Tammy Trent Dancing Before The Lord

When God has given you a desire, chase after it and walk through every door that God opens for you. Although singer/songwriter Tammy Trent was speaking within the context of comparing her infant days in the music industry with the recent recording of the CD I See Beautiful the words, make a statement about the way she approaches her life.

Twelve years ago, Trent adopted her husband Trent Londerink’s first name as her surname for stage purposes. On September 10, 2001, her world was rocked when her husband died in a diving accident. After stepping away from the music scene to heal Tammy Trent slowly made her way back through music and sharing her story from the platform of conferences such as Revolve (for teenage girls) and Women of Faith. The release of I See Beautiful in 2006 signaled that the dance music queen had returned and done so in style.

Responding to my description of her song “Pray” as hip hop meets pop Trent laughs and says, “I love it, I love it. When I signed a record deal in 1994, the love of my life was definitely dance, hip hop and urban (music). I was listening to the sounds out of Detroit and Minneapolis. Laughing she says there wasn’t a whole lot like that coming out of Nashville. There was really good pop music but nobody was really doing any dance stuff.”

There are people who might think that Trent has not changed with the times and ten years later is still performing dance music while many Christian artists are into worship or pop rock. In response to that line of thinking Trent replies, “I want people to say, ‘I was a fan of hers ten years ago and she still has great stuff to this day.’ I think you have to keep changing with the sound of the times but stylistically this is absolutely who I am.”

Trent says, “A song like “Pray” really captures who I am. It is such a song of my heart. There were times that I walked through the door of my house, fell to my knees, was lost for words and did not know what to say. I felt lonely. I was hurting and going through the pain of losing a spouse. I remember reminding myself, ‘Tammy there is probably somebody praying for you right now. Someone is lifting you up before the Father right now. Get up, you can do this.’ I would get up, wipe the tears and say, ‘I can do this God.’”

Continuing to talk about “Pray” she says, “I could have written a ballad that would make us just want to worship God. “Pray” is a song of celebration. It made me want to get back up off the floor and say yes does anybody want to pray with me. Do you really want to pray with me? I think that is why I took this direction for the song. It makes you want to dance.”

Six weeks after her initial record release in 1994 and her single “Your Love Is For Always” debuted, the song rose to number one on the charts. “That started everything for me. I knew I was just following my heart. Until this day it is who I am musically. I love music that makes me want to dance,” says the singer.

The words to Trent’s songs are not merely filler used to satisfy a beat. She instead relies upon heartfelt true life experiences that infuse her lyrics. The lyrics are dropped into a blender with great beats and the combination creates excellent tunes. “I am a drummer so when you listen to any of my records there is this groove. Even on a ballad you will hear that undertone because of the drummer in me,” she notes.

“In 2007 I will probably spice up my set a little bit and throw in the drums. I think it is inspiring for other little girls that want to learn to play. I am going to bring them out on the road with my own band. I think there is something to be said for an artist that gets up with an acoustic guitar or somebody like Nichole Nordeman that sets up behind a keyboard. (Hopefully people will say) she’s not only a singer/songwriter but she can actually play an instrument as well,” says Trent.

The title track “I See Beautiful” and the track “Is This Love” are collaborations between Trent, David Garcia and Tim Miner. The songs are good dance grooves that celebrate God’s love. Miner and Garcia also produced both tunes. Miner who has been a solid R&B artist and a prolific producer puts a solid urban stamp on the tunes. Miner’s past clients have included Debra Cox, CeCe Winans, Anita Baker, Mariah Carey, Montel Jordan, Babyface, Teddy Pendergrass and Vanessa Williams. Garcia’s musical roots run deep in gospel, R&B and hip hop music. “I See Beautiful” and “Is This Love” provide evidence of Trent’s energetic vocals, and her ability to motivate people to get up and move.

“I See Beautiful” is Trent’s testimony of emerging from dark shadowy days to celebrate God’s divine intervention and guidance in her daily life. “I feel I just (need to) open up and share the honest places of my life with people. Those are the kinds of things that will reach out to people more than pretending I have the answers or pretending that everything is all good just because I have God in my life. I think I have learned to be an open book thinking that if that helps somebody then that is what I was created for,” she says.

The song “Stop The World” is dedicated to the memory of Tammy’s husband. It was written by their friend Pete Orta shortly after her husband’s death and was sung at his funeral. As the megaphone vocals envelope the words “Somebody stop the world”, your heart breaks for Tammy Trent’s loss but you also find hope in her words. The song talks of shared memories, of carrying Trent Londerink’s heart deep within her hear forever. The tune speaks of a God who comforts us and breathes life back into us even during our darkest days.

“I think it was important for me to capture on this record that God has restored me and healed my life,” she says and then adds, ”There are some artists who feel called to write deeply thought provoking poetic songs. It seems to me that my music is a bit more conversational. I create songs that somehow will make you put your clothes on the right way in the morning and help you march out that front door to take on the day.”

The decision to enlist the services of four producers for the album (Miner, Garcia, John Mandeville and Tony Montana) contributed to a record that sounds alive and fresh. “I think when you are working on a record it is always a challenge to find something new in you. You are hopeful that a new producer will be able to capture that. Even thought I love dance, hip hop and urban I was also looking to capture them in a new way,” she says.

The courage to tell her story, back it up with her lifestyle and create danceable music has attracted a lot of attention. At the end of December, I peeked at Trent’s tour schedule for 2007 and it was booked solid. She has an ambitious tour that will visit thirty cities and is already accepting bookings into 2008. She also refers to the album I See Beautiful as her fastest selling album to date.

The Bible says David danced before the Lord in praise. Trent’s legacy will be that she inspired others to get up and with grateful hearts dance before God.

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Music Became Their Passport To True Love

The Kenny and Amanda Smith Band are modern day troubadours who like to mix old time rhythms with contemporary themes such as they did with their outstanding ballad “Mary Had A Little Boy” from their most recent CD Tell Someone.

The husband and wife team of Kenny and Amanda who front the band with their vocals and Kenny’s guitar licks blend bluegrass, southern gospel and country songs. While the traditional venue for the band has been music festivals during the summer months, smaller clubs during the winter and opening for acts like country legend George Jones, they have been experiencing rapid growth in their fan base from a surprising source. As the band enters, its sixth year satellite radio is introducing their music to a generation of fans who are discovering bluegrass for the first time.

Kenny says, “We have a really high standard as far as the sound quality in our recordings (is concerned). We have been really lucky to know some good engineers. Glenn Taber out of Charlotte North Carolina is really gifted at what he does. We like working with him. He is innovative and always comes up with new ways to capture what we do.” He makes the point that with satellite radio, you have to come up with a quality mix or the music program directors are not going to play your music.

To capture what Kenny likes to refer to as ‘a pure sound’ they utilize a much stripped down recording studio that places more emphasis on capturing an acoustic live sound than it does on electronic wizardry.

“Amanda and I listen to a lot of fifties and sixties country (songs) that are more simple and basic. They had good songs and unique voices. The people were all original and I guess that is what we like about that era,” says Kenny before adding, “I think that still is true with bluegrass. It is one of the music forms that are still governed by the artists that it is not controlled by the record companies.”

It would seem fitting that a bluegrass band would start to take shape at a bluegrass music festival but it is not exactly where one might picture you meeting your future spouse. Amanda recalls their first meeting, “Mom, dad and I went to a concert in Milton West Virginia because the Lonesome River Band was playing. I was expecting Tim Austin their other guitar player to walk out on stage but Kenny did and I really liked his playing. I wanted to go up and meet him after the show was over and I was hoping he didn’t have a girlfriend but of course, I didn’t want to come out and ask him. I just handed him my cassette tape with my phone number in it. I figured that was a more tactful way to give him my number without just asking him to call. It worked and he called me about a month later.”

Perhaps we should ask Kenny how he remembers things unfolding, “Amanda and I met at a Lonesome River Band concert (so far you are on the same page). I remember seeing Amanda earlier in the day and thinking there is a good looking gal and I really want to meet her!” Kenny however figured that she probably did not like bluegrass music and her parents dragged her to the festival (wrong). In fact, Amanda suggests it may have been more at her urging that the family attended the festival.

What happened next Kenny? “She walked up after the concert, handed me a cassette tape and said my number is in there. She told me to give her a call sometime and tell her what I think about the music (hmmm),” Kenny recalls. He phoned, discovered she was four hours away, but agreed to go out on a date anyway.

Eventually they married so he must have taken her out to a big fancy restaurant or won many prizes for her at the local fair, right. Not quite and true romanticists will be pleased to learn, “We got back to her mom and dad’s house (after the date) and while we were sitting on the couch she asked, ‘Do you want to pick?’ I thought this was great and we spent the next two or three hours playing the guitar (and singing). It was a dream come true.” While it is true they have lived happily ever after our story is not over yet so keep reading.

One of the keys to the Smiths enjoying a good marriage and helps them keep their careers in the proper focus is their faith in God. Amanda says, “Not everything (in life) is always perfect. There are always hard times and discouragement. It is nice to have somebody who wants to pray about it and it means a lot to be on the same page with everything. Our (faith) really comes into play for the decisions we make for the band. We share the same thoughts and beliefs. We can lean on the Lord to find our direction.”

“It is nice to have somebody who wants to pray about it and it means a lot to be on the same page with everything. The decisions that we make for the band that (faith) really comes into play. We share the same thoughts and beliefs and can lean on the Lord to find our direction,” says Amanda.

There have been many times when the couple has needed the Lord’s strength to see them through difficult days. Two weeks prior to the recording of Tell Someone Kenny’s father was involved in a fatal tractor accident. He says they felt so strongly about recording their first gospel album that they went ahead with the project. “I think at times like that you are closer to the Lord and drawing from that strength than any other time of your life. I think the songs that we chose really spoke to my heart,” he says.

As every musician or singer knows the music, industry can often lead to a frugal lifestyle. The Kenny and Amanda Smith Band have also known those lean years. “That is where faith becomes a big part of our lives and so it becomes a daily walk for Amanda and me,” says Kenny.

Amanda says, “This gospel album meant a whole lot because those songs go way back to my childhood. I have been singing gospel music ever since I was about three years old with my mom’s old record player and (later) in church with my guitar.”

Concerning their careers and their marriage Amanda says, “It is definitely a dream come true and to have the bonus of finding somebody that is a partner in life that shares the same dream and the same faith all wrapped in one seems almost too good to be true. We’re pretty fortunate.”

Music lovers attending a Kenny and Amanda Smith Band concert can expect to hear hard driving bluegrass mixed in with tunes that are more traditional and some southern gospel songs. Kenny says, “We might go to something really contemporary such as “Pacific Time”. It is stripped down to guitar, bass and Amanda’s vocals. She is singing about a west coast/east coast long distance relationship. (Next) we might go to a quick instrumental or a claw hammer banjo song that is rooted in an old time feel. Amanda’s voice fits hard driving bluegrass but it also fits ballads and slower gospel (songs).”

Just like some of the people whose music they enjoy, Ernest Tubb, Tammy Wynette and Buck Owens Kenny and Amanda Smith are carving out their own niche in the annals of bluegrass and country music.

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Cali God's Dance Sensation

It seems as though every decade has its teen music idols and our time is no different. Cali, a favorite of the Radio Disney Network has jumped into the spotlight to join contemporaries such as Katelyn Tarver and Miley Cyrus. Whether these young women eventually become as well known as predecessors such as, Britney Speers, Rebecca St James and Stacie Orrico remains to be seen.

Tarver’s music pulls more at the heartstrings with love songs whereas Cali’s tunes are more firmly planted in dance/pop. For the most part Cali’s songs appeal to the mostly pre-teenage set. Her music taps into the five year old through fourteen year old girl audience. Think of Cali as ZoeGirl divided by three.

Cali who co-wrote six of the tracks from her self titled CD takes pride in the fact that her songs go beyond mere casual dance music and are considered good enough to be used in dance routines. She says, “My music has a hardcore good beat. I am trying to bring that pop element and putting a message behind it. I want it (her music) to stand out and make a difference.”

“Get Up” the number one track has a companion video that will soon appear on the Gospel Music Channel and can be viewed on her website or myspace site. The video was shot in a small town outside Nashville. The theme involves the young singer in trying to lift people’s spirits by encouraging them to get up and dance. The song becomes a metaphor for triumphing over life’s difficult situations. Cali says, “Get Up is one of my favorite songs because it is fun, energetic and you can dance to it.”

The techno grooved “Come Go With Me” with its programmed strings and funky megaphone vocals along with the harder edged “Can It Be” should attract a stronger following than the lead track “Get It Up”. The two songs evoke a stronger emotional response. Cali also pushes out more with “Come Go With Me” and “Can It Be”. This CD was designed primarily for a general market audience but “Can It Be” presents the boldest statement of faith. The lyrics contrast two different ways of approaching life. The first approach is to struggle alone, while slipping “on the ladder of faith”. The second approach is to turn to someone who is always there and can be relied on. Although the song makes no specific mention of Christ or God, it does open the door for the singer to share her faith when it is appropriate to do so.

“If I could, in a perfect world I would want to share my life with every single fan that I come into contact with. I do care about whom they are, what they are going through and want to be there beside them,” Cali says.

The young singer is not the least bit intimidated about serving as a role model for today’s youth. “That doesn’t scare me at all. I want to be a role model for kids out there. It is pretty exciting and is something that I am willing to take on,” she says.

Cali also is not afraid to be raw and emotionally bare before her fans. In her song, “Are You Listening” the singer asks difficult questions and wonders aloud why answers aren’t forthcoming. With a good remix, “Are You Listening” could be a blockbuster hit for both general market and Christian radio. Cali’s emotive vocals combine with thoughtful lyrics. What is needed on this song is a stronger supporting cast of musicians.

The CD is a photo album of Cali’s life. “It tells my whole story. I really put myself and my stories out there,” she says. The song “Sound So Good” provides a musical biopic of her teenage years. “It talks about a relationship I had with a guy in high school. It wasn’t a healthy relationship but I kept running back to him even though I knew he wasn’t fulfilling what I needed. That (the song) is really special to me because it tells my story,” says the singer.

The closing track “Never Let Me Go” brings her passionate heartfelt vocals to the forefront once again and is a tune that holds a lot of promise.

Although Cali is a self confessed lover of dance music this reviewer would question if that is the strongest card she has to play. As you listen to the R&B flavored “Shine” or pop driven tunes such as “Just Because” and the Scott Krippayne authored “Wonderful Crazy” Cali climbs from being an ordinary singer to being a very, very promising young artist. With the dance tracks, her voice often takes a backseat to music that frankly is quite ordinary. With the aforementioned songs, you get an opportunity to hear her vocals and the lady has a very pretty voice.

After Cali’s publicist, Brian Mayes arranged a meeting between the young singer and the Disney Corporation, the entertainment conglomerate agreed to bring her into the fold as one of their incubator artists.

A Cali fan club was founded by one die hard fan and she is besieged both by mail and in person at her concerts. Fans seek out her advice on a variety of subjects including boy problems, self esteem challenges and spiritual issues.

The Christian music scene and our youth could not ask for a better role model than a young woman who volunteers her time with Young Life, an organization that goes into high schools to establish relationships with students. As Cali says, “We get to know the kids on a personal level so we can earn the right to lead them to Christ.”

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Kim Hill Tried To Wear Out God But She Couldn't

"She lived in shame

For forty more years than she should have

Losing the days

To fire and brimstone and "could haves"

The words to Kim Hill's song "Wide" from her album Broken Things reflect the heart of a woman who is revered as one of the most effective ministers to hurting women today. You know Kim Hill the singer/songwriter, perhaps you are a lady who has attended one of the women's conferences at which she has served as a worship leader but she is so much more than that.

Kim Hill wants to make sure that Christians are known for loving people from all walks of life whether they be divorced, homeless, gay or drug addicts. She believes that the church doors should be open to welcome them all. "The church should be a place of comfort that cradles all sinners no matter what the sin," she says.

I have gone on record as saying that Broken Things is a Dove Award caliber CD. The album is full of songs that not only are great folk/rock tunes but should act as the social conscience for the church of 2006.

Hill says that the song "Wide" is, "born out of one of the things that break my heart. (Often) women in their sixties or seventies will come up to me and tell me that they have lived in shame about their divorce for (perhaps) forty years. Maybe they were divorced when they were nineteen and were remarried when they were in their early twenties. (Now) they have a beautiful family and grandchildren yet there is still this thing that they are so ashamed of. Sometimes even their best friends don't know they were married before and divorced. They feel like they can't be a real leader in the church. Maybe they can serve in the nursery and that's about it. Women tell me that story over and over again."

At the conferences where Hill ministers the women attending confide in her, 'God didn't throw Kim away so maybe he didn't throw me away either.' She says, "They are set free from that lie that they have lived for so long. I literally have prayed and cried with women and I am completely amazed that they have lived in shame for that long. It just breaks my heart."

The personable songwriter says, "I had an idea to write a song (Wide) about these women and when I talk to them how I wish I could go back and talk to them forty years ago to tell them what I know of who God is. He doesn't throw them away."

"Wide" was co-written with Margaret Becker. "We wrote the song so fast that we both laughed. We couldn't have written that song fifteen years ago because we both had to live life, have our own hills and valleys before we could write a song like that," she says.

"A Million Pieces" is a continuation of the same theme. The melodic rock tune talks about trying to pretend there is no hurt associated with crisis events like divorce. Despite an alarming and escalating rate of divorce within the walls of the church the talking heads of various church groups would rather turn their heads and look the other way.

"She did everything she could/To hide the pain away" Hill sings. While women of her mom's generation and before suffered in silence and tried to put on a happy face as struggles appeared in marriages. They might have been in abusive situations or even found themselves divorced but the pressure was there to ignore the pain. Hill is thankful that today, "A lot of women are getting help and are becoming whole people because they are able to address the reality of their lives instead of shoving it away and pretending its not there. Our generation is so much more vocal about things in our lives that don't turn out so great."

In many cases Hill believes the message that women are hearing from the Christian community is, "You are going to make God look bad or your family look bad so don't talk about these things." Hill's song "Just The Same" penned by Kate Miner delivers a soft gentle message to those hurting women. The singer barely above a whisper sings, "Oh You love me just the same."

If you have ever been on the receiving end of an ex-spouse's public relations campaign or perhaps the rumor mongering of those who are on the outside but pretend they are in the know then you will be able to relate to what the singer's friend told her, 'I know you want to go put flyers on everybody's car at church one Sunday morning but you can't.'

"My pastor said, 'Kim you have to trust God with your reputation. Time and truth walk hand in hand. You just have to put your head down and walk.' That was the hardest thing in the world for me to do because a lot of times all you have is your reputation and what people know of you. That was a very difficult time for me," she says.

"I talk to women all the time whose husbands have walked out on them and left them or whose fathers left them. It is such a foundational issue in their life that they have to deal with for years. I think God is not like an earthen husband or father in that way. He doesn't leave. For women to get that is really huge."

One of the most difficult things for people experiencing loss of any type including the death of a loved one is the sense of isolation. Hill says, "So many people give lip service (and say), 'We really care about what is going on with you.' And I am as guilty as anyone; so many times we really don't want to know. Life is very messy. In my situation things were very messy. I think people are trying but I think the church has a really hard time with things that are messy. They don't know what to do with it. Over and over again I felt that the lesson I learned was I wore everybody out, the pastors, counselors and my friends. The truth that I felt God was saying over and over to me is, 'Kim you can't wear me out. Pour your heart out to me, run to me. I will never ever leave you.' As simple as that truth is when you are in crisis that is one of the most important things in the world to believe and remember is that He really will never let you go. He really will never leave you," she says.

In the second part of this two part series Kim Hill talks about living a victorious life in Christ as a single mother and how worship draws her closer to God.

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Jonny Lang Bends Some Fabulous Notes on "Turn Around"

For those of you who at sometime in your life have experienced the joys and angst of dieting you may recall just how mouthwatering good that slice of pie or piece of cheesecake looked to you. You wanted to savor every last morsel of it if only you could. Hold that thought because that is exactly the way you are going to feel when you begin to spin Jonny Lang's new CD "Turn Around".

There are thirteen delicious Blues, Neo Soul and good ol' Gospel songs on this splendid album. Singer, songwriter and guitar virtuoso Jonny Lang was a childhood wonder kid. Early in his teenage years he was sharing the stage with Buddy Guy and B.B. King. Lang's debut CD "Lie To Me" which was released when he was fifteen went platinum. The next year "Wander This World" was released and it too went platinum. It won't be long before "Turn Around" joins those two albums in that stellar class.

The album in many ways chronicles the Blues artist's life. Although he is only twenty-five years old he has seen a lot, done a lot and changed a lot. He would tell you that he has been rescued from much. He owned the world at fifteen and descended into a life of drugs and alcohol by his late teen years. It therefore makes all the more poignant songs such as "Thankful" a groovin', hip swaying Gospel tune. The song will get you up off your chair, out of your concert seat and dancing where you are. "Thankful" boasts the incredible vocals of Lang and Michael McDonald. There is also a spectacular performance by the choir providing backup vocals but the names are too numerous to mention all the gifted singers. Go check out the song credits on the CD cover because these people are worthy of you taking the time to do so.

I guarantee that you will be hooked in the first thirty seconds of the opening track "Bump In The Road". Lang possesses a soulful rasp that comes from deep within and is filled with passion. "Bump In The Road" demonstrates the R&B/Blues sensibilities of a man who will dominate the Blues scene for the next quarter of a century.

As you listen to the second and third tracks you will run out of superlatives to describe what you hear. Nobody has sung soul with this much passion and energy since James Brown was at his peak in the sixties.

The title track "Turn Around" alone is worth the price of the CD. There is an extended guitar solo by Lang that ranks up there with anything you have heard from Bonnie Raiit and Eric Clapton.

"My Love Remains" is a gentle tune with a distinct southwest flavor. The song has rocked the charts all summer long. The song can best be described as poetry set to music.

"Put on that smile it’s time to face another day

Tell everybody everything’s o.k.

How much longer can you play this game?

Tell me how much more can you take

I see the broken heart you try so hard to hide

I see the tears you hold back in your eyes

I sing the song that you might realize

You’re not alone and I’ll be there,

Like the sun that continues to shine

Just beyond the clouds in the sky

And if ever I seem to be so far away

Remember my love remains"

The melancholic "Only A Man" paints the bleak picture of what Lang's life had become before he climbed out of the miry pit of addiction. The song transcends into whispers of a better life and happier days. Throughout the tune Sara Watkins' fiddle first paints mournful shadows and then provides peaceful overtones. The real jewel in this song however is the duet that Lang performs with his wife Hailey. Hailey's delicate vocals join her husband's unique blend of grit and falsetto.

The 12^th track "On My Feet Again" swings closer to R&B than it does straight up Blues however Lang doesn't miss a beat. It prompts one to ask how a white guy still in his mid twenties got blessed with such a seasoned soulful set of pipes that belie his age.

Turn Around (the CD) is about a guy who turned his life around, is riding the wave and like his outstanding song says, "Anything Is Possible". The singer lets you know that it might not be easy but you can climb that mountain and it is backed by references to Martin Luther King Jr. including a sound clip from King's famous 'I have a dream' speech.

Lang's incredible riffs are supported by Jim Anton's outstanding work on bass and Drew Ramsey's licks on rhythm guitar. Honorable mention for great instrumental work on Turn Around goes to the horn section comprised of Quentin Ware (trumpet), Jim Horn (baritone sax), Barry Green (trombone) and Chris Dunn (tenor sax). Shannon Sanders' organ grooves are memorable.

All material protected by copyright-All Rights Reserved by the author Joe Montague

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