On the Road Again
By Christa A. Banister, Senior Music Editor, GospelMusicChannel.com
She’s With the Band
With a new musically adventurous album aptly titled Stronger (think less hip-hop and fewer dance beats), Tammy Trent is finding herself in all kinds of slightly uncomfortable – but exciting – situations as she’s been trading in her tracks for the live band experience.
“I’ve always been a tracks girl, just me and my microphone in front of these huge women’s conference audiences,” Trent said. “But these days, I’ve been having so much fun playing with a live band, even though it’s been a challenging adjustment sometimes. I feel like I’m in a season where I’m being stretched creatively, though, and I’m absolutely loving it.”
And while she’s already 18 years into her singing career, Trent believes her best songs are still to come. “With Stronger, I really felt like I’m beginning to come into my own musically and as a songwriter,” she shared. “So I’m already excited about what will happen creatively on my next project.”
In the meantime, Trent has a jam-packed touring schedule (passport required) that includes dates in Australia, Greece, Denmark and more. For details on a show near you, check out www.tammytrent.com.
David Crowder at a Theater Near You?
While August is usually a bummer month for movies as the summer blockbuster season screeches to a halt, you don’t have to be stuck buying yet another ticket to The Dark Knight. That is, if you’re a David Crowder fan.
Turns out that in commemoration of the upcoming August 19 release of the Remedy Club Tour DVD/CD combo, the concert is going to be shown in select cities on the big screen for one night only. Basically for those who missed the “Remedy” tour the first time around, this is next best thing
The 85-minute concert was recorded at the New York City and Atlanta tour stops. Shot with nine cameras, the DVD features cutting-edge surround sound technology and includes tracks from Remedy, along with fan favorites including, “I’m Trying to Make You Sing,” “Here is Our King,” “You Are My Joy” and more.
Upping the ante for those who pick up the DVD when it hits stores, buyers will also receive a 15-minute exclusive tour documentary “On The Road With David Crowder Band” as well as “Learning the Songs,” a section hosted by each band member showing fans their setup and gear used in each song along with a how-to lesson on playing the songs exactly like the David Crowder Band does. Taking it even further, the DVD gets all “Guitar Hero” with features that display chord/lyric subtitles so that fans can test their skills and play along.
To find out which cities will feature Crowder on the big screen, check out www.thebiggerpicture.us/davidcrowderband.
It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like…
With three best-selling Christmas albums to her credit, Amy Grant’s got one rather extensive collection of yuletide songs. But for fans hoping to conserve a little precious iPod space once the holidays arrive, Grant has made the task a little easier with the upcoming September release of The Christmas Collection.
Featuring all of Grant’s personal favorites from her three albums (no doubt a difficult decision on which to choose), she also recorded four brand new tracks including “Baby It’s Christmas,” a song she and husband Vince Gill wrote that features a cameo from their daughter Corinna.
Like years past, Grant and Gill will be hitting the road together for a Christmas tour in 15 cities. Grant will also be joining Michael W. Smith in November for an NBC special titled “Holiday Celebration on Ice” that features professional ice skating champions Nancy Kerrigan and Viktor Petrenko.
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About the Writer
After graduating with a B.S. in Journalism from North Central University in 1998, Christa Banister moved to Nashville, Tenn. and eventually started working at CCM Magazine/Salem Publishing in various editorial capacities (including managing editor) for five and a half years. After that, she launched her own freelance writing company and writes for numerous clients including CCM Magazine, Crosswalk.com (she review movies for them each week), Christian Single, Christianity Today, Threads Media, Songs4Worship.com, BurnLounge, PassAlong.com and helped kickstart the first Christian music blog for MTV. She also writes bios for professional recording artists and authors and penned her first two fiction novels for NavPress in 2007.
