely please the long time fans. Josh Lory describes the record this way, “This record re-defines music in a couple of ways. First, the music on the album is a meld of classic rock, punk, post-punk, metal, spacey guitars and driving rhythms. There are elements of The Ramones, Led Zepplin, The Cure, Black Sabbath, Queens Of The Stone Age, Bauhaus, etc., all intertwined without being a train wreck. Jim Chaffin’s drumming put it over the top, pulling the double kick style out of being pigeon holed to just metal. I dare you to find anything that sounds like it. Second, the lyrics are H-E-A-V-Y. Guys like Springsteen will only touch on a subject matter like this on a song or two, but a whole album!?! I’ve heard many records in my 32 years, but nothing like this.” As far as plans to tour behind the album, Michael said, “I don’t know. If we can set dates and are able to promote it I would love to, we’ll just have to see.”

L.S.U. has also reformed with Joshua Lory on bass guitar and recorded an album. Jim Chaffin of the Crucified played drums to make what will surely be the heaviest L.S.U. album to date. Matt Biggers, Casey Prestwood, and Masaki Liu also worked on the new album. Fans call also pre-order the CD for $12, which will also get them a copy of a few songs from his lyric book, signed and numbered. Pre-order ends October 15th, so hurry! See MySpace.com/lsunderground.

Western Grace
Joshua Lory of L.S.U. had a punk/rock band called Bury Me Deep that had to reform into a new band called Western Grace. See their MySpace page at MySpace.com/westerngracemusic for song songs from their debut album “Off the Edge of the World”, which is currently be re-worked for release. A second album is also in the works.

Rick McDonough
Rick McDonough of Struck Last May also has two side projects: Hidden From Blackout and Paravell. Hidden From Blackout has an album coming out soon (a “collection of emotional reflections and cinematic soundscapes”), and Paravell already has an album out called “An Evening of Stars and Dreams” on PopVox Music. See:

MySpace.com/hiddenfromblackout
MySpace.com/paravell

Daniel Amos
Daniel Amos is actively re-issuing classic out of print albums. Recent releases included Vox Humana, as well as Terry Taylor’s “Random Acts & Hodgepodge,” the Michael Roe/ Taylor collaboration record “All Day Sing and Dinner on the Ground,” and Swirling Mellow by the Swirling Eddies. Some of these releases feature new packaging or song order. Get’ em while their hot (and in print) online at DanielAmos.com/store/.

In “related (but so cool it deserves its own bullet point)” news, the classic Darn Floor, Big Bite by Daniel Amos is being re-mastered and re-issued by Stunt Records and the Arena Rock Recording Co. The new deluxe 2 disc edition will include new artwork & packaging (including 20 pages of liner notes and photos), a new interview with Terry Taylor, and “never-before-heard” bonus material. Keep an eye on DanielAmos.com for this one.

The 77s + Mike Roe
The 77s have a new album out called Holy Ghost Building, a collection of old gospel, blues and bluegrass tunes that the band felt said something about themselves. See 77s.com for ordering details. The classic 77s Christmas album Happy Chrimbo has also been re-released, and word on the street is that other albums such as the out of print Direct ep could also see the light of say soon.

Mike Roe of the 77s had a late summer solo tour planned, but changed his mind. A recent announcement indicated that there are plans for an upcoming 77s Unplugged / 7&7iS tour this fall.

The Lost Dogs
By the time you read this, The Lost Dogs will probably have completed their uber-cool Route 66 Tour. The goal is record interesting encounters while traveling the historic Mother Road, performing impromptu concerts along the way. Plans are to send out post cards and video blogs along the way, as well as giving fans the chance to follow their moves vie GPS. They even posted the license plate of their RV along with a picture of said RV so that you can find them on the road. The tour will end with a beach party at the Santa Monica pier in California, where the band will share new songs and clips from the road. See TheLostDogs.com for details.

Sincerely Paul + Slide
Thanks in large part to a blog post at ChristianNewWave.WordPress.com, former members of Blonde Vinyl recording artists Sincerely Paul have connected formed a new project called Slide (Slide had the song “The Black and the Blue” on the R.E.X. Demo-lition 2 compilation in the 90s). Jim Preston and Mike Baker have purchased the rights to re-issue the classic Grieve album by Sincerely Paul as a deluxe edition that will contain demos and live songs. Slide will also be recording an album, reportedly to includes a re-worked version of “The Black and the Blue.” See SlideMusicGroup.com.

Adam Again
AdamAgain.com is still in the works and should be up and running soon. If you haven’t heard, Chenka-Chenka Music has a CD for sale of Gene’s last work before he passed away – including some unreleased songs. See Chenka-chenkamusic.com for more details.

Ethereal Soul
Does the name Ethereal Soul ring a bell? They were an underground heavy alternative funk band connected with Dig Hay Zoose that was signed to Blonde Vinyl before that label folded. They released an independent CD and tape, as well as loaning their guitarist/vocalist/main songwriter Jeremy Walla to Dig Hay Zoose for a tour. Jeremy has put up an Ethereal Soul memorial site online at EtherealSoul.com where you can listen to their entire second album, Not Bad For a White Boy in all its streaming glory.

4-4-1
4-4-1 has an active web site. They have also re-issued their first two albums on CD. Check out their web site at 441online.com for information, videos, and a link to their MySpace page. According to a blog post on said MySpace page, 4-4-1 is in the Jason Martin studio recording new songs with the Martin brothers. These tracks will be added to the Broken Reunion live tracks.

The Brothers Martin
Speaking of the Martin brothers, Jason and Ronnie Martin, formerly of Blonde Vinyl recording artists Dance House Children, have reunited to form The Brothers Martin. They released one album on Tooth & Nail records last year with a heavy 80s retro vibe.

Key Records
Key Records has returned with a new website and much more at Geocities.com/jeanibond/. Currently available are re-issues of independent underground Christian bands from the 80s and 90s, like The Lifesavors, Louvre, The Coolers, Labor of Love, and just about everything else Mark Krischak has been involved with. This site is a treasure trove of underground releases. There is even an archives page under construction that will “offer downloads of old radio shows, pics, pages from old zines, etc, to try to give you a glimpse of what the cut and paste/cassette/zine revolution was like in the 80s.” Three early radio shows are already up for download.

Dakota Motor Co.
About a year ago Dakota Motor Co. announced that they were reforming with all original members and recording an album. Still not sure if that is still happening, but if anything happens it will probably be posted at DakodaMotorCo.com

Deitiphobia
Wikipedia says that Deitiphobia released a compilation album called Sweet:Hereafter in 2007, but I have no idea where to find it. There are also some dub remixes of classic Deitiphobia songs on their MySpace page (MySpace.com/dphb3k). Word on the street is that Massivivid might be making a comeback album (well, okay – that street is actually called Wikipedia).

Absence of Ceramics
If you were a fan of the underground alternative band Absence of Ceramics, we have good news and bad news for you. The good news is that there is a MySpace page up with two unreleased songs. The bad news is that it hasn’t been updated in a while. Check it out at MySpace.com/absenceofceramics

Bill Mallonee / Vigilantes of Love
The Vigilantes of Love are back together and currently touring around the South. Bill Mallonee also has a site specifically for downloading and listening to his demos called Works Progress Administration. Missing any old Vigilantes albums? Download all of them from the official Vigilantes of Love download site. If that isn’t enough for you, keep up with all of the news and tour dates at Bill’s official site:

http://www.billmallonee.net

Seventh Circle
Adam Pederson, moderator of Saviour Machine’s arena and merchandise has his new album up for free download. Here’s the press release – The band Seventh Circle has just released their debut album titled The Struggle. The album is co-produced and mixed by Eric Clayton. He contributed vocals to a couple tracks on the album as well.

Seventh Circle is a project from Adam Pederson who runs merchandise for SM and has worked with Eric on the Rarities/Revelations CD set as well as the Limited Edition Legend albums. It is worth noting that Seventh Circle is not a Christian project as many people believe it to be. Adam simply calls it music from his heart, nothing more or less. He spent over six years writing and recording the album, and was very grateful to be able to have Eric involved in the final production and mixing of the album. All those involved are very proud of the album and we hope you enjoy it!

It is available via free download right now by visiting this web page: www.seventhcircle.net/struggle.htm. You can also purchase a CD or a higher quality download.

Retroactive Records
We don’t cover much metal here, because there are plenty of sites that do that (like FireStream.net). But Matt loves the metal, so if you also are in to classic metal – Retroactive Records is the label for you to follow. They have already re-issued a whole slew of hard to find albums by Armageddon, Deliverance, Rosanna’s raiders, and more. Upcoming releases should include the first two Deliverance albums. Now if we could just get someone to do the same with classic alternative albums that are out of print. They don’t’ keep their site up-to-date that much, but it is the best place to keep an eye for this kind of stuff:

MySpace.com/retroactivewreckage

Knottheads Revamps
Knottheads.com is unveiling a new look this week. Look for even more content and information on Michael Knott that you ever knew was available.

Send Us Your News
Got a band that you think fits in here? Send your news announcements to downthelinezine@gmail.com

WELCOME TO DOWN THE LINE E-ZINE

I’ve noticed that most magazines seem to have a few blurbs about something right about here. This being the first issue and all, I can’t say that I have a whole bunch of cutesy thoughts to say right here. Creating an online free magazine that doesn’t have to worry about advertisements and really even deadlines is actually pretty stress free. The hardest part seemed to be coming up with the name.

You see, I originally thought about calling this Ritalin magazine. The music industry seems to suffer from a heavy case of Attention Deficit Disorder, so I thought we would be the medicine to help them stay focused. Other than the obvious copyright issues, I also didn’t think pharmacists would really appreciate thinking they are going to get some research on a popular medicine only to be assaulted by our crazy take on the music world. But the title would have really fit with the cover painting, to say the least…

So, our first issue down, and enough interviews lined up to fill another issue or two. Maybe even a few other surprises ‘down the line’ (insert cheesy drum roll here). We keep a blog about the progress of our ‘zine as well as other random thoughts we have, so feel free to stop by and leave a comment.

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

Microcredit is “the extension of very small loans (microloans) to the unemployed, to poor entrepreneurs and to others living in poverty who are not considered bankable.” While some institutions take advantage of the poor by charging high interest rates, some organizations provide microloans that allow the poor to start a business and learn to provide for themselves. Once these businesses are sustainable, the business owner can repay the loan and start helping others to start small businesses. The goal is to help people willing to work to begin supporting themselves. Organizations like Kiva (http://www.kiva.org) can make this process easy for those of us in the Western world to support those who are less fortunate than us. Visit their page to see how you can help. (Kiva did not buy this ad nor do they endorse this magazine – just givin’ ya food for thought)

Online Exclusive Article:

• Final Axe – Beyond Hell’s Gate review

Print Articles:

• FAQ
• News
• Steve’s Corner
• Matt’s Musings and Meanderings
• The Return of L.S. Underground: “The Music And The Message, The Heaviest To Date”
• Michael Gerard Knott: Things He’s Done, Things Still To Come
• 9 Questions For Joshua Lory of L.S.U.
• Michael Knott: The Songs That Sometimes Take on a Life of Their Own
• Writ On Water: Keeps The Music Flowing After All These Years
• Allan Aguirre and Scaterd Few
• Looking Inside by Matt Crosslin (1997)

Reviews:

• Michael Knott – Comatose Soul
• Writ on Water – A Wingless King
• Struck Last May – 16 Flowers
• The Rover’s Three – A Kind O’ Irish Band
• Bill Mallonee – Lower Case
• The 77s – Ninety-Nine
• The 77s – Holy Ghost Building
• Aradhna – Amrit Vani
• Chris Freeman – City of God
• D-T-L Live Report: The 77s 6-20-2008
• D-T-L Live Report: Bill Mallonee and Muriah Rose 8-13-2008

Credits:

EDITORS: Matt Crosslin and Steve Ruff
MARKETING: Oopppsss… forgot that
WRITERS: Steve Ruff, Matt Crosslin
COVER IMAGE: Self Portrait by Michael Knott
LAYOUT: Matt Crosslin
WEB DESIGN: Matt Crosslin for Monsoon River Designs

Contact:

WEBSITE: www.downthelinezine.com
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.

ALL IMAGE AND STORIES ARE THE COPY RIGHT OF THEIR RESPECTIVE CREATOR. YOU MUST HAVE PERMISSION TO RE-USE, RE-PUBLISH, OR RE-PRINT ANYTHING IN THIS MAGAZINE. SO THERE.