GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PUNKS
HOMETOWN “RAW ROCK” KILLERS STRENGTHEN FAITH, CLIMB LADDER TO STARDOM
Jesus was a punk. Well, sort of.
Punk, according to Matt Davis, has more to do with fashion these days than anything patently subversive. But it used to have the power to question authority, to shock established mores, to undermine the status quo.
It’s this punk-rock spirit that Davis, a graduate of Savannah Christian Preparatory School, evokes in his role as guitarist for Savannah-based Christian rock band Showbread. It’s what makes him punk, just like Jesus.
“Punk was originally a fight for freedom of expression,” Davis says. “It was a rebellion against society. Jesus did the same thing.”
‘NO SIR, NIHILISM IS NOT PRACTICAL’
Musically, Davis thinks the band’s music is neither punk nor hardcore. It’s too rocking to be hardcore and there’s too much screaming – courtesy of singers Ivory Mobley and Josh Porter – to be punk.
It’s something new, Davis feels, so he and his seven-man cohort invented the phrase “raw rock” to describe the band’s fiery brand of fast-paced, cord-shredding rock. In fact, “Raw Rock Kills!” is the motto for their latest record, “No Sir, Nihilism Is Not Practical.”
It’s no ordinary record. First, because it’s released on Tooth & Nail Records, a respected Seattle label. Second, because Tooth & Nail is no ordinary record label.
Tooth & Nail has proven to be a gateway to major labels, much in the way Triple A in minor league baseball is a gateway to the Big Show, by providing bands with either overt or oblique Christian sensibilities for consumption by a mainstream audience. (P.O.D. is perhaps the best-known graduate of Tooth & Nail’s roster).
SACRED AND SECULAR, A DYNAMIC DUO
Showbread follows in the wake of a long line of Christian rockers coming to prominence in recent years. Along with P.O.D., are Creed, Dashboard Confessional and up-and-comer Chevelle. Many observers of pop music have noted that since Sept. 11, 2001, the mainstream has made room for quasi-religious music, what was once considered a niche market.
But the trend predates 9-11. Stryper was one of the first metal bands to co-opt the imagery of Dokken and Slayer (dark, deathly, devilish) and put it in the service of their Christian beliefs. They also made a lot of money, a trend more widespread in the new millennium. A USA Today article reported a $920-million profit by the Christian entertainment industry in 2001.
Blurring the line between secular and sacred, though, finds its roots in the late Ray Charles.
The father of soul and Georgia native took a sacred form and filled it with secular substance – the vocal style of the Southern Baptist church singing about sex. Instead of singing about how he’s got a Lord who’s good to him, he sang about how he’s got a woman, who, with a wink, is “good” to him.
The result was revolutionary – a hybrid style that gave the mundane act of sex the gravitas of a spiritual journey.
For its part, Showbread does the opposite. They take a secular form and imbue it, loosely speaking, with sacred substance. Lyricist Josh Porter writes about a range of topics, but none resembles gospel hymnals. Songs instead feature some kind of appeal to a higher power. Instead of singing about sex, Showbread sings, generally speaking, about the need for guidance, strength and comfort.
The result is striking, music that humanizes God, makes him a little less profound, a little more comprehendible, a little more like us.
“God is who God is,” Davis says. “It’s not our place to judge. We never claim perfection. We feel there’s grace towards us, which gives us hope to be forgiven, so that we don’t get hung up with guilt. Then we can move on. We don’t say people shouldn’t do certain things. That’s between them and the Lord.”
CONTROVERSIAL CHRISTIANS?
The earthly world of popular music, by any measure, is hardly conducive to a Christian life. Motley Crue’s legendary decadence, to take an extreme model of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, makes Jesus’ trial in the wilderness seem as trying as an afternoon catnap.
But Davis and his band – John Giddens (keyboards), Mike Jensen (guitar), Marvin Reilly (drums), Mobley, Porter and his brother Patrick (bass) – consider their presence in the scuzzy bars and beer-soaked concert venues, the modern-day dens of iniquity, a punk-style act of subversion.
“We’re here to play music, try to be as good examples as we can,” Davis says.
Their aim is to upend the status quo of rock ‘n’ roll by setting a Christian “example.” But it’s not the preachy, better-than-thou “example” you might expect from a finger-wagging pedant. Instead, they strive for Christian tenets of a higher order – universal love, forgiveness and tolerance.
“We’re Christians, but we’re human, too,” Davis says. “As humans, we’re fallible. We do things that we shouldn’t. As Christians, we try not to. We can be judgmental. But being judgmental is a huge turn off. That’s not what Jesus did. In the scriptures, Jesus totally loved everyone. He corrected people, but didn’t condemn them.”
The secular mainstream is historically skeptical of Christian rockers. (P.O.D. once quipped that no one notices the Buddhism of the Beastie Boys). But Christian rockers get heat from both sides: traditional Christians see Showbread’s tattoos, long hair and loud guitars and wonder how this could be Christian.
“They say there’s no such thing as Christian rock,” Davis says. “Parents complain that it doesn’t sound Christian. But kids who’ve gone astray come to our shows and tell us how our music affected them. It encouraged them to know there were others who felt the same way. It’s not enough to be Christian. Jesus was about love.”
Savannah Morning News
January 6, 2005
