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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 23: SKILLET

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‘…I think Christian music was still early on in it’s inception, people didn’t really know what it meant. I will say that Christian music has also changed and is very much changing very rapidly right now. There are some people that will kinda pre-judge the band; They go “Oh… it’s a Christian band, it probably sucks!”. There’s some of that. But, I think that Skillet has been around long enough that people get us. They know that Skillet is not, what I would call, ‘Preachy’. I think that we just sing a lot about spirituality. I’m very open about my faith. I talk about my faith in interviews and on stage. I’m not in any way quiet about it, but it’s more of a story telling. I’m telling my story, it’s my life. At every show, I meet people that say “Hey! I just want you to know that I’m an Atheist, I don’t get this Jesus stuff at all, but your music makes me feel better. It’s so positive and it got me out of a hard time” or what have you. I love those stories because I never wanted to be a person who only sings religion to people; That’s the opposite of what I want to do! I like that music should bring people together; I think that’s a really cool thing! So yeah, that prejudice still does kinda exist. Some of it rightly so, because there was a time when Christian music was very much ‘Preachy’ and very much only singing to Christian people. Whether that was the intent or not, that’s what was happening. That’s not what Skillet wants to do…’

‘…you have to remember this, Skillet came out in 1996 and there really wasn’t an internet! I mean, the internet was technically around in 1996, I had never heard of it. And it certainly wasn’t something that people found music on. It was a couple of years later that the internet really exploded. So, when we first started, we sold cassette tapes, mainly CD’s, but we had cassette tapes of our first records, first two records actually! I think that the internet has changed the entire landscape of music. There are goods and bads with that. One of the great things is that Skillet, well… not just Skillet, can be heard all they way around the world now. You don’t have to have a massive radio hit. It used to be that if you didn’t have a radio hit in Australia, then there’s no reason to go to Australia because nobody knows who you are! There have been some wonderful things that have happened. So, that’s probably the most life changing thing that has changed since the inception of Skillet…’

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 22: NEWSBOYS

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What do you think about when you think of the term ‘Australian Christian artist/band’? What comes to mind? Frankly, you immediately think about Hillsong (all its facets) and the deeply polarising nature of the megachurch and their music arm and ministry. Or you can think about Rebecca St. James, who raced to stardom way back in the early 1990s, and then went on to release several chart-topping albums, and is now an icon and a champion of abstinence with her own ‘purity’ song ‘Wait For Me’. for KING AND COUNTRY is another Aussie band that is getting traction, popularity and influence now, and ironically, both brothers in this duo are related to the once-popular Rebecca St. James…but yet, even though all these artists have been popular throughout the years, and do command great influence within the history of Christian music from the land down under; there is in fact one band that I firmly believe is responsible in staking a claim that Christian music not necessarily from the U.S., is firmly and very much ok. The Newsboys, who started their venture in the late 1980s as a band trying to make it on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia; are now entering into their 4th decade.

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Momentous Mondays: Influential artists of the next 5-10 years – Week 4: Alessia Cara

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If you were to travel anywhere in the world, either to live or just to travel for a holiday, and the place in question wasn’t in the country you grew up in, or lived in most of your life; where would it be? Would it be somewhere like Africa where you could help the orphans and the poor by giving out food and basic needs? Or would it be in the U.S.A, simply because of the theme parks and the famous people you could meet everyday? I know I haven’t been the most well-versed traveller over the years- my current job as a café owner prevents extended travel plans- however recently I’ve been intrigued by the concept of travelling to Canada for a holiday. Probably not before the U.S. though, but sometime in my lifetime. Of course the main reason why anyone would want to go to Canada is to see Niagara Falls (and for other places which I don’t remember off by heart, you can check out a list of places to visit in Canada here!), while I personally would want to check out quite a lot of the places where they filmed TV shows in Vancouver. But first and foremost, one of the main reasons why Canada appeals to me is that I am certain about the sincerity and genuineness of many people there. Considering many music artists, celebrities and actors alike such as Celine Dion, Michael J. Fox, Downhere, Dan Aykroyd, Donald Sutherland, Hawk Nelson, Ryan Reynolds, Justin Bieber, Rachel McAdams, Seth Rogen, Manic Drive, Avril Lavigne, Keifer Sutherland, Keanu Reeves, The City Harmonic, Michael Buble, Shania Twain, Shawn Mendes, Thousand Foot Krutch and Dwayne Johnson are all from Canada- either born and raised or now considered a citizen of Canada; it makes sense to make that extrapolation that all Canadians are just overall nice people.

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