An Expose on The Prayer Chain, written to Jason Panella
Hey Jason. So here they are: the four official recordings released by The Prayer Chain. There may be a single with some B-sides out there. I thought I heard a song by them that I didn't recognize once... but that remains a mystery. OK, here we go. Band: Vocals - Tim Tabor. Has a great scream. Went on to do other work. I never followed it. Guitars - Andrew D. Prickett. A genius with effects for his time. Likes reverb, wah, and delay. Drums - Wayne Everett. My personal drum mentor. Listen close to him play, and you will hear me play. I learned all his beats. Single greatest drum influence on my style. Went on to play in Starflyer 59. Also did some work with producer Steve Hindalong in The Choir. Bass - Eric R. A. Campuzano. Writes most of the lyrics, which are always profound and poetic. Albums: Whirlpool EP. Released 1992, Reunion Records. Produced by "The Prayer Chain" and Steve Hindalong. You can definitely hear the bands grass grunge roots. Pearl Jam meets Spin Doctors. Can hear the Christian metal influence. Best song: "Follow Me" Shawl. Released 1993, Reunion Records. Produced by Steve Hindalong and "The Prayer Chain." Breakout full-length album. More polished sound, more developed than Whirlpool, less predictable. Still grungy progressive alternative. Prickett explores with the effects more, and drum machines are used, as well as looping samples of voices and such. Interesting expression in "The Hollow" and the untitled poem track. Every song great, but try: "Fifty-Eight" - code for Five-Eight time signature, I think. "The Hollow" "Never Enough" - love the line "screwtape smiles, tries my trials" "Wrounde" - love the wailing dissonance--signature Prickett "Psycho Flange" - "Don't tear me down" Mercury. Released 1995, Rode Dog Records (div of Reunion). Produced by Steve Hindalong and The Prayer Chain. All you have to do is listen to the prelude "Humb" to know that this album something is drastically different. No one saw this coming. Think "OK Computer" shock, but in a tiny cult audience. When I look back on it, it's just an obvious extension of where the band was going from Shawl. Prickett's effects are all the more prevalent. I remember thinking that I hated the album. I said only the bass and drums made sense... everything else was anti-melodic chaos. Obviously, it grew on me, because it's now my favorite. Best: "Sky High" - commentary on artists state of mind? Christians? "Shiver" - reminds me, again, of Pearl Jam. "Manta Rae" - simple. Use of female vocal is breathtaking. Prickett works in distortion like an artist with oil. "Bendy Line" - great love song. Melody line is complex, but good. "Sun Stoned" - Album's crowning song. Continues theme from "Humb." Antartica. Released 1996, Brainstorm Artists, just prior to the band's breakup. Studio tracks produced by Steve Hindalong. Live tracks by Dave Hackbarth. The last word I heard from the band was from 7Ball magazine: "a democracy doesn't work in a band." They had time to put some tracks down in a studio before breaking up, so they were released on this album, along with a live show from Azusa Pacific University in CA. The live tracks offer some interesting variations. Best: "Chalk" - Nice melody. "Crawl (Live)" - love the foreboding mood and new chord progression at the end. and, of course, the nice lead-in to "Sky High." "The Hollow (Live)" - more organic than studio version on Shawl. It's a shame they broke up. They took their music seriously and were way better than most Christian rock of the era.
