Tag: washington

Poor Old Lu are/were one of the most celebrated alternative rock bands in the Christian scene. They hit at the height of the Christian indie scene in the 1990s, and formed a core unit of alternative rock bands that included The Prayer Chain, Plankeye, Starflyer 59 and a handful of others. Hailing from the Seattle area, the band also had close ties with others in the scene like Pedro the Lion, Damien Jurado, Blenderhead, and even Sunny Day Real Estate (vocalist Jeremy Enigk provided guest vocals on one POL track).… Continued →

Gosh, this song . . . this band . . . has a way of evoking memories of a certain period of my life. Lo-fi indie rock with only 2 members. One on guitar and vocals, and the other on drums. They released a very short–only 3 songs–but brilliant self-titled EP on Tooth & Nail in 1997. T&N had a fantastic run of EPs around that time (Pedro the Lion, Warlord, Inner Means, Training for Utopia, etc.) and this was certainly one of them. The songs were lo-fi, but not noisy.… Continued →

This pop punk band only released 2 full lengths, but obviously caught the punk scene by surprise as they were an all girl band on their first LP. They added a guy for their 2nd. This song reminds me of ska band Bob’s (Bunch of Believers) Mission Trip to Mexico for obvious reasons as tunes referencing mission trips.   … Continued →

This band formed from a church worship band. They were one of the first modern rock worship bands I think. They had a tight modern rock sound & had songs on Christian edgier radio stations including Ride, Undiscovered. They have since changed their name to The Listening. Gabe Wilson has worked with many musical endeavors over the years also. These lyrics are awesome! I remember the day When the love of God landed in our town He took all the silent and broken hearts And fixed them up and gave them a sound He had almost every different kind of kid From every different kind of social background Taking all the cool they had and praising God As He spun them around, it’s when God came to town And the people in our churches, they were constantly amazed At the kids kneeling at the altar with their different fashion flavors You had squares and preps and skater punks, Goths and techno-ravers And the tattooed kids with the colored hair And they were all getting saved You think the sixties had good vibrations?… Continued →

If you’ve been following social media regarding the Christian scene at all over the recent weeks/months, you’ll likely be aware of Michael Bloodgood’s recent health issues, culminating in his death last week. Michael was a co-founder, and obviously namesake, of the legendary and seminal Christian metal band Bloodgood. The band has been active since the 1980s, with their first album coming out in 1986. They stood out from the pack in various ways: the theatrical singing and stage antics of lead vocalist Les Carlsen, the top-notch music and writing of the band, and their no-compromise approach to lyrics and music ministry.… Continued →

Acceptance is a pop punk band from Washington state. I remember their song Different on mainstream radio back when emo ruled the airwaves in the early to mid 2000s. They had originally broke up in 2006, but reunited in 2017 & released albums on the label that I have always wanted to work for: Tooth & Nail. They have toured with Anberlin, Finch, Further Seems Forever & The Julian Theory all of whom I have seen live. The band has had several catchy songs including Take Cover, Not Afraid & this SOTD.… Continued →

Y’all better to get ready to put your boxing gloves on. You ready for this? Pokinatcha is the best MxPx (Magnified Plaid) album. Why? It was melodic, but still very much punk–bordering even on old school hardcore at times. It’s by far their most unique record, before they settled into the more polished pop-punk sound that everyone remembers. To be clear, I have no problem with the direction they later took (except for maybe moving further away from Christian spirituality and theology as the years went by, but that’s another post altogether).… Continued →

Blenderhead was a weird band to me back in the day: I had their t-shirt w/ the logo for Prime Candidate in high school. MXPX was my fave punk band & this song I heard on an indie Christian terrestrial radio show & then Haven came out on a T&N comp. The bass is what drew this song to me.… Continued →

Hey, I get it. 80s metal is a love or hate thing. Many IVM readers are fans primarily of pop-punk and related genres. The thought of dudes in make-up, hairspray and spandex just seems like a bad joke. But for those of us who were there, it comes with a heap of nostalgia, and occasionally some good tunes too! It’s a shame, but Watchmen never quite got the level of attention that some of their peers received (Whitecross, Guardian, Holy Soldier), perhaps because of the brevity of their career.… Continued →