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Forefront/Virgin Records
i®After the surprise change to the
gru nge sound of Jesus Freak from the
hip hop of their first three albums, lis
teners anticipated the follow-up CD to
see how dc Talk would reinvent itself
aga; i
^■The long wait for dc Talk’s fifth al
bum, Supernatural, was well worth it.
No: as hard sounding as the previous al
bum, Supernatural offers a sampler
plate of what is hot in pop music.
■Two songs really stand out. “Con
sume Me, ” which generated air play on
non-Christian radio stations, has attract
ed attention with it’s passionate lyrics
thai tell God, “Without you I’m incom-
plete/I’m hopeless/You consume me.”
■The other song has left Christian mu
sic listeners, a probably artists, thinking.
“My Friend (So Long)” tells of a ficti
tious fourth band member who leaves
the group to find secular music fame.
■ The song reminds of artists like Amy
Grant, Jars of Clay and others who have
tried to cross over from Christian to sec
ular pop music.
■ The song affirms that dc Talk will
never deny Christ to make it up the mu
sic ladder, although their fictitious
friend did just that.
■ dc Talk fans who have failed to buy
this record should run to get it. They
will definitely enjoy it. Those not famil
iar with the group who are looking for
very listenable music with substance-
filled lyrics would not think their invest
ment wasted. (Grade: A)
— Carina Casas
od’s
Ofl*«l
Christian rock meets alternative hip-hop when dcTalk hits Reed Arena
. BY CARING CASAS
The Battalion
F rom the hip-hop sound on their self-
titled debut album to the pop sound
heard on their latest release. Super
natural, dc Talk has evolved into what
many call the biggest band in Christian mu
sic.
And they will be the biggest Christian act
ever to play in Aggieland when they rock in
Reed Arena Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
The band first came together 10 years
ago when Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait
and Kevin Max (then Kevin Smith) met at
Liberty University. At first, McKeehan ran
the show, writing the music and rapping
the lead. The metamorphosis from rap to
grunge (on Jesus Freak) to pop came from
the growth the members experienced to
gether.
“We’ve grown up a lot through the
years,” McKeehan said in a press release.
“We’re getting past the envy, jealousy and
insecurity that’s there in any band setting.”
This cohesiveness is apparent in their
music. Every song on the new album lists
the three members as cd writers.
“This is the first record that we all came
together and collaborated [on],” Tait said in
Christian Entertainment. “In the past, Toby
was the chief songwriter, and Kevin and I
would come together for a song or two.
This time, we said, ‘Let’s try something dif
ferent.’”
In Maranatha Christian Journal, McKee
han said sharing the songwriting responsi
bilities was difficult, but worth it.
“At first it was a scary process,” he said.
“There were lots of fights, lots of argu
ments, but we kept coming back the next
day wanting more. It pushed us, and we
earned respect for each other as writers.
Collaboration is a tough thing, but a beau
tiful thing.”
The effort paid off. Supernatural de
buted at No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200
chart, the highest spot any contemporary
Christian album has debuted on the chart.
The album was sandwiched between Psy
cho-Circus by KISS (once called Knights in
Satan’s Service by their detractors) and Me
chanical Animals by Marilyn Manson
(whose second album was called Antichrist
Superstar).
In the remix of the Doobie Brother’s “Je
sus is Just Alright” on their third album.
Free at Last, McKeehan raps “I’m kicking it
Jesus-style/To the ones that think they
heard/I did use the ‘J’ word/’Cause I ain’t
too soft to say it/Even if DJ’s don’t play it.”
But DJ’s are playing it here in the Brazos
Valley, Mix 104.7 (KKYS-FM) has been
playing the intimate ballad “Consume Me.”
Without knowing it comes from a Chris
tian band, the track sounds like a sensual
love song to a significant other. But band
member said the chorus that says, “You
consume me/Like a burning flame running
through my veins” is speaking to God.
“We view our relationship with God as
very personal,” McKeehan said in a press
release, “and some people might get upset
because the relationship in ‘Consume Me’
is so passionate and real rather than ritual
istic. We wrote this as a spiritual song be
cause to us, faith is a passionate, personal,
committed love relationship with Jesus
Christ.”
John Paul Russell, concert chairperson
for Aggie Men’s Club and a junior man
agement information systems major, said
the organization wants to use dc Talk to
spread the message.
“The main reason we brought them over
is more as a ministry, because it crosses
over from not only Christian, but it crosses
over to the secular charts,” he said. “We
were hoping to bring in some secular peo
ple to this concert and also use it as a word-
of-mouth for Christianity. ”
Aggie Men’s Club, a Christian fraternal
organization founded in 1984, raised
$73,000 from private donations to bring the
band to A&M.
Russell said all proceeds from ticket sales
after expenses will go to Project Unity.
This concert is expected to attract the
largest audience for a Christian act in the
area.
Mary Helen Bower, associate director of
Reed Arena, said she expects dc Talk ticket
sales to exceed 4,000. Bower said the main
reason the audience will be larger is that,
before Reed Arena, there was no venue
larger than Rudder Auditorium, which seats
2,500.
Tickets are available for $15.50 at the
MSC Box Office. The doors will open at 6:30
p.m. The opening acts for dc Talk will be
Jennifer Knapp and The W’s.
PHOTO COURTESY OF DC TALK
Toby Mckeehan, Michael Tait, and Kevin Max of dc Talk, have crossed over to popular
charts but have kept their Christian mentality. They will play at Reed Arena on Sunday.
■
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