Join a Christian Rock Band??

[MikeyFingers]

I was at Guitar Center today, teasing myself with my GAS (Schecter Stiletto Custom 4), when some guy came up to me. He asked how long I've been playing, said I sounded really good, blah blah, nothing special, just chit chat. Then he asked if I was a member of any church, so I was like ...He explained that he is putting together a band that will be affiliated with his church and eventually play at the church. But right now, he's just looking for musicians to work with and start developing a band.
He said they'll be playing "contemporary christian rock", and I thought to myself.....uh-oh.
Still, we talked for a few minutes about music and the other musicians (right now, he just has a keyboard player, his wife sings, and he plays "latin" percussion) and exchanged numbers just in case.
I'm not particularly interested in playing christian rock. Not because of any religious issues, it's just that from my experience, that kind of music generally sucks IMO. Worst case scenario is I just blow the guy off. But right now, I'm newly unaffiliated (just left the band I was in for over 2 years) and struggling to get anything going musically. I've been basically dormant for 2 months and it sucks.
I just thought I'd ask you guys for some input. I figure, why not? At least maybe I'll give it a try. If it turns out to be awful, then I'll just quit, but I really don't know yet. It doesn't sound like my cup of tea but almost anything is better than not playing at all.

[TheDarkReaver]

If it was me then I wouldn't do it.

[MIJ-VI]

Why not give it a try? If it works, it works.

If it doesn't then at least you'll have groomed another contact which might pay off later.

[JoZac21]

I wouldn't do it... but I was raised jewish... and now I'm an atheist... although I looove gospel music... weird...

In sum, join a gospel band.

[Hotrodmick]

I'm in two Christian rock bands. We play all over, from Octoberfest to prisons. We do a lot of festivals. Here is my first band www.az-u-r.com I'm one of the guitar players in it. The second band is new and I'm the bass player. We don't have a web site yet.

The problem I have is when I tell people I'm in a Christian rock band, they always roll their eyes and say something like " ya my church has a band too". All but the bass player has played in the real world. We don't play Christian music, we play classic rock, that is christian based.

Give it a try, you can make it as fun as you want or just tell them it's lame and leave.

Good luck
Mick

[bassist4dalord]

This is a tough topic.. My faith means a lot to me, so one part of me says playing in a Christian band if you're not a Christian is not a good idea. But I'm also one who believes music can lead a person to faith (it did for me) so I say, join and let God work through it. The faith part is something you should really think about, IMO. (Try praying about it, or if you know any Christians, talk to them.)

On the issue of Christian rock bands sounding good, I've actually found that a lot do. There's a lot of types of Christian rock (Thousand Foot Krutch, Skillet, Stryper, etc...) so you should look around and see what there is.

Best of luck, man!!

[bassvi]

I agree with your last paragraph. If you're not doing anyting else, what have you got to lose? I'm not in that type of group, but I do know who Phil Keaggy and Adam Nitti are-
it could be a good experience, I would at least give it at try.

[brocco]

Jump on it,the work is plentiful and eveywhere.I have been playing at my church for the last 12 years,I would not trade it for anything.I also play with to working secular groups here in town.A classic rock and a real nice funk/ groove group.Both of these groups have members who also play at church and two of them are worship leaders.Other benefits:Good sound systems & sound techs ,permanent stage equipment(no set up or tear down...yeah) and in my case very GOOD people with no ego's I might add, who love GOD and share there heart and souls with each other.This team I am on is very skilled and plays at the pro level.The 2 drummers are lights out!No pressue ,no competing.Just a lot of fun and fellowship

[lowfreq33]

In the immortal words of Hank Hill, "Bobby, you're not making christianity better, you're just making rock and roll worse".

[elavate7]

Originally Posted by brocco

Jump on it,the work is plentiful and eveywhere.I have been playing at my church for the last 12 years,I would not trade it for anything.I also play with to working secular groups here in town.A classic rock and a real nice funk/ groove group.Both of these groups have members who also play at church and two of them are worship leaders.Other benefits:Good sound systems & sound techs ,permanent stage equipment(no set up or tear down...yeah) and in my case very GOOD people with no ego's I might add, who love GOD and share there heart and souls with each other.This team I am on is very skilled and plays at the pro level.The 2 drummers are lights out!No pressue ,no competing.Just a lot of fun and fellowship

this is sooo true! i play in a christion rock band also. we played a gig tonight with 2 other bands and we were like family. no competition, no jelousy, just support of one another. it was beautiful! i say go for it!

[JoZac21]

Stryper Rules!!!!

Seriously...

And again, atheist...

But seriously, a gig's a gig... if you wind up liking it, what's the harm? If you wind up hating it, you quit and move on, and again, what's the harm?

Worst comes to worst, you wind up gaining some experience, since anytime you play w. other musicians it's more experience. Hell, if someone asked me to join there Christian band, I'd even go and check it out... and I started this sentence with "hell" lol.

[sidd_laroy]

i too think christian rock sucks, but back when i was taking lessons my bass teacher told me about all of the bands he had been in. he said he was even in a polka band. basically, i think if a bassist is given an opportunity to play with other musicians, especially if they aren't doing anything else anyway, they should do it. it'll broaden your horizons, and give you more experience, not saying you need anymore. i'm just rambling now. it's late, and i'm tired and bored.

[jsh008]

Those CR bands seem to get gigs if they're decent enough. I could have auditioned for a CR band and decided it wasn't what I wanted to do. I learned the 5 songs they wanted to audition with, had them all nailed actually and probably could have got the job. Then I figured I might as well wait and see if something better comes along. I've checked their website a few times and they were getting gigs across 4 different states. And now I'm stuck with my wed night jam band, with guys 30 years my senior who won't play anything other than classic rock. That is when we have a singer.

[kb9wyz]

Coming from the worship band world, I do have a comment to make about this. Go figure. When you play at a church's worship service, you are taking part in leading worship. If you do not share the same faith as your audience, I think it is a bad idea. If the purpose is worship, then a musician should be worshiping with their music, and not just playing a gig. I have the same opinion of someone playing in a religious band of any kind when they don't believe in what they're playing for. (Though I understand professional situations like studio work or live fill-ins.) I just don't think it ought to be a regular thing.

Total opinion. No theology to support this. Just my thoughts about the ethics of playing music. So no rotten fruit my way. Pretty please.

[::::BASSIST::::]

Wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.

I was christian for 5 years in my late teens/early 20s and had a lot of insights about the whole movement I wont go into here.

Suffice it to say, they will DEFINITELY use it as an opportunity to push their brand of "fire insurance" on you, if you know what I mean. They'll be praying before or after rehearsals and gigs etc.

I mean if you are already raised christian and its in-line with your beliefs thats a different story, but if you are a more secular guy be prepared to be bombarded with evangelicalism. That said, generally christians are VERY nice people, but they belong to whole new world/mentality that will be quite different from what you're used to.

If you're looking for a band there are many of them on craigslist looking for a bassist. Naturally, you'll have to swift thru what is worthy of your time, but thats the route I would go.

[stratovani]

Originally Posted by kb9wyz

Coming from the worship band world, I do have a comment to make about this. Go figure. When you play at a church's worship service, you are taking part in leading worship. If you do not share the same faith as your audience, I think it is a bad idea. If the purpose is worship, then a musician should be worshiping with their music, and not just playing a gig. I have the same opinion of someone playing in a religious band of any kind when they don't believe in what they're playing for. (Though I understand professional situations like studio work or live fill-ins.) I just don't think it ought to be a regular thing.

Total opinion. No theology to support this. Just my thoughts about the ethics of playing music. So no rotten fruit my way. Pretty please.

I just recently joined a Christian Contemporary band in our area. Our bandleader is the pastor at the local Baptist Church and he's a really nice guy and good bandleader. However, I made it plain to him that I'm Catholic and under no circumstances was I going to give up playing at our Church on Sunday mornings, and rehearsals for special occasions (i.e. Easter or Christmas) would have to take precedence. I have absolutely no problem with the music or the message, but as the bassist my priority is playing my bass and setting a good groove. And I won't be playing with them on Sundays, I neither have the time nor the inclination. Other than that they're a great bunch of guys, with solid chops and a professional attitude, so I'm looking forward to a most productive association with them.

And absolutely no rotten fruit your way, kb9wyz!

[Essen]

If you're ok with the christian part, it's all down to the music. Ask if you can join them for a jam, and if you then like what you hear, join them.

[Unrepresented]

I couldn't do it for moral reasons, although 10 years ago a frontman of the band I was in was trying to convince us to crossover for the easy fanbase. Standards seemed pretty low back then, and it the audience seemed hungry for anything that fit into the mold regardless of quality.

[Richland123]

Check out some of these extremely popular Christian rock bands. This ain't your grandpa's church music.

Decemeradio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEK6zIgS2kk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz5G6...eature=related

Switchfoot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et1vriu29Qk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv-5snutHG0

Newsboys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nAKbBbupL0

[Benjamin Strange]

Before you make a decision, you need to read this:

http://www.theonion.com/articles/bas...christian,407/