Having discovered “Christian Music” by my aunt’s boyfriend handing over a cassette he’d made me of Daniel Amos’s Horrendous Disc, I had since been on the lookout for anything with the name “Terry Scott Taylor” printed on it.
When I came across this colorful album sporting strange song titles, Rickenbacker guitars and “produced by Terry Taylor,” I quickly snapped it up. The album was called Knock Breathe Shine by a band called Jacob’s Trouble. It blew my young mind with it’s cryptic wording, chime-dripping guitars, melodic vocals, and McCartney style bass playing. I wrote to the band, sent them my latest bedroom recorded mess-ter-piece and continued my obsession with my new favorite album.
About a week later I received a butter and tea-stained letter from Jerry Davison, soon followed by a letter from Mark Blackburn. I became and remained long-distance friends with these guys ever since.
When going backwards in their catalog I was kinda thrown by how blatantly Christian their lyrics were in their first album, Door Into Summer. I was expecting more of the artsy and poetic kinda thing that I was into at the time. The very 60’s sound along with the catchy melodies are what hooked me, at first, to Door. There was something about the straightforwardness of the lyrics that made me uneasy, but in a way that also was a revelation to me. What Door taught me more than anything was to be who you are, express what you believe and let it all ooze out of you for all to see, if they care to look.
25 Live finds the JT boys, Mark Blackburn (guitars and vocals), Steve Atwell (Bass and vocals), and Jerry Davison (Vocals and drums)…well, 25 years later. Obviously they expressed who they were and what they believed when they were all in their mid 20’s because the songs ring the same bell of conviction today. Both Pastor Blackburn and Davison are still very involved in the church and all 3 have kept their musical juices flowing. Steve played bass in a band “Janah”, Mark made 2 solo albums and Jerry had a project called “Sideways 8”.
The live album features Jerry’s son Eric on drums and guitar and Mark’s son Nathan on guitar, mandolin, and pedal steel.
Let’s hope for an album of new songs from these boys in the future!
[2015 Independent | Purchase: jacobstrouble.bandcamp.com]
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