The reality is that the Newsboys have never fit neatly within any package.
In fact sometimes they didn't fit in at all.
It's
the ultimate irony. They're called the Newsboys yet they've never been
captured by any headline or label. After all, how do you bottle the
essence of a band that's had everything from a lead singer in gold and
red suits to a drummer strapped in a contraption that takes him upside
down while he continues to pump out a beat on his drum kit? How do you
tell the story of spirited young men from Down Under who returned to
the land of opportunity despite warnings from their own record company
not to bother after the flop of their first album?
The
reality is that the Newsboys have never fit neatly within any package.
In fact sometimes they didn't fit in at all. They certainly didn't in
the once quiet seaside town of Mooloolaba in Queensland, Australia in
1986.
The Newsboys have never been interested in doing things to please
people. They'd rather serve God.
The
band jammed in a claustrophobic garage lined with egg cartons and pieces
of foam. Neighbors made it clear they would rather they not jam at all--not
in the garage, not in the street, just not at all. This not-so-sweet
message was made crystal clear via the sugar which was dumped in the
gas tank of the family car of lead singer Peter Furler. It was the first
of many car troubles to come.
The Newsboys have never been interested in doing things to please people.
They'd rather serve God. And if that means trying to reach the lost
in a smoke-filled pub, which is more accustomed to hearing the world's
music from Midnight Oil and INXS, then so be it. Playing good music
was the key to surviving.
Band members supported their fledgling musical beginnings with everything
from selling lamingtons, Australian snack cakes, to doing plastering
work for local construction companies. Anything to rustle up some money--whether
it be to buy new equipment, or just fuel to get to the next gig.
Their determination to share their faith with a world desperately lacking
hope is underscored by the story of how they came to the US. Arriving
in New York on New Year's Eve, 1987, only to find the recording studio
closed for the holiday, they were fingerprinted by suspicious cops before
being allowed to stay in the studio over the weekend, because they had
nowhere else to go.
Manager
Wes Campbell and brother Steve, the Newsboys' road manager, had discovered
the Newsboys while Wes was a youth pastor in Surfer's Paradise on Queensland's
Gold Coast. The Campbell's ran an outreach club called Genesis, a local
hang out for people hungry for new musical talent. A Sunshine Coast
band called Judah was scheduled to play one weekend but could not make
it. They suggested Steve give these kids down the road a try, but cautioned
they could not guarantee they were any good. The band, who lived for
gigs, quickly took up the offer. In those days, Genesis offered bands
$200 to play or the use of a decent sound system followed by dinner
at Hungry Jacks (Burger King) afterwards. The Newsboys were the only
band who ever opted for the sound system rather than the money.
Campbell soon saw the potential in the Newsboys, their passion not
just for the music but also the message. "They just stole our hearts,"
he says.
"That
was their spirit," Campbell says, explaining how the guys have
always been more interested in investing in a good show for fans than
building big bank balances. It's a pity they didn't invest in better
vehicles though. On their way to the gig, their van broke down and had
to be towed in. But they still managed to make a dramatic entrance,
jumping through the windows of the church to launch a show like no other.
Campbell soon saw the potential in the Newsboys, their passion not just
for the music but also the message. "They just stole our hearts,"
he says.
Its been a passion which has produced some of the most memorable songs
of Christian music: from the Christian anthem of "Not Ashamed",
to the Newsboys signature song "Shine." The band's songs have
been birthed in their own struggles. The lessons that life dishes up
day after day. The human triumphs, the failures, and the funny times.
One of those times was at one of the band's early shows. Touring in
an old fruit truck in Australia, the guys were sleeping on the top of
the speakers in the back when a kangaroo jumped out in front of the
truck. As the driver slammed on the brakes, the equipment was hurled
forward, nearly crushing the young musicians.
With no money and few contacts in the music industry, it proved
to be a constant test of their faith.
After
arriving in Los Angeles, Campbell, accompanied by wife, Sharon, and
child, put the Newsboys on rations of $1 a day as eight of them rented
one room in the now condemned Space Age Lodge in Anaheim, California.
With no money and few contacts in the music industry, it proved to be
a constant test of their faith. They pushed two beds together and slept
eight across in their humble room while surviving on burgers from a
local fast food outlet. With no income source, and having sold their
music equipment to fund their airfares, the band had to rely on the
generosity--and credit cards--of crew members with "real jobs"
to purchase their gear in the US.
Hearing
of a gig called "Atlantafest," Campbell called up the organizers
and wanted to know the chance of getting the Newsboys into the lineup.
No chance, they said, the bands had already been booked about a year
in advance. But the Newsboys were told they could play for the road
crew setting up the stage. Again car troubles. After finally getting
there, the Newsboys impressed the crew who said they just had to play
the next night. Little did they know, but the newfound fans started
a petition urging the organizers to let the band play on the main stage.
"The rest is history," Campbell says.
Its been that dogged determination--not to mention many absolute miracles
from God--which has seen the band overcome incredible odds to make it
to where they are today. It could have been easier. They could have
simply succumbed to the formula, copied the latest manufactured pop,
been a copycat band. But they have determined never to be a rip-off.
And since their very first shows they always wanted to give the fans
that little bit extra.
The
Newsboys have produced the industry's most compelling stage shows. Who
but the Newsboys would be crazy enough to take their own venue with
them as they did in this year's Love, Liberty, Disco Airdome Tour, leap-frogging
across some 75 cities in a relentless tours which endured everything
from snow to wind storms. Who but Newsboys would strap their drummer
into a drum-riser dubbed "Voltrox" each night to be lifted
up off the stage and then upside down as he continued his drum solo.
And who can forget how at a show in San Francisco when one of the hydraulic
hoses burst, leaving Furler still drumming upside down as he, band,
and the front row were sprayed with hydraulic fluid. The band still
trying to keep the show going, explained to the crowd "Voltrox
is bleeding."
From the humblest of beginnings touring the US in a white motor
home dubbed "The Fridge"
From the humblest of beginnings touring the US in a white motor home
dubbed "The Fridge" because it looked like a Kenmore refrigerator
on wheels, the Newsboys' entourage now includes seven semi-trailers
and trucks, some 560,000 pounds of equipment, 55 paid staff and a lot
of blood, sweat, and tears.
But Furler, fellow bass player and singer Phil Joel, guitarist Jody
Davis, keyboardist Jeff Frankenstein, and fellow Australian drummer
Duncan Phillips shun the idea of being megastars.
"In some ways it is just as crazy but only on a larger scale,"
Campbell observes. Its gone from the band having to bail out "The
Fridge" because it was unable to get up the hill to quickly learning
the art of using a welding machine to repair an ailing airdome. "It's
just an incredible spirit. That's the reason they are successful....
the determination, the never-say-die-attitude," says Campbell.
And
still the band enjoys truckloads of fun. Who could forget the images
of band members shooting each other with paintball guns amid relentless
journeys on tour buses, or the visions of them tearing across the deserts
of America on motocross bikes. This is a band that doesn't take their
media image too seriously. One thing they have taken seriously, though,
is the message. And while they could have gained more acceptance in
the mainstream industry if they took the message out of the music, mentioned
less of Jesus and the Gospel, the message has always been the point
of the music.
The Newsboys, as they struggle through their own human failings,
know there is only one thing that will make the difference-- the unconditional
love of God.
So many people looking for hope, for purpose, for a sense of belonging,
to be loved. Too often they don't see it in organized religion, or in
their so-called Christian homes. The Newsboys, as they struggle through
their own human failings, know there is only one thing that will make
the difference-- the unconditional love of God.
Nine
albums and thousands of shows later, the Newsboys still reach deeper
for a closer relationship with the Author of that love. They have not
lost the call that first motivated them to leave their family and homeland,
the call to make a difference in their world, to be bearers of Good
News in a world so often marred by the bad. And while more than a decade
on the road is a long time in anyone's books, the Newsboys believe their
musical journey is still in its beginnings with the best yet to come.
"It's been a long term plan for us," Campbell says of the
journey. While a lot of hard work and determination have paved the way
for the Newsboys, they are first to tell you that none of it would have
happened were it not for the grace of God. "Still a work in progress..."
