By: Josh Gloer

About 50 miles south of San Jose is the home of the Spirit West Coast Christian Music Festival – Monterey, California. Less than 24 hours from the show, Family Force 5 is in a van, headed for the show.

Dance, Rawr, Dance 3, an official tour, starts in September, but until then, FF5 is playing festivals like Spirt West, averaging 250 days on the road for the year.

“We’re a bunch of road dogs,” Derek “Chap Stique” Mount, the band’s guitarist, said. The band is dedicated to its fans, constantly playing shows and actively communicating with MySpace, Twitter and an open phone line fans can call and leave messages on. “We have incredible fans. We have a great relationship with them, too.”

But it’s a double-edged sword, as many of the band members have wives and families they leave behind every time they hit the road. So for their latest creation, a fantastic video for their song “Dance or Die,” they decided to get creative.

“We’re trying to make sure we put our families first,” Mount said. “So instead of trying to shoot on our time off we decided to shoot it on the road.” The band brought Director Steven Shultz, a lighting rig and a green screen made from bed sheets to shoot between rehearsals, sound checks and shows.

“We have a blast. We’re a very visual band and love the escapism element of videos. It’s a lot of fun, just a nice change of pace from writing recording and touring.”

And the video, something Mount said the band is very proud of, is out of this world.

“Its very Captain EO influenced,” Mount said. “It’s very Neverending Story-esque. We’re real excited about that. We got to feel like we’re on a different planet.”

And the video has been well received. An mtvU video of the week winner, the video has been featured on AOL and has kids mimicking dance steps. “Everybody’s loving it. All the kids are just really excited.”

If festival dates, and a brand spankin’ new video aren’t enough, the band is still finding time for the studio, and their new Christmas album will drop October 6th.

“Writing Christmas songs has been a hilarious process,” Mount said. “You’ve got really, really tough competition. You might write a killer song, but it’s definitely not as good as Jingle Bells.”

While Mount jokes about wearing Santa hats and breaking out the fake Christmas tree in July for inspiration as they work on the album, its clear that for Family Force 5, the real inspiration comes from a deeply rooted faith.

“We’re very much Christians, it’s a huge part of our lives,” Mount said. “A lot of our songs are about our spiritual experiences and its something we’re very passionate about. We want this band to mean something to everybody. We try to spread fun and hope and escape and joy.”

According to Mount, its an allegory best seen in their album, Dance or Die.

“You have life, and you choose what to do with it,” Mount said. “You can either sit on the wall watching every one else, drinking some punch, or you can dance and enjoy it.”

And FF5 is definitely not sitting any numbers out. Hard work and dedication to their fans is making this group of “robot” rockers a force to be reckoned with.

“There some thing much deeper than just trying to get up there and be famous,” Mount said. “We’re trying to hopefully touch people’s lives.”

For more on Family Force 5 or their up coming Christmas album and tour, check out www.modlife.com/familyforce5.

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Josh Gloer is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles. Currently he’s a writer on his sixth season of MSNBC’s Lockup: Extended stay. He has also written for MTV, TLC, TruTV, HGTV and Oxygen. Josh has been a journalist for about 12 years, doing celebrity interviews with actors such as Djimoun Hounsou, Dennis Farina and James Marsden; and bands like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Orgy and sax guru, Carl Grubbs. Josh’s work has appeared in Filter, Car Audio & Electronics, Zink!, Item and many other publications and websites. This fall, his fiction is scheduled to appear in an anthology of LA writers, including Charles Bukowski. www.joshgloer.com

By: Samantha Zavala

There are many times in life where it seems that you are going backwards or even standing still, instead of going forward.  There is an uncertainty to your own abilities and whether you will be a success or a failure. In spite of those realities, there are also the things that make you happy and excited once they have happened or have been achieved.  Stephanie Smith is familiar with all of these things.

Stephanie and her brother were raised in Pennsylvania by her mother.  Her father was in the Midwest, keeping his distance from the family. Regardless, Stephanie and her family were active in their community and their church family.  She attended a non-denominational church growing up.  She was shy, but there was someone who noticed that she had an impeccable gift.  It was her youth leader, Jonathan.  He became a father figure to her and was able to help her realize her gifting and helped her to break out of her shell.

But it hasn’t always been easy.

“It’s weird on your psyche,” she says as she describes what it feels like to go from singing in a packed-out auditorium at night, to waking up at the crack of dawn to serve coffee.

Switching gears like that would definitely be hard to do.  And even though there may be a struggle, Stephanie focuses on the big picture.

“God has been specific in making my dreams come true,” she explains.

As a little girl, she dreamt of singing in front of crowds. She also wanted to perform with Tobymac and be with Gotee Records.  And so far, all those dreams have been checked off the list.  She performed at Creation Festival in Pennsylvania and has done many performances at churches in the aftermath of her successes. 

But there is still a challenge.

“It is hard to keep dreaming when things are not going as planned,” she says.

What a true statement!

What Stephanie means by this is that there is always that smidge of uncertainty that can prevent you from dreaming big because there is always a chance that what you dream for will not play out as expected.  Everyone has this feeling.  However, she remembers that God has given her a gift and as long as she has a dream, He will make it happen for her.

“The burden is on the Promise-Maker,” she tells me convincingly.

God has always reminded her of that.  He is the Promise-Maker. That keeps Stephanie going.  And that also forces her to extend and challenge her dreams while taking a humongous leap of faith.  God is always there for her.

Another one who is always there for her is her road manager Emily. She is Stephanie’s best friend/roomie/travelling companion.  She helps Stephanie with whatever she needs and is always supportive of what Stephanie does.  Stephanie is really grateful to have a friend like Emily because being an artist in the music industry sometimes can be grueling and unsettling.

Even though her main ministry is her music, Stephanie is also active in three other ministries, Soles4Souls, Compassion International, and Pure Freedom.  Soles4Souls is an organization that gets donations of shoes and in turn, donates them to people who are in need of shoes worldwide.  Compassion International helps in sponsoring children who live in poverty-stricken environments. Stephanie was given the opportunity to meet her child, which is something that cannot be done on a regular basis.  The other ministry that she is a part of is Pure Freedom.  Pure Freedom is an organization that teaches about purity and modesty and what the Bible says about it.

It is apparent that Stephanie has a heart for helping people. 

“I love my girlies,” she says excitedly.

Although it is her goal to touch all lives, Stephanie has a heart to reach young girls and teenagers.  It is apparent in her music, especially in her song Superstar.  Her lyrics are full of emotion and honesty.  They are also filled with words that encourage you to keep on fighting through what may be trying to hold you back.

She will also have more opportunities to spread her message this fall because she will be a featured artist in the Winter Wonder Slam Tour.  She will be accompanied by part of her Gotee family, Tobymac and B. Reith, as well as Relient K.  She also plans on releasing an EP prior to the tour.

I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed when I was listening to Stephanie speak.  She spoke with honesty as she described what she goes through in the pursuit of carrying out her dream. Some people think that by doing so it would make you vulnerable. But in my opinion, I see her as a fighter and a heroine.  Even in the face of uncertainty, she plows through with formidable, God-given strength and ability.  She is trailblazing as a solo, female, Christian rock artist. 

You can learn more about Stephanie by going to her website http://www.stephanieisagirl.com. And of course she has a Facebook, MySpace, and a Twitter account.  Go there to learn more about Stephanie and to keep up with tour dates and album info, etc.

By Josh Gloer

Poems is at a barbecue in Portland, Oregon when his phone rings. He steps away from friends to answer some questions – children’s laughter audible over his powerful drowning voice. It’s July 5th, the day after Americans everywhere celebrate their independence. The emcee spent his holiday weekend at a park with friends, watching fireworks, avoiding crowds.

Next week will be a different story.

Under the moniker Sareem Poems, the artist has announced his latest album, Black and Read All Over. The album doesn’t drop July 26th, but a promotional frenzy starts next week – kicking off with a new MySpace page for the album on Tuesday www.myspace.com/iampoems.

According to Poems, the title, Black and Read All Over, plays off stereotypes.

“It goes across the board with everyone,” Poems said. “It could be Black and Read all over, Brown and read all over. It’s just that people, at first glance, think they know who you are before they even get a chance to hear a word that comes out of your mouth.”

The album is also turning people’s perceptions of the former LA Symphony member’s on their heads. For this endeavor, Poems has united forces with producers Oddisee and Theory Hazit, and stylistically, the album isn’t run-of-the-mill Sharlok Poems.

“The emphasis on this record, for me personally, is giving people a little more up tempo stuff,” Poems said. “The last project was mid tempo, lot of poetry style writing which people know me for. Part of the reason I call this Black and Read All Over is because its not as typical. There’s a lot more guest spots on it. It’s a lot more forward as far as aggressive beats.”

Guest spots include LMNO, Pigeon John, Akil from Jurassic 5, Ragen Fykes and Georgia Anne Muldrow to name a few. According to Poems, the album strays from his typical story-telling depth and focuses on rhymes.

“I focus on being more of an emcee than being just a rapper or a poet. I want to make sure that there’s some substance and there’s some direction to everything that I give. I don’t want to give someone just some aimless music.”

The need to give direction is understandable. The fiery emcee has only met his father once, and his mother recently passed away due to a drug overdose. Avoiding the foster care system he was taken in by his grandmother, and Poems claims as a young man, he himself was searching for something – something he found through religion. Now, a strong Christian, the performer tries to incorporate good messages into his work.

“For a lot of people it’s a weird approach to life because they feel that its very judgmental,” Poems said. “[But] my message is love. I’m not trying to beat anybody over the head with my beliefs. I do my music and if you get something out of it, cool. And if it doesn’t touch you in that way, then cool.”

According to Poems, everyone is searching for something. While he’s found what he’s looking for, he knows not everyone else has.

“For me, at the end of the day, you’re going to hear who I am. That’s my heart. That’s the main thing for me, I’m not trying to water down who I am for anyone, but at the same time, I’m not trying to force feed what I believe or how I live my life down anyone’s throat.”

His music covers issues that he holds personal, from what he calls a sad but “common tale” of parentless children, drugs and even branching out into human trafficking. Poems now tries to help with benefits and events to bring these subjects to light.

“I talk about life issues,” Poems said, later adding that “I think as a Christian and just as a human being… you want to see people happy and enjoy the life that they have, because this is the only thing that we have that we can say is ours. Everything else that we have right now, when we’re gone, it doesn’t matter. This life is the only thing we have that we can say is ours.”

For Poems aficionados, Black and Read All Over, isn’t the only offering this year. Poems has teamed up with Atlanta based producer, Dust to form PND or Poems and Dust. The duo’s first offering Dirty Words (www.myspace.com/panddmusic) will be released sometime late 2009.

For now, Black and Read All Over hits shelves at the end of July.

“Do what you love. Period.” Poems said. “I’m doing what I love. This is what I’m putting all my energy into and everything you hear from me is inspired by life itself in general. You’re not going to hear any false tales from me. What you’re hearing is me.”

———–
Josh Gloer is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles. Currently he’s a writer on his sixth season of MSNBC’s Lockup: Extended stay. He has also written for MTV, TLC, TruTV, HGTV and Oxygen. Josh has been a journalist for about 12 years, doing celebrity interviews with actors such as Djimoun Hounsou, Dennis Farina and James Marsden; and bands like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Orgy and sax guru, Carl Grubbs. Josh’s work has appeared in Filter, Car Audio & Electronics, Zink!, Item and many other publications and websites. This fall, his fiction is scheduled to appear in an anthology of LA writers, including Charles Bukowski. www.joshgloer.com

By: Samantha Zavala

It is something special to find someone who is passionate about what they do. Someone who is unashamed to speak about life. Someone who perseveres to reach their goal. This person is Jade Harrell.

Jade comes from Middleburg, Florida. When I spoke with her, she reminisced about her country upbringing and loving every minute of it. Jade had said that she did grow up in a strict household and certain values were to be maintained. She was raised in church and always was singing in the church choir. Going to church was a major routine in Jade’s life. Church kept her grounded and would prepare her for her present music career.

As a teenager, Jade had been teased on a consistent basis. She attended a predominantly black school where there was a certain status quo. Jade was not a part of the status quo. According to her peers, she acted “white.” It also didn’t help that she was a frequent churchgoer and had a relationship with God. She was and still is a firm believer in abstinence, which just seemed to fan the flame. She was an outsider for sure. One of the names that she was called on a frequent basis was “Sister Mary.” Jade was a reject. It was from these experiences that Jade drew her inspiration from for her album Class Reject. Jade was a reject because of her Christian beliefs.

“Life is a classroom,” says Jade.

She explains that as Christians, we are like class rejects because we are rejected by the world. We uphold a higher standard and that is what separates us from the rest of the world. So being a reject is not a bad thing. It is actually good in this connotation.
I had also asked Jade if she had any other aspirations other than singing when she was younger.

“I always knew that I was going to be a recording artist,” she said.

She described how even though she knew she was destined to sing, she would have to be forced to do it. Fear would come over her. But she still did it. She knew that God have given her a talent and that it was her calling for her life. There was a Scripture that always came to mind when she would have difficulties in this particular area. It was Philippians 1:6, which tells us that God has begun a good work in us and that we will carry it to completion. That was her driving force to continue on.

As far as her musical influences, she had many. They ranged from Mary Mary and Kirk Franklin, to country legends like Johnny Cash and Rascal Flatts. There was a wide variety of music that she was exposed to that she came to love, with the exception of heavy metal. And the various styles that these artists are known for are some of the same styles that are present on her album. Jade has expressed that she has multiple interests in various types of music, so that would also be said of her albums. She may feel like doing a country album one day, or she may decide to do an R&B album. Wide audience appeal is one of the goals of her music. Reinventing her music allows for a widespread appreciation of good music and she feels if you meet people where they are at, they too will also have a greater appreciation of the music and the message. So Jade has created her own genre, in a sense, which is “Individual.”

This has not come easy for her though. The Christian music industry has its challenges too. Performing at the GMA’s almost made her reconsider her career. And she said that she has often had people ask her if she is a Christian artist because of the sound of her music. Some people think she is mainstream or that she is a secular artist.

“The lyrics are what make a song secular or Christian, not the music behind it,” explains Jade.
And she makes an important point. A lot of Christians think that secular music is the sound, when it is actually the lyrics. Mainstream artists get more radio play and don’t have to fight so hard. But mainstream artists are also told what to do and to make sacrifices that may go against what they want to do. And that is something that Jade refuses to do. Sure, it would be easier to go mainstream, but Jade has a message that she wants to get out to the world. And God has given her the means to do it. That is what one of the songs on her album talks about. The song is Unseen, and it talks about the alternatives and the compromises that we may choose to see if the grass is really greener on the other side. Jade wants to reach millions of people but wants to do it through the means of a Christian artist because she doesn’t want to compromise the call on her life.

Another thing that I asked of Jade was to sum up her character in one word.

After thinking for a moment, she said, “Water.”

And I was intrigued. She chose water because she said that during this time in her life she has found that she is able to adapt whenever she needs to. There were many times that she could have given up when things didn’t go her way. There were family hardships that took her by surprise. But she chose to adapt instead. Even in a hectic life, she has been able to keep a balance and stay focused on the things that truly matter.

Jade will soon start work on another album. I was curious to know how to keep up with her and what she is doing. Jade says that fans can keep up with her via MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, and at revolutionart.us. Be watching because Jade is on the move.

Interview by: Andrew Conant

Every so often you run into a band that has what it takes. A band that can handle the “dirty ole road” and still give it all on the stage. Remedy Drive, based out of Lincoln Nebraska, has been touring for years and making fans across the country with their unique style and sound. Their music is like candy to the ears, and the lyrics speak straight to the heart.

Remedy Drive is comprised of four brothers, ranging in age from 24 to 30. I spoke with the piano playing singer, David Zach, recently about their new record and video. They released five albums independently before signing with Word Records last year and putting out their new album Daylight Is Coming. The newest record, produced by Ian Eskelin (formerly of All Star United), is a hot and heady mix of fist-pumping rock and tender ballads. The lyrics are consistently thoughtful, seeking to understand God’s will in the midst of everyday life.

The brothers originally called themselves Aslan, but soon changed it to Remedy Drive. I asked if there was a meaning behind the new moniker.

“When everybody’s looking for a solution, God is the healer on the path of life towards redemption,” David explains.

The brothers fooled around with music growing up while maintaining day jobs. David was washing windows five years ago when he got the idea to focus on the band full time. They booked their own shows and hit the road, playing anywhere and everywhere. Their frenetic energy on stage, including head stands on the piano and leaps through the drum kit, helped to create a great deal of buzz about the band. Audiences thrilled at the sight of the bassist’s vaults off his amp, David’s acrobatics on and around the piano, and the guitarist throwing his guitar wildly in the air. That, combined with inspired and catchy rock tunes, kept them busy.

They also caught the eye of Aaron Maines, their current manager. Working at Word Records, Maines saw the brothers at one of their early shows and loved it. He tried to pitch the band to the A&R reps at the label, but they weren’t interested. Maines eventually quit Word, opened up his own management firm, and repped the band himself. Two years, a well produced indie project, and hundreds of shows later Word decided to take another look.

“The timing was perfect,” David says. “Touring nonstop allowed us to gain an audience that’s with us 100%, and we’ve grown a lot too. We’ve had time to grow into this album, and we’ve had time to learn how to write a solid song that works on radio. I‘m really grateful for that.”

Daylight is Coming was released late 2008, and produced a hit with its title track. The label opted to shoot a gorgeous video to help carry its momentum. Filmed by the Erwin brothers in an old Alabama furnace, the footage perfectly captures the electricity of the band’s live performance. David wrote the song in the midst of his daughter being born. He was quite contemplative, and the old proverb “It’s always darkest before the dawn” was rolling around in his thoughts. The lyrics ask the listener to hold on and weather the night because the sun will shine again. The band is honored to hear people say that the song helped give them strength during a tough time in their lives.

“It’s crazy, because we weren’t really explicit about what was going on while we were writing the song, but it’s amazing how similar other’s situations were. That’s why I believe that music speaks unspoken volumes. I love that God gave humanity the gift of music.”

It’s a crowd favorite and the obvious choice for their debut single.

Their second single, “All Along,” hit #1 on the CHR charts two weeks ago. A balled in the style of The Fray, the song speaks of an understanding that God is what the speaker was looking for. “All along I was looking for something else / You’re something else.”

“If you look up the word ‘ministry,‘ it just means ‘to meet a need.‘ There‘s a need out there for great songs, just like there‘s a need for great architects or great heart surgeons, and we consider music our ministry, our goal and our purpose. We want to make songs that people love, that impact them.”

Remedy Drive is continuing to book tours, having established relationships with hundreds of youth pastors while criss-crossing the country. They also are planning to hit the summer festival circuit, and will appear at close to thirty different ones in 2009, including Creation, Cornerstone, Ichthus, and Sonshine. During their down time the band is fiddling around with song ideas but they don’t expect to get into the studio for another year or two.

“I’m excited about what we have to say,” Dave offers. “I think our voice is unique.”

CHECK OUT THIER MUSIC VIDEO FOR “DAYLIGHT” AND STAY TUNED FOR THE PODCAST OF OUR INTERVIEW WITH REMEDY DRIVE, COMING SOON!