April 3, 2006
2006 GMA week

Update #1

So this is my first entry as to the adventures that have culminated so far as a part of GMA week 2006... This is my first time at GMA, so I have thoroughly been enjoying myself. I got into town Nashville here on Friday had meetings and seminars until saturday night when I went to lazertag with some word artists and radio people... that was a blast... some good lazertag even though i stink at it, and then meeting alot of people (new artists and radio people i respect)... on sunday, we had worship with lincoln brewster in the morning, had some meetings in the afternoon, recorded artists saying things KGBI (Bethany Dillon, Selah, Sara Groves, Avalon, Aaron Shust) and for Music with a purpose (Project 86, Spoken, Foolish things). So that was cool to be around all the different artists... there were so many of them packed into the room... then caught some supper and went to the Sunday evening worship service featuring Louie Giglio, Chris Tomlin, David Crowder Band, and Charlie Hall in the legendary Ryman Auditorium... Truly an amazing time of worship. Following that, the songwriter's showcase... the songwriters sang the top songs of the last year. The cool thing was the songs that were not written by recording artists. Did you know that Natalie Grant didn't write "Held?" A girl named Christa Wells did. Chris Tomlin didn't write "Indescribable." A girl named Laura Story did. So that was cool to hear those songwriters perform their songs. Also, there were great performances from Third Day, Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, Matthew West, Joy Williams, Barlowgirl, Bebo Norman, and Jadon Lavik....

Update #2

Ok... so I need a headline on this post: Believe the hype... Family Force 5 is for real!

Yes... it's true and i'll get to that part of the story in a sec, but i'll pick up where i left off... tuesday morning i grabbed a cinnamon roll from the free continental breakfast at Holiday Inn and headed over to see the much talked about "buzz" author Donald Miller ("Blue like Jazz"). He really was good. He had a challenge to the industry to present the gospel in a more creative way instead of a bullet point, factual, intellectual way. He's kind of an unconventional speaker, but I sure enjoyed him. Following that was a Lunch featuring Provident artists. There were some decent new artists that played... one that stuck out to me was the gospel group 21:03 which was formed in the absence of a younger audience urban group in christian music. If I were to give a comparision, think along the lines of a soulful Usher. The other great part of that lunch was that we got to hear new music from Jars of Clay off their cd coming out this fall. Jars of Clay has finally found their groove. This next album be similar in style to Who We Are Instead and Redemption Songs... very good stuff from Jars of Clay!

In the afternoon, went to a couple radio seminars and proceeded to dinner at San Antonio Grill. I highly recommend it and wish there was one in Omaha. In the evening, I hit the showcases. Thing was, the venues were widely spread out... so I had to pick ONE. So... I did... I knew I needed to go to the Gotee/Mono vs. Stereo Label showcase. It was a packed house at Exit/In with TobyMac hosting the night. It kicked off with Last Tuesday which really impressed me in concert. Great performance and use of comedy. We heard new artist Ayeshia Woods after that. She's pretty good. She didn't really knock my socks off, but her soulful pop/rock is something unique within christian music. Storyside B and Fighting Instinct were just mediocre. Don't get me wrong, they weren't bad, but not much that sets them apart in their genres. We heard some amazing new music from Sarah Kelly and I was really impressed with The Showdown which knows all about stage presence! They know how to get the place rocking. Everything else that night failed though in comparison to one band.... Family Force 5! I had heard the hype about this band for awhile now and I've played the radio single on the radio, but I was stunned when I saw them in concert. I have never been stunned by a new band like that before in my life. As they took the stage, you could already sense the anticipation in the room. Family Force 5 is all about "crunck-rock." It's like nothing you've ever heard... for real. It's hard to describe... So here's my attempt at describing it... At times you'll hear emo, punk, some screaming in there, but then throw in dance, rap, and hiphop. It is an instant party in that venue. I found myself not knowing whether to dance, jump, put my rawkfist up, scream, or "put my hands up." This band is so much of a party that they have a guy on stage dedicated to just dancing. At one point, FF5 instructed the crowd to form a break-dance pit and we got it going! Not that I got in, but man... it was a party.... TobyMac definitely knows he's got something special with Family Force 5 thus FF5 got like 6 songs while all the bands preceding got a limit of 3 songs. After that, I stayed for a little of Grits show which was good and then set back for the hotel.

Today, went to the INO Records worship which had some good food and some good worship performances including Paul Baloche, Pocket full of rocks, Phil Whickam, Mark Harris, and Anthony Evans. I tried to stay awake through a seminar and then went to lunch which was sponsored by Word, Curb, and WB. Saw some good performances by Big Daddy Weave, Nate Sallie, downhere, and a few others.

Update #3

So, i'll tell you about that tuesday night showcase night... I went down to the Red Iguana to see some artists on Central South Distribution... they started off with "The Choir" which is a legendary christian band... I don't know that I'd really heard them before, and I really enjoyed the music. Following The Choir was new artist Jessie Daniels on Midas Records. She's a 17 year old doing some pop/rock. I was actually really impressed. She has some great hard hitting lyrics and hard hitting music as well. It was a pleasure to see Jessie. Following that, I headed out to a different showcase, the "rock U" late night showcase featuring Centricity/SRE/INO artists. New artist Decyper Down was decent, but that's all they were. They tried to get the crowd moving a couple times but when they're not feeling it, (including me) they're not gonna move. These guys could get better, but until then... After that, Circleslide took the stage. I've had the Cirlceslide album for about a year and have really enjoyed them. I think they're maybe one of the best kept secrets in christian music right now. Atmospheric rock with some great emotion, great live show as well. Downhere... I don't know completely what to think of them. The music was pretty good but there's just something missing... an X factor. I will say though that their first single off the new disc is really good. The Afters took the stage after that and with the publicity they're getting off "Beautiful Love" being the theme of "8th and Ocean" on MTV, the crowd was buzzing to see them. They did do a great job, they played with complete confidence and was able to connect with the audience. Disciple rocked the house, that band... yes.. they rock. We did get to see Flyleaf... It is really cool to see them live because lead vocalist Lacey Mosley is just this short small girl that just belts it out and every time you hear her scream it's just so cool. Those guys are going to continue with success for sure. The night ended with Skillet. These guys just keep putting out great stuff. I love that band and love seeing them live.

That's my first GMA experience for ya. I really had a great time, met some great people and hopefully I can do it again next year. If you'd like to see the winners of the GMA Awards, click here.

If you have a GMA experience or story you would like to share, or anything else you'd like to contact me about, don't hesitate to email me: mail@kuhnsreport.com

Jeremiah Kuhns
KuhnsReport.com