God's Not Dead
And Neither Are We

About the Author

I have an explanation as to the whys and wherefores of the book in the FAQ area, so I'll use this space to talk a bit (but only a bit) about myself.

I've been a believer since 1975. My first exposure to what back then was still called "Jesus rock" was a Barry McGuire record, since his was the only name I knew and that because he routinely performed at evangelist Mario Murillo's "Night of Miracles" monthly meetings in Oakland.

Things picked up with the next record, a sampler album on Myrrh called Power Music that came out in 1977. Although calling some of the selections power anything was even in those days quite a stretch (B.J. Thomas? Chris Christian?), it had some redeeming qualities, such as "The Rock That Doesn't Roll" by Larry Norman and tracks by Randy Stonehill and Tom Howard. This was close to my listening tastes, so thus began my routinely scouring the racks at my local Christian book store for other albums bearing at least some resemblance to the various flavors of rock 'n' roll near and dear to my heart. I apparently missed the memo about it being the devil's music.

By the time when the artists in this book first started making their presence known, I was working in a now-defunct Christian bookstore in Oakland, pushing the music I loved and receiving much grief for this from the now-deceased store owner, who couldn't decide which he liked the least -- my music or me. Undeterred, I pressed on with my crusade, eventually quitting the store job and a few years later entering the realm of music journalism through an occasional review column for Pulse! magazine, now out of business, which Tower Records (also now out of business) printed and distributed monthly. I hasten to add I haven't driven out of business and/or to their grave every company and individual I've come into contact with over the years. Honest.

Anyway, the journalism gig, albeit part-time, was quite the whirlwind of activity for several years. I wrote several cover stories for CCM, including one on Steven Curtis Chapman which is available here at its Web site. Other articles were on Kim Boyce and Margaret Becker. I did stuff for other magazines as well. What I didn't get to do is interview the artists I wanted to feature, because, well you know, they were kind of edgy for the different publications and their respective readership (industry talk for "they aren't selling enough records").

For reasons I spell out in the book, this all came to an end in the mid-'90s. By 1994 I was done. I didn't want a thing to do with Christian music. Not a thing.

Fast forward a decade to where every once in a while I'd wander the Web looking to see what had become of the bands and artists I once knew. In 2005, there was a note on the Choir's site about a concert to be held that August in Orange County featuring them and other bands from the '80s. At first I rejected out of hand the idea of going. I'm not into golden oldies shows, and I still wanted nothing to do with any of this, even to the point of not wanting to attend a concert. But the more I thought about it, and the more I looked at who would be there... you know, I never did see Crumbächer back in the day. Maybe I'll go after all...

The rest, as they say, is in the book.


My Blogs

Some people are content with one. I have... well, more than that. And very tired fingers to show for it. But I digress. They are: