Is Rebecca St. James Music A Hit On A Racy Beach?

By Dan Ewald

I think my music is generally listened to by the Christian public, but I would be very open to people who don�t know God hearing it and giving it a chance," says St. James. So CCM did just that and took St James� music to the world-famous Venice Beach, Calif., one of the most hedonistic communities in the United States. You might be surprised at the responses when random people were asked to listen to 90 seconds of one song and give us their gut reactions.

Glen from San Bernadino, Calif., thought Rebecca�s track was "cool, kind of unique and different" before asking, "Does she do all her instruments herself?" "No," we responded. "She has a band backing her up." We told Glen that the artist was originally from Australia. "Yeah, I was wondering why she sounded different or weird, but her voice is pretty cool. It�s like the slower chick stuff, which I�m not really into too much." We told him her name. "Rebecca St. James," he mumbled, "That sounds familiar."

Johnny from Santa Ana, Calif., muttered, "It�s not the best, but it�s all right." He thought Rebecca has a pretty good voice and compared her to Kylie Minogue. Johnny�s word to music buyers? "If they�re into slow, easy-going music, it�s for them. But it�s not for me because I like faster music."

Sharon is a tarot card reader from Santa Monica who tries to lure people wanting to hear about their future. We let her listen to "God," a track that reminded her of music from the �70s and �80s. "Beautiful, beautiful," she raved. "I would�ve even liked to hear more. It reminds me a lot of Fleetwood Mac when I first heard the sound of this girl�s voice. Who is she?" We tell her the name, recommending the CD. Sharon memorizes the name Rebecca St. James and commits to looking into her music.

Anthony was visiting Venice Beach from Arizona�"the hottest place on earth" according to him. Since he was dressed in what looked like dance clothes, we decided to play Rebecca�s bass-booming hit "Transform." He loved it. "It�s happening, it�s jumping, it�s high-energy music. It has a lot of beat and just mixes it up. That�s what I like," said Anthony. "I listen to a lot of this dance music� She�s there. I think she�ll make it. She�ll be in clubs everywhere."

Kelly from Hermosa Beach thought Rebecca�s voice was really strong and melodic. "I�m assuming she�s a Christian rock singer?" "Yes, that�s true," we say. "I think for a Christian rock singer she�s pretty good. She�s more modern than a lot of the stuff you hear, which pretty much sounds generated." How does Kelly know about this music? "My son is very much into Christian music. I like listening to Christian music just as long as every other word isn�t �God, God, God.�" Oops�the track we had played for her was Rebecca�s hit "God." Kelly explains further: "I think for a lot of people it�s like stabbing them in the stomach. When it�s that repetitive and that forced down your throat, I think it�s a little much. But if that�s where she�s coming from, that�s great."