The Newsboys
The release of "Take Me To Your Leader," the Newsboys' Virgin Records
debut, ushers in a new creative chapter for the band and simultaneously
highlights how far the Australian rock group has already progressed.
By any measure, Newsboys have accomplished a great deal during a career
spanning five previous albums.
Their most recent records are steadily closing in on gold-certified
sales, while earning widespread critical praise and numerous award nominations.
Nonstop worldwide touring has taken the group's compelling live show
to sold-out venues ranging from 10,000 seat arenas to Los Angeles' famed
Roxy. Along the way, nationally televised Newsboys features have aired
on "Good Morning America," "Entertainment Tonight," and CNN, and have
appeared in publications such as the Los Angeles Times and Forbes.
When a rock band achieves this level of success, it's impressive; when
a rock band playing contemporary Christian music does it, it's extraordinary.
But rather than rest on their laurels, the group members are restlessly
exploring broader horizons.
Their major label debut shows the Newsboys reaching new heights with
their quixotic lyrics, sharp songwriting, thundering rhythms, and refreshing
splashes of skewed Aussie humor -- attributes that have earned the group
multiple Grammy and Dove Award nominations.
Confronted by all the hubbub, the band reacts with bemused, typically
self-effacing humor. "The word we keep hearing about this album is 'organic'
-- like we have an herb garden on the album or something," laughs band
co-founder/drummer/vocalist Peter Furler. "But the word keeps coming
up because the album is mainly performed live -- we didn't use any sequencers."
Newsboys continue to seek new challenges onstage as well as in the
recording studio, and are eagerly preparing for their ground-breaking
"Take Me To Your Leader" concert trek – by far their most ambitious
tour yet.
"I'm really hoping that we can go beyond what we've done as live players
and as a band," says Furler. "I'm not talking about just adding more
live equipment and lights. I'm talking about as people, as a close-knit
unit that creates something that could be life changing."
Can concert audiences expect an appearance by the funky futuristic
automobile / retro space ship which graces the "Take Me To Your Leader"
album cover? "We're working on that," laughs Furler. "I'd like to have
one parked on the stage, and another outside the hall."
Like the fantasymobile depicted on its cover artwork, "Take Me To Your
Leader" provides a mind expanding vehicle for Newsboys to bring their
music to ever widening audiences -- both secular and non-secular. Their
rare dual-faceted appeal and ear-grabbing music make the Newsboys newsworthy
indeed.
