Officially Blogging at Beliefnet.com

It's official! I am the Christian music blogger at Beliefnet. com. As a result, I won't be updating this blog any more.

Head over to the Gospel SoundCheck blog at Beliefnet.com for all the latest on Christian music. Bookmark this site! It's got a weird url. http://blog.beliefnet.com/gospelsoundcheck/

All other commentary about pop culture or media will be part of any regular blogging I do on my own blog. http://www.joannebrokaw.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading!
Joanne

Joanne's blogging at Beliefnet.com

For the next couple of weeks, I'm blogging about Christian music at Beliefnet.com. Visit the Idol Chatter blog to read about pureNRG, CCM Magazine, Sanctus Real, and more!

CCM to stop publishing print magazine

Here's some business news that's a sign of the changing times:

Salem Publishing will cease publication of the print version of CCM Magazine. April will be the last issue.

CCM has been the standard in music magazines for three decades, and the move to a web-only presence is a sign that readership for print publications is declining.

Is it cost? Is it the timely way publications can respond to news online? Probably a little bit of both.

You can read the press release here.

Re:zound Changes History

I know this is old news - as in, it happened 10 months ago - but the band just started working with a national publicist, and are getting ready to release their first national project. Because I love the band and I think this is big news, I'm reporting it.

Last March, rock worship artists Re:Zound made international history when they became the first openly Christian band to play in public in Vietnam. More than 10,000 people attended the free concert, which was also broadcast live to millions more via the government’s television network.

“I spoke of God’s love and forgiveness for them and about how it was not an accident that they were there, or that it didn’t rain,” recalls Re:zound frontman Jason Anderson. “Since most of those in attendance had some understanding of English, I spoke slowly and clearly, not wanting to rely on the translator as I invited the people to receive Jesus, to make him Lord and believe that he died and rose from the dead. After I asked ‘Who received the Lord tonight?’ everyone as far as I could see lifted their hands and cheered."

Visit http://www.youtube.com/rezound01 to see live video footage from the concerts in Vietnam and to witness history in the making.

After topping MTV’s undiscovered charts at No. 1 for over four months in 2004 with its independent single, “Angel,” Re:zound is poised to release its national debut album, Abandoned To You, March 11, 2008 with Vertical Shift Records. Although this is Re:zound’s first nationally distributed album through EMI CMG Distribution, the band is not naive to recording, the road, or to the service of the gospel.

Re:zound members, Jason Anderson (lead vocalist), Jeff Zubeck (lead guitar), Wes Bender (acoustic/rhythm guitar), Ariel Ortiz (bass guitar) and Jordan Potts (drums), play for crowds reaching 75,000 per event at rock crusades since 2001. Their touring spans six nations, including Communist Vietnam, Thailand, India and Cambodia, as well as US performances with artists such as Jeremy Camp, Michael W. Smith, David Crowder Band and Tree 63. In addition to being MTV’s No. 1 Undiscovered Band, the band has also garnered three top 20 R&R Christian hit singles with “Majesty,” “Great I Am” and “Hallelujah,” all from an independent release in 2004. Re:zound’s Anderson further hosts a nationally syndicated radio program, “Taking a Minute,” which plays weekly in over 300 U.S. cities.

For more information on Re:zound, the latest tour itinerary, etc., visit http://www.rezound.com/, www.myspace.com/rezound01 and http://www.verticalshiftrecords.com/.

Caedmon's Call song appears on ABC's Grey's Anatomy

Caedmon’s Call’s lyrically compelling song about redemption, “Ten Thousand Angels,” will receive a rare and lengthy showcase on the January 10 episode of the ABC hit drama series “Grey’s Anatomy.” Featuring vocals by Derek Webb, the song will play for five consecutive minutes during an emotionally charged final scene.

“It’s an honor to be asked to help carry some of the emotional weight of a powerhouse show like Grey’s,” says Webb in a press release. “I think the spiritual significance of a song like 'Ten Thousand Angels' will have some really special chemistry with what is bound to be an important episode in the season.”

"Ten Thousand Angels" is a bonus track on the group's current release, Overdressed, which was in the top 5 (no. 5) of iTunes Editorial list of 2007 for overall “Best Christian Albums.”

For more about Caedmon’s Call, visit their official website www.caedmonscall.com.

Anysoldier.com update

I got a card the other day from one of the soldiers that received the care package I sent a couple of weeks ago via www.anysoldier.com. He said the troops were thankful for the goodies, especially the DVDs, since watching movies is how they pass much of their down time.

I checked the blogs for two of the other soldiers and found that they've been dropped from the program because no one has heard from them in 60 days. That could mean they just forgot to post something, but it could be much worse. I'm praying for them.

Anyway, I trust that God will do something with those packages. I'll write back to the soldier and send some more movies.

Friday night Fox's "Next Great American Band" aired it's final show and announced the winner of the month's long fan-driven search for America's favorite band. The winner? The Clark Brothers.

Throughout the show I've been a big fan of them and Denver and the Mile High Orchestra. (Yes, I voted ...) I predicted The Clark Brothers would win when they got up on stage and did their version of "This Little Light of Mine."

In a competition that included genres from rock to punk to big band to bluegrass and relied on fan voting to determine the results, two of the final three bands - The Clark Brothers and Denver and the Mile High Orchestra - were blatant Christian acts. That says a lot about the quality of music these two acts brought to the show every week, and that regardless of their expressions of faith (or probably in many instances because of it) they won over America.

I want to congratulate them both for being great artists and great contestants on the show. They showed America that Christians can be relevant in today’s culture without compromising their faith or beliefs. Visit www.nextgreatband.msn.com for show recaps and band performances.