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Fall 2007:
Ceili Rain,
John Angotti, Alma
DeRojas, Kristin Fisher |
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Summer 2007: Popple, Chris Padgett, Kitty
Cleveland, Last Day |
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Spring 2007: Popple, Chris Padgett, Kitty
Cleveland, Last Day |
Winter
2006: Catholic Music 2007, Amanda
Vernon, Marie Bellet, Mair Rathburn,
Bethany Music Ministry, Celeste Zepponi |
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October 2006: Nick Alexander, Gretchen Harris, Steve
Angrisano |
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Aug/ Sept 2006: Matt Maher, John Paul II
Tribute, Chris Padgett, John Michael Talbot, Fr. Stan
Fortuna |
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August 2004
Nowadays more Catholic artists are putting out
multimedia productions with not only audio tracks, but
video footage as well.
 That's
what you get with the debut album by Canadian Catholic singer
Janelle.
New
Day is a collection of pop contemporary songs that share
her love of Jesus to the world. Sharing Christ's love is
nothing new for Janelle. Many of you may have heard or
seen her during World Youth Day 2002, where she sang
the theme song,
The Light of the World. That
song is included on this 11 track pop-rock CD in which
two of the songs were written by Janelle and her husband
Jason. "We wanted to put out something that will speak
to the heart of young people, both those that are
following Christ and those that are not," Janelle says
in one of the video interviews on the CD. “We thought it
appropriate to call the album New Day, because there are
so many new things happening in my life." One of those
new things her single track “Everlasting” being heard on
several secular radio stations in Canada, taking it to
number five on the charts. Not bad for an upbeat ditty that states
that God is giving us everlasting life and that He
lights our path with truth away from darkness. This is
powerful stuff to be heard on non-religious radio.
Another almost danceable song is “Change,” in which
Janelle asks Jesus to make her more like Him. The beat is
contagious on this one. “It’s A Matter Of Trust” is a
wonderful song giving it all to Jesus, as He takes away
the pain from your life. Becoming an instrument of
Christ is the meaning behind the song “For Children
Everywhere.”
 It lets us know that everyone has a mission
in life and what better one than to care for poor
children in third world countries. Janelle has
answered that call as the spokesperson for Christian
Child Care International, an organization that helps
these children. One of my favorites from the CD is written by Janelle and her husband, called “Invade.” This
is about giving yourself totally over to Him, letting
Jesus invade all of your thoughts and deeds. Of course
the pop-sounding title track “New Day” let's us
know what happens when you give yourself to him. You get
a new day and new way of looking at life. The cool
thing about "New Day" is that you pop it into your
computer and a whole new world of Janelle opens up for
you. The 25-plus minutes of interactive media includes
interviews, scripture sharing, WYD stories and her first
music video. All in all,
New Day
is well worth the price of admission.
Another CD that has video enchantment is David Vogel's
Calling Us Home II. Vogel has been in the
music business for over 36 years and has made a name for
himself. He recently was seen on EWTN’s "Backstage" program, proving what a
 gifted
singer, songwriter and recording artist of Christian
music he is. You may have seen or heard him during
World Youth Day in Toronto singing his song, “Returning
Home,” which is included on this CD. This CD won the
Catholic Unity Award last year for Best Rock/ Modern
Rock Album of the Year. The song “Returning Home” won
for best rock song of the year. The fact is, many of
the songs on “Calling Us Home II” have won some award or
recognition. In 2001 Vogel was a finalist for
Devotional Song of the Year, with the song, "Within," a beautiful
ballad that let’s us know that Christ is in us to
show us the way in our times of trouble. The song “I’ll
Meet You There,” was also nominated for Rock Song of the
Year. It reminds that there is a place waiting for
us after this life. The guitar work on this song is
awesome. In 2000, Vogel was nominated for Country Song
of the Year with "Reflection of His Love." It's a love
song to mom and dad, thanking them for all their love
and devotion. Besides
all his dedication to music, Vogel is also very
passionate about working for the Pro-Life cause. "Cry Of The Child"
reflects his special concern for the unborn. Vogel's
guitar playing shines on this
track and at times sounds like Eric Clapton or Stevie Ray Vaughn. The message that
we must save the unborn child is strong. This is the
message that echoes in the video footage on the CD. Interviews with
Blessed Mother Teresa and John Cardinal O’Conner are
just the start of this pro-life section. We are also
treated with a glimpse into an Expectant Mother Care
facility. My favorite part are the scenes from the March for
Life in Washington, DC, where Vogel sings the song “Cry
Of The Child.”
While we're on the subject of
Pro-Life, one of Catholic music’s most popular singers
has also devoted her ministry to the cause. That would
be Dana, and she is back with a new CD entitled,
Perfect Gift - Songs for
Life, a collection of songs that Dana has made famous in
the last 20 years of her career. These are songs that
define the most important reasons for why she has been
so embraced by the public; her pro-life stance. It
is this pro-life message that caused her to drop out of
the American public eye and turn toward her homeland of
Ireland to become part of the political scene there in
strict opposition to abortion. She won a seat on
the European Parliament in 1999 until she lost
reelection in
June 2004 as a backlash for opposing a more liberal
abortion law in Ireland. Dana has always
believed life begins at conception. The collection of
the songs on
Perfect Gift - Songs for
Life
proves it. The title comes from a song from her CD
Humble Myself. The message is that whatever you do to
these little ones you also do to God. Don’t see the
unborn through your eyes, but through the eyes of God.
One of my favorite Dana songs is included in this
collection. It's called ”Little Baby.” This is one of
the first Pro-Life songs that Dana wrote. The words came
naturally since she was pregnant at the time with her
first child:
Little baby yet unborn
In my womb so safe and warm;
Living with me
Who will you be?
Living with me
I wish I could see
My little baby yet unborn
In my womb so safe and warm…
If you laugh or if you cry
I’m gonna love you till I die
Other songs include:
This Is My Body, Come Little
Child, Let Me Live, The Might Have Beens, Oceans Of
Mercy,
St. Joseph's Song,
and many more.
Matthew Baute is
not one of those artists that you can pigeon-hole into a
certain type or style of music. His CD called
Love
Wins All
is a smorgasbord of all kinds of music. Not only
are there praise and worship songs here, but also songs that
will keep you close to the faith in their message. One
such song would be “Angels Sing,” in which we are
reminded that we
are no longer
 prisoners of our sins, but are free thanks
to the love of God. We are now children of God! The song
reminds me of the feeling I get after going to
confession. I can now leave the past behind and join in
the song of the angels. Another track, "Mother's Prayer,"
was inspired by a poem that Blessed Mother Teresa had
inscribed on the wall of the children's home in Calcutta. The message was, "Don't listen to
what anybody else says: be true to yourself. In the end,
it's not between you and them anyway. It is between you
and God.” Baute adapted these words into a heartwarming
gentle song that is both comforting and encouraging--Always
give it your best. There may not be earthly rewards, but
there will be in Heaven. How many times have we
been at a point in our life in which we don’t know
which direction to turn and God asks us to take a leap
of faith? That is the idea behind “Show Me (At The
Crossroads).” Baute reminds us that if we desire to
please God, we will be on the right path.
Forgiveness is
the center of the title track of “Love Wins All.” The
song talks of three men who go through trials and offer
forgiveness. The man in white (Pope John Paul II) who
forgives the man who tried to shoot him, the man in red
(Cardinal Bernadin of Chicago) who forgave the man who
accused him of sexual abuse and God in Man (Jesus) who
says “Father forgive them, for they know not what they
do.” This is a song that highlights the songwriting
skills of Baute.
You might hear many of the other songs at the praise and worship service that Baute
organizes
as a youth music minister. “Yes, We Believe,” is an
awesome song about the True Presence in the Eucharist.
“You Are God” is a testament that He is the one that
can lift us up and make us whole. The music on this song
is my favorite. It has a great beat, and I know that
there is a tribute to the rock band Yes’s song
“Roundabout” in it. Matthew Baute lets us know
that the message on
Love
Wins All
is that there is no higher power in this world
than Love. God is love.
Ben Govero has got a new exciting CD called
Revolution
. I just have to say the CD hit me where I live! I
recently went to a secular music festival and was
floored by the
 anti-Christian sentiment coming from the
stage. With all the other anti-Christian things going on around the country I am ready to rise up and start
some sort of a revolution to let people know that this
is a God-based country. I believe that Govero has made a
new anthem or battle cry that we could use.
Take a look at the lyrics to the song “Rise Up”:
We've been robbed of our faith
By a world that says it ain't cool
To live for Jesus Christ
He's outta date and old school they say
Why don't you come with us and go with the flow
We'll show everything that you need to know...but we say
For too long, we've kept our God to ourselves
Put the shields of faith he gave us
Up on the shelf
But now we wanna live for Christ, wanna do what's right
Gonna join his army, rise up and fight.
This is such a great song that it was used as the theme
for the 2004 Steubenville Youth Conference. Govero has
an alternative rock sound that hammers the point
home.
Another favorite is the song “Holy Dwelling.” It deals
with the feeling you get when you are in the presence of
God in His Church. You are surrounded by His love.
”Therese” is sure to be a favorite. The song
tells of the simple nature of a little girl seeing God
in the beauty of a flower and sharing it with her
mother. We see that this girl is to become St.Therese,
the Little Flower. It was her simple way of seeing
things that makes her one of the most beloved saints
and a doctor of the Catholic Church. “Raindrops Of
Love” is a beautiful song to the Blessed Mother. Her
tears are shed for her Son who has died for us on the cross. Today she cries again as it seems that the whole
world He died for has walked away from the truth.
To me this could be a song that musically could be
played on any secular radio station. The music and
vocals (both lead and background) are a perfect blend.
Awesome!!! Govero uses this formula again in “Agnus
Dei.” It's a cover of the Michael W. Smith song. The
female accompaniment by Katie Shawl will give you goose
bumps.
Revolution
is the CD to give to that kid who is going off to
college. It has enough alternative rock sound for them
to listen to it, but the songs were written to
communicate to the heart and soul, not simply to be
lyrics and melodies. Buy this CD!!!!
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