Music Industry Discussion

Hey!

Sorry for the delay in responding. got busy and got off line.

anyway, concerning your question about whether or not to avoid adds that advertise themselves as a Christian band. By all means, you should not avoid them.

But please keep in mind that, just like in anything else, there are those who are the epitome of kindness and open-mindedness and those who are rigid and closed. This isn't unique to Christianity. Heck! I've seen rock bands, R&B bands, etc. etc. who are just as closed. And don't even mention metal bands. to many of them "it's metal or nothing.

What makes a band Christian is two things: #1. the musicians in the band are Christians, that is, they hold themselves to a standard of principles and guidlines spelled out in the Bible that guides their day to day living. #2. The music they play (specifically the lyrics) has a message. Here's where it gets a bit more complicated. You see, very conservative bands will have a message that is overtly and only about God and/or His son, Christ. After all, He is the root of Christianity, both in word and faith. Less conservative bands will sing the same type of songs but also allow their selections to expand to include songs that are contemporary and may be about the trials of life, happiness, nature or love songs. for instance I've written a song about my wife. what makes it christian is the fact that a christian wrote it. Additionally, there is nothing offensive in the lyrics. this is another must for christian lyrics. no explicit, vulgar or profane lyrics.

There is so much more that i can say but this is already getting too long.

So here's the deal, in my opinion (as also all that has been said is my opinion) you would probably find yourself terribly blessed by joining a christian band. think of it, no contending with profanity, alcohol, drugs, etc. it is a wonderful invironment.

My disclaimer: there are bands out there calling themselves "christian" but their lifestyle and conduct resembles the self destructive lifstyles of the worst bands you've ever heard of.

Life is filled with risk. Of course, there are some risk that should not be taken but concening other risk, if you don't take one every once in a while you will grow complacent and waist away.

By the way, I love blues an jazz and do attend jazz concerts. Jazz is great music, man! you can't go wrong there.

God Bless!

OK, Vstan, you set me straight.
One thing you said is important to me, also . . .
"Additionally, there is nothing offensive in the lyrics. this is another must for christian lyrics. no explicit, vulgar or profane lyrics."
.
I realize that a lot of styles of music revel in being vulgar or shocking.
.
I personally feel that music should make you feel good. No room in my music for anger, hatred, or attacks of any sort.
.
Another key phrase, to me, "wonderful environment."
.
Those are my opinions. Thanks for your opinions.
.
Oh, yeah; one more thing you said, in which we are in agreement, " Jazz is great music, man! you can't go wrong there. "
In that case, you might like my song "The 4th Emotion." It's bass and acoustic guitar only. Listen to the song, and you can hear the emotions change - 4 parts to the song - 4 emotions in all.
And, every emotion is some shade of upbeat . . .

OK, Vstan, you set me straight.
One thing you said is important to me, also . . .
"Additionally, there is nothing offensive in the lyrics. this is another must for christian lyrics. no explicit, vulgar or profane lyrics."
.
I realize that a lot of styles of music revel in being vulgar or shocking.
.
I personally feel that music should make you feel good. No room in my music for anger, hatred, or attacks of any sort.
.
Another key phrase, to me, "wonderful environment."
.
Those are my opinions. Thanks for your opinions.
.
Oh, yeah; one more thing you said, in which we are in agreement, " Jazz is great music, man! you can't go wrong there. "
In that case, you might like my song "The 4th Emotion." It's bass and acoustic guitar only. Listen to the song, and you can hear the emotions change - 4 parts to the song - 4 emotions in all.
And, every emotion is some shade of upbeat . . .

I'll check it out. being a bass player i love music that makes it a prominant instrument. Believe it or not, because I'm a bassplayer, all my original music begins with a bass lin and then I add all the other instrument. Check out the song "Boom, Boom" at http://bandmix.com/vstanvstanleycom/. All instruments and vocals are played and sung by yours truly.

Too bad you don't live in the Northern Virginia area. not only could you rock out with our band but we could also check out some great jazz in local venues in Washington DC.

Hope you find a good (Christian) group of gracious people to become a part of, Bro.

Victor

I liked your tune. I can hear some ideas for adding to it instrumentally with, say, some warm stings from a keyboard and some light percussion. Cool. you're good.

Hey, by the way, are those really your fingers in that picture? Man! talk about developing guitar player callouses.

Peace!

Victor

Thanks for your comments.
I think most of my songs (yet to be posted) will have drums/percussion.
.
I listened to "Boom-Boom." Nice overall sound to the song. I like the snap of your bass. I think it's a cool kind of funky pattern, too.
Good vocals - you won't hear me singing in any of my songs - I think my voice is unpalateable.
I think you've got the longest song I've heard on this site yet - over 5 minutes!
I have a hard time keeping some of my songs short . . .
.
You said,"Too bad you don't live in the Northern Virginia area."
True.
I think that our synergy would produce some really good new sounds . . .
.
I'll be posting more songs in the future. I have no shortage of originals, and I've recently shifted my emphasis from creating to recording . . .
.
Yes, those are my callouses. Some of my music is quite high in 'cpm,' (Chords-per minute).
Playing some of my songs for 1 minute can be the equivelant of playing 4 - 5 cover songs, in the same amount of time.
On an acoustic guitar, that can really beat up your fingers after 3 hours of playing or so . . .
My fingers look like that about 2 - 3 times a week. 1 or 2 days later, they look completely normal.
Nice talking.

VStan,
I just heard "Not My Will.
Nice full sound to it. And definately upbeat.
It's a different type of upbeat than what I do - and I like it.
Minors tend to make a song sad: C - Em - Am. But yet this song was upbeat.
The lead singing and the nicely-performed harmonies were balanced real well, . . instruments good, recording good . . .
Again, nice full sound . . .
Good job.

Check out a band called Ashes Remain on my space...I bought their CD!!!
I am a Christian also...they reallly rock!!

Hey everyone. I play on the rotation for our church worship team. I write songs in all different styles but my favorite is old school Christian Hard Rock. Last year I finally threw together some tunes, pooled up a few dollars, recorded and produced a CD project and now its starting to really grow in popularity in the Christian metal scene also Europe and Japan.
The web site is www.letter7rocks.com if you wanna know more...

...My point is I feel if you are given the gift to play music, then God has huge plans for you. All you gotta do is keep Jesus first, dream your dream, pray for it, then go for it. Then watch what God can do. - JD

PS check out www.angelicwarlord.com for all kinds of different sounding Christian Rock

I am glad to find a thread for Christian musicians here. I am new to this site and came in hoping to find a keyboard player in the San Antonio,Tx area that would fit in our band.

I have been playing drums my whole life. The last 20 years spent playing rock n roll in clubs and private parties. The last 7 years or so has seen my life take a turn down a different path. Now I am drumming in church! We have a praise/worship group that has actually turned out to be a pretty good band. We are all volunteer musicians which means you tend to get various levels of musicianship. Fortunatly, our level has increased to a higher and more serious level.

I recently had a calling to form a new "road band." We will be taking our music to different churches and venues around our town. I am looking forward to see what direction God intends this ministry to go in.

I have found that playing in church and helping lead worship has easily become the highlight of my musical journey thus far. Playing in front of 200-300 worshiping Christians is way better than playing before thousands of drunken bar patrons yelling "FREEBIRD" all night long. It just has a new and better meaning now.

Sorry for the long rambling post. I am glad to meet my fellow Christian musician brothers and sisters here and I hope to read more encouraging posts concerning what we do.

Glenn<><

As one of the pioneers of Christian Rock, I can tell all of you from experience that if you're going to do this, commit to it and be prepared. There's no end to the trials, tribulation, and judgement you'll face from within and without the Body of Christ.
We were out there in the early 80's slugging it out in churches and bars alike. We were persecuted by the Church (we got credit for subversion in Swaggart's book) and were actually beaten up (physically, one night after a particularly evangelical gig in a bar) by the World.
After several albums, ruined marriages, and broken lives, we finally called it quits.
If you take up this cross, I hope you're strong enough to carry it.

I am a Christian musician and proud of it.

I had heard a very good message that could be applied to this topic.

That is that as Christians we can't hide from or fear the world. We have to wade into it and take it on. That means we play bars, we play festivals we play anywhere. It is how we conduct ourselves and the example we set that sets us a part and how we get our message across.

I have long hair and look like I do drugs. People are amazed to find I don't drink, smoke or do drugs, can play and that I am a Christian simply because I don't fit their definition of a Christian. It's amazing after they are cursing, drinking, acting stupid or whatever in front of me and I am not lecturing them and then they find out I am a Christian they don't know how to react. It's actually pretty funny. It has to do with what I mentioned earlier. Lead by example, without being beligerent.

That being said I will play with secular musicians as quickly as Christian as long as the substance of the music is not insulting to God such as black metal, etc. (this is open to debate and ones opinion as to what is insulting and we will leave it there.)

It's not the people in Church who need to be reached, it's the ones who are not there and sitting in a bar etc.

This is an interesting forum chain. I've seen a few things that stuck out as compromising and I believe need to be exposed as that. With my bands name being "Dawn IN The Darkness" we went over and over the idea of playing in BARS. Now there's a difference between playing at a bar and a venue. A bar, with ALL EXCUSES aside, is a place MADE FOR SIN. What happens in bars,,, and when we say bars we're NOT talking about a Restaurant with a bar like fridays or Pepi's or something like that,,, a BAR. Here's what you find during the time when Music is played, usually around 8-2 or 4am. Women who are dressed like prostitutes, 80% of the people are intoxicated beyond inteligent conversation or comprehension, lude behavior. The lure is NOT the music, Music is the add on, just like the "GRILL" side of "BAR and grill" It's not a venue, where Music IS the attraction, and the BAR is the add on. Sure at a venue, there will be those sloshed out of their comprehension,,, but there is still a sea of others who are there FOOOOOORRRRR the music.

If you are called of God to REACH OUT, then you must be a ***signet ring on God's hand. When he sends you out, they must see him and his call. Christ came for the sinner, the filthy and evil, but Christ going to Zacchaeus house and dinning with "sinners" (as the pharisees put it) is not the same as GOING to a PLACE set aside for SIN in an attempt to do what Christ did. It's not a matter of being better than someone here, it's a matter of faith and compromise.

WHERE IS YOUR FAITH? Where is your belief in God's holiness. A COMPROMISING PEOPLE will leave no "GOSPEL" with the lost. Music has been a victim of the Devils distortion, but bars have not. Music is God's just like sex is,,, God made them to be pure in a context. With sex, it's marriage, with music, it's the Lyrics and the spirit behind the music,,, not the notes or style.

(Pause to mention,,, SCREAMO,,, "Faith comes by HEARING, and HEARING by the word of God"... If no one can understand your lyrics UNLESS they buy the album, or go the website to actuall READ what they can't make out in the EH HEM "VOCALS", or have them SPOKEN to them outside of EH HEM "singing" of the song, then how is that doing what you do to actaully reach the Lost with the TRUTH of the WORD that heals all souls? People need the TRUTH as Paul put it,,, THE GOSPEL IS THE POWER THAT SAVE LIVES!!! The world offers TONS OF AWESOME MUSIC, We need that music to be awesome,,, I believe my band is at that quality level,,, believe me that's NOT A SMALL ISSUE TO ME EITHER! With out quality, the world won't listen, but WITH OUT THE TRUTH BEING CLEAR and without pointing to the ONLY ONLY ONLY SOLUTION FOR THE SEAS DYING SOULS, then the music is like a blank being fired from a gun,,, LOUD but with no impact. [read our lyrics, their meaning and purpose is clear, and uncompromising, but not "churchy"])

FOLLOWERS OF JESUS, This life is short and there is no time for fickle compromise. GOD IS BIG ENOUGH to raise whom he wants to raise and put them in the public eye with out sending his people into a place that may as well be a strip club. (WHAT!?!?!) Yes, the only difference is that most bars don't have poles where women take off their clothes as the main attraction, but ANY BAR that's open till 2am has had (most comonly) woman who flash or make out with other women or men that they don't know or women that may as well be naked, people doing horrilby sexual things, and people who dance SO DIRTY and wicked... don't try to lie to me and tell me that this is a NUETRAL ground for CHRIST FOLLOWERS to be in.

HERE IT IS, OUR TYPE OF PEOPLE (musicians/metal heads in my case) ARE THE TARGET OF GOD'S HEART! HE LOVES THEM, HE WANTS TO REACH THEM AND SHOW THEM HIS TRUTH AND LOVE!!!! YOUR MUSIC, YOUR CALL TO REACH THE LOST is first HIS DREAM!!! He will draw them out and to him self,,, His word says "If you lift MY NAME up, I will draw all men unto myself!"

The bottom line is that TRUE FOLLOWERS of a HOLY GOD would not have anything to do with Bars as much as they wouldn't have anything to do with Strip clubs.

Bars/strip clubs belong to satan and if you truly want to be a testimony that draws the lost to Christ,,, don't hate bars, don't curse the darkness, don't close your self off from people who do those things,,, JUST PRAY. Ask yourself, how much do you really pray that God would DRAW the Lost to his Gospel through you and/or your music?
IF God wants to use your music to reach the Lost he will do it. HAVE FAITH, and don't believe the Lie that so many Christians fall into, that BARS are an absolutely UNAVOIDABLE part of Getting your music to the lost. Not that people who go to bars to try and reach out are evil and desire compromise, I've tried it too, But it IS a lie.

I'm sorry but We're all going to die really soon in the light of ETERNITY, and we don't have time waste on SELF FILLED, FAITH LESS attempts to reach the Lost with OUR GREATEST HUMAN EFFORTS. That's right, FAITH LESS HUMAN EFFORTS, it's impossible to please God without faith!!! "I have faith!!!" You say,,, Fine, then if you want to see those people in the bars encounter Christ Love,,, THEN PRAY THAT GOD WOULD MAKE A PURE WAY TO REACH THEM!!! "Oh come on, ME going into reach the Lost is a pure way!!!!" What,,, has God forgotten these people? Does God want you to go into these overwhelmingly wicked and evil places to reach them, WE KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT!!! God's Big enough to get to those people and draw them out.

STILL NOT CONVINCED, fair enough.

Before you go to your next Bar to "reach out" to the lost,, try praying to God in the morning for God to give you an oportunity to share the Gospel outside of the bar with SOMEONE that WOULD GO TO A BAR, and see what he does.... Don't tell me that A person in that bar will NEVER GET SAVED unless YOU go into the bar to pull them out!!! WHERE IS YOUR FAITH!!!

Then ask God to give you that same opportunity IN the bar, and see which one has any real fruit. (I'm only saying this to those who are TRULY LOOKING FOR GOD TO ANSWER THEM, I'm not advocating that you should be going to bars! This is only for those who are truly confused and really want to reach the lost and ONLY reach the lost!) I don't doubt that God can use our HEART FELT blunders,,, like trying to preach the Gospel in a Strip club or bar, but it's only because of his Grace, not his agenda.

***Haggai 2:23
23 " 'On that day,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,' declares the LORD, 'and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,' declares the LORD Almighty."
Tony Parma
www.myspcae.com/DITD1
(Dawn In The Darkness)
www.myspace.com/getting_back_my_life (underscores)
(Tony and Amy)
Love is as strong as Death.
Song of Solomon 8:6

For you to question my, or any other Christians faith is way out of bounds.

Gods work will be done ANYTIME, ANYPLACE HE decides and as stated we must wade into and confront evil, not run from or fear it.

The difference, as Christians we are not to indulge in it.

After reading that entire entry, if you can still find a way to justify Christians going to bars to "reach out" then by all means, go for it!
But as for being out of bounds, as Paul said, "you show me your faith without deeds, and I'll show you my faith with deeds." His word is clear, imitate your leaders. As for being afraid of evil,,, ha, never, we have the power of God, but God's WORD, which is the END to the disgussion of EVERY matter, says "do not be overwhelmed with Evil, but overwhelm evil with good.

I wasn't directing this to any MAIN 1 person,,, so if you're convicted then maybe God's speaking to you. If you're mad, then just try the simple exercise I suggested at the bottom of the reply.

To challenge the faith or tactics of believers is NOT out of bounds, IRON sharpens IRON, "the spiritual man Judges ALL things, but is not SUBJECT to any mans JUDGEMENT" NOT MINE, or yours. It goes on to say, "for who can tell him what God's will is for him, but we have the mind of Christ"
In the end we will all decide for ourselves. Those who are truly listening will find HIS WILL. IT's just my OPINION, so please, if you take offense, refer to this verse and remember, we all have the mind of Christ and all must answer to him.

Lastly, Please understand that I know what you are saying,,, The word says that GOD is everywhere that you go!!! We both know this, but God's will is not being done in a strip club!!! (You said ANY place) and no where in his word does he comand us to "wade into and confront evil" His word is also clear on this. Ephesians 6:12 For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world's rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

You've got it all wrong,,, verse 11 says 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. Then after it explains what our war really is and what it isn't,13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that WHEN THE DAY OF EVIL COMES, you may be able to STAND YOUR GROUND, and after you have done everything, to stand. STAND FIRM THEN
So the point,,, NOT MY POINT, but the WORDS point, is STAND against EVIL, WHEN EVIL COMES,,, NOT TO GO and WAGE WAR!!

In the end it's GOD who fights the war and gives us the stength to overcome. Anyway, The end. (says ME FIANCE!! RRRRRRRRRR)

I meant only to challenge others who want to do GOD, , , not man's, will!

Tony Parma