Chris August

As this month’s artist, we decided to pick Chris August, more properly Christopher August Megert! Chris August was born on March 20, 1982 and became a Christian when he was 15 years old. He began recording his music very early,  after his father set up a studio in his home in Garland, Texas. Chris August is an American artist and his music fits in the category of Contemporary Christian music. But it was not always that way.

In 2005, he signed a contract with the label Geffen Records and moved to Los Angeles, participated in some projects along Brian McKnight, Jessica Simpson and Ashlee Simpson. After that, he decided to return to his hometown, Texas, and devote exclusively to Christian music. That was when the dream has born and became a reality and he became known as Chris August.

He was inspired and in one night wrote the song “Starry Night” as a demo. Based on this music, signed contract with Word Records and in 2010, he recorded the album “No Far Away” in which this song was released as a single. “Starry Night” hit number 1 on the Billboard Christian Songs list in 2011. He joined the Winter Jam 2011, a national tour with the Newsboys and Francesca Battistelli in 45 cities. He was also nominated in 2011 for the Dove Awards in five categories, winning the award in three of the categories: Best New Artist, Male Vocalist of the Year and Album Pop / Contemporary Year.

He released another album in 2012, “The Upside of Down”, about four months after an accident. This album explores the ups and downs of life and how God is present at all times. He also launched an EP in 2014 for a special time, titled “The Christmas” and another album, “The Maker”, in 2015.

We hope you liked knowing a bit more about the artist of this month. We know how this month is complicated with the studies and everything else, so we advise you to hear some of his songs. It may increase your energy, enjoy it!

Jamie Grace

As you know, this month’s theme is: Women! And so we decided to have as the artist of the month, Jamie Grace! Jamie was born in November 25, 1991 and she is from Atlanta, Georgia. She grew up singing and playing instruments at the Church and also at home with her older sister, Morgan. Do you know what they say about women being great at coordinate and manage multiple tasks at the same time? Well, Jamie is one of those! Jamie is a songwriter, rapper and singer of Christian contemporary music. Her music combines various styles from hip hop, and folk to pop! In some of her songs, she has the participation of other artists like TobyMac.

In addition to all this, remember that Jamie also makes several videos on Youtube talking about important issues in a fun and easy way. She is also a speaker at the Revolve Tour, organized by Women of Faith group. It was on 16 July 2006 that Jamie created her account on Youtube. She began to put videos of her own songs and then later came the videos that are part of “The Jamie Grace Show”. In 2010 she was discovered from her YouTube channel by TobyMac and signed to his label, Gotee Records.

She released the EP “Hold Me” in February 2011 and then her first album called “One Song at a Time” in September 2011. Her second EP, Christmas Together, was released in November 2011. She launched her second album in January 2014 called “Ready to Fly”. In 2012, she won the Dove Award for New Artist of the Year and was also nominated for other categories.

We hope that you enjoyed knowing a little more about Jamie Grace! As you know, we now have here a list of some of her songs. Enjoy it!

Hyland

The artist of this month is Hyland! Hyland is a Christian Fresh Pop band that was formed in 2006 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After its origin, they were increasingly gaining attention and traveled the state of Minnesota and then also several other states.

In several travels they performed in local clubs and other places, such as festivals of U.S.A. (Lifest, Sonshine, etc.) and won the musical tour at Club 3 Degrees. During this time, the band released two EPs independently. The first, Polyphonic Telegraph No.1, was launched on 22 July 2008 and the second, Quotients, was launched on 13 May 2009. On 25 October 2010, the band signed with Tooth & Nail Records because they were contacted by the producer and musician Aaron Sprinkle. Sprinkle met the band by accident, since one of his interns left open the program with a band’s music on his computer. A funny story that almost seems taken from a movie, don’t you think?

The band has engaged soon at work and released their third album on 3 May 2011, which was titled Weights & Measures. Currently the band is formed by: Jon Lewis (lead vocals and guitar), Ben Early (pianist, secondary vocalist and guitarist), Steve Weigel (drums) and Mitch Hansen (lead guitar). In addition to the digressions that draw attention, the band is in regular rotation on RadioU and Northwestern Media network. Hyland’s second radio single, This Love Is Free, from their third álbum, peaked at number 29 on the Christian Songs chart published by Billboard. They also released the fourth album on 22 October 2012, called Finding Our Way.

Now that we know everything there is to know about this band, I leave you to listen to some of their music. Here is a list of some songs from Hyland. We hope you like it!

Petra

Certainly, when we talk about Christian history and the foundations of Christianity as we know it, we also have to go back and look at a band who made history in the Christian community. Petra was our choice!

This band was created in 1972! It was created in Indiana, USA, by Bob Hartman and Greg Hough. They were a part of group that was counteracting the hippie movement back in the day. Since the beginning, the band won a great amount of fans. Back in the 80’s, with a hard rock style, Petra kept growing and growing.

In 2005, they announced the band was going to end. This was due to several rumors and problems with people leaving the band among other things. In fact, the turn of the millennium did not favor the band at all. For some years, they had been trying to reignite the band’s flame, but the audience was not that interested in the band anymore. However, in 2010, the band reunited and and restarted making songs with a CD called Back to the Rock.

As for discography and awards, this band has plenty of them to fill a wall. Let’s start by the albums: they produced 23 studio albums, 17 compilations and 3 live albums. As for awards, just to mention some: they have won 4 Grammy, 10 Dove Awards and they entered the Christian Hall of Fame.

They are clearly an amazing band. What are you waiting for? Check out some of Petra’s songs!

Thousand Foot Krutch

In 1995, Trevor McNevan creates a band called Oddball in Canada, and they even lauch an album. However, only in 1997, the band, now called Thousand Foot Krutch, creates an independent studio album called “That’s What People Do” which surprises the music world with its nu metal and alternative rock vibes. Este álbum independente já veio com o nome da banda que persiste até hoje: Thousand Foot Krutch. As many Christian bands we like, Thousand Foot Krutch, TFK for short, signed with Tooth & Nails label where they gained more and more popularity.

Excluding the tour band members, TFK are composed by three members: Trevor McNevan in lead vocal and guitar; Joel Bruyere in bass guitar and back vocal; and Steve Augustine in the drums. Overall, TFK have launched  8 CDs and, soon will launch their 9th. During the years, they won some prizes and were nominated also: they won the Awards from the Gospel Music Association in Canada – from the category of Artist of the Year (in 2005) to the Best Rock Song of the Year (in 2010, with ‘Forward Motion’).

We simply love mainly two projects they developed. In 2009 they produced a very interesting album named ‘Welcome to The Masquerade’. This album contains several great songs like ‘Welcome to the Masquerade’, or ‘Bring Me to Life’, or even ‘Already Home’. We love the live versions of these songs, as wells as the deep environment they create in the concert, which should inspire any musician to live their own message in an intense way. Finally, their last CD, called “OXYGEN:INHALE” is a piece of art that uses the imagery of oxygen as the needed element for lie. We still wait patiently for the sequel: “OXYGEN:EXHALE”.

Didn’t know this band and these projects? Hear them in our playlist!

Skillet

This month’s band, a month about “new beginnings”, is Skillet. Skillet are a Christian Rock, Alternative Metal and Hard Rock band (they vary a lot in their style), and they were formed in 1996. In the beginning, the band was composed by just two members: John Cooper, the current lead vocal, and Ken Steorts. They achieved a proposal from a label and started launching albums right away. In 2000, Ken leaves the band and Kevin Haaland takes his place as the guitar player, but not for long.  In 2001, Ben Kasica takes the place of Kevin Haland, and, in the same year, Skillet get their first national tour with the album Alien Youth. More recently, in 2011, Ben Kasica decided to dedicate himself to musical production and he left the stages, being substituted by Seth Morrison.

Nowadays, besides the many changes, Skillet are composed by four members: John Cooper, in the bass and lead vocal; Korey Cooper, in the guitar, keyboard and back vocal; Jen Ledger, in the drums and back vocal; and, lastly, Seth Morrison, in the guitar. Skillet have a total of eight studio albums, four EPs and two live albums. The band also has four DVD of live tours. Finally, the band was nominated and won several awards: they were nominated several years for a Dove Award, and they won the Best Rock Song of the Year in 2008 (with ‘Comatose’), in 2013 (with ‘Sick of It’), in 2014 (with ‘Not Gonna Die’) and in 2015 (with ‘Good to Be Alive’); they were also nominated for a Grammy two times; they won the Billboard Award for the Best Christian Album in 2011 (with Awake); Jen Ledger won a Drummie Award for Rising Star in 2012; and many other awards. In total, Skillet have won 14 awards!

Besides all these awards, this band also has a special meaning to us. Skillet were, for some of us, the first Christian Rock we ever heard. Their intervention song themes, which go from drugs (in ‘Comatose’) to a new beginning (in ‘Rebirthing’), and also about our frustration with injustice (in ‘Sick of It’) were something that inspired us for our current work.

Here’s our Skillet playlist with many of the awarded songs!

MercyMe

MercyMe is a north american Christian rock band. This band was formed in 1994 in Texas, more specifically in a town called Greenville. The band was originally formed by the vocalist Bart Millard, keyboardist James Bryson, drummer Robin Shaffer, bassist Nathan Cochran and guitarist Michael Scheuchzer. Currently, the band has another guitarist, Barry Graul, who joined in 2003 and lost a member in 2014, James Bryson the keyboardist.

The band released six independent albums and in 2001 signed to INO Records. The band was soon recognized after the single “I Can Only Imagine” from the first studio album published in 2001, which entitles Almost There. Since that time, MercyMe released seven albums, which of, four reached certified gold. Also released a compilation with their best successes in 2009 and some of their singles reached number one in the Christian category on BillBoard list. The band won eight Dove Awards and had several nominations for the Grammy Awards.

Referring to Christmas, MercyMe published an album devoted to this topic in 2005 that was called The Christmas Sessions. This year, the holiday season started early for them so they decided to publish a new Christmas album. This album, “MercyMe, It’s Christmas!” was released in October and has 11 classic songs.

We leave here the new album of MercyMe, recent and brand new, for you to listen and to cheer you on this holiday season that already has begun. We hope you enjoy and have a great Christmas!

Building 429

Building 429 is a Christian rock band and they started playing together in Snyder Memorial Baptist Church, in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1999. The band’s name, although it seems weird, gets its meaning in Ephesians 4:29, in the New International Version of the Bible – “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen”. The origin for this idea comes from their youth group, which had a system that enabled people to say “four twenty-nine” whenever someone started talk foul about other person.

The band was originally composed by the trio Jason Roy (lead vocal, keyboard and guitar), Christian Führer (drums) and Scotty Beshears (bass). Nowadays, only Jason is still in the band and the current lineup includes Michael Anderson (drums), Jesse Garcia (back vocal, keyboard and guitar) and Aaron Branch (bass guitar, back vocal). In 2005, Building 429 won a Dove Award for Best New Artist of the Year,  an award which was given in the previous year to Jeremy Camp. They saw their singles get to nr. 1 in the Billboard tops on the Christian category.

Building 429 have recorded nine albums, and the latest one was launched this year with the name Unashamed. In a very clever way, they chose to launch this album on April 29th (4/29). Their themes include edification and motivation to keep being the difference, and they have changed their musical styl some times. Their latest songs have a modern rhythm and an electronic vibe.

We have discovered this band recently. Don’t waste any time and listen to some of their songs in our playlist:

Flyleaf

Flyleaf is an alternative metal Christian band that was created in the year 2000 in Belton, Texas. From the very start, Lacey, the lead vocal, and Jared and Sameer, the guitar players, were excited with the band and what everyone could do. In 2003, they played at an annual festival in Austin, and in the next year they launched their first EP with the help of two producers that dealt with bands like 3 Doors Down, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Our Lady Peace.

Although, from 2005 onwards, they lauched studio albums, Flyleaf never stopped producing EP. In total, they have 8 EP and 4 studio albums. With the change of lead vocal in 2012, their last album Between the Stars has the voice of Kristen May and not Lacey Mosley’s.

Flyleaf’s lyrics, according to ex-lead vocal Lacey, are “personal messages that give us moments of clarity before the story begins”. They don’t mention God explicitly, but their message is clear in every song. The band has some Christian influences like Underoath and Skillet, but they also have non-Christian ones like Korn, Metallica, Pantera and Three Days Grace.

We love Flyleaf! Check out our playlist below to see why!

Hawk Nelson

Today we bring you the canadian band Hawk Nelson. At first, the band was called SWISH and in 2000 they launched an independent album. In 2002, when they changed cities, they also changed their name to Reason Being, but in 2003, when they launched yet another independent album, they finally decided on the name Hawk Nelson. Nowadays, none of the founders play in the band.

Their musical genre tends to pop punk and Christian rock. Besides the two independent albums, they have seven more labeled by Tooth & Nail Records, which accepted them into the family after a lead vocal from another Christian band recommended them. Their most recent album, called Diamonds, was launched this year and uses more digital effects. The theme from the title refers to the transformation God makes us undergo, transforming us from dust into diamonds.

They have some GMA Canada Covenant Awards, such as Best Rock Album, in 2011; and Best Rock / Alternative Album, in 2010. They were nominated for many Dove Awards, for one Grammy, for two Juno Awards, and, in 2006, they got the top spot on VH1’s top 20, with their song “The One Thing I Have Left”.

Are you curious? We leave here our playlist with their latest album, Diamonds!

Why should I do my best?

I'm known as a nerd. Everyone says that I study too much, and that I cling to books too much. It's not that bad, but it's almost true. I have the habit of putting all of me in everything I do and this applies to studying too. Being the best of the class has always been my ambition and no, not because I want to be better than others, but because this is what God asks of us. In Ecclesiastes 9:10 we read: "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might(...)" and in Colossians 3:23 says: "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;" These verses complement each other perfectly. God not only asks us to study but He asks us to do it with all our efforts as if we were doing it to Him. In this way we will achieve good results and creates the opportunity to show our friends that God blesses us when we give our best!

 

Proverbs 3:13

ENJUV 2014 Photos

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August 2014 Photos

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