The biggest conversion story of 2005 is definitely the guitarist from Korn.
The story has been almost everywhere. But an earlier conversion got some
rather big press in 2004, and that was the story of Day of Fire's Josh
Brown. Like the story of Josh Caterer from another new rock band, Duvall,
these guys were caught in the middle of the downward-spiraling rock 'n' roll
scene that provides such great tragic stories to Behind The Music. Read on
for the story of Josh Brown and a review of his album.

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DAY OF FIRE - DAY OF FIRE (2004)
by Bert Gangl

If one were penning a modern-day Saul of Tarsus conversion story, they might
well want to hire Josh Brown as a consultant. Born in the late '70s, Brown
was already taking hard drugs by his fifteenth birthday. After playing in a
succession of bands, Brown met the members of what would become Full Devil
Jacket in 1995 at a tattoo parlor run by his brother. The group's rising
popularity netted them gigs at increasingly larger venues over the next
several years, including a slot at Woodstock '99. Full Devil Jacket was
eventually picked up by Island/Def Jam Records and the self-titled debut
followed in March of 2000. Brown and his bandmates embarked on an extended
tour in support of the album, opening for well-known rock acts like Coal
Chamber, Nickelback and Fuel.

About a year into the tour, Brown suffered a heroin overdose. Following a
stint in rehab, the FDJ collective set out on tour with Creed. At the
conclusion of the tour, Brown and his cohorts flew to Los Angeles to begin
work on the sophomore project. During the recording, Brown suffered a
nervous breakdown which lead him to reexamine his childhood faith. He quit
the music scene altogether shortly afterwards and moved back to his hometown
of Jackson, Tennessee. After two years of performing prison ministry and
washing dishes in nursing homes, a dejected Brown met guitarist Gregg Hionis
at the church he was attending. The two began writing music together and
eventually signed with Essential Records under the Day of Fire namesake.

For the self-titled debut, Brown called on an A-list of mainstream players,
including bassist Chris Chaney (Jane's Addiction), drummer Gary Novak
(Alanis Morissette), guitarist Phil X (Triumph, Rob Zombie) and backing
vocalist Matthew Nelson (Nelson). True to its inherent talent level, the
group kicks things off in fine form with "Through the Fire," a
funk/grunge/nu-metal hybrid whose infectious melody and relentless groove
make it a perfect album opener. "Reap and Sow," with its growled vocals and
frenetic tempo, is an equally engaging, no-holds-barred Southern-rock-tinged
barn burner. The lumbering, slightly dissonant "Fade Away" comes across a
bit ordinary at first, but slowly etches itself into the listener's memory.
And "Adrianne," a sparse lo-fi number played on a single acoustic guitar,
possesses a lonesome, almost haunting quality that renders it as mesmerizing
as it is stark.

Interestingly enough, Brown's pre-Day of Fire lyrics were not completely
devoid of spiritual content. Indeed, songs like "Full Devil Jacket" ("Jesus
wants me back in church again / I'm not ready to give my life back to him /
Maybe I don't have that much to say") pointed to the dark, desperate soul's
steadfast resistance to the call of the divine. Current-day DoF tracks like
"Detainer" and "Through the Fire" ("I'll see you through the flood / Through
the fire / Through the storms raging"), by comparison, chronicle the
earliest stages of that same soul's surrender and eventual recovery.
Likewise, worship-oriented anthems such as "Rain Song" and the equally
well-penned Number One radio single "Cornerstone" ("All other ground is
sinking sand / A doubting maze of desert land") highlight Brown's decidedly
evangelical post-recovery stance.

In fairness, "I Am the Door," while certainly tenacious enough, is musically
rather faceless. The wording of "Time" ("Watching the clock tick tock away
/ Always on the rush / Quick, get away") is similarly nondescript. And "I
Am the Door" and "To Fly" share distressingly similar main guitar riffs.
Such shortcomings, though, constitute a pleasantly small portion of the
album as a whole. And, where 99% of what the DoF cooperative pulls off has
been done before, the band's attention to hook, melody and tempo variation
catapult the debut well past the 50th percentile mark for hard rock efforts.
Indeed, once one gets past the familiarity of it all, there's very little to
find fault with. It will be interesting to see where the DoF lads go with
the sophomore album, once the initial curiosity concerning Brown's departure
from the mainstream camp wears off. For now though, it would appear that
the widespread interest in, and consequent success of, the group are very
much merited.

Read more about Day of Fire at their official site:
http://www.dayoffire.com/


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FAITH OF A CHILD - THE O.C. SUPERTONES
2005 has been heralded as the end of the Supertones, and last month's
release of Unite, a greatest hits album, marked the end. But the Supertones
have always been about worship and have often considered doing a worship
album, so they did it. Included are songs like "Here I Am To Worship" and
"Come Thou Font" plus a couple songs penned by the Supertones such as "Away
From You" and "Hallelujah".

FREE TO CONQUER - SUBSEVEN
Subseven debuted last year with a self-titled EP that maintained they were
part of the "Flicker Rocks Harder" promotion. Definitely hard rock with a
bit of screamo in there, Subseven is making their full-length debut today.

ROOM TO BREATHE - ZOEgirl
With Different Kind Of Free, their last album, ZOEgirl moved to a more
rock-infused pop sound. Room To Breathe continues with the same sound and
music that uplifts teen girls.

SEAMLESS - JEFF ANDERSON
A new worship artist on Gotee Records, Anderson delivers a disc full of new,
original worship songs with a pop/rock sound. The disc is not a standout in
today's market, but shows the beginnings of a promising artist.

THE VERY BEST OF JUMP5 - JUMP5
The good thing about the pre-teen market is that the label is expected to
deliver something new every six months. And because Jump5 is down one member
and does not have enough new material for a new album, Sparrow decided a
"best of" album was in order. Besides having the best of their short career
so far, these teens also offer up three new songs including their version of
the Christian music staple, "Friends".

Wait... want a PICK OF THE WEEK? OK, this is all I have:

THE INCREDIBLES DVD - PIXAR ANIMATION STUDIOS
Arguably the best film of 2004 and winner of the Academy Award for Best
Animated Film, this DVD is not one to be missed. Writer/Director Brad Bird
delivers an great action film about a family of superheroes forced to keep
their powers out of the public eye. But when Mr. Incredible receives a call
to go do some superhero work, he may need the whole family to save him from
an evil villain. The DVD version includes two animated short films as well
as an in-depth look at the making of the movie and its groundbreaking
special effects.


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