Jesus Boy Diaries, Episode I

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about my youth.

Maybe it's because almost half-way through 30 and realizing that with each passing year, my potential for cool steps farther and farther away.

Maybe it's because I have a son who is almost 7-years old and that scares the living daylights out of me.

Maybe youth culture is finally getting to me...making me wonder what the world is coming to.

Regardless, I've been thinking about my teenage years quite a bit.

And I hate how this is going to sound...but it's the truth, and it's the recurring theme of all my jogs down memory lane as of late.
I WAS A REALLY DEVOUT KID.

Seriously...from a very young age, I took my faith in Christ and the call to follow Him very seriously. I'm not sure why. I didn't have any more training/encouragement/prayer support than other Christian teenager. In fact, the only characteristic that might have help me in this regard might be the fact that I was a legalist. But that's not really the point...

As I've thought about my faith, I've been fondly remembering the role that music played in my walk with God. And that means...

I love Christian music.

So, I thought it might be fun to occasionally post pictures, thoughts, links about bands and/or CDs that I think made a huge impact on my faith. (I've been listening back to some of these records lately...many of them are horrible records, but they did something for me way back when.)

So, I'm calling this the Jesus Boy Diaries. Yipee!

THE PRAYER CHAIN

I found the Prayer Chain when I worked at KSWP 91.1 FM in Lufkin. Their "Whirlpool EP" was the coolest thing I had ever heard. I played their stuff on the Saturday night Christian rock show (PowerSupply!) and bought every record I could get my hands on.

I even got the chance to see them live. First at "AtlantaFest" on a youth group trip and then twice in one year when I was a senior in high school. (They played Woodlands FUMC twice in the same year!)

I could recount a bunch of background info, but the wiki page for this band is really pretty great.

There were a few things about the Prayer Chain that made them so important in my life.

They said important things.
Although each record developed and grew into new areas of songwriting, this band always said things about faith and God and being broken and healing that were true. Granted, some of their lyrics stretched in my view of God, but looking back, I'm so grateful for that.

They said them in a new way.
Up until the Prayer Chain, I had never really considered Christian music to be very artistic. I liked it...but words like "poetry" and "subtlety" never factored into my CCM experience. I liked that this band said their important things in a beautiful way - forcing me at times to dig deep into the lyrics, to think hard about what they were saying and, even as a kid, seeing if what they said measured up to scripture.

They stood on their own.
This was also one of the first Christian bands that I could pass to my "secular" friends without being ashamed. Their music was fanastic...in my opinion, more creative than almost any band at that time (Christian or otherwise...)

I miss the Prayer Chain. I miss knowing that they are out there - struggling with big questions and putting those questions (and answers) to music. But I'll always remain grateful for what those four guys taught me about faith and music.
__________
Some interesting convergences:

1. Tim Taber went on to do some pretty cool things in worship, which eventually filtered down to me. His work with Rita Springer and a great record called "Dry Bones Dance" ended up being some of my favorite worship projects. Tim is still involved in music as a promoter and artist rep for a few bands, including The Myriad.

2. Andrew Prickett, who remains my all time 2nd favorite electric guitar player in the world, is a well-respected producer/guitarist. An dig this...a long time ago, I started following Daley Hake, guitar player/photgrapher/friend of Carlos. About six months ago, I find out that Daley is pals with Andrew and they work together quite a bit.

3. Eric Campuzano and Wayne Everett went on to form a band called CUSH. Daley Hake's little brother sometimes sits in on drums for them.

4. And lastly...Jason Isham, acoustic guitar player here at Bethel, is from California. His brother was in a band years ago that opened for the Prayer Chain occasionally. Jason went to church with folks who were connected to Taber's worship projects.

SMALL WORLD!
So, anybody else ever dig The Prayer Chain? Please let me know!