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Caedmon's
Call : Vibrant
hues of blue and green, gold and red. Organ pipes stretch
into a domed ceiling. Amber candle flames streak through etched
stained glass to penetrate the darkness, the space. Below,
surrounded by a piano and guitars, sit the members of Caedmon's
Call, singing songs of worship…just another part of their
day. They are in the company of their community, of each other,
but more importantly, they are in the presence of God. Four
years ago, the band had a desire to see sincere fellowship
among their local church body. That desire, combined with
a hunger to return to the elements of the early church, spurred
them to help create a service called Logos ("the Word")
at their home church, Second Baptist, Houston. Incorporating
creeds, hymns, and tradition, the band found what they believe
to be a vital part of their Christian existence, a sense of
community. Community and worshipping within that context are
the foundation and vision behind this passionate new album.
Creating a worship album has been a long-time desire of the
band, and they've finally found opportunity to give it proper
focus, following the success of their independent efforts
and three national release projects. Even with more than 750,000
units sold spanning their three best-selling and critically
acclaimed recordings, several #1 Christian radio hits, and
an Album of the Year Dove Award, the members of Caedmon's
Call have managed to hold onto the simple roots which first
formed the band nine years ago.
The band known
as Caedmon's Call first began when Cliff Young (vocals, guitar)
and his now-wife Danielle (Glenn) Young (vocals), began singing
together in church. Gradually, the other members joined, and
the band started touring colleges. A few years later, Caedmon's
Call was offered the chance to lead worship every week at
a Houston-area Bible study with close to 1,000 of their peers.
As their careers evolved, the band always remained anchored
in their home church. "We're all called to be a hand
or a foot or a face in our local body of Christ, and hopefully
we've played our musician role in that by playing instruments
and leading worship," Young says. "All we're trying
to do through this record is express what we've been doing
in our church for a long time. We're not trying to pull music
out of nowhere and put it down. This is an extension of something
we've been a part of for years." Even though Caedmon's
Call doesn't typically lead worship at their concerts and
their songs don't usually reflect a worship style, the band's
music has always been grounded in the idea of directing people
to God in their everyday lives. "We're learning that
worship is more than playing music or singing a chorus over
and over. It happens on a day to day basis," explains
Todd Bragg (drums.) "In something as little as running
an errand or doing a project around the house, we can worship
through that. We can also worship in our struggles and our
confusion. It ultimately comes down to understanding who God
is, praising Him for being who He is and giving Him the glory."
As anyone who has ever attended their concerts can attest,
the live show is a big part of what Caedmon's Call is about.
Touring roughly 150 concert dates per year, the band members
have always thrived on the opportunity to interact with fans
and create an intimate, interpersonal concert setting. With
their ministry focusing primarily on college audiences and
with an established, unique fan-base known as The Guild, it
is fitting that the band chose to include that aspect of their
community on this recording. At a recent Texas-college concert,
the band captured a live version of "God of Wonders"
for one of the album's two live tracks. Long before it appeared
on the album City On A Hill: Songs Of Worship And Praise (Essential
Records) and became a Dove Award nominated worship song, one
of its writers, Steve Hindalong, gave Caedmon's Call access
to "God of Wonders" to see how it translated in
a live worship setting. Since then, the song has become an
important part of the Logos service and the band's live concerts.
At this particular concert, a huge audience is heard meshing
flawless four part harmonies to provide some unparalleled
musical moments on the album.
"We have
put together a record that is focused completely on worshipping
God," Buell explains. "We've always believed that
the church and the community within, is integral to the Christian
life. We hope that these songs will make their way into the
church and be sung to give praise to God and that the band
that wrote and produced them would be forgotten. We also hope
that the people singing them would forget themselves for awhile
and focus on nothing besides the God who delights in our worship
of Him."
 _.:Caedmon's
Call Official Site
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