While in sunny California, ccmBuzz caught up with rockers, Kutless. Currently on the road with the newsboys and Stellar Kart, the guys are finishing up with the GO tour while preparing for a trip to Europe. As summer approaches, the band readies summer festivals and has just signed on for the fall leg of the GO tour. Check out our interview below to find out more about what’s going on with Kutless. […read more]

ccmBuzz had the pleasure of speaking with Story Side B lead singer Lucio “Lu” Rubino! Read on to find out about their influences, how they’ve grown in such a short amount of time, and their future tour plans! And don’t forget to pick up their sophomore album, We Are Not Alone. […read more]

ccmBuzz had the pleasure of talking with Ruth lead singer, Dustin Ruth. Learn about the origin of the band’s name (it’s not what you think, I promise!), what he learned while living on his own, and what he hopes new fans will take away from their show. […read more]

Longtime bassist for Aussie supergoup newsboys, Phil Joel recently announced that he has decided to part ways with the band after 12 and a half years. Joel will now pursue his passion for ministry with deliberatePeople as well as prepare for the spring release of a new children’s project.

“As big of a decision as it may seem, it is very clear to Heather and I that the Lord has called us into this new season,” says Joel. “We are very excited about the future and the things the Lord has set before us to do in 2007. We wish the guys all the best and pray the Lord’s blessing on each of them and their families.” […read more]

After seeing the excitement from the fans during the fall leg of the Coming Up to Breathe Tour, MercyMe asked Audio Adrenaline to continue touring with them into the spring. “When MercyMe asked us to extend our farewell tour into 2007, we weren’t sure what we were going to do,” said Audio Adrenaline member Will McGinniss. “We had been planning to end in 2006, and all four of us were busy trying to figure out what we would do after AudioA ended. Tyler and Ben had already found other gigs, but with their blessing, we decided to carry on in the spring of 2007 to be able to see a few more fans one more time. […read more]

Oh! Gravity is a conversation with a well-known law of physics. The question is this: If in the physical world things naturally move closer together, why are we falling apart? War and rumors of war, divorce, hatred, violence, and everything else on the evening news seems to contradict gravity. This song is a fun happy-clappy tune about a grave matter: “Sons of my enemies, why can’t we seem to keep it together?” […read more]

ccmBuzz caught up with MercyMe, Audio Adrenaline and Phil Wickham while on the Coming Up to Breathe Tour. Making their way across the Midwest, the guys stopped just outside of St. Louis, Missouri to play to a packed house on Saturday, November 4 at the Family Arena in St. Charles.

The night started out with the sounds of Phil Wickham who had only a 20-minute set but made the most of the time he was given. If people in the crowd didn’t know him before, they definitely know him now. They quickly took notice of Wickham’s smooth vocals and sweet sound as the applause got louder after each song. […read more]

The Gospel Music Association (GMA) today announced that the 38th Annual GMA Dove Awards (www.doveawards.com) will be presented on Wednesday, April 25, 2007 (8:00-10:00 p.m. CST) at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tenn., hosted by Dove-winning artists Natalie Grant, Brian Littrell and Donnie McClurkin and broadcast in national syndication during the month of May. Tickets for the live show will go on sale through TicketMaster (www.ticketmaster.com) on Friday, December 1. […read more]

Alas ladies, another member of DecembeRadio walked down the aisle of marriage on September 23. Brian Bunn, lead guitarist and vocalist for the group, wed Emily Nester at Christiansburg Baptist Church in Christiansburg, VA.  

It was a joyous occasion with lots of family and friends, and Brian even admits to getting teary-eyed watching his bride-to-be walk down the aisle. They were high school sweethearts, and the best moment for Brian was when the preacher said “you may kiss the bride” because now it meant that she was Brian’s mate for life. […read more]

Back with a bang, Skillet is set to release Comatose, their 8th studio record, and judging by the excitement growing in panheads across the country, it’s sure to be a classic! Building off the success found in using strings on their previous record, Collide, Skillet ups the ante, and takes listeners to a level completely untouched by the band in previous attempts. Comatose is packed full of genius compositions, with hard-hitting lyrics to back it up. Skillet has never shied away from the ‘ugly’ things in the lives of listeners, Christian and non-Christian alike, and certainly prove themselves to be serious about tackling issues often ignored by the church (Suicide, poverty, self injury, to name a few), in this album. [ ..read more]

ccmBuzz recently spoke with Jadon regarding the new album, his favorite tracks, the most influential person in his life and yes - even the Seattle Mariners. Check out our exclusive interview below. ccmBuzz: How would you describe your style of music? Jadon: I would say my music is a mix of acoustic guitar pop combined with a sprinkle of rock and folky songwriting… oh, and under the umbrella of the contemporary Christian genre. (Laughter) Did you get all that? The new album Life On the Inside is a continuation of the first for the most part, but also explores some more adventurous chord progressions, my love for electric guitar as well as acoustic, and is fairly diverse from song to song. [ …read more]

Evanescence and Flyleaf have spawned another hopeful female-led band. Orlando based punk-rock group, Fireflight, is similar to a more positive version of both; they launch into The Healing of Harms with driving guitars and dynamic vocals, backed by words of encouragement and hope. The CD opens with a pop and a bang with the song “Serenity”, an oddly mystifying song. The lyrics are a prayer for the Lord to open their eyes to Christ’s love. “Show me how to see the love that brings serenity.” […read more]

It’s finally here. One of the most anticipated releases of 2006 has finally been completed, and it’s sure to live up to the hype that’s been revolving around it. Creating one of the best albums of their career and stepping off of the infamous “worship bandwagon,” the newsboys dug down deep into their rock roots and even added a little techno to mold their newest release, GO. 

The album opens up like their most recent concerts, with the funky sounds of “Wherever We Go.” The song proves that only the newsboys can get away with singing about animals partying it up when the band comes to town. Fun and upbeat, “Wherever We Go” is sure to give you the same amount of energy, if not more, than during their live show. Continuing with the “go” theme and introducing a bit of techno into the mix, “Go,” recounts the stories of Jesus sending out the disciples. It follows His most used demand, “Go!” and encourages all Christians to live up to their expectations of spreading the Gospel. […read more]

Click here to read the guys from Audio Adreanline reflect on some of their biggest hits including “Big House,” “Ocean Floor” and more.

Nashville Symphony President and CEO Alan Valentine surprised Amy Grant during “An Evening with Amy Grant” last Sunday, September 10 with an announcement that the stage of the new Schermerhorn Symphony Center was being named the Amy Grant Performance Platform, in recognition of her generosity to the symphony. She helped the symphony overcome bankruptcy in the 1980s and continues to be a longtime supporter. […read more]

I firmly believed Mark Schultz could do no better after releasing Stories & Songs, but with his newest release, Broken & Beautiful, I hear myself saying the exact same thing – he can do no better. As hard as it is to admit, believe me when I say that this album is even better than his 2003 release. Schultz proves that he’s been hard at work for the past three years with this incredible addition to his discography, and it has paid off. Broken & Beautiful is sure to impress. […read more]

In preparation of our coverage of Rock the Universe, ccmBuzz recently sat down with John Cooper of the Grammy nominated band, Skillet. With the instant success of their latest single, “Rebirthing,” the band eagerly awaits the October 31st release of their 7th studio recording, Comatose. Read on for more information on the new album and much more. […read more]

ccmBuzz recently sat down with Phil Joel of the newsboys to talk about his latest solo project. Due for a September 12 release through Indelible, the album coincides with the deliberatePeople. journal. With a passion for connecting people on a personal level with the word of God, Phil shares with us the history of deliberatePeople., what he and his wife, Heather have been working on lately and lots more.

Phil Joel on the history of deliberatePeople: For me it kind of kicked in late twenties. I thought, “I don’t really know the Bible that well.” I read a lot of books, but getting to know the Lord and really getting in that whole groove of quiet time just slipped by the wayside. […read more]

If you are looking for an album with somewhat hidden messages in their lyrics, against a consistent sound throughout, Flatfoot 56’s Knuckles Up is for you. Their re-release of this album on Flicker Records provides listeners with some very quirky stories and, unless you have a sheet of lyrics in front of you, you may not be able to understand a word they sing. […read more]

Hot on the heels of 2003’s best-seller Collide, which launched SKILLET meteorically into the mainstream with the hit single “Savior,” touring with Three Days Grace, Salvia, Shinedown, and 12 Stones, plus a prestigious nomination at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards, Atlantic/Lava and Ardent/SRE will unleash COMATOSE on October 3rd, 2006.

“We’ve been proud of where we’ve been in the past, but I feel like this is our strongest record,” notes vocalist/bassist John Cooper, citing the band’s recent completion of the COMATOSE sessions at Chicago Recording Company (Smashing Pumpkins, Michael Jackson, R. Kelly) with producer Brian Howes (from famed Canadian TVT band Closure and Hinder’s hit CD) and mix maestro’s Chris Lord-Alge (Green Day, Hoobastank, Bon Jovi, P.O.D.) and David Bottrill (Tool, Staind). “There are so many different influences where it won’t just be about rock audiences or metal audiences. I think there’s something here for everybody and it’s our most mass appeal record.” […read more]