Last week The Collision Podcast interviewed Jetty Rae: "From her soulful voice to her inspiring lyrics, Jetty Rae is an artist you can't forget. In April's artist spotlight, we talk to Jetty about how she picked up music, what inspires her to write and discuss her latest projects." To listen to the full interview, simply click HERE.
Heath McNease knows the short shelf life of the pop star. “There’s something alluring about being an artist known by millions,” he admits. “But it takes one trip to rehab, one mistake in an interview, one wardrobe malfunction for people to hate you. Because all you are is a 99-cent single to them, your album means nothing.
“I’m more intrigued by the idea of connecting with a hundred thousand rabid fans, who will always be down for the cause.”
There’s a price to be paid to avoid the cookie cutter mold, and build a career from the ground up. It’s a grind that Heath has been on for three and a half years. Over the course of hundreds of shows, he’s transformed from an unknown artist whose only performance experience was in musical theater, to a multi-faceted songwriter, dropping a double album, ranging from jazz-influenced acoustic songs to gritty hip-hop.
Only eight months after releasing 28 songs over two discs, Heath is back with The House Always Wins. There’s no rapping to be found across the album’s ten acoustic songs, but the content still owes much to hip-hop, since the stories woven around upbeat tempo are infused with struggle and pain. But even when Heath tells hard tales, he shares them with a smile, and his signature wit infused into the carefully penned lyrics.
There’s no doubt that this project is another leap forward for Heath. No track showcases his deepening maturity better than “Waiting for Godot,” with the cutting line “I don’t know if I’m right/but God forbid I’m wrong.”
“It’s based on a play where two guys are waiting for God, and God never shows up,” Heath says. “I wanted to take a play that was very godless in its approach, but had so much to say from the author’s heart, and build a song off that platform. Struggling with what you believe is a dark place to go, but it’s something both Christians and non-believers relate to.”
Releasing in late February, The House Always Wins deals as much with the coming spring as it does with the fading winter. “Too Much Love” is one of a handful of songs on the album that sound best with the windows down on a spring break road trip.
There’s a joy found in the songs that can only be kept by a boy who became a man on the roads between shows, who had his heart handed back to him, and found the courage to tell the tale. Who took one look at what it means to be another carbon copy artist, and chose to blaze his own path.
“In the end, what my mom told me about casinos is right,” he says, “the house does always win.” In love. In careers. In life. We fall down. We lose. But we can rise again. We can continue, often only to fall again."
Heath’s latest album hits home because the songs remind us that, either way, there’s still meaning in the journey.
Saturday, February 19, 2011 at 2:36PM | in CHURCH Jetty released a new music video today for her song Bad Apples. It was made for a short film called "Botomul" which means "Bad Apples" in Bengali. This song is great for a teaching illistration on the genesis account (lust of the eyes) or proverbs and dating.
We couldn't be more thrilled to introduce you to The Spark, a worship band based out of Kenosha, WI. We were originally introduced to them by Leo and also Ben Kasica from Skillet... and the more we did research on them and the more we listened to their live worship album, the more we became fans ourselves. If you take just a few minutes to listen to their worship set (click here), you'll see why we say this.
"Live worship is so tricky... how do you capture the energy of the worship while also capturing crisp audio quality? Ask The Spark. They got it picture perfect on their latest effort. Much like Hillsong United, this group carries a passion and attention to detail on their live record that doesn't feel contrived, but rather rings true as authentic. One of many standouts is the lovely rendition of "nothing but the Blood" and the title track."
-Grace S. Aspinwall / CCM Magazine / 4 Star album review
To take it a step further, this group represents the DNA of our family so well– solid walk with Christ; local church accountability; and humility... oh yeah... and they can rock it out with best of them.