Issue #2
12-05-2002
by Michael Janke

Got a burning question? Trying to understand recent events? Need clarification on a rumor? Want to know how and why things happen the way they do? Ask CMCentral!

Welcome to the second edition of Ask CMCentral. I am your host and answer man, Michael Janke, and I'm still accepting any and all gift offerings, including season tickets to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks if you happen to have any extras.

First, let me thank the 20,934 people who wrote to let me know that Phil Joel is indeed the same person as Philip Urry. Yes, I screwed up in my very first column! Does it get any more embarrassing than that? I met Phil briefly last week. He's one tall guy with some über-long blonde hair. And some spiffy sunglasses. And as for John James, many of you wrote in to offer information on his latest happenings. To sum up, John still lives in Australia and we believe he's speaking at churches, writing a children's book, working with a youth group, producing, and he has appeared at the last couple of Kingdom Bound festivals as a speaker. That's one busy man. I wonder if he ever eats at the McDonald's that Rebecca St. James tried to get a job at? Thanks to everyone who wrote in to help compile the information in this paragraph.

Last time I mentioned that my favorite Muppets were Fozzy and the two old guys in the balcony. Since then a thread has appeared in our forum discussing favorite Muppets. Coincidence? I think not. Join the conversation and throw your support behind the Swedish Chef, if you so desire. Is it just me or can you not understand a single word that man says? Enunciate!

Q. Were "Barlow Girls" and "Big Star Machine" the only two official radio singles off of Superchick's Karaoke Superstars, or were there any others?
          Stephen

A. For this one I consulted our own radio expert, Greg Webb, who responds: "I'm pretty sure that at some point "Get Up" was released to CHR/AC. It got very few adds at either format, but I'm almost positive it was an official single." Thanks Greg, for helping a brother out. You the man. Can I appear on your radio show? For the record, Superchick rocks in concert.

Q. I was wondering if you knew what happened to Chasing Furies. Did they move to another label? Are they ever going to record a CD again?
          Jessica

A. Chasing Furies is gone, which is sad because their freshman project was really good. Sarah (Meeker) McIntosh married Jonathan MacIntosh, from Luna Halo, and has appeared on the Soul Lift compilation as well as on Michael W. Smith's Worship Again, singing on "Lord Have Mercy." She sounds great so if you haven't heard it rush on out and give it a listen and ask your mamma to get you a copy for Christmas.

Q. There's a worship song called "I Can Only Imagine." The original version was by Chris Rice. There's another version floating around somewhere by Rita something. Could you tell me her last name?
          Erin

A. Erin, the original is actually by the group MercyMe. Amy Grant has since recorded her own version as has Rita Springer, on her new album, Effortless. Amy's and Rita's are nice but I prefer the original. You can't beat those MercyMe vocals.

Q. What are the chances of Steve Taylor coming back and recording another album, even if it's just one more for kicks? I heard something about him considering it, but I don't know how legitimate that is.
          Josh

A. I have no definitive information on this but I will confirm that what you heard is legitimate. I also heard some rumors that he might do another solo project, though nothing more specific was said. Steve, if you're out there, how about it? My question for you, Josh, is this: aren't all of Steve's albums just for kicks? Kidding. Hey, anyone want to play lifeboat?

Q. What is new with dc Talk? Are they going to do anything new? Are they still together?
          Cleveland

Q. Every time I've seen Kevin Max in concert he has covered the song "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen. He does a wonderful job with it, but it's not released anywhere. Any idea if he has plans to release his version any time soon or ever?
          bdg

A. dc Talk is still together. They (Toby, Michael, and Kevin) are all planning on doing second solo projects, but as of now there are no plans to pull the plug on the highly successful group. No word on a track list for Kevin Max's project so "Hallelujah" may or may not be recorded. My guess would be that it won't, since Kevin's got a lot to say coming out of his own pen, and only so much space on a CD. You can hear dc Talk's latest work on the title track for the Let's Roll September 11 tribute. And Max has recorded "Just An Illusion" for the Songs For A Purpose Driven Life album. I really hope that they don't disband as a group because their solo stuff is quality but there's a magic to their union that remains unmatched and five (studio) albums just isn't enough to complete their discography (17 is a nice round number that would satisfy me, I think).

Q. Is there any truth in the report that a former Newsboys member died recently?
          ZGrannysmith

A. Kevin Mills, who played bass for both the Newsboys and White Heart, died in a motorcycle accident in Hollywood on December 3, 2000.

Q. What's up with the girl pop groups ShineMK and V*enna?
          Angel

A. ShineMK played their last concert December 8, 2001. You can read the full story at their website here. V*enna played their last concert in September of 2001. You can read their story and get an update on the status of the two girls here. I dug "Where I Wanna Be." That was one good pop song. If you're worried about your pop fix, though, don't fret because ZOEgirl isn't going anywhere.

Q. Let's see if you can answer what no one else will. "Y'know, everyone is free to rock ass," says Marcos, P.O.D.'s guitarist, putting it a bit more plainly. "That's the message we're giving. We're not talking about religion, not some crutch. When we get on stage, we go crazy, we're like four guys you should put in a mental hospital." If you notice, I put in bold the profanity. As a youth minister I take offense to people who are in the Christian music lime light and consider themselves Christians to use language like this. I have always stood up for P.O.D and probably always will, but this really stuck out to me. I don't promote my kids to use this kind of language, but when their Christian role models do, what can I do? Maybe I am off the wall here and this is accepted by the Christian mainstream. So I guess my question would be, what's up with this?
          Land

A. Land, that's a very fair question. I do not know where you got this quote from, nor the context it was in. But let's take it at face value. My answer to you would be that Marcos is simply a fallible human being. He may be a Christian in the limelight, as you put it, but that doesn't mean he's any more "together" than you or I. I take the guys in P.O.D. to be, above almost everything else, just plain real. They don't put on a face for anyone and what you see is pretty much what you get. And in this case, what you get is a word that many people might have a problem with. When all is said and done, I think the fruits of the guys in the group pretty much speak for themselves, in an extremely positive manner. They are out there on the streets, meeting kids where they are at, and loving them the way that I think Jesus would love them. They're being real, and they're relevant to youth in a way that many other artists are not. That relevance is in large part because they are so honest and transparent. However, they still make mistakes, and they, like all of us, are still on a quest to become more like God would ultimately have us be.

I don't think that the Christian mainstream is accepting profanity as being okay by accepting P.O.D. anymore than you would be accepting my personal failings by reading my columns. None of the Christian role models we hold up are perfect, and most of them are far from it. If anything I think we can learn from this that the one we should be emulating is Jesus, because he's the only one who doesn't badly blow it. There's a tendency in today's church to hold up "our" celebrities on pedestals, especially with musical artists. This is dangerous; especially when we lose perspective. This example can teach us perspective. Admire them for what they are doing and for the way they use their talents, but we should never allow ourselves to believe that just because a Christian has a recording contract that they have reached another plane of spirituality. We should never expect perfection from them because anytime we do we are guaranteed disappointment. P.O.D. has an awesome platform with their music but I'm sure that they would be the first to admit that they still have a long way to go in their relationship with the Lord. If anything we can emulate the fact that God can use any of us, no matter how imperfect we may be at the time. So applaud their art and their outreach, but continue to keep them in your prayers and trust that God will continue to both use them and mold them.

And that's it for this week. Thanks to everyone who contributed. Check back again in two weeks for our next installment and keep sending your questions to us at ask@cmcentral.com. My opinion column will be back next week. Until then drive safely and visit Paul Alan's website to let him know that you do love him so.
          Michael Janke

All questions are subject to editing. Not all questions can be answered due to editorial considerations, and personal replies are not possible due to time constraints.