 |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||||||
|
A Chance For Change: A Review of Ruption: Battle of the Bands March 23, 2009 By Kyle Brown It was about
mid-October when I was approached by a schoolmate by the name of
Tyler Crow about hosting Gateway College of Evangelism's first ever
Battle of the Bands competition. My first thought was, “It'll never
fly!” It wasn't that I wasn't interested in a Battle
of the Bands; I simply thought that the idea wouldn't be received
well at Gateway College. However, I believe everything deserves
a chance, so I told Tyler I thought it was worth a shot. So
off went courageous Tyler to pitch this “risqué” idea to the administration,
while, like a coward, I waited behind with the foreknowledge of
its impending doom. I guess my meter was a little off that
day, because I was wrong. Tyler returned victorious and with
the message that we had been given this chance. Finally, a
chance to do something new and exciting. This is the thing
we had been waiting for. After five months
of meetings, and phone calls, and emails, and brainstorming sessions,
and late nights, and more meetings, and bit of money, the night
finally came. On Friday, March 6th, 2009, Gateway
College of Evangelism, using the facilities of The Sanctuary United
Pentecostal Church, hosted Ruption: Battle of the Bands.
The competition featured five select apostolic bands from different
locations around the United States. These bands included:
Soul's Desire - Louisiana Pure Worship - Missouri Graceful Closure - Ohio Nowhere Bridge - Illinois Goodbye June
- Tennessee Opening for
the even, currently basing out of Granite City, IL was Royal Tailor.
Sound check
began at 3:00pm. Who knew that four hours could pass by so
quickly? Before we knew it there were 10 seconds left
on the countdown and the audience was ready for the night to begin.
The lights were flashing, the music was pumping, and the crowd was
jumping as Royal Tailor offered a phenomenal opening to the evening.
The night ran very smoothly from then on. Emcee, Aaron Batchelor
did a wonderful job of introducing the bands and tying over the
loose ends. There were no major technical difficulties and
no awkward dead spaces. Thank God no one had to bury their heads
between their knees. Growing up,
I was taught that there is always room for improvement. With
that in mind, I have two small suggestions that may have helped
the evening to be the best it could have been. The first is
the everlasting technical issue of the inaudible vocals. This
problem is not at all unique to this event; it seems to be a problem
anywhere rock/alternative music is played. Many times it is
just taken for what it is, however I believe the lyrics to a song
are very important. This is especially important in Christian
music. The lyrics are meant to encourage, inspire, and most
of all glorify God. If the lyrics cannot be understood, then
our music is no different than the rest of the world's music.
My second concern of the night was that there were some parts that
were a little slow moving. I don't exactly know how to word
it other than to say, I got a little bored. Perhaps there
could have been a little more audience engagement by both the band
and on our part. I wanted to feel a total freedom to be involved,
however at some points I felt like I was not permitted to do anything
but sit and watch. That being said, I must give honor where
honor is due. Soul's Desire did an excellent job of engaging
the audience by inviting everyone to the front, throwing out t-shirts,
and most importantly, they had excellent stage presence. Had the
entire night been filled with this kind of energy and enthusiasm
I could sincerely say I would have no complaints. It was a great
honor to be part of making Gateway College history. The months of
preparation truly paid off, and the evening was a great success.
However, my favorite part of the evening was not during the actual
show. I was not most impressed by the fancy lights, the complex
guitar riffs, or by the tight vocals. What impressed me most
about the evening was the spirit and attitude of each band.
In any competition it is easy to become self-absorbed, competitive,
and bigheaded. However I failed to find one band that fit
into any of these categories. The bands had a great attitude
toward one another. The most enjoyable part of my night took
place before the competition began. I had the privilege
of spending some time with the bands in the hospitality room while
they were waiting to start the show. During this time the
bands had a good time together while we sang some old hymns and
“played” church. When the show began the bands carried this
same spirit onto the stage. Although they could have taken
the opportunity to simply “show off,” every band that stepped onto
the stage took the time to take the glory from themselves and give
it to God. This is the sign of a true “Christian” artist.
A Christian
battle of the bands competition can at times be controversial.
Some are all for it, and some fear that we are not glorifying God,
but glorifying ourselves. I believe that Ruption provided
a chance for Apostolic people to use the talent that God has blessed
them with. It provided a chance for Apostolic people with
a message to get their message out. For Gateway College it
was new grounds. But just as the title of one of the songs
sung by Graceful Closure, it was “A Chance For Change.” © 2009, Kyle
Brown ------- Kyle Brown is a student at Gateway College of Evangelism.
|
|||||||||
