Well, Set on Edge has not yet received the paperwork concerning the contract with Ionic Records, but recent emails alert me that they are indeed VERY EXCITED about our material, and are still trying to decide which tracks from Autumn Song NOT to include on the collection. I should hear from them VERY soon, so please continue to pray concerning that.

Also, this past weekend was a wonderful blessing; I was a counsellor at Disciple Now, and I really felt that my group of about 10 high school men gained a lot from it, as did I.

In case anyone wasn't up-to-date yet, the Set on Edge show in Athens, GA takes place on Monday, April 19th, and will be an early show. The line-up for Set on Edge that night is still not yet finalized, so please continue in prayer that we might find all the neccesary musicians to pull off a high quality set.

Well, former Over the Rhine guitarist, and Phil Keaggy jam-mate, Ric Hordenski's band, Monk, are going on the road in march, april and may. here are the details:
WEDNESDAY MARCH 17-PHILADELPHIA, PA: grape st. pub- 105 grape street 11pm show--215.483.7084 for details
THURSDAY MARCH 18-NYC, NY- the knitting factory-alter-knit theatre 74 leonard st. 9pm show. 212.219.3006
FRIDAY MARCH 19-CHAPEL HILL, NC- skylight exchange-405 1/2 w.rosemary midnight show- 919.933.5550 for details
---("april is the cruelest month")---
THURSDAY APRIL 22- CLEVELAND, OH- john carrol university details TBA
FRIDAY APRIL 23-!!!! CINCINNATI, OHIO !!!! SUDSY MALONE'S CONCERT sponsered by WOXY 97x radio. opener TBA, more details below.
SATURDAY APRIL 24 earth day concert TBA SUNDAY APRIL 25-GRAND RAPIDS, MI- four friends coffeehouse if you are interested in tickets to the sudsy malone's show in april ( it's not as much of a dive as you've heard ) you can email MONKTIX@aol.com. tickets are $8 and when you send in your check you'll get (via email) a confirmation number that will get you in the door. If you have a chance to catch these guys, be sure you do_they are HOT!

Also, here's an update of our old Ohio-friends, Pretty Mighty Mighty --Artwork is being finalized on the band's new release "Famous Past Lives" on Derailleur Records. 13 smash hits on one CD. Additions are being made to the web page so make sure you check back often. Thanks to Joel and Cringe for sponsoring the site. Derailleur Records and Workbook Studio have sites on Cringe also so check them out. http://www.cringe.com/pmm

And lastly, please pray for my good friend, mentor, and musical influence, Bill Mallonee, and the rest of his band, the Vigilantes of Love. They are one of the greatest, and hardest working bands in the industry, Christian or Secular, and have just recorded, and were about to release, the greatest c.d. of their career, which many suspected would finally break them into the major market. It WAS to be released by Pioneer through Atlantic Records. Well, this week, Pioneer records went belly up, and NO ONE knows the status of the phenominal c.d. - who owns it now, or whether or not it'll EVER even see the light of day. This is HEARTBREAKING for the band, as well as for us huge fans. So please be in prayer about this_and, so you know what it is you're praying about, here is a review of the pre-release of this c.d. It's a bit more that just positive, as you'll quickly catch on.

Vigilantes Of Love
Audible Sigh

Bill Mallonee would have to really try if he wanted to make a bad record. His track record is flawless. Over the course of seven studio albums, a best-of collection and a live record, his Vigilantes, as varied as they have been, have never failed to rise to the occasion. They began as an Athens Georgia homespun favorite, found their way to Capricorn Records (311, Widespread Panic, Freddy Jones Band) and back again. Thus far their only intentional presence in the Christian market came with the release of the aforementioned "best of" entitled VOL and distributed through the upstart Warner Christian Distribution outfit. Despite that, the bulk of their following has come from the rank of believers, due in no small part to their amazing live sets at many Cornerstone festivals and the admiration of fringe publications like True Tunes.

When the band left their long term relationship with Fingerprint Records and Capricorn last year to become an indy once again, they came out with their most raw collection of songs and emotions since their acoustic debut Jugular. It was called To The Roof Of The Sky and it was an instant fan favorite. Then news came of a new multi-album deal signed with Pioneer Music Group, a new mainstream company with a staff familiar enough with the Christian market to know how to work it. The fan base drew a collective breath of anticipation. With Sixpence rollicking all over the Billboard top-ten, Jars Of Clay passing the 2M sales mark for their debut and nearing platinum status with their follow-up, and Over The Rhine making rumblings of a new major record deal, would it finally be the right time for VOL? Will the rest of the world finally catch a glimpse of the pure rock and roll heart and muscle of this seminal band? Is eight years long enough to wait?

VOL has benefited from the production talents of Peter Buck (R.E.M.,) Mark Heard, Jim Scott (Tom Petty, Springsteen) and John Keane (Indigo Girls, 10,000 Maniacs) so we've heard them sound good before. For Audible Sigh Pioneer savvily recruited soon-to-be legend Buddy Miller to handle the production chores. The man who produced and played guitar on Harris' stellar SpyBoy album has not disappointed. The sounds are perfectly engineered and recorded to have just enough edge to keep them lively, yet not so much as to give them the darkness or dullness that can come from lots of jangley guitars and tube amps. The mix is perfect, the stereo separation tasteful and vibrant and the mastering, again, flawless. But the same could be said for Blister Soul or Struggleville. Where Miller earned his keep was in the overall scope of this album. The song selection and arrangement allows for Mallonee's various voices to all make an appearance. At times it's the rollicking rock and roll that permeated past albums like Killing Floor or Slow Dark Train. At others it is the melancholic feel of a VOL ballad. Then there are the mid-tempo love songs and the full-tilt country rockers. Throughout the album's 13 songs and 52 plus minutes it is Mallonee's voice, equal parts impassioned plea and slow southern drawl, that draws them together as a cohesive piece of work.

Instrumentally, though the pre-release doesn't credit the individual players, there are backing vocals on most all the songs, handled in no small part by Harris and Julie Miller no less. There is also a radically increased presence of Hammond organ and steel guitar. The guitar work is always multi-dimensional and layered, and the drumming is aggressive and tasteful. Mandolin and accordion are prevalent as are, or course, the wild strumming and precise picking of Mallonee's acoustic guitar. There is a depth to this project, enhanced by it's sonic diversity, that exceeds that of any previous VOL record.

It would be hard to compare Mallonee's song writing here to his past songs, as even on a bad day he is head and shoulders above the lion's share of modern rock writers. But if it's possible for him to have outdone his work on To The Roof Of The Sky (for my money the best all around collection of songs since Mark Heard's Second Hand or Cockburn's Nothing But A Burning Light,) he did it here. Where he may have superseded his previous work is not necessarily in the strength of each song, but in the range of emotions and ideas presented. If someone happens upon this CD as their first introduction to VOL, they will find his trademarked epic tales of depression and angst laid amongst a bed of hopeful anthems and inspired love songs. The VOL comp gathered the songs most suited for the Christian market, and in doing so neglected one of the most important aspects of this band, the fact that they are so wonderfully inappropriate for the safe, sterile shelves of the Christian bookstore paradigm. Though there are no "Love Cocoon" songs here, and he never gets quite as graphic as he did on Driving The Nails or on songs like "Vincent," he still manages to put his best foot forward.

The opening cut, "Goes Without Saying" has Mallonee revisiting the metaphor of man's recalcitrant dedication to living up to his lowest, like a man with a prostitute. The first words out of his mouth: "Failure she's a new found friend you let her sleep on the floor. When you rise to check out, she follows to the door." The song cranks with a radio ready rock hook and a catchy chorus and let's the listener know that this is no pep-rally they're about to attend. "Any Side Of Anywhere" picks up as track two with a vibe that is driving, yet saturated with acoustic guitar and pedal-steel. Track three, "Extreme North Of The Compass" picks the pace up to a healthy clip and balances the distorted electric guitar licks of the chorus with some subtle country picking in the background and panned to the right. Any Jayhawks or Wilco fan that doesn't fall head over heels for this song, and this record, at this point must admit that they are an elitist snob.

"Resplendent" a song the band has played live for at least a year or more, appears here as a tragically beautiful tale of a man surviving, while his family is consumed by, the dust bowl of Oklahoma. Emmylou's trademarked pipes show up prominently here as the haunting reminder of Mallonee's protagonist's lost love. As he recounts the death of his wife and his kids, using the gripping imagery of one of America's worst national tragedies and referring to the plagues of Egypt, he exposes the bedrock of faith that this entire collection of songs is built upon. The chorus begs the question "How much of this was meant to be? How much the work of the devil? How far can one man's eyes really see, In these days of toil and trouble? How much of this is failing flesh, how much a course of retribution? My my how loudly we plead our innocence, long after we made our contribution." This song really frames the root of the human condition as well as any I can recall. These are the moments when the importance of this Mallonee fellow really can't be overstated. Considering her love for great songs, I wouldn't be surprised to find "Resplendent" on Harris' next album.

"Starry Eyed," another live favorite over the last year or so, follows resplendent with a burst of hope, joy and world-weary understanding, complete with Julie Miller's gorgeous voice in the background. A high point is the center spot on the disc where "Could Be A Lot Worse" aches with all the angst and the faith that renders this guy so powerful. A line from this one sums up a recurrent theme for Mallonee; "I'm gonna die a failure, but to happiness awake. You can go to sleep in hell and wake up at Heaven's gate. Think of all that we missed today that laid right before our eyes, Think of all that fades away in the hard-pressed compromise. This is dangerous terrain we're attempting to traverse. It's a cryin shame but it could be a lot worse." Later the other side of the coin shows up: "Faith, she's a whistling train, running hard in the dark. Hope is like a thing untamed gonna lay to waste your heart. Love's a little bit of God there for all to know. Love's the everlasting arms that never do let go." I'm sorry folks, but it doesn't get any better than this.

It's not all blood and tears. "Good Luck Charm" saunters along with an unbridled country flare and an outstretched hand of companionship and understanding. For all of it's two minutes and fifty-two seconds, "But Not For You" blisters with the typical abandon expected from this band. "Nothing Like A Train" starts off with some tremolo guitar and a slower groove. More great lyrics, word-pictures and metaphors. Things get personal when Mallonee mentions his wife and sons by name when he sings "Here's another song for Brenda. Yeah, another tune for Josh and Joe. Another postcard from the highway, my God where did these days go?" "Paralyzed" follows with rich layers of guitar and organ and a mid-tempo rhythm. More great lyrics. Same goes for hoe-down rocker "She Walks On Roses" which sounds like it could be "Odious" part two or the sequel to "Undertow" except for the loving expanse of the chorus. Julie Miller shows up yet again, sounding so good alongside Bill's pipes I'd hope he at least offered her a full-time job as Vigilante number twenty or thirty or whatever he's up to by now. "Hard Luck & Heart Attack" is a full on cowboy song, in every sense of the word. The instrumentation here remains a mystery, but whatever combination of players and instruments gathered, they produce an amazing sound. Rich, twangy, and just plain good. There's either a jaw-harp in the background or some antique acoustic guitar that has a little too much ring in it for normal use. Whatever it is, it works.

At this point another lyrical theme becomes obvious. Throughout his history as a writer Mallonee has used the fairer gender metaphorically to represent any number of things. On "Runs Through My Veins" from We The Living Volume 2 (and originally To The Roof and Live At The 40 Watt) he says "Betrayal she's a girl I slept with once or twice. Treason, her next of kin, she was more than nice." On this album he stretches the analogy to a new extreme. A woman is used as a symbol of failure, faithlessness, sin, or seduction ("Goes Without Saying,") a mysterious source of truth or meaning ("Any Side Of Anywhere") death ("Good Luck Charm,") Innocence ("But Not For Long") and finally as the object of his devotion ("Resplendent," "Nothing Like A Train." "She Walks On Roses.") Just another example of his ability with words.

The album closes with "Your Part Of The Story", a three-four waltz that literally lifts the entire album to a new level. The purpose, plan, method and madness all merge in a song that sounds like it would ride off into the sunset if it were a movie. Some fine fiddle playing surfaces, as do some more great backing vocals, harmonica, guitars, organs and about every other gadget gathered throughout the previous twelve songs. I won't even quote the lyrics, as I've done far more of that than I would ever allow another writer to get away with. But this song is the pay-off. It's the secret answer to the question any sane person would ask Mallonee. "Why, after all these years, all the touring, all the miles, and all the raw-nerve honesty and road-weary tears do you keep doing this to yourself?" The answer is, he has no choice. Bill Mallonee has established himself as the pre-eminent Christian songwriter already. Maybe there is a conspiracy afoot to keep the rest of the world from hearing this guy. Millions have searched for shreds of hope and truth in the lyrics of Dylan, Springsteen, Van Morrison, John Lennon, Jackson Browne and Michael Stipe (among countless others.) I'd dare say that Mallonee has honed his skills as a songwriter to the point that he belongs on that list, yet the Truth to him is the very air he breathes and ground he walks on. His world is not a mystical chasing after some tiny nugget of truth, he's swimming in it, as we all are. It's his ability to crystallize the process of realization that sets him apart. These are the kinds of feelings, observations and desires that most of us utter "Yeah, that's how I feel" to. We just couldn't say it quite as well.

The burden is on Pioneer now, to live up to their name. They don't have a cute teenager here, or a mall-ized package of hair-dye and "just-add-water" ennui. They've got the real deal on their hands. Here's hopin' they can take advantage of it before Mallonee decides it's not worth the cost to him and his family to keep on keepin on. For now, regardless of the future, we should be grateful to have an artist like Bill Mallonee and a band like Vigilantes Of Love to listen to along the journey.

-JJT

Vigilantes of Love Discography;

Jugular Driving The Nails (No Longer Available)
Killing Floor
Welcome To Struggleville
Blister Soul
My Year in Review (fan club only)
VOL (Best of_)
Slow Dark Train
To The Roof Of The Sky
Live At The 40 Watt
Audible Sigh (not yet released)

Well_thank you for your attention_
May God's abundant blessings be upon you_
Amen and Amen,