New Avalon record Reborn "Not your Mom's Avalon"

While Avalon is certainly proud of their past (21 chart-topping singles, 6 Dove Awards, 3 Grammy nominations and an American Music Award), it sure would be easy for the quartet to rest on their laurels and continue to offer their known slick brand of vocal pop. But they are now Reborn, their aptly titled brand new project, slated for release on September 15th (E1 Music).

It is important to note that the similarity between any previous Avalon albums and Reborn ends now, thanks to this cutting edge and unequivocally original record. "Reborn is a fitting title because it signifies the birth of something new and exciting, which is certainly true of the current season of Avalon," explains Janna Long, the group's founding member. Comprising the rest of the quartet is Greg Long (Janna's husband and group member since '03), Jeremi Richardson, as well as its newest member, Amy Richardson, making her Avalon debut on Reborn, and who also happens to be Jeremi's wife.

"I've literally listened to Avalon for as long as I can remember, so I can tell you both as a member and a fan that people's jaws are going to hit the ground when they hear Reborn," asserts Jeremi, who joined the group in 2007. "Everyone I've played it for so far says they'd never expect it, but at the same time, they can totally tell it's Avalon, which to us is the ultimate compliment."

One of the most instantly apparent changes comes in the credits, which for the very first time in the group's illustrious history unites the group with producer Ian Eskelin (All Star United, Krystal Meyers, Stellar Kart, Francesca Battistelli). It's a curious choice indeed considering his respected rankings in the modern rock spectrum, but one that helps cement Avalon's latest endeavor as arguably their most ambitious to date.

"This has been one of the most unique and fun recording projects I have ever been involved in," Ian Eskelin exclaims. "These guys are fearless and their vocals are killer. They are some of the hardest working, ready for anything, talented musicians I have worked with."

A tour is slated for the Fall to promote the new project. This is sure to be an exciting time on the road for Avalon as the group is more than ready to share their new songs with fans across the country.

For the creation of Reborn, Avalon partnered with the label E1 Music. Along with the new venture came a completely open creative canvas where the group was encouraged to stretch itself further than ever before. Previously known as Koch Records, E1 Music has hosted the diverse likes of The Beatles' Ringo Starr, Ashley Cleveland, Twila Paris, and Bishop E. Long.

"They took all the reigns off and basically said, 'you've been doing this for awhile, so just do what you do,'" recalls Greg of the E1 experience. "No one was ever looking over our shoulders talking to us about core demographics, which gave us the chance to just focus on the artistic side. We love our history and are grateful for everything God's given us, but that type of freedom also allowed us the opportunity to experiment and have a lot of fun in the process."

Reborn offers aggressive melodies tied with atypical harmonies and guitar-driven moments. The new sound is sure to give dedicated Avalon fans a new twist on the group's well-known formula, while expanding its appeal to a wider audience than ever before.

"Over the last three years, we released a hymns record, a covers record and a retrospective record, plus had some members change," Janna reflects. "Between that and the fact that life was just happening right alongside it all, there's a pivotal change and evolution. Sure, the vocal standpoint is consistent with the Avalon sound, but the rest is much more varied. This is definitely not your Mom's Avalon record!"

Thousand Foot Krutch song "Fire it Up" available at iTunes

With a little over a month until fans will get their hands on the fifth studio album "Welcome to the Masquerade" from rockers Thousand Foot Krutch, a new single from the forthcoming project is made available today on iTunes. The single "Fire It Up" is the second single fans have heard from the new CD as the first single, "Bring Me to Life," was a free download with the Taco Bell "Feed The Beat" program earlier this Spring.

"Fire It Up" is a high-energy, crunchy riff-filled, rock song that is being featured in a major movie trailer for "G.I. Joe", two upcoming video games (MX vs. ATV Reflex and upcoming EA Sports NHL 10 (game releases September 15th, soundtrack July 31st)), used on ESPN's airing of the NASCAR Nationwide series feature on Kyle Busch and on the Versus Network during the Edmonton IndyCar race this past weekend.

Terry Lingner, IndyCar on Versus Producer had this to say, "IndyCar Racing is all about power and sound and we are flat to the floor with Thousand Foot Krutch's material. Talk about a great mix. TFK in your face and the power appeal of land rockets!"

Click here to buy the song on iTunes today!

Hawk Nelson's Live Life Loud CD cover revealed!

"Live Life Loud is really about encouraging our fans to do just that. To live your life loud, to embrace all that life brings your way and experience every moment of it to the fullest extent. This is the message we want our fans to come away with after they hear the album." -- Hawk Nelson bassist Daniel Biro.

Recorded in Nashville, TN, Hawk Nelson enlisted producer Steve Wilson to craft what was to become a 12-song set that sweeps from the manic to the mellow and all points in between. Live Life Loud was recorded in two separate sessions, due to a hectic touring schedule, and marks the first time the band wrote songs together by just jamming as a band. The album also features collaborations with Chris Stevens, Matthew Gerrard, TobyMac, Trevor McNevan and Bart Millard. This fourth studio album release from the band hits fans' hands on September 22nd. The first two singles "Live Life Loud" and "Meaning of Life" are currently available on iTunes.

Also make sure you pick up your pair of TOMS Shoes to help the band get their goal for their Haiti shoe drop. For every pair of shoes purchased via Hawk Nelson's website equals a pair of shoes that TOMS donates to a child in Haiti towards the band's ongoing involvement with the Hands & Feet Orphanage. Check out the YouTube video.

1. Live Life Loud
2. Never Enough
3. Eggshells
4. Meaning Of Life
5. Alive
6. Ode To Lord Stanley
7. Long Ago
8. The Job
9. Shaken
10. Lest We Forget
11. Tis So Sweet
12. The Final Toast

Thousand Foot Krutch's Trevor McNevan has emergency appendectomy... cancels Creation NorthWest appearance

Tooth & Nail Records' Thousand Foot Krutch sadly announces that they will not be performing at Creation Northwest this Friday due to frontman Trevor McNevan's emergency surgery late yesterday evening. McNevan was taken to the emergency room for appendicitis, which resulted in an routine appendectomy around 8 p.m.. The band issued this statement about their unfortunate cancellation of their Creation appearance.

"We are saddened that we're not able to rock out with our fans at the beautiful Gorge Amphitheater. One of the highlights of festival season is Creation Northwest and the fans that come out to support us and all the amazing artists. However, right now Trevor needs to rest and recover. We would appreciate prayers for Trevor and Erin as he heals." Thousand Foot Krutch

Creation Festival issued this statement:
"Thousand Foot Krutch guarantees for an amazing show and they are a festival favorite, so we are saddened to hear they won't make it this year to Creation Northwest. We are praying for Trevor and his wife, Erin. We wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to having him and the guys out on tour this fall." Nick Kulb (Creation Festival)

Fireproof Soundtrack Now Available

The FIREPROOF songs that you've fallen in love with are available in one place: The FIREPROOF Original Motion Picture Soundtrack!

The soundtrack features the full score, which was composed by Mark Willard, Sherwood's musical minister. And it has these songs from popular artists that you hear in the film:

Leeland's "Brighter Days"
Third Day's "This Is Who I Am"
Casting Crowns' "Slow Fade"
John Waller's "While I'm Waiting"
Grey Holiday's "You Belong To Me"
Warren Barfield's "Love Is Not A Fight"

There's even a special bonus track: the FIREPROOF Remix of John Waller's "While I'm Waiting," which features sound clips from the film interspersed with John's beautiful song.

The FIREPROOF Soundtrack is available starting today, July 14, at your favorite Christian store and online retailer. Be sure to let your friends know by utilizing the Soundtrack banners, available online.

Buy it at Amazon.com
Buy it at CBD.com
Buy it at iTunes

Christmas album coming from downhere!

Downhere, one of Christian music’s premiere rock bands, is scheduled to release their first full-length holiday album, How Many Kings: Songs For Christmas, October 6, 2009. The new project was produced by Downhere and will be distributed by Word Distribution.

The idea to record their first Christmas CD grew over the years for Downhere as they performed several holiday concerts in their hometown of Franklin, TN, beginning in 2001. (Glenn Lavender is the only band member who still resides in Canada). Then the thought grew to fruition with the success of the single, “How Many Kings,” which went to #4 on the Christian AC charts in 2007, followed by the Bethlehem Skyline tour last year with their labelmates on Centricity Music.

How Many Kings: Songs For Christmas features the timeless classics of the Yuletide season that are recorded with the Downhere style. “Basically we made a giant list of Christmas songs and narrowed them down to our top choices, realizing that every one of them was at least a hundred years old,” says lead singer, Marc Martel. “We all really resonate with a love for good lyrics, the classic ones that are going to last, so we do a lot of really old Christmas carols. However, we also tried to make the old stuff sound new.”

How Many Kings: Songs For Christmas kicks-off with “How Many Kings” and flows into Christmas standards such as “God res Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Silent Night,” “What Child Is This,” and “We Wish You A Merry A Christmas,” to name a few. The songs are a mixture of fun and religious tunes but the majority of songs resonate with the true meaning of the season.

“We didn’t want to pack a whole Christmas record with ‘Jingle Bells,’ ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’ or anything that was considered all that fluffy,” explains drummer Jeremy Thiessen. “We were very selective in wanting to pick songs that actually said something than simply ‘it’s Christmas let’s party!’ We’re just trying to get people to pay attention and unplug from all of the running around.”

Mark Schultz releasing new studio album in August!

Platinum-selling, Dove Award winning recording artist, Mark Schultz, releases his long-awaited, fifth studio album, Come Alive, Aug. 25 on Word Records. One of Christian music’s most acclaimed singer/songwriters, Schultz’s first new studio album in nearly three years is also his most personal recording to date, inviting listeners to “come alive” through these songs birthed by stories of hope, loss, joy and redemption.

New for Schultz, working with more than one or two producers for an album, Come Alive features the distinct and masterful touches from multiple GRAMMY Award winner Brown Bannister (Amy Grant, Third Day, CeCe Winans), Shaun Shankel (Beyoncé, Hilary Duff), Bernie Herms (Natalie Grant, Avalon) and Paul Mills (Third Day, Bluetree). The album also features collaborations with such hit making songwriters as Bart Millard and Barry Graul of Mercy Me, Matthew West, Joy Williams and Herms. The combination of talent and Schultz’s own vision for this album results in his most thought-provoking, musically diverse project to date.

“I would hope that when people listen to this CD they can identify with the struggles within the songs, but at the same time know that God is the same God through the struggles as He is during the triumphant moments. Christ, who began a good work, will finish a good work. It may not be on your own timeline or not even the way you imagined it, but He promises He will. There’s a bigger picture out of our control, but God has made these promises and I want to hold onto that.”

“He Is,” the first radio single from Come Alive to release July 10, is an expression of this hope that was inspired by the stories of two families battling cancer.

“Payton Cram was a girl who came to one of my concerts in Michigan with her dad,” recalls Schultz. “I was really amazed at her maturity for her young age, even as she had cancer. When the cancer started to get bad, I flew up and spent a day with her and prayed with her and her family. She was a beautiful girl. She was never going to blame God for her cancer. She never asked ‘Why me?’ She just always knew there was a bigger purpose in it.”

During the same time Payton was fighting cancer, Mark learned from his wife, Kate, about a missionary family whose fourth child was born on a Friday and on Sunday they found out the mother had terminal cancer. “The father of the family said, ‘Well, we can’t praise God on Friday and curse him on Sunday…We have to trust that He knows what’s going on,’ and that’s when the idea of ‘He Is’ was born,” says Schultz. “He is, He was and always will be. It’s a pretty important message–no matter what kind of rough road you are riding through.”

Another poignant song on the album, “What It Means to Be Loved,” is “the only song I’ve ever played in concert that received a standing ovation before the end of the first chorus was over,” recalls Schultz. Kate was again a source of inspiration for the song: “My wife said to me, ‘Since you are adopted, I think we should adopt kids too. I think we should adopt kids with special needs…maybe someday we adopt kids with special needs that doctors know are only going to live for a year or two,’” recalls Schultz. “I replied, ‘Honey, why would we do that?’ She answers, ‘Because, before they go to heaven, I want them to know what a great Christmas is like and what a great birthday is like and let them know they were loved well before they get to heaven.’ That’s the kind of wife I’m married to.”

This conversation was sparked by the story his wife told him about a family who was expecting a child and were told that tests revealed health issues that meant the baby probably wouldn’t live long. Although the doctor’s suggested terminating the pregnancy, the mother decided she would love the child as long as she could. Schultz channeled those emotions into the “What It Means to Be Loved” lyrics: I want to give her the world / I want to hold her hand/ I want to be her mom just as long as I can and live every moment until that day comes/ I want to show her what it means to be loved. Schultz’ clear, compelling voice conveys the sense of sadness, yet shares the spirit of hope and abundant love that lie at the heart of the song.

“As Christians, we are called to be love,” says Schultz. “If that means loving a baby that will be here seven minutes or 70 years, it doesn’t make any difference.”

Pulling from real life experiences for the new record, many of the songs on Come Alive were also inspired when Schultz rode his bicycle from coast to coast to raise over $250,000 to benefit the James Fund, which provides assistance for widows and orphans. Along the way he learned much about himself, the human condition and God’s sovereignty. Those revelations reverberate throughout his new album.

“The album is a powerful work of art, full of emotion and featuring the most prolific and moving work Mark Schultz has ever written,” says Mark Bright, Word Entertainment President and CEO. “His ability to capture life’s most fragile moments in song, and lead people closer to God by revealing His glory in every situation, is what makes Mark Schultz such a gifted artist.”

Taking the songs from Come Alive on the road, Schultz will debut new music and fan favorites on a 40-plus-city tour beginning with the festival circuit this summer and leading into his “Come Alive” tour featuring platinum-selling group Point Of Grace that launches Sept. 10 in Decatur, IL. For the latest list of tour dates, visit www.markschultzmusic.com.

Lauded at No. 1 on Billboard’s “Hot Christian Adult Contemporary Songwriters” list and with nine No. 1 radio hits, Schultz was the centerpiece of the U.S. Army campaign “Letters From War,” named Christian Music Today’s Male Vocalist in 2003, and featured on the national TV programs, 48 Hours, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, CNN and more. His 2005 release, Mark Schultz Live…A Night of Stories & Songs, sold RIAA certified Platinum and garnered Schultz his first GMA Dove Award.

For additional information on Mark Schultz, visit www.markschultzmusic.com or www.wordlabelgroup.com.

Jeremy Camp Headlining tour with Natalie Grant and Bebo Norman

Making his passion known this past year with the release of "Speaking Louder Than Before," BEC Recordings artist Jeremy Camp is introducing his fall tour named after the recently released CD and with a purpose at hand. As his first headlining tour in almost two years, Camp will be joined by reigning Dove Female Artist of the Year Natalie Grant and label-mate Bebo Norman. The "Speaking Louder Than Before" The Tour is kicking off in Florida on September 10th (dates below). The tour will also be sponsored by Compassion International.

Tickets for the anticipated tour will go on sale Friday, July 10th in addition to a special iTickets / iTunes promotion. For those who purchase tickets via iTickets from July 10th until July 24th, they will receive a code for two free downloads at iTunes ("Beyond Measure" by Jeremy Camp and "Never Saw You Coming" by Bebo Norman). The codes will be given out for each ticket purchased (not per order).

Earlier this year, Camp and his management company began a ministry called "Speaking Louder Ministries," a direct correlation to his recent release, which produced his seventeenth No. 1 radio single ("There Will Be a Day"). The purpose behind "Speaking Louder Ministries" is tri-fold: bringing a raised awareness to the local outreaches in the cities that Jeremy Camp performs, helping equip the church body and local community to get involved in ministry together, and impacting the needs of the community/organization with physical goods. For more information and specific local market info go to the ministry homepage.

On the fall tour, Speaking Louder Ministries will partner with a local radio station to promote the local outreach. At each concert, there will be a booth present as a distribution point to draw a larger awareness for the ministry organization.

This 30+ city tour will make a huge impact in each market, and Camp is thrilled about this opportunity. "I'm really looking forward to the tour and to what's being planned with Speaking Louder Ministries," shares Camp. "We'll have unique opportunities in each and every town that we play on this tour to be a part of local ministry. I'm hoping to see the body of Christ engaged and fired up to help local ministries in need. This will be more than just a typical concert experience, we will be working and worshiping together for the Kingdom of God."

See below for the tour dates as well as additional information regarding each artist on the "Speaking Louder Than Before" The Tour. Tour publicity contact also listed below.

About Jeremy Camp: Since his debut BEC Recordings' project in 2002 (Stay), Jeremy Camp has made a definitive mark in the industry with his ability to compose hit songs and capture audiences of all ages selling more than three million records. Following his Gold-selling debut, Camp has released four additional studio projects, which have garnered a total of three RIAA Gold-Selling albums. With 17 career No. 1 radio hits under his belt, Jeremy Camp is clearly a powerhouse on the radio waves nationwide across all formats (CHR, AC, INSPO, and Rock). Jeremy has the most consecutive No. 1 singles at AC Monitored since 2003 when R&R began their Christian chart. His debut single from "Speaking Louder Than Before," "There Will Be A Day" hit the top on three formats on AC Indicator (16 weeks), CHR (10 weeks) and AC Monitored (6 weeks). Jeremy Camp has also been honored with multiple Dove-nominations and five awards, a 2007 American Music Award nomination, and three-time ASCAP Christian Music Awards "Songwriter of the Year" (2008, 2006, 2005) winner including "Song of the Year" (2006). In 2008, Jeremy Camp was voted for the fifth consecutive year in a row by readers on Christianity Today's music site as the "Best Male Artist."

About Natalie Grant: One of the genre's biggest names and GMA Dove Award Female Vocalist of the Year for four consecutive years, Curb recording artist Natalie Grant is among a select number of artists to have also achieved a formidable foothold at mainstream media and radio. A powerhouse vocalist, heart-gripping songwriter and charismatic performer, she's eager to push boundaries and thus has become Christian music's top selling Adult Contemporary female solo artist in 2005, 2006 and 2008. Recently, Grant received RIAA Gold certification of her 2005 breakthrough album, Awaken. In addition to her music, she is an outspoken advocate for victims of human trafficking. The Home Foundation, which Grant created in 2005, has raised over a quarter of a million dollars to fight the trafficking of women and children for the purpose of sexual exploitation. For further information, visit www.thehomefoundation.net or www.nataliegrant.com

About Bebo Norman: Norman's 1999's national debut, Ten Thousand Days, received much acclaim for a new artist. The follow-up, Big Blue Sky, was voted No. 1 Christian album of 2001 by the editors at Amazon.com. Myself When I Am Real (2002) earned seven Dove Award nods and charted the defining hit, "Great Light of the World." In 2007, Norman partnered with Seattle's BEC Recordings to release his first Christmas project that garnered him another Dove nomination. In 2008, he released his self-titled album, which was said of Billboard as "the beginning of a vibrant new chapter in an already distinguished career." For more information: www.myspace.com/bebonorman