Music world

The UK-based, RIAA Certified Gold-selling, globally relevant band Delirious?, having released its most critically acclaimed album so far, Kingdom of Comfort, on April 1, announces its new drummer taking them forward, Paul Evans.

After more than 12 years together as a band, Stew Smith let fans know in February that he would be leaving the quintet that includes lead vocalist Martin Smith, guitarist Stu G, keyboardist Tim Jupp, and bassist Jon Thatcher. Helping the band choose his replacement, Stew said, “Paul is, in my opinion, one of, if not the, best drummer in our scene. He has passion, sensitivity, finesse and power. Most of all I love Paul for his heart, and that is the thing that will be evident when you meet him. He always has time for you, always has time to laugh and joke and these are the qualities you need to survive on the road.”

A natural choice for the band, Evans stepped in for Stew on the band’s tour of the U.S. in 2006, but his history with the band goes back even further. Evans explains, “My earliest memory of Delirious? was back in the days before they were even Delirious?. They used to do their Cutting Edge events in my school hall.”

Evans grew up in Littlehampton [England], and went full time as a drummer in 2004. In just a few years, he has notched a solid resume that includes tracks on over 40 professional albums, including projects by Tim Hughes, Matt Redman, Ben Cantelon, Graham Kendrick, One Hundred Hours, Brenton Brown, Cathy Burton and more.

“It’s a real privilege taking over for Stew,” Evans says. “He was a very big influence on me as I was learning; at one point I played exactly like him: the same fills and even buying the same Pearl piccolo snare! I’m going to have to get in shape to play with the same energy that Stew plays with, but I’ll probably stop short of the triathlons though!”

“I’m so proud of the things that Paul has already achieved but I’m more excited about the fresh new dynamics he will bring to Delirious?,” adds Stew.

“There’s nobody else we’d have covering our backs and beats,” says Stu G. “Evans has the skills, the passion and the heart to take us on. We’re looking forward to our future together.”

And Delirious?, currently on tour in Australia, will be touring the world in support of its eleventh studio album, Kingdom of Comfort, an album that questions everything, from cancer to consumerism, “five star” dreams to slums and poverty. It is an album that calls for sacrifice, social justice and love.

More information about the band can be found at www.delirious.co.uk, with even more content available by joining the band’s “Living Room” at www.delirious.co.uk/livingroom.

Read our feature story on Delirious’ album Kingdom of Comfort here.

Superchick’s hit song “Hero” is currently featured in a new public service announcement (PSA) by NBC Universal. The “Green Is Universal” PSA announces the company’s more than 150 hours of environmentally themed content that will encompass all of NBC Universal’s divisions across multiple platforms from November 4-10, including NBC, MSNBC, Bravo and CNBC among others.

In addition to appearing on the NBC Universal television platforms, Universal Pictures will run the “Green Is Universal” PSA as post-roll on its online trailers during the programming week and as ads in theater lobbies.

B&C Records in conjunction with Malaco Records is proud to announce the upcoming release of Still, the highly anticipated and eagerly awaited new studio album from the platinum-selling chart-topping award-winning gospel duo BeBe & CeCe Winans. Still will be available online and in stores on Tuesday, October 6.

Still is BeBe & CeCe’s first album in more than 15 years and is the reunion that has been on the lips of fans around the world since it was announced earlier this year. Since the their self-titled debut album in 1987, this chart-topping brother and sister duo topped the R&B and inspirational charts with their debut single, “I.O.U. Me,” and generated Grammy nominations, Dove and Stellar Gospel Awards. BeBe & CeCe were the first African-American artists to receive significant airplay on CCM radio stations and the second African American artists to receive the Dove Award in the Group of the Year category.

Premiering 11 new BeBe & CeCe classics, Still includes the album’s recently released lead single, “Close to You” which has received critical acclaim and success for its soul-stirring, smooth sound and pristine vocals. The video for the single was recently launched on Yahoo and can be viewed by logging onto http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos. Other tracks on Still include the heart wrenching “Grace,” “Things” (featuring brother Marvin Winans), “Let It Be” (featuring Mary Mary) and “I Found Love” (Cindy’s Song) which is destined to be the wedding song of the year.

With assistance from longtime producer and collaborator Keith Thomas, along with Warryn Campbell, Percy Bady, Peter Zizzo, Merv Warren and Mario Winans, BeBe & CeCe weave their love for God in a faith-fueled gospel sound that combines a tuneful blend of R&B, pop, soul, jazz and more.

Growing up in Detroit, MI, Benjamin “BeBe” Winans and Priscilla “CeCe” Winans were born into a home that birthed the first family of Gospel music. The Winans Family was led by a mother and father who taught their ten children the foundations of a Godly life and admonished them to use their voices for the glory of God. The success of their four brothers, The Winans, blazed a trail for BeBe & CeCe to create their own path of writing and performing music that would attract a legion of fans and change the face of Gospel music forever.

After the success of their debut album, BeBe & CeCe became the first Gospel pair to see their second album, Heaven, reach #1 on the Billboard sales charts in 1988 and also be certified Gold. The title track reached #12 on the Billboard R&B singles chart and also spawned two more hit singles with “Lost Without You” and “Celebrate New Life.”

In 1991, the dynamic duo released Different Lifestyles featuring the single “Addictive Love” and a cover of the Staples Singers classic, “I’ll Take You There.” Both singles topped the R&B charts. From there, BeBe & CeCe released two more albums and after an amazing run of smash hits and albums, BeBe & CeCe went on to pursue incredibly successful solo careers.

With a phenomenal career that has spanned more than 20 years, BeBe & CeCe have become one of the most commercially successful gospel artists in the business. As a duo their accolades include five Grammy Awards, eight Dove Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, one Soul Train Award and over a dozen Stellar Awards. They have also racked up 12 chart topping R&B singles, as well as numerous #1 singles on Christian AC and CHR radio, three gold albums and one platinum album.

In conjunction with the release of Still, the BeBe & CeCe Reunion Tour will criss-cross the country later this year.

BIG3 Records has announced plans to “preview” Stryper’s upcoming studio album Murder by Pride at iTunes.com. With this groundbreaking new promotion, Stryper fans will have an opportunity to purchase the album song-by-song, one week at a time, until the album’s release on July 21, 2009.

Every Tuesday beginning May 5th, a new song from the upcoming album will be released at iTunes – for one week only – until the album’s July 21st release date. Each week, the song will be replaced by another, giving fans a chance to purchase the complete album one song at a time until the album hits stores.

Murder by Pride iTunes Release Schedule:

Tuesday, May 5 – "Eclipse of the Son"

Tuesday, May 12 – "Murder By Pride"

Tuesday, May 19 – "4 Leaf Clover"

Tuesday, May 26 – "The Plan"

Tuesday, June 2 – "Alive"

Tuesday, June 9 – "I Believe"

Tuesday, June 16 – "Love Is Why"

Tuesday, June 23 – "Mercy Over Blame"

Tuesday, June 30 – "Run In You"

Tuesday, July 7 – "Everything"

Tuesday, July 14 – "My Love (I’ll Always Show)"

Tuesday, July 21 – FULL ALBUM IN STORES AND AT iTUNES

Murder by Pride also includes a cover of the BOSTON song "Peace of Mind" featuring BOSTON guitarist Tom Scholz. “Peace of Mind” is already available at iTunes.

Stryper will hit the road this fall with a 25th Anniversary Tour, hitting 50 cities in North America before going international in January and February 2010. Launching in September, the tour will be a two-set show. The first set will feature new Stryper material and include current bassist Tracy Ferrie, along with original members Michael Sweet, Robert Sweet and Oz Fox. The second set will feature all four original members, including original bassist Tim Gaines, wearing the original yellow and black stage outfits and performing the band’s hits from the last 25 years.

In 1984, Stryper broke on to the scene with their debut EP Yellow and Black Attack, and have since gone on to sell 8 million albums and tour the world spreading an inspirational message through their branded sound of rock songs, heavy guitars and pristine harmony vocals. The group’s unprecedented 1986 album To Hell with the Devil went platinum and was named one of the “100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music” by CCM Magazine.

In 2008, Michael Sweet joined legendary band BOSTON on vocals and guitar for their 54-city summer headlining tour of North America, performing the band’s classic hits like "More than a Feeling," “Peace of Mind,” “Amanda” and “Don’t Look Back.” BOSTON has sold over 30 million albums worldwide, including the band’s 1976 self-titled debut, which has sold over 17 million copies to date and was the highest selling debut of all time. Sweet is currently in the studio recording the upcoming BOSTON album, due next year.

After a successful debut in 2007 (Secondhand Dreaming) and extensive touring with Switchfoot and Relient K (2007 "Appetite for Construction Tour with Habitat for Humanity") as well as Emery, Ruth is proud to return with their sophomore release, Anorak, on October 28th.

Titled after the British slang definition of an obsessive enthusiast, Anorak is a reference to a person who has an unfathomable interest in something and feels compelled to talk at length about it. The project was produced by acclaimed roster of Aaron Sprinkle (Copeland, Anberlin), Chris Keene (Surrogate, Number One Gun), and Kelsey Smith. The album was also mixed by Ken Andrews (Mae, Pete Yorn) and JR McNeely (The Almost, Relient K).

"I would hope that the music we play is something a little more timeless," band’s founder, singer/guitarist Dustin Ruth confesses. "Hopefully whomever gets one of our albums ten years from now, they’re driving somewhere, and they can still listen to these songs and enjoy it. Our ten year goal for the band is that no matter what, we would still be real, that we would still be who we are, no matter how many records we sold."

Written primarily at rest stops and hotels, Anorak captures the emotions and experiences of watching dreams come true and others fall beyond reach. Ruth’s music is liberating, freeing and uplifting, while at the same time avoiding the pitfalls of cliché and easy, safe or predictable melodies. Anorak is at once challenging and yet simple to understand, recalling the best of ’80s radio, ’90′s English pop and contemporary indie without sounding derivative of any particular genre.

"This one feels more like a band album," Dustin says. "We had a lot more time to develop through a year and a half of solid touring. It made going into this album a lot different. As a songwriter, I put a lot more time and devotion into writing the songs that we really wanted on this album. These songs were written more intentionally for this album."

The band will also return to the touring sector with Decemberadio after a summer filled with dates. Check out their MySpace for updated dates.

Read our interview with Ruth here.

Skillet has just announced that 10 year veteran guitar player Ben Kasica has decided to leave the band. It’s all on good terms, and they’ve put up a blog post with more details.

Ben says in part:

"This has been an incredible journey for me. Joining the band shortly after turning 16 and basically growing up on the road, I had no idea how long the ride would last but have enjoyed it immensely and been thankful to God for everything I’ve been a part of. We’ve traveled to loads of places, met many many wonderful people, drunk way too much coffee, made tons of memories and hopefully touched lives with eternity. I feel completely blessed and honored to have been a part of Skillet’s history."

Read more at their website here.