Pillar bassist Michael "Kalel" Wittig leaving group

Longtime bassist for Grammy nominated and Dove Award winning hard rock band Pillar, Michael “Kalel” Wittig recently announced that he will leave the group to pursue other opportunities. Among his new ventures are artist management/marketing/consulting company JMA Music, and Stars Go Dim, a band he created with former Pillar drummer Lester Estelle.

Wittig first informed fans of his departure from Pillar late last month on Facebook and MySpace. In a statement he said, “It’s been an amazing 10 years of my life that I will never forget … There are many reasons why, but it is just the right time … I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to be a part of something that has changed so many lives.”

In addition to spending more time with family, Wittig plans to focus his energies on JMA Music, a management/marketing/consulting company he developed with partner Joey Avalos in 2007. An astute businessman, Wittig has always had an interest in artist development as well as a desire to “give back to these younger groups and help them to be their best.” JMA Music’s current clients include emerging bands One Minute Halo (myspace.com/oneminutehalo) and A Road Less Traveled (myspace.com/aroadlesstraveled). For more information on JMA Music, visit www.jmamusic.com.

And while investing in up-and-coming artists, Wittig will continue to hone his own craft, joining up with former Pillar bandmate Lester Estelle, Joey Avalos (Justifide, Sky Harbor) and Chris Cleveland for pop/rock band Stars Go Dim, a significant departure from the Pillar sound. The group will release its debut EP October 21, 2008 in advance of a full-length project, Love Gone Mad, produced by Estelle, next year. Currently Stars Go Dim is booking dates throughout the Midwest. A tour itinerary will soon be posted at www.myspace.com/starsgodim. For additional info on the band, visit www.starsgodim.com.

“I am grateful for the early enthusiastic response to Stars Go Dim,” says Wittig. “It’s been exciting to work with this band from the ground up, and I am eager to move forward with our first record and tour.”

Michael “Kalel” Wittig began his music career more than 12 years ago. As a member of Pillar, whose career sales currently exceed 700,000 records, Wittig has toured internationally, produced six Radio & Records No. 1 hits, charted on Active Rock radio, won three Dove Awards, received a Grammy nomination and been spotlighted by major media outlets including Bass Player magazine, MTV, and Fuse TV.

Superchick's Melissa Brock visits Uganda

Vocalist/guitarist for power-pop band Superchick, Melissa Brock visits with one of her sponsored children, Mumbere Kisonice, at a Compassion project in Masaka, Uganda last month. More than 2000 children have been sponsored since 2004 through Superchick's partnership with Compassion International.

(Click to enlarge photo)

Jars of Clay & Sixpence None The Richer Christmas Tour

Grammy and Dove awardwinning band JARS OF CLAY are excited to announce LOVE CAME DOWN: A CHRISTMAS PAGEANT. Jars of Clay will be joined by the recently reunited SIXPENCE NONE THE RICHER, along with Sara Groves and Leeland, as they embark on a 13city tour filled with holiday songs and stories in celebration of the Christmas season.

Last year, Jars of Clay gave their fans a Christmas gift. CHRISTMAS SONGS was the first holiday release from the band in their 12year career. The band brought new light to memorable Christmas songs such as "O Little Town of Bethlehem" and "In the Bleak Midwinter," and broke new ground with their own original holiday songs such as "Winter Skin" and "Evergreen." When they decided to go out on tour this season, they asked their friends Leigh Nash and Matt Slocum of Sixpence None The Richer to come along.

Grammynominated band Sixpence None The Richer was in a similar position as Jars of Clay. Their loyal fans had been asking for a Christmas record for years, and they thought there was no better way to celebrate their reunion then with a special album for their fans. THE DAWN OF GRACE will be released on October 14 and is made up of 10 tracks: eight traditional Christmas songs, including "Angels We Have Heard On High" and "Silent Night," featuring guest vocalist Dan Haseltine of Jars of Clay, and two original Sixpence holiday tunes called "The Last Christmas" and "Christmas for Two."

Both bands are also in the process of recording new material to be released in 2009. Jars of Clay have been in and out of the studio with producer Ron Aniello (Lifehouse, Guster, Barenaked Ladies) to put the final touches on their upcoming album, due out in early 2009. They have already released the CLOSER EP on all major digital service providers in anticipation of the upcoming fulllength; the fivesong EP contains two brand new tracks ("Closer" and "Safe To Land"), as well as new versions of fan favorites including "Flood" and "Love Song For A Savior." They are currently in the midst of the "Music Builds" tour, which benefit local affiliates of Habitat For Humanity.

Sixpence None The Richer will hit the studio after the holidays to begin working on their first fulllength original record in over four years to be released in the summer of 2009.

Catch LOVE CAME DOWN: A CHRISTMAS PAGEANT on the following dates:

Dec 4 Montgomery, AL @ Montgomery Performing Arts Center
Dec 5 Longwood, FL @ Northland Church
Dec 6 Pompano Beach, FL @ Pompano Beach Amphitheatre
Dec 7 Clearwater, FL @ Ruth Echerd Hall
Dec 13 Grand Rapids, MI @ Sunshine Church
Dec 14 Merrillville, IN @ Star Plaza Theatre
Dec 17 Glenside, PA @Keswick Theatre
Dec 18 Plymouth, MA @ Memorial Hall
Dec 19 Lewiston, ME @ Androscoggin Bank Coliseum
Dec 20 Long Island City, NY @ Evangel Church
Dec 21 Harrisburg, PA @ Whitaker Center for the Science and Arts

pureNRG to release video "Here We Go Again" on Yahoo! Kids

Fervent Records’ popular tween group pureNRG is scheduled to debut their highly-anticipated video, “Here We Go Again,” on the homepage of Yahoo! Kids this Thursday, October 9 at 12:00 pm PST.

Yahoo! Kids is one of the web’s leading resources for safe, fun, kid-appropriate information. Yahoo! Kids integrates great assets from the Yahoo! network – most notably games and music. The site is the destination for exclusive movie trailers and music video premieres from popular entertainers. In addition, the site delivers educational tools that are used in thousands of classrooms each month.

To view the video premiere, please visit http://kids.yahoo.com. For more information on pureNRG, please visit www.purenrgonline.com

Michael W. Smith Set to Launch Christmas Tour

October 6, 2008 – GRAMMY® award-winning and multi-Platinum selling artist Michael W. Smith will celebrate this holiday season with the 16-show “It’s A Wonderful Christmas Tour.” Featuring “American Idol” alum Melinda Doolittle as special guest, the tour kicks off Nov. 29, in Youngstown, Ohio and will hit major markets like Dallas, St. Paul, Spokane, Portland and more before it concludes in Phoenix on Dec. 19.

The Associated Press calls Smith’s Christmas music “cinematic,” and this tour will showcase exactly why he has become one of the most popular holiday performers in the music industry today. Each tour date will feature Smith with a full symphony orchestra, performing selections from his three Christmas albums including his acclaimed 2007 release, It’s A Wonderful Christmas.

“There is no greater thrill for me, as an artist, than to play with a symphony orchestra,” Smith explains. “Christmas is my favorite time of the year, and I love Christmas music. My goal every night is to make sure everyone leaves in the Christmas spirit. Having Melinda Doolittle there certainly helps. Her voice is amazing. The Christmas shows really are special and I can’t wait to take the stage every night.”

“This is my second year to have the honor of being with Michael W. Smith on tour,” Doolittle adds. “I am head over heels with excitement. I can't even describe how amazing it is to sing with a full orchestra each night and to share the stage with Smitty. And to top it all off, it’s Christmas music that will pull on your heart strings, lighten your spirit and remind you of why we really celebrate this wonderful holiday!”

Smith’s holiday tour will come on the heels of a whirlwind fall, during which he has teamed up for the first time with fellow artist Steven Curtis Chapman for the highly-successful “United Tour” and prepares to release his 21st album, A New Hallelujah (Oct. 28). The anticipated new worship project was recorded live before more than 12,000 in attendance, with a 250-voice choir.

Tickets for “It’s A Wonderful Christmas Tour” are on sale now. For more information on that tour and “The United Tour,” go to www.michaelwsmith.com.

Ruth's new album streeting October 28th

After a successful debut in 2007 (Secondhand Dreaming) and extensive touring with Switchfoot and Relient K (2007 "Appetite for Construction Tour with Habitat for Humanity") as well as Emery, Ruth is proud to return with their sophomore release, Anorak, on October 28th.

Titled after the British slang definition of an obsessive enthusiast, Anorak is a reference to a person who has an unfathomable interest in something and feels compelled to talk at length about it. The project was produced by acclaimed roster of Aaron Sprinkle (Copeland, Anberlin), Chris Keene (Surrogate, Number One Gun), and Kelsey Smith. The album was also mixed by Ken Andrews (Mae, Pete Yorn) and JR McNeely (The Almost, Relient K).

"I would hope that the music we play is something a little more timeless," band's founder, singer/guitarist Dustin Ruth confesses. "Hopefully whomever gets one of our albums ten years from now, they're driving somewhere, and they can still listen to these songs and enjoy it. Our ten year goal for the band is that no matter what, we would still be real, that we would still be who we are, no matter how many records we sold."

Written primarily at rest stops and hotels, Anorak captures the emotions and experiences of watching dreams come true and others fall beyond reach. Ruth's music is liberating, freeing and uplifting, while at the same time avoiding the pitfalls of cliché and easy, safe or predictable melodies. Anorak is at once challenging and yet simple to understand, recalling the best of '80s radio, '90's English pop and contemporary indie without sounding derivative of any particular genre.

"This one feels more like a band album," Dustin says. "We had a lot more time to develop through a year and a half of solid touring. It made going into this album a lot different. As a songwriter, I put a lot more time and devotion into writing the songs that we really wanted on this album. These songs were written more intentionally for this album."

The band will also return to the touring sector with Decemberadio after a summer filled with dates. Check out their MySpace for updated dates.

Read our interview with Ruth here.

Leeland Hurricane Ike Update

From the guys in Leeland...

Hurricane Ike Update

We can't thank you all enough for praying during this terrible time. Through comments on our blog, we know that hundreds of you are.

Baytown, Texas, on the east side of Houston, is our hometown. The entire area is currently without power. We have countless family and friends who will be without work for weeks to come. The financial toll that a disaster like Hurricane Ike leaves is unbelievable.

Somehow, the homes of all of us in Leeland are completely fine (as are we), but our home-church sustained significant damage. There is standing water in the sanctuary. The roof/ceiling leaked tremendously and lots of ceiling tiles caved in. We will be unable to have services at the church building for at least five weeks and the building will need major repairs.

We ask for your continued prayers during this difficult time.

Thanks for the love. God bless each of you.

Leeland, Jack, Jake, Mike and Matt (Leeland)

For more information, please visit our blog.

Newsboys release Live CD/DVD "Houston We Are Go" Sept. 30

International pop/rock phenomenon newsboys captures the best of its explosive sell-out “GO” tour on the new CD/DVD project newsboys live: Houston We Are Go, releasing Sept. 30 on Inpop Records.

Filmed and recorded in Houston during the third leg of the “GO” tour this past spring, newsboys live: Houston We Are Go takes the band’s wildly successful tour and commits it to tape. “We felt on every level, this was our strongest tour to date, and we wanted to capture it,” says band member Jeff Frankenstein (keyboards).

The band credits the fans with making the tour exceptional. “The newsboys fan base is so diverse, from 3 to 93, different ethnic, economic, denominational and religious backgrounds. We have been fortunate to have the opportunity to grow up with our audience. From the times we played high school auditoriums in the ’80s to arenas in 2008. Every night they turned out in droves and we had a great time,” he says.

Inpop President Dale Bray agrees, “The newsboys ‘GO’ tour was a true music spectacular, featuring production values never seen before in Christian music. The song list was a complete history of the band’s depth of number 1 songs along with the energy and showmanship we have grown to expect from this world class band. Capturing this performance in both audio and visual formats was a must.”

The 95-city groundbreaking “GO” tour ran from Spring 2007-Spring 2008 and boasted sold out shows on all three legs. With an average audience of 3000, setting a record in Houston, TX where 8800 attended, the tour grossed seven million dollars, giving evidence that newsboys continues to innovate its live show and offer fans an entertainment experience that changes lives. This live CD/DVD showcases hits from both the current release GO (“I Am Free,” “Wherever We Go,” “Something Beautiful”), as well as classic newsboys tunes including “Shine,” “Breakfast,” “He Reigns” and “It Is You,” all from gold-selling albums.

The newsboys live: Houston We Are Go track listing includes:

1. Shine
2. Wherever We Go
3. The Mission
4. Something Beautiful
5. Blessed Be Your Name
6. Stay Strong
7. Amazing Love
8. Entertaining Angels
9. He Reigns
10. Breakfast
11. Your Love Is Better Than Life
12. Drum Solo
13. I Am Free
14. Peter’s Testimony

Read our interview with the Newsboys here.

Barlowgirl's Home for Christmas coming September 23rd

Fervent Records' talented trio BarlowGirl is ready to spend this Christmas season with you, and many more to come, with their first holiday project, Home For Christmas. The CD is slated to release September 23rd, 2008.

Produced by long-time friend Otto Price (GRITS, dcTalk) and arranged by Price and BarlowGirl, Home For Christmas is a timeless recording of songs ideal for ushering in the holiday season. The eleven tracks, finely showcasing BarlowGirl's well-known seamless harmonies, offer full orchestral arrangements of Christmas favorites along with an original recording, "Hallelujah (Light Has Come)."

Before they even formed BarlowGirl, the rock trio - Rebecca, Alyssa and Lauren Barlow - have dreamt of making an album of their favorite Christmas songs since their youth. Blessed with joyous family holiday memories from singing carols to baking cookies for neighbors, BarlowGirl knows firsthand Christmas is a special time of year to bring joy to others, to reach out and help provide for those in need. With each of the tracks found on Home For Christmas, there is no doubt they uniquely capture what the holiday season is all about, making this a classic compilation to enjoy for years to come.

Home For Christmas song listing:

1. It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
2. Carol Of The Bells/Sing We Now Of Christmas
3. I'll Be Home For Christmas"
4. Hallelujah (Light Has Come)
5. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
6. What Child Is This?
7. Panis Angelicus
8. Angelic Proclamation (O Come All Ye Faithful/Angels We Have Heard On High/Hark! The Herald Angels Sing)
9. Go, Tell It On The Mountain
10. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
11. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

In addition to their upcoming holiday release, BarlowGirl announced in July they are headlining their Million Voices Tour this fall, a unique 16+ market nationwide tour that will be sure to encourage concert-goers to speak hope, truth and love to others. Also continuing their partnership with Mercy Ministries - a program that provides young women hope and healing who are seeking freedom from life-controlling issues such as addictions, depression, eating disorders, and abuse - BarlowGirl will share with their audiences about the organization and encourage them to get involved. With the help of their fans, BarlowGirl has set a goal to raise $1,000,000 to build a new home for Mercy Ministries, whose waiting list is in the hundreds.

The Million Voices Tour starts September 10th and will run through mid-November. Joining the sisters on the tour is Jimmy Needham along with Brooke Barrettsmith. Tour dates are listed below and for the most updated tour information, please visit www.barlowgirl.com or www.myspace.com/barlowgirl. For more information about Mercy Ministries, visit www.mercyministries.org.

The Million Voices tour dates*:
9/12 The Woodlands, TX
9/13 Cleburne, TX
9/14 Waco, TX
9/16 Midland, TX
9/17 Los Cruces, NM
9/19 Parker, CO
9/20 Albuquerque, NM
9/21 Mesa, AZ
9/24 Oceanside, CA
9/25 Riverside, CA
9/26 Camarillo, CA
9/27 Bakersfield, CA
9/28 San Jose, CA
9/30 Redding, CA

10/2 Vancouver, WA
10/3 Wenatchee, WA
10/4 Spokane, WA
10/5 Kennewick, WA
10/7 Salt Lake City, UT
10/8 Casper, WY
10/9 Kearney, NE
10/11 Duluth, MN
10/12 Elgin, IL
10/23 Clarksville, TN
10/24 St. Louis, MO
10/25 Jonesboro, AR
10/26 Madison, AL
10/30 Sioux Falls, SD
10/31 Jamestown, ND

11/1 Minneapolis, MN
11/2 Iowa City, IA
11/6 Springfield, MO
11/7 Cincinnati, OH
11/8 Shippensburg, PA
11/9 Vineland, NJ

*Schedule subject to change. Please visit www.barlowgirl.com for the most updated tour schedule

Point of Grace re-signs with Word records

Grammy-nominated and Dove Award-winning group, Point of Grace, re-signs with Word Records after 15 years with the label.

“We are excited to continue our longstanding partnership with Point Of Grace,” says Word Entertainment COO Rod Riley. “They have an outstanding ministry and an incredible work ethic; we are thrilled to be a part of this next chapter in their career.”

Pictured (front row) are Denise Jones, Leigh Cappillino and Shelley Breen; (back row) Mike Blanton (BHCC), Cheri Kaufmann (BHCC), Word Entertainment CEO Jim Van Hook, Word Entertainment COO Rod Riley, Word Entertainment Sr. VP of A&R and Publishing Susan Riley, Word Records A&R Director Conor Farley.