CRY HOLY
CRY HOLY is a
new Christian AOR band from the USA and they are definitely one
of the latest sensations on the scene, because their CD '10 from
2' is a killer AOR album that will easily please fans of bands
like FAITH NATION, JOURNEY, SURVIVOR, LE ROUX, AVIATOR... I had
to interview this band and found out that I am the first one
outside the Christian scene to hear this wonderful AOR band. So
here's the band's first attempt in becoming more popular among
the regular AOR fans...
Please
introduce us your band, when did you form Cry Holy?
Answer: CRY HOLY in it's most current format began in July of
1996, approximately 4 1/2 years ago. But to introduce you to CRY
HOLY from the beginning, we need to step back a few years. 1990,
lead guitarists Jim Henry and drummer Mike Maxwell began working
together on again, off again, under the moniker SAHARA RAIN,
producing songs like "Streets of Gold", and "Every
corner of my heart". They worked in between Jim's tours with
an international group called the Continental Singers, from which
he both played guitars and sang. After Jim's final tour, one of
his fellow performers, Aaron Martsch, moved to Seattle to work
with the duo, producing the tune "Shadow of my Wings".
Although the trio
did not continue working together very long, it was hearing the
recording of Shadow, while himself on a Continental tour, that
ultimately led lead vocalist Randy Loran to contact Jim and make
the move to
Seattle. The new trio dubbed themselves CRY HOLY, and began an
era that would last the next several years.
This new ensemble began by recording such tunes as "Turn It
Around" and "He Lives In You", before making the
next several additions to the group that would ultimately change
the sound and create the image that would become CRY HOLY.
In July of 1997,
rythm guitar player Scott Loran left his home in Illinois and
moved to Seattle to take his place in the band as a singer,
songwriter, and guitar player. Shortly thereafter bassist, Erik
Routson, with keyboard
player Gary Reems in tow, climbed aboard, adding the final
touches...CRY HOLY was now complete. Together for the next year
and a half the band, amongst other accomplishments, took home the
grand prize in the Washington State Christian Talent Competition.
They then began recording their new material including "I
Wanna Be Free", and "Masquerade Ball" at the same
studio, and using the same producer Al Sieg. Jim and Mike had
worked with on the SAHARA RAIN project. Live performances became
the band's most effective outlet however, and due to financial
constraints, the full LP ALIENATION has yet to see fruition.
But the band would not be shot down by that fact. They played live constantly, rocking any venue that would have them, from packed out churches, to open air stadiums, from 500 people to 10 people. It never mattered the number, this band gave 110%, every night, every performance, every opportunity. It was their passion. In August of 1998, the group packed up it's gear, and headed for Estes Park, Colorado to compete at the Christian Artist's Seminar in the Rockies. CRY HOLY arrived in Colorado with high hopes, and even higher prayers, that their talent and message would be heard. But it was not their time. Hammered with comments from judges, tearing at their 80's roots, sound, and look, the ensemble only saw a semi-final placement.
After returning to
Seattle, deflated and a bit confused as to where God would lead
them next, the group played several more performances over the
coming months, before deciding that a temporary hiatus would
serve them
well. With several members preparing to go to the altar, and
children being born, CRY HOLY took a break. Keyboardist Gary
Reems, and bass player Erik Routson continued to spread their
wings musically. Gary played as a hired hand on numerous
projects, and Erik spent most of his time increasing his skill on
bass, by taking on six strings and fretless. Guitarist Jim Henry,
aside from marriage and bringing his first child into the world,
leaned heavily into praise and worship music, bringing his 80's
breed of guitar rock to a new audience. Rythm
guitarist Scott Loran however, chose to hang up his guitar strap
and focus on his career in computer programming and his family
(wife Faith Loran and their three children). He has since been
replaced by guitarist Steve Harper.
Meanwhile, lead vocalist Randy Loran and drummer Mike Maxwell,
have continued to focus their efforts not only on bettering
themselves musically and spiritually, but also giving CRY HOLY
new outlets for the band's
material, hopeful for the band's resurgence...
We believe CRY HOLY
is a band with a bright future, using the internet to seek a
global audience for it's music, message, and style. We are
learning that the term "local", doesn't mean next door
anymore, and that the masses
are at our fingertips. We believe in this band, it's music and
most of all it's message. We believe we have the ability to reach
the world, and with your help and support, we will.
Can you tell us
all about your recordings?
The tracks were recorded at Starlake Studio with our producer Al
Sieg. All tracks were done there, exclusively. The SAHARA RAIN
was recorded there at the studio when all it had was 16 tracks
available, and the recordings were done on an analog
reel-to-reel. The CRY HOLY material however, was recorded after
the studio changed over, and was done on digital adats, with a
Yamaha 02r mixing board. Starlake is a commerical studio, artists
and businesses use it, for personal recordings, commercials, and
radio advetisments. CRY HOLY's material would not be what it is
without Al Sieg's ability to pull from each of us, our best and
most creative performance. It is a completely professional
studio, but the environment is never sterile, like other larger
studios. Al always made us feel at ease and comfortable in the
recording scenario, but never let us settle for anything less
then what he knew was our best.
The LP's title
ALIENATION, is a concept describing what it's like to be a
christian in America, and the world, at the turn of the century.
It is a play on words. Alien Nation, referring to a world full of
people, Christians, in a place we don't belong, and alienation
referring to how we are treated in that world. The bible says we
are in the world, but not of it, aliens if you will. "I
Wanna Be Free" is a song that Randy wrote describing the
feelings and
emotions that he went through in the time just prior to his
accepting Christ. "I want to leave behind me, the life that
I once led, but the signs on that highway, keep leading me back
again". I think a lot of people can relate to being in this
position, seeing themselves at a crossroad, and sometimes even
making a decision to change, but always coming back to that point
over and over, never being able to break the cycle. It was only
when he came to know the Lord that he was able to make that
decision, and truly be able to stick to it.
Randy: "Masquerade Ball" is a song that Scott and I wrote together describing some of what I had seen and experienced during my time in the club scene. I was exposed to a lot of the harsh realities of life spending a lot of my time in the inner city. Although the song may seem a bit "bouncy" for it's subject matter, the real lesson in the song is in the chorus, a realization that we can't hide from life, we can't walk down the street and ignore the lives we see, we need to give to others out of the abundance God has given us. Hence the mix of a serious tune with an upbeat vibe".
Randy:"History".
This is a song with a simple story. The evening after Jim and I
heard about Princess Diana's death, we began by wanting to write
a song about her life. In the middle of writing the tune, Jim
turned to me and
said, "You do realize, Elton John will probably beat us to
this, don't you"? We then decided to focus on historical
figures that everyone would be familiar with. Figures we learned
about in school, read about in the newspaper, and whose life's
histories we are inundated with since childhood. We take these
stories and lives, that everyone knows about, and compare them
with the life of Jesus Christ. A man whose life was so important,
it split time in half, yet a life that very few people are ever
taught about. Just one of life's little ironies".
Are there any
funny stories associated with the songs?
Randy: "When we first began performing live, I had several
lengthy introductions to these tunes, talking about where they
came from, and why I wrote them, and who I wrote them with. I
hadn't realized how much I streamlined my introductions to the
songs, until one day in rehersal, just prior to a song, several
of the guys said in unison "This is a song Jim and I wrote
in our apartment just after I got saved". A quote that had
become my
pat intro to all our tunes. It's amazing how much you will
streamline after a hundred shows".
Mike: "We have a line in the song Alienation that says"We're not strangers to this world", and we also have a song with the title of "Strangers to this World", that says we are strangers to this world. We always got asked about the contradiction. Are we strangers to this world, or aren't we? It seems like a blunder, but taken in the context of each song makes sense. We are not unfamiliar with the world around us as Christians, we are just strangers to it's sinfulness".
Randy:
"Sometimes you don't realize how influenced you truly are by
other artists until it's brought to your attention. Probably one
of my biggest influences has always been Bon Jovi. One day while
listening to one of
their older albums, that I hadn't picked up for awhile, I
realized that in writing one of my favorite CRY HOLY tunes,
"Come On", that I had actually word for word, and note
for note ripped off a Bon Jovi tune that I hadn't
heard in years. I wasn't sure if it was flattery or
plagerism"?
Randy:
"Honestly, each tune has a story, and a life of it's own,
and it would probably take hours and lots and lots of typing to
describe them all".
How has your
music been reieved inside and outside the Christian scene?
I think the answer to this is twofold: Inside the Christian
realm, from audiences we always got a good response. They felt
our energy, and drive, whether they were into that kind of music
or not. No matter what they thought about us before a show, by
the end of the show, they were loving it. The biggest negative
responses in the christian realm came from the higher ups, labels
and whatnot, who felt that our style of music was dead. The
truth is, although our style of music has seen top 40 charts, the
reality is, it's always been a fan based style of music. The
trick is finding a record company, independent or otherwise, that
will give us the ability to create a fan base. As far as outside
the christian realm is concerned, seeing as we never shopped
secular labels, and you are the first secular group of people to
hear and review the music, I'd say the initial response has been
overwhelming.
What performers
influenced you?
Although a number of our influences are 70's and 80's AOR bands,
like Bon Jovi, Journey, Boston, Styx, and Kansas, we never saw
ourselves as an 80's carbon copy act. We simply write what we
know. Good rock and roll. Melodic guitar and keyboard driven
tunes, with great harmonies. This style to us, is not outdated,
it's simply great music. AOR crosses all boundaries, Christian
and secular alike. Lyrically, we are only set apart by secualar
AOR by the message of Christ, but both Christian and secular AOR
in general carry a more positive message and vibe. Individually,
we each have unique influences, from various musical styles,
aside from 80's AOR. Both Randy and Scott spent time studying and
performing stage music, i.e. Jesus Christ Superstar, Phantom of
the Opera, ect. Gary studied classical piano early on, and is an
extraordinary jazz player. Erik also has studies Jazz bass, and
is particularly influenced by Brian Bromberg and Dream Theatre.
Jim however is pretty entrenched in 80's metal: Dokken, TNT,
Zebra, ect. Mike took all forms of band in school. Jazz, pep,
marching, ect., and is
also influenced by lesser AOR bands, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd and
the Allman Brothers, of which he's still not sure which one sang
Free Bird. It's a long story, ask us later.
Do you think
your type of music will come back?
YES!!! and we'd like to be part of making that happen! We don't
think it ever truly went away. The audience is still there, still
buying albums, and still going to the live shows. Like we said
before, AOR has always been and
always will be a fan based musical genre. We just need to build
up the fan base.
Any new
recordings coming out in the coming months?
As it stands, all the material for the Alienation LP is written,
not to mention a few new tunes, and ready to be recorded.
However, a sad but true fact of life is, everything comes down to
money. There is nothing we would love more than to finish this
album, and more, but as it stands we are still trying to put
together what it would take to complete the project.
What are the
plans for the next couple of months?
Mike and I are continuing to find new ways to give the group
momentum, regardless of it's finanacial status. We are using
mediums like the internet to push forward, and get out our
current material, until God opens the doors for us to be able to
complete the Alienation project and hopefully move ahead to the
next one. What are our plans for the upcoming months? Currently
they are to wait and see how the Lord moves, and how he uses our
newest endeavors to bring Cry Holy's music and message, Christ's
message, to the world around us.
Do you have
anything to add to our readers?
The truth is, that after all Cry Holy has been through both
personally and spiritually in the past several years, we've
grown, we've matured, and we've changed. There is nothing we
would love to see more than for a resurgence of this band's
outreach, focused again on making great music that eminates
directly from the heart of each band member, reaching it's
audience with the message of Jesus Christ.
In all honestly, there have been many times in recent months, or
even in the last year, when we thought Cry Holy may be obsolete.
A mute point so to speak. We've been through so much, and
relationships strained to such excess, that at times we
questioned even God's ability to give this band a future.
But in recent weeks, as we've learned of the overwhelmeing
response we've recieved, from our limited time on Mp3.com, and
the internet music magazines, we've seen visions of a new and
unique future for this band. One with even more potential and
opportunity for ministry than this group has ever known.
We live in a world and a time when evil runs rampant, and
"sin" is a word we laugh at and joke about. But we
believe the direction this society is headed in, is most evident
in the music we hear around us. When bands like Marilyn Manson
and Rob Zombie have taken a place in the heart and minds of our
children, and changed forever the ways they view life, we have a
responsiblilty as musicians and followers of Christ to reach out
to them.
We believe in the overwhelming power of rock and roll, the
positive message, and the feel of the type of music we perform,
80's AOR. Our goal is simple, to play the best music God has
gifted us to play, to positively reach and change not only the
youth of our world, but people of all ages who hear and enjoy
great rock and roll.
We hope through God's good grace, we'll very soon have even more
material for you and your readers, In the meantime, we encourage
them to check out our site on mp3.com and to continue filling
ourmailbox with feedback.
Thanks again to Gabor Kleinbloesem for the opportunity to do this
interview and the chance to spread our music to a new, broader,
and global audience.