Andrew Greer is an accomplished singer/songwriter and respected music journalist. While his critically-acclaimed 2009 debut, Open Book, chronicled a soul-searching season that ultimately led to the rekindling of his faith, Andrew’s musical journey now makes an important stop—a step back to his roots. Angel Band is a collection of treasured hymns, the beloved songs that first arti...culated, and still remain, his story.

“I can’t recall many of the sermons my pastor preached, or the lessons my Sunday School teachers taught, but I do remember hymns,” Greer says of his inspiration for the project. “In fact, if it hadn’t been for the impact of those indelible tunes, I may have never fallen in love with music, or been introduced to God.”

Bringing together some of the top names in bluegrass, Gospel and Christian music, highlights include the title track and “Softly and Tenderly,” featuring renowned bluegrass singer/songwriter Sonya Isaacs; “Jesus Paid It All” and Greer’s original “I’ve Been Searching,” with Gospel music icons The McCrary Sisters; “The Lord’s Prayer” with Ron Block (Alison Krauss & Union Station); “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,” a duet with Dove Award-winning singer/songwriter Cindy Morgan; and “I Am Thine O Lord/Near The Cross,” with Dove Award-winning singer/songwriter Ginny Owens, among other selections. Other guest artists include Julie Lee, Sandra McCracken, Marc Scibilia and Andrew's mother, Jane Greer.

[COMING SOON]

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Six years after her previous release, Amanda Stott is emerging with a new album and a fresh focus with "Place to Start Again." Growing up on her family’s farm in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, Amanda was constantly surrounded by the sounds of music. She grew up singing in her local church, and is excited to have her new project “Place to Start Again” reflect the faith that has inspired her since she was a young child. “My faith is the reason I sing and it’s exciting that God has opened the doors for me to write and perform music that conveys my heart.” After a successful country self-titled debut release in 2000 on Warner Music Canada, followed by her sophomore pop release “Chasing the Sky” in 2005 on EMI Music Canada, Amanda has taken creative control with this new project and is releasing it independently.

The journey for this album began when Amanda stepped out in faith and moved to Nashville, TN, where she had the opportunity to work with many talented and gifted songwriters within the music industry. She has co-written all 8 songs on this latest release, working with fellow songwriters, Brian Hitt, Phillip LaRue, Dustin Burnett, Shelly Johnson and LA based songwriters Billy Pace and Lindy Robbins. "I have been so blessed to be able to learn from and work with such gifted people."

Amanda has drawn inspiration for her songs from her own life experiences. From the loneliness of moving 27 hours from family and friends, to experiencing God's faithfulness after losing most of her belongings in an apartment fire, to knowing and discovering God’s unconditional peace and rest. The groundwork for “Place to Start Again” was Amanda’s voice, piano and strings. “I have always loved the powerful combination of piano and strings and really wanted that to be the musical foundation for this album”.

Amanda worked with Nashville based producer, Brian Hitt (High Flight Society, David Doss Band, Dub Pierce). “I really felt like Brian embraced this album and captured the vision I had for it like it was his own…we had an incredible time recording this project.” Along with touring Canada extensively in the last 10 years, Amanda has also had the opportunity of lending her voice to 3 oversees tours performing for Canadian Troops. “I count it an amazing privilege to entertain the people who are fighting and sacrificing daily for our freedom."

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Hawk Nelson is a Christian rock band from Peterborough, Ontario. The band has become very popular in the Christian music scene and was voted "Favorite New Artist" by CCM Magazine in their February 2006 Reader's Choice Awards. In 2006 Hawk Nelson won a No. 1 spot on VH1's top 20 video countdown with "The One Thing I Have Left" music video.

Prior to the formation of Hawk Nelson, Dunn, Clark, and Paige had formed the Peterborough-based group called SWISH (they also used the name "Reason Being" briefly), while Biro sang lead vocals in a four-piece group called the "Cheese Monkeys from Planet Nine" from Barrie, Ontario. In 2000, while named "SWISH" they released Riding Around the Park independently. On May 1, 2003, after the band changed to the current name, they released the EP Saturday Rock Action.

They continued to preform and tour independently in Ontario, Canada, before being signed with Tooth & Nail Records, largely on the recommendation of Trevor McNevan, the lead singer of fellow Tooth & Nail bands Thousand Foot Krutch and FM Static. McNevan, also from Peterborough, Ontario, is credited with discovering the band. In July 2004, Hawk Nelson released their major label debut Letters to the President. It was produced by Aaron Sprinkle and McNevan, who also co-wrote the album's fourteen songs. He has also appeared on some of the band's songs, as well as in their video for the song "California".

The band has achieved some success in the mainstream as well. They portrayed The Who on an episode of the NBC drama American Dreams, and they recorded a song named "Bring 'Em Out" for the 2005 motion picture Yours, Mine and Ours featuring Drake Bell. This song and another hit song "The Show" were both used on Sunday Night Football commercials. "Things We Go Through" from Letters to the President was also featured in Yours, Mine and Ours. On December 20, 2005 Hawk Nelson released Bring Em' Out EP.

April 4, 2006 Hawk Nelson released Connect Sets EP with six acoustic tracks including: "Bring Em' Out", "Thing We Go Through", and "California".

In October 2005, the band re-released Letters to the President, with new material including their cover of The Who's "My Generation", three acoustic versions of some of their hits, and a limited edition cover. Hawk Nelson plays the party band for the film Yours, Mine and Ours (2005). Their songs "The Show" and "Something on my Mind" were featured in the game Thrillville in 2006.

Hawk Nelson released a "Double Take" which includes selections from Letters to the President and Smile It's the End of the World in March 2007 and Holiday Trio EP in 2007. In 2006 Jorden Dean filled in for Jonathan Steingard on rhythm guitar and background vocals starting with Winter Jam 2006, then in late 2007 Dean departed from the band.
Bassist Daniel Biro

The band released their second studio album, Smile, It's the End of the World, on April 4, 2006. The album was also co-written by Trevor McNevan of Thousand Foot Krutch. The album won a GMA Canada Covenant Award for "Modern Rock/Alternative Album of the Year" in 2006. The album's first single, "Everything You Ever Wanted", went on to hit No. 1 for 9 weeks on the R&R Christian CHR chart, and was the fourth most-played song of 2006. The band spent the summer of 2006 touring the major Christian music festivals, and also took part in Jeremy Camp's Beyond Measure tour. Hawk Nelson released a three-track Christmas EP titled Gloria on November 21, 2006, and in winter of that year they toured with TobyMac's Winter Wonder Slam tour along with The Afters, Family Force 5, and Ayiesha Woods.

Bulletproof Records and producer Ralph Sall have assembled the compilation Charlotte's Web: Music Inspired By The Motion Picture featuring music by Christian artists including Hawk Nelson, Amy Grant, and Billy Ray Cyrus, which was released December 12, 2006. In addition, Bob Carlisle, Leigh Nash (Sixpence None The Richer), and The Send have all contributed exclusive tracks.

Hawk Nelson performed in 2006 on the Fringe Stage at Creation Festival Northwest, then again on the main stage at Creation in 2007. They performed sometime between July 25–28, 2007, at Creation Festival Northwest on the Main Stage, and they played again on the Fringe Stage at Creation Festival Northeast sometime between June 27–30, 2007. In 2007, (and again in 2009), Hawk Nelson performed at Winter Jam with a variety of other Christian bands, which were Newsong, Jeremy Camp, Steven Curtis Chapman, Sanctus Real, and Britt Nicole. Hawk Nelson also toured with MxPx, Run Kid Run, Project 86, The Fold, and The Classic Crime on the Tooth and Nail Tour (Green Tee Show Photos).

In 2007, Aaron Tosti left the band to pursue other musical ventures and was replaced by Justin Benner. Justin had previously toured with Hawk Nelson before with The Send.

Hawk Nelson's third full album, Hawk Nelson Is My Friend was released on April 1, 2008, and featured songs co-written by Trevor McNevan of Thousand Foot Krutch, Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace and Richard Marx.

In 2008, the band also contributed a cover of "Don't You (Forget About Me)", originally by Simple Minds, off the Don't You Forget About Me: The Covers EP. The song was also featured in back-to-school commercials for J.C. Penney.

In January, 2008 The band headlined their own tour, that they called the Green T Tour, which also featured Capital Lights and Run Kid Run (Green Tee Stage Show Photos).In the summer of 2008, Hawk Nelson played their second annual Faith Nights Baseball Tour.

Hawk Nelson was nominated for a 2009 Grammy Award in the category for Best Recording Package, for their 2008 album Hawk Nelson Is My Friend.

On July 21, 2009 Hawk Nelson released their second single from their fourth album Live Life Loud called "The Meaning Of Life", and on August 8, the song "Alive" began to be played on Christian Radio. They released their fourth album, Live Life Loud on September 22, 2009. The title song "Live Life Loud" was made available in the Rock Band store during the first week of April 2010. The song "Live Life Loud" was featured in the trailer for the movie, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules".

On October 18, 2010, they released the tracklisting and release date of their fifth studio album, Crazy Love. which was released in stores February 8, 2011.

On June 17, 2011 Hawk Nelson released the single "Your Love Is a Mystery".

Hawk Nelson released another Christmas EP November 1, 2011 including the songs "Hark the Herald Angels Sing/O'Come All Ye Faithful", "The Wassail Song" ,and "Up on the Housetop". Jeremi Hough (former drummer for Philmont) did gang volcals on Hawk Nelson's NEW Chirsmtas EP. Jason Dunn plans to release a solo album under the band name "Lights Go Down" in second quarter of 2012 tentatively titled Abandon Progress.............

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In the summer of 1999, the youth group led by Banning Liebscher at Bethel Church in Redding, California, launched the first Jesus Culture conference. The heart of these gatherings was to serve other churches and lead young people to experience the radical love of God. At each conference there was a strong presence of the Lord, and the youth and young adults were going back to their homes, schools, work places and churches, completely impassioned and transformed.

A few years into hosting conferences at Redding, the Lord began to speak to us about a new breed of revivalists that were emerging throughout the earth to answer the cry of God’s yearning for nations. Our mandate was defined: to raise up, mobilize, equip, encourage, resource, and send these burning ones to fulfill the call of God on their lives, and see entire cities saved, campuses revolutionized, and nations discipled. The Lord revealed they would be marked by four main characteristics:

1. They would be connected with spiritual fathers and mothers and aligned under their covering.
2. They would be passionately in love with Jesus – encountering His extravagant love for them daily.
3. They would give their lives to prayer and know how to win the war in the heavens.
4. They would walk in the supernatural – demonstrating the Kingdom of God through power.

It soon became very clear to us that worship was to be a significant part of our movement. Kim Walker-Smith, Chris Quilala, and Melissa How were worship leaders at our local youth group, and the Lord began to use them to bring an entire generation into whole-hearted worship.

Shortly after God commissioned us to mobilize this new breed of revivalists, we began taking Jesus Culture conferences to different regions, and currently hold them in Redding, Orange County, Dallas/Ft Worth, Chicago, Atlanta, and multiple cities through Australia and England. Also, in response to our mandate, Jesus Culture Music and Campus Awakening have been inspired and birthed out of Jesus Culture.

Jesus Culture Music ::
Jesus Culture Music exists to ignite revival in the nations of the earth. Our heart is to compel the Body of Christ to radically abandon itself to a lifestyle of worship, motivated by a passion to see God receive the glory that is due His name. We long for Jesus to be exalted in the nations and for His manifest presence to invade this world. Although we aspire for people to sing great worship songs, we are primarily committed to see them come into His presence through worship… to encounter His extravagant love and raw power............

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For starters, Michael Bublé wanted the doors of the studio left open during the recording sessions for “Crazy Love.” He wanted to hear the drums bleed into the horn section. He wanted his fans to feel what it was like in the studio - to feel like they were sitting with him - to have them be part of his experience. So the engineers miked the floor and put up sky stand microphones and it was all recorded just like that with the thrill of the moment in mind – even though the songs were written over the course of 80 years. It wasn’t all that different from the way it might have been in a Louis Armstrong session in the '40s or even Elvis Presley in the late 50s. The strings would get to carry an extra micro-vibration along with the bows. Sometimes acapella - other times with live bands and even huge orchestras - even some sessions with primitive 8-track recording devices that are a rarity in the crystalline perfection sound of 2009. But it isn't just the time period that is crucial but the breadth of emotional territory a man is willing to live through and share by coming clean emotionally -- in front of a bunch of strangers no less.

[CLICK HERE]

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Keith and Kristyn Getty have been at the forefront of the modern hymn movement over the past decade demonstrating the ability to successfully bridge the gap between the traditional and contemporary.

Keith and Kristyn Getty are currently living in the United States where they write have just finished their second album together ‘Awaken the Dawn’, a collection of hymns that takes you on a lyrical ...journey of grace and hope for all the nations. This follows their first collection of hymns, the successful 2006 realease ‘In Christ Alone’.

Whether on a recording or leading worship with a congregation, Kristyn's lilting, crystal-clear soprano is an ideal contrast to Keith's richly melodic piano arrangements and accompaniment. An acclaimed soloist in her own right, Kristyn began singing in her family's church in Northern Ireland - a congregation her father helped plant - as a teen. Today she is both an accomplished songwriter and artist, having penned children's musicals and been featured with Christian music's Margaret Becker and Celtic artist Joanne Hogg on the New Irish Hymns series, among her diverse credits. However, since her marriage to Keith two years ago, the plight and power of the modern hymn has won Kristyn's heart too, and she's equally dedicated to reviving the art alongside her husband.

A multi-talented instrumentalist and composer, Keith first learned to play guitar, but later began to study flute which included a summer masterclass under renowned Irish flautist Sir James Galway. Ironically, it was Keith's piano - not flute - arrangements that most intrigued Galway and helped open the world of the music industry to him. Keith has since orchestrated and arranged more than 200 projects for recordings, concerts, theater, television and film, including arrangements for Michael W. Smith's 2004 Healing Rain album, as well as producing and composing (with Kristyn) various projects for the internationally renowned African Children's Choir.

Though he was raised in a Christian home in Northern Ireland, it was ultimately a yearlong study of the life of Christ during his time at university that affirmed and crystallized Keith's faith. Since then, he has carried a passion to communicate the basic tenets of Christianity through music in a universally appealing way. Now, after several years in various aspects of the entertainment industry, Keith has returned to his roots to use his gifts for the benefit of the Church.

"I was challenged by a pastor in Belfast to perhaps try and bring some of what the old hymns of the faith had brought to the Church through the centuries to the contemporary Church," Keith remembers. "I didn't set out to create the modern hymn. I wanted to write songs that contemporary, traditional and liturgical churches could all use."

"There are two reasons we write modern hymns," explains Keith. "First, it's to help teach the faith. What we sing affects how we think, how we feel and ultimately how we live, so it's so important that we sing the whole scope of truth the Bible has given us. The second reason is to try to create a more timeless musical style that every generation can sing, a style that relates to the past and the future."

"Our hope is not in ourselves, it's in Christ," Kristyn says of their purpose. "We want music for the Church to be able to lift us beyond our circumstances and become a plumb line for bringing all of our life experiences to the Truth."

"In the Church, the purpose of singing is to express the community we have as the Body of Christ," his wife, Kristyn, adds. "To try to search for the melodic ideas and song structure that might bring more people in - that's what we're trying to investigate. Is there a way to bring everyone together musically?"

As Keith & Kristyn Getty stand at the helm of an emerging group of new hymn writers today, it seems the Church need not fear the death of the medium in this modern age. With songs that are timeless in theology and melody, much akin to the prolific works of Wesley, Crosby and Newton, it's not hard to imagine the esteemed roll call of the Church's greatest writers will one day include the name Getty, as they carry forward the great standard of the hymn for generations to come.............


Tracklisting ::

[CLICK HERE]

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Mix a handful of thunderous beats and a dash of dirty Souf swagger in a bucket filled with Southern-fried, greasy guitar. Then roast ingredients all day in the sweltering Georgia heat, pepper with good-time lyrics, and enjoy the spicy southern rock jambalaya of FAMILY FORCE 5. Since 2005, the genre-obliter...ating Atlanta quintet has been setting audiences’ feet alight with their incendiary dance-rock anthems, turning that dance floor into hot coals, refusing to let fans keep their kicks still.

Part party-bangers, part grimy rockers, FAMILY FORCE 5’s booty-quaking beats and face-melting synths have earned them a devout following culled from their seemingly ceaseless touring and chart-topping albums, the group’s previous album 08’s Dance or Die debuted on the Billboard Top 200 chart at #30 and at #8 on the Modern Rock with 13,000 copies sold in the first week.

Their frenetic 2006 debut Business Up Front, Party in the Back was released on Maverick records, but when the major label politics became burdensome, FAMILY FORCE 5 forged their own path, pushing their release to sell over 350,000 digital singles and well over 150,000 albums. It’s the DIY-style that has made this musical family (made up of the brothers Jacob, Josh, and Solomon Olds, and brothers-from-other-mothers, Nathan Currin and Derek Mount) into a self-made juggernaut that steamrollered audiences with their upbeat party anthems and raucous stage antics. Their 2008 follow-up Dance or Die pushed the band further into electro-groove territory, with Solomon’s passionate vocals leading the synth-powered cavalcade.

Now after three years of touring the universe and electrifying crowds at big festivals like Sonisphere and the Vans Warped Tour, the band is back with their new release, III. “We wanted this to be our Thriller album. We just didn’t land the guest appearances by Paul McCartney or Eddie Van Halen,” guitarist Derek Mount jokes about the much-anticipated follow-up to Dance or Die. “We wrote this record everywhere while we were on tour,” says Solomon. “It was written on my laptop and recorded in studios around the world. We wrote nearly 70 songs in the back of the bus, on airplanes, in barbecue joints, and in a cabin in the north Georgia mountains.”

III takes FAMILY FORCE 5 back to their rock roots, and those early days when the Olds brothers would perform in a backyard shed at their parents’ Marietta, Georgia home. Music wasn’t a choice for these brothers; it was in their blood. “We were destined for music,” Solomon says. “We knew we had to do it.” Their father Jerome Olds was a well-regarded singer and their mother was a music teacher. While they were just adolescents, they founded a band, honing their musical chops on stages across the country, until the spirit of rock compelled them to pick up guitars in the 2000’s.

On the new album’s return-to-rock sound, the band resurrects the heavy guitars and bombastic beats of their debut. Opening track “Can You Feel It” explodes with searing guitars and Solomon’s distorted voice slices through the boom-bap of tumultuous drums. “Our goal was to make jock jams for the future,” Derek says about the album opener. “At the time, we were listening to a lot of Sleigh Bells, and we wanted to create something mean and gritty that you could hear on Sportscenter. This track gets people hyped up, and it perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the album.” Unadulterated energy ties the band’s unstoppable genre-hopping as FAMILY FORCE 5 explores low slung bass booms and harmonica howls on “Wobble” and the tongue-in-cheek “scenie baby” call-out pop song, “Tank Top.” These are songs for blaring at maximum volume, blasting from a sweaty club or a low-riding pick-up truck. “III sounds like rock and roll with barbecue sauce,” Derek laughs.

Although they aren’t afraid to take a trip on the ironic side, the band tips their hats to authenticity and the places where they grew up. “We embraced the redneck part of where we are from,” Solomon says. “We tried to run away from it for so long, but there’s no denying: there’s some country boy in us.” On III, the band wanted to infuse a taste of reality too, exploring more than just the party scene that they had been espousing for their career. On “Paycheck,” the band addresses the challenges of living in a country suffering with economic collapse and seemingly incurable unemployment.

“I’m broke/broke as a joke/thinkin’ ‘bout movin’ back in with my folks,” Solomon sings on “Paycheck.”

Along their tireless touring schedule, FAMILY FORCE 5 heard the stories of their fans who were down on their luck, unemployed and struggling to survive. “A lot of America is pretty poor right now,” Solomon explains. “We kept hearing our fans say that they were living paycheck to paycheck. So we wanted to write a song about that, with a positive message that turns it around.”

On the downbeat “Not Alone,” they dig a little deeper as Solomon sings about the anxiety and tribulations induced by leaving their families at home amidst their relentless tour schedule. The song’s desperate longing for restoration also drew inspiration from the severe illness of his brother and bandmate Joshua, who nearly died from kidney failure during the band’s Christmas tour. “We were on tour, and I was in emergency room with him, so there was nobody else out there when I found out that he was really sick,” Solomon remembers. “I felt so alone at that moment in time and I wanted to talk about that in this song. It’s one of the most serious songs we’ve written. We still have some crazy, stupid-fun songs, but now we can get a little deeper. I feel like we’re growing up.”

After a lifetime of making music, FAMILY FORCE 5 have unmistakably come into their own. They’ve forged together their disparate musical influences, their reckless attitude, and heartfelt authenticity into III. Now, with hardships behind them and the open road ahead, the band is on a mission to keep their fire spreading and their family growing.

“FAMILY FORCE 5 is a real, authentic community that transcends the music,” Derek says. “We make music that we love, and we hope other people love it too, whether it makes them break-dance, two-step, or simply smile.”

Welcome to the Family.........


Tracklisting ::

[CLICK HERE]

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