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FFH
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Four for
Harmony. Since beginning in 1991 as an a capella group playing
for small morning church services, the members of FFH have
recorded a total of ten albums, and played an estimated 2000
concerts. And they're all still in their twenties. They've
also written and recorded a song for a nationwide Coca-Cola
ad campaign, garnered multiple #1 radio singles, generated
press too numerous to count, and received Dove Award nominations
including "New Artist of the Year." Their music
was even taken to outer space on the Space Shuttle Endeavour
mission. Now, with their third national Essential Records'
release, Have I Ever Told You, yet another chapter is added
to the life and times of FFH. The album proves that even after
a decade together, they've still got plenty left to say. Jeromy
and Jennifer Deibler, Brian Smith, and Michael Boggs, spent
several years as an independent group, supporting themselves
with yearly releases which they sold out of the back of their
motor home while touring the country. Sure, they were making
a decent living doing what they loved -- playing churches
and spreading hope. They even had astonishing radio success.
Their song 'Take Me as I Am' was the highest charting 'indie'
single in the history of Christian radio. But in 1997, they
took the next important step. FFH finally found a label that
could get behind them and launch them into the masses they
had yet to reach on their own. After signing with Essential
Records, the band put forth two triumphant national releases,
I Want to Be Like You and Found a Place, selling in excess
of a combined 500,000 units to date. The albums had remarkable
radio success with continual top ten hits, including two #1
songs. The group also toured vigorously, performing an estimated
200 concerts per year for church audiences numbering in the
thousands.
With their dream
life a sudden reality, FFH has been able to focus their energy
on delivering the praise and worship experience they've been
designed to create. Unlike many bands who tour primarily to
perform their songs and promote their records, FFH has always
placed priority on sharing a unique time of worship with their
audience, where the Holy Spirit fills the room with a lingering
sense of God's presence as they lift their voices to heaven.
"We've seen what praise and worship can do in concert,"
describes Michael (vocalist/guitarist/songwriter.) "The
Bible says that God inhabits our praise. When you gather in
His name and sing praises to Him, I think that God comes in
a special way and probably heals and reconciles and meets
a whole lot more needs than we ever even know about."
"We wanted
our hearts and everything that is in us to come out on tape,"
Jeromy confesses. "There's more to FFH than just a pop-acoustic
vocal band. There were things that musically and lyrically
we've never gotten to say before. We incorporated piano and
strings, for example. Lyrically, we allowed ourselves to be
a little more serious. It allowed us to be more musically
playful as well. When we get up on stage, we don't want people
coming to a concert just to see us, because that's not why
we do what we do. We want people to see Jesus Christ and we
want our concerts to glorify Him," says Brian, co-founding
member. "When we do praise and worship the eyes can be
taken off us, and we're not just up there entertaining. It's
a time when the audience and us can come together collectively
and sing praises to our Creator. We're all just a big group
having a praise time." By being true to their calling,
FFH has seen over 6,000 people come to know the Lord in the
past two years alone. They have partnered with well-known
Christian author Max Lucado to provide ministry tools to new
Christians. The foursome is usually the last to leave a concert
room, often staying for hours to dialogue with fans. And it
doesn't end there. Back on the bus each night, the tireless
members quiet themselves to pray for those fans with specific
needs. FFH is much more than four performers with powerful
voices…they have strong convictions too. "We just
want to be in the center of God's will," says Brian.
If we're out there being obedient to what He's called us to
do, then He's going to open doors for us or lead us down roads
that we might not even expect. Whether we're singing for smaller
youth groups, or in packed arenas, wherever God is going to
lead us, we just want to be obedient to His calling and keep
doing what we're doing." Jennifer echoes the sentiments
that every day is a new adventure in following their unseen
path wherever it may lead. "We've learned not to place
too many expectations on things. God has already taken us
places we never imagined we'd go." What is not hard to
imagine, however, is that FFH's incredible success story and
the message that has fueled it, will continue being told for
as long as there are ears to hear it.
 _.:FFH
Official Site
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