Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!?

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (jamesyoyo)

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:38:43 GMT

Jon:

The Bowie thing I really don't get, nor the JeffAir reference, but the Edmunds thing, most definitely.

Thanks for the listen, and, on behalf of all turkey-and-stuffing lovers, thanks to your ancestors for kicking out the Pilgrims.

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (Jonbouy)

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:53:16 GMT

Hi James

I loved this, yes, there's a lot of references in there that make you think that's a bit Bowiesque on the harmonies there, the Airplane thing the Beatlesque ending an' all but all that just places you in context of the age you are in and you can't separate yourself from that even if you wanted to however hard you try.

For me the overall vibe was of a Dave Edmunds style rocker and it came across as a song I've never heard before, that's a clever song-writing talent you have to evoke so many familiar things but ending up with something completely original.

The subject matter is as good as anything that songs get written about and you wonder if anyone would bat an eyelid at it had it not been pre-labelled.

Lots of the usual craft from the Yoyo QC dept and some fun with studio techniques going on all in all a great track at this end.

Kudos

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (jamesyoyo)

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:14:28 GMT

Philip:

To see a lot of insecure closet ‘Christians’ open up a little here (for the 1st time), that says a lot (to me).

Yet another valuable service provided by your friends at Factory Yoyo! :)

Venus:

Glad you liked it.

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (Philip)

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:06:53 GMT

I'm only 'fairly' familiar with artists legal lives and our 'legally excused' sins. To call any watered-down, sugar-coated song: CCM may be arbitrary. Yet, I'm hoping there is a bit of 'true CCM' in each and every rock and love song? Else, I'd consider it a sin to indulge myself in these musical genres.

I know both Harrison and Chiffons must meet their maker.

OTOH: Singing passionately about Christ, His mighty sacrifice to cover your/my sin(s), His salvation, His resurrection, His rapture, His giving me repentance, etc. ... are, forever, my favorite songs and hymns, despite the British invasion.

To see a lot of insecure closet ‘Christians’ open up a little here (for the 1st time), that says a lot (to me).

IOWs, many of us (currently) seem to hold the gospel in serious regard.

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (Venus)

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:56:08 GMT

The bass riff is oustanding.

I liked those panned vocal add ons.

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (jamesyoyo)

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:18:06 GMT

Brad:

That was no rant, compared to some of the nonsense that has been going around here of late....

I might be splitting hairs here, but:

I was not saying they weren't a Christian band, all I was saying is that their music is no more Christian in its lyrical content than any other of a thousand bands out there.

IIRC, U2 won a lot of Christian music awards in their very early years. Their music is surely uplifting and inspirational. It was never really preachy in a religious sense, though obviously Bono has gotten himself all humanist/love your neighbor in the last 20 years or so. But beyond that, I would challenge anyone to say they are a Christian Music band.

By this definition, any band that sings about life, questions their place in the world, wants to live a better life, could be called Christian Music. I can't go there. Objectively, I would have to put Decyfer in the Rock Music category. There is no way (even if I bothered to really get into the lyrics) that if you hadn't first referred to them as a Christian Music group I would have made that connection.

That's all!

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (bshehan)

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:39:50 GMT

Jim,
I'm not sure what you mean by "in context only," but you're right, their lyrics may not always include the words God or Christ, but we're not talking about "congregational worship" music here. This is rock. It's more about themes: positive, uplifting, etc. Fading is about overcoming addiction and asking to be saved (I know, not necessarily a Christian only theme). They have some songs that are lyrically more obviously Christian in tone: Forever With You, Never Lost, Best I Can.

If you check out their bio's on their website, they all talk about God and that sort of thing:
Brandon Mills (guitarist Decyfer Down)
"Growing up I realized God's love and grace in many areas of my life. I soon realized that God wanted to use the talent He had given me to tell of His truth and love. To lift people up and not tear them down it's been an interesting journey so far. I feel so blessed to be in a band with such great guys that have the same heart."

Anyway, I guess I'm saying that not every song from a Christian band is going to be a "worship" song. Likewise, not every non-Christian rock song is going to be about getting drunk and/or getting laid--though many of the best one's are (sigh, sometimes I miss college). The music would certainly be boring if that were the case.

I'm guessing that Decyfer Down probably would like to be thought of as just a rock band as opposed to a Christian rock band, so they are not pigeonholed onto one kind of radio station only (the band Switchfoot, for example, gets radio play on both Christian and secular stations). But they certainly aren't afraid of talking about their faith and writing songs about it, and appearing live on Air1 (an overtly Christian rock radio station).

OK. End rant.

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (jamesyoyo)

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:29:14 GMT

Philip:

I remember going to Folk Mass in the early 70s when the church band would play Let It Be, my Beatles-loving brother and I would always look at each other sarcastically since McCartney was speaking about a dream he had about his mother, Mary McCartney. But to those who have ears to hear, can hear whatever they like, I guess. Since Harrison was talking about Hare Krishna, he kinda went all out in the song and even included the "hare hare, guruve namah" stuff in the choruses, trying to call that CR is a super stretch. And for the record, he most certainly ripped off "He's So Fine"!

Brad:
Reading Decyfer Down's lyrics they seem no more Christian than any of the other stuff out there. In fact, I think they might be a Christian Rock band in context only, cuz I sure don't get it. See my examples above with Philip.

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (bshehan)

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:02:04 GMT

This is definitely a great song (as I previously posted).

I thought I'd chime in on the CCM thing.
I play on the worship team at my church, and mostly write Christian based songs (lately), but I have to say, I hate most CCM. I think there's a difference between CCM and Christian Rock. Jamesyoyo's song is Christian Rock. When I think of CCM, I think of John Tesh (and want to puke).
There are great bands doing Christian rock or alternative Christian rock. Decyfer Down's songs Fading, Crash, and Moving On are great songs. Other great Christian rock bands right now: Skillet, Santus Real, Flyleaf, Fireflight, Reliant K, Kutless. Tobymac does some decent hiphop/pop Christian music.
Two radio stations illustrate the difference:
KLOVE radio = CCM (John Tesh radio, literally. He does a radio show these stations)
Air1 radio = Christian Alternative/Rock

I sprinkle an Air1 station in with my classic rock, rock, and alternative stations. I even sometimes find my way over to the country station to see what's going on, but I don't stay long. All things in moderation; including moderation.

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (Philip)

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:00:58 GMT

+1

... btw, IIRC, Christian Rock Hymns (however unpopular here in the U.S.) seem to have originated in the U.S. ... even during the US 'rock and roll' surges (genres).

... and though unpopular to the British invasion (genre), the Beatles's watered down CCM ('mother Mary comes to Me'" />), ELO's CCM ("God points his finger of doom to our foes"), which, IMHO, were so feigned and half-arsed ... as if to make me want to quit believing in redemption of sin-prone man.

Still there is at least one British Christian Rock that still hits my heart: My Sweet Lord (--Harrison) ... and Harrison received great persecution (esp. unrelentless lawsuits of *plagiarism*)

--------------------------------------------------

2nd/3rd listen ... strong and potent as ever. Guitar licks at 2:10 and 3:00 are astounding.

2:40 (and elsewhere) vox delays are great.

Vibe is also strong and unfeigned. Mix, groove, and arrangement are solid as ever.

It always amazes me how you can produce such a strong piece in a relatively short time.

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (jamesyoyo)

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:17:11 GMT

Alkie, Ed:

Thanks.

Mark:

Of course Jesus loves this! I am sure He gets as sick of formulaic CCM as the rest of us.

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (CLEAN)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:30:53 GMT

James, this is really great - too bad there isn't more Christian music that comes across like this - I think Jesus loves this.

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (Maxprizm)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:25:13 GMT

Sounds great man, nice energy. I'm not a big fan of most christian rock type stuff, seems to be alot of copycat-ing going on in that genre. This tune doesn't have that problem though, sounds very original (except the "want somebody to love" Mathew Sweet snag) wich I love anyway.) Dig the BGV's alot, great stuff, you're definitely multi-talented.

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (alkie)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:18:31 GMT

Loved the Mix, very vibrant and the vocals were off the charts.

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (jamesyoyo)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:07:04 GMT

Bob:

With my rather blatant "More Than A Feeling" fade in, I can't imagine where you got a 70s vibe from!

Tom:

Thanks for compliments. I have a rather poor opinion (deservedly so!) of my vocals, mostly cuz it takes a lot of wizardry in the mixdown to make them sound passable. So I take it as more of a kind comment on my mixing skills than singing skills.

Tap:

Thanks.

Rollin:

The only thing consistent about Factory Yoyo is everything is usually different, whether it be pop, heavy metal, classical, techno, dance... Check out my other incarnations Sofa and BadRayUK. Thanks for the listen.

Trucker, SMB, Tony:

Gracias. I have actually started practicing guitar again after about, I dunno, 25 years of just playing, and my next tune might be a guitar revelation for some Hammertoe listeners.

Martin:
Addictive Drums slightly modified PopRock Kit. With some nice pumping compression via my tRackS Farichild 670 emulator.

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (Truckermusic)

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:56:13 GMT

James
a lot of energy going on here....

I'm listening on cheat a** puter speakers so it is kinda of hard to tell what the he** is going on.......you know how it is ....they mash everything together

Cliff

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (The_Retrofits)

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:17:22 GMT

Great energy tune! You do take me back to the 80's though! That's good - bring' em back (re talent/sound/dynamics).

Good separation - nice vox!

What were you using for drums? Nice kit.

Martin Barret
(I too speak Christianese....)" />

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (CreatingNoise)

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:02:50 GMT

Man, that initial guitar tone made my jaw drop! That is a sweet sounding intro.

Great tune, love the vocals. The bass stood out very nicely to me also!

Great job!

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (Slow Marching Band)

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:25:49 GMT

Very nice James. Great vox and your guitar work always rocks. Me likes the bass line. Someone mentioned DL and I agree.

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (rollin)

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:21:06 GMT

Certinally different from the yoyo factory. I liked it very much. I'm not in an environment where I can really appreciate the mix, some of the cymbal crashs sounded a bit loud, but again, I won't be able to really appreciate this until later this afternoon. I'll listen again.

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (Tap)

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:16:19 GMT

I really like the tone, but this doesn't really remind me of many of the CCM bands that I ever listened to. Really nice production, good playin as well !!!!!!

-TAP-

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (thepogue)

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:13:33 GMT

1+ on Adrian Belew...nice call....

I'm on 'puter speakers so I can go anywere on the mix...but I love the tune..but that's pretty much standard w/your stuff IMHO...love the break-down @ 3:12ish....fantasitc vox by the way...works all the way round for me....

great work Brudda.....thanks for the share of song and faith!!

BTW I'll meet you on the otherside!!!

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (Bob Oister)

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:50:14 GMT

Hi, James,

This is really cool! Sounds almost 70's "Beatle-esque".

The guitars sound full with shimmering tone, the drums sound perfect, and the punchy, well-rounded bass is to die for. I also agree with Guitartrek about the Lennon reference on the vocals, they're right on the money and fit like a glove to this genre.

Really dynamite!
Bob

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (mikeinFL)

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:49:36 GMT

good rockin tune, does have 70's feel. As for CCM music, it absolutely does have the quality of any other genre, in fact, and often surpasses it.

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (jamesyoyo)

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:01:03 GMT

Rob:

Thanks. Never listened to Belew, so I'll take your word for it!

Steve: Just so ya know, I don't even go to Church except the holidays, which I guess makes me a not-so-good catholic. But I am of the opinion that I can do any style of music, any time I want, and as long as it is honest, and I work hard enough, it will hit a chord with somebody.

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (Stevethesearcher)

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:50:00 GMT

James,

In Europe the term "Christian rock " has a very negative reputation. We consider it to the american alternative to Islamic Fundamentalism. There are too many people in this world trying to force their religious beliefs down other peoples necks.

Religion should always be a personal thing in my opinion.

However I am not as uptight as that in relation to music. People have to write and sing about any subject they feel passionate about. Thats what music should be about not the X Factor.

This is actually a very good song that rocks. It actually borders on the english rock band "The Cult"

With heavier guitars you could actually slip on your black leather trousers and really rock with this tune. If thats you on vocals and they are excellent I would keep up the rock stuff.

Its a very good song with a very good feel factor. Thats my honest opinion from West Europe.

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (rm5700@optonline.net)

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:16:47 GMT

I liked this one, really cool! " />

Sorta reminds me of Adrian Belew from the "Here" album

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (jamesyoyo)

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:55:01 GMT

Gary:
Glad you enjoyed it.

Rich:
To be honest, I haven't seriously listened to CCM in more than 25 years. But when I do come across it on the radio or on TV is has a very bland quality to it that makes me feel the CCM industry is set up to not musically challenge or offend any listener. Which is odd coming from the Christian point of view, that Jesus came to shake up everything.

Paulo:

My first taste of a yoyo production and obviously your reputation on here as a guy who knows his onions is well deserved.

As the great John McClane would say: "Welcome to the party, pal!"

JMan:
Most of my mixes are too bright! That's cuz that's the way I like 'em!" />
Lyrically, I was referring to the Rapture (one fine morning I'll be gone) in most of the song, so the "nobody wants to be stuck in the middle" is more of a warning than an observation.

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (Beagle)

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:47:30 GMT

james - really nice stuff here. vox are excellent, IMO. nice guitars - bass sounds excellent in this. really nice mix, too.

Re:Factory Yoyo presents: Christian Rock?!? (jimmyman)

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:41:41 GMT

Great job as always from you. Mix is a tad bright for
my taste but that's just a preference thing. There is
only one jamesyoyo for sure. I mean that in a good
way. If I read into your meaning correctly it might
seem that if one "rides the fence" so to speak then
one may not get or fully understand some things
about life. (Or care to).

CCM just like any kind of music can get to sounding
the same but (all) genres have this. I think there will
always be absolutely great songs in most genres.
Then there will be just "good" songs.

Anyway you did a very good mix on this.