Hurt Healer Book Giveaway

*Giveaway Ended*

I have the great pleasure of giving away a brand new copy of Hurt Healer by Tony Nolan and YOU could win. I have a copy of this book and it is one of my all time favorites. I even reviewed this book, you can check out the review Here.

To enter all you have to do is leave a comment telling me what your favorite book is (other than the bible). Make sure that you include your email or some other contact info in the comment, so I can notify you if you win. To avoid spam mail spell out your email example: thechristianmusicjunkie (at) gmail (dot) com.

For extra entries, you can do any of the following:

1. Like Tony Nolan and The Christian Music Junkie on facebook.
2. Follow @tonynolanlive and @Drummin_4_Jesus on twitter.
3. Blog about this giveaway.
4.Tweet about this giveaway. (You may do this daily, but please leave a comment each time you do.) Sample tweet:

#WIN Tony nolan's Hurt Healer Ends 6/14 @Drummin_4_Jesus http://thechristianmusicjunkie.blogspot.com/2011/05/hurt-healer-book-giveaway.html

Each of these additional entries will count as one extra entry into the giveaway. Please leave a separate comment for EACH one of these you do (with the link or username), as the winner will be chosen randomly based on the number of comments. Also if you already do any of these things, leave a comment anyways, and it will still count for extra entries.

The winner will be randomly selected on June 14th at 9 PM EST. The winner must reply to the winning email or tweet within 48 hours in order to receive their prize. (Only entries from the United States and Canada, please.) If you have any questions, email me at thechristianmusicjunkie@gmail.com

Some Of My Favorite Music Videos

 For some reason I love music videos that are dark and have the lights shining from the back. I don't know why, but all three of these music videos have the lights shining from the back and I just love them. I think why I like them is because they are mostly pretty simple, but yet they are elegant in a rock kind of way. The first video is one of my all time favorites "Impossible" by Manafest (feat. Trevor McNevan).

The next video is by a band that I am sure most of you have heard of.....Skillet. The video is called "Hero". This video has some amazing special effects.

Last but certainly not least, the third video is one that I seen on a TV show the other day, and I loved it. It is by Manic Drive and it is called "Walls".

I hope you enjoyed the videos! Now here is where I am going to ask for reader participation......Which video was your favorite? If you would leave a comment and tell me why, I would appreciate it.

Sojourn The Water And The Blood Hymns Of Isaac Watts: Vol. II Review

The Blood And The Water Hymns of Isaac Watts: Vol. II by Sojourn is a very raw Christian Gospel album. "Why?" you ask. When Mike Cosper the pastor of worship and arts at Sojourn Community Church in Louisville Kentucky explained the recording process he said "We recorded it essentially live on an old tape machine, and we allowed what happened to happen. It's imperfect in many ways - microphones bleeding into one another, mistakes left unedited - but in a way, it's a beautiful mess."

This CD is slower but something about it just seems kinda homie. Some of the songs sound like something you would hear people playing while rocking in a rocking chair on the front porch, and some of the songs sound more like a hymn you would sing at church. My favorite part about the CD is how original it is. To me it sounds like you went back in time and you are listening to some older music, It is very unique. My favorite song on the CD is "Blest Be The Lamb".

Track List

1. Absent From Flesh

             2. The Water And The Blood

  3. From Deep Distress

            4. Compel My Heart To Sing

                 5. Let The Seventh Angel Sound

                     6. Oh God, Our Help In Ages Past

  7. Deep In Our Hearts

 8. Blest Be The Lamb

          9. Death Has Lost It's Sting

10. Early, My God    

                    11. Let Your Blood Plead For Me

        12. The World Will Know

To find out more about Sojourn check out their Website and Facebook. You can even Follow them on Twitter.

I recieved this CD free, but all opinions are completely mine.

Autograph T-Shirt Week One

I have had only positive comments on telling the story of meeting the bands that signed my shirt, so that is what I will do. The first band I chose to feature is FM Static. They aren't the first band that signed my shirt,  but they are one of my favorites.

I went to a huge Outdoor Christian Music Festival in Wisconsin last year with my grandma. There were a bunch of bands that played there like Skillet, Thousand Foot Krutch, Newsboys, Hawk Nelson, Superchick and many more. My grandma and I went to one of the many stages the festival had to watch FM Static perform. Now if you aren't familiar with FM Static they are a pop/rock side project that the lead singer and drummer from Thousand Foot Krutch started. Thousand Foot Krutch was also performing at the festival a little later that day, and basically FM Static plays then the guys get a break and change then a couple hours later Thousand Foot Krutch plays. Now let me tell you it is very interesting hearing what people say when they notice that the lead singer and the drummer from Thousand Foot Krutch and FM Static look the same. I heard one girl say to her friend "Isn't that the same guy from FM Static?". The friend replied "No they are brothers".

Back to the story.....My grandma and I watched FM Static play they did an awesome job of course. They even played a song off their new CD that just came out April 5th called "Cinnamon & Lipstick". After they played we were going to go get something to eat but then we noticed that some people were standing around by the fence that was behind the stage. We walked over there to see what they were doing, and we seen that Trevor McNevan (the lead singer) and Cody Pellerin (the fill-in guitar player) were signing autographs. I got up  to the fence so that I could get there autographs, Cody (the guitar player) signed my shirt and then when I was the next person along the fence where Trevor (the lead singer) was signing someone came and got him. I was so upset, I was that close to meeting him and then he left. As I was just getting ready to leave, when someone came out and said the whole band will be out to sign autographs in 10 minutes. Of course I waited and I took a couple pictures with my phone.

(Trevor is the one in the red shirt and black pants)

(Steve the drummer is the one to the far right with a red shirt)

They were standing that close just talking while the rest of us fans that didn't get their autograph waited. After I took a couple of pictures I got in the line that people had started forming, and I waited some more. Now let me just say my grandma was awesome and very patient because at this time we had been waiting for a good half hour to meet a band that she didn't even know. Then finally the band walked over and started signing autographs. When I made it up to them I gave them my shirt to sign and they passed it down the line and Cody (the that had signed it before) signed it again. The funny part is I have looked at the shirt many times and where FM Static signed I haven't been able to figure out which ones are Cody's autographs. There aren't any two on the shirt that look the same or even real close, so it is still a mystery. Even though the guys from FM Static didn't say alot just like "Hey thanks for coming", it was still awesome meeting them. I will never forget it. Thanks for reading and check back next week for Autogragh T-Shirt Week Two.

Free Song From Beckah Shae

Beckah Shae has a new song out called #putyourloveglasseson and YOU can get it for FREE.

Pretty cool right? All you have to do is go Here to get your free download. You can also check out some of Beckah Shae's other music on her Facebook Page.

My Autogragh T-shirt

I mentioned in the Addison Road Concert Review that I would be doing a post about my shirt. I have a T-shirt that I have taken to many concerts and it has been signed many times.

(The top of the shirt says "All That Christ Is He Is For You)

This shirt was just a random shirt that I happened to wear to a concert to get signed and it has turned into a collection of autographs. I thought I would do a post about my shirt and then feature one of the bands that has signed it every week. When I post about the band I might include the story of meeting them or I might not. What do you think would you enjoy hearing the story behind it or not? Let me know.

Addison Road Concert Review

This weekend I had the privilege to see Addison Road, 21:03, Thicker Than Water and Vertical Ambition Dance Company in concert. I went to the concert with my grandma, and we had a blast. I know what your thinking...."you took your grandma to a loud rock concert?". Yes.......yes I did, that is one thing that is really neat about my grandma, she loves concerts almost as much as me. We had VIP tickets so we had to go early so we could get good seats and meet the bands. Now confession time......I was excited about meeting the bands but I wasn't very familiar with the bands, so I had NO CLUE who was in a band and who wasn't. I had heard of Addison Road before the concert but I only knew one of their songs and I had no clue who was in the band and neither did my grandma. So my grandma and I just sat at a table and kinda watched people to try and figure out who was in a band and who wasn't. After we figured it out I went over to VADC (Vertical Ambition Dance Company) and asked them to sign my shirt (I will be putting up a post about my shirt).

Now I know you don't "need" to know this, but they had awesome shoes. They were also really cool and funny, they even gave me a signed poster. Then I met 21:03 and they also signed my shirt and a little postcard. After talking to them for a little bit me and my grandma sat down to wait for the other bands. While we were just sitting there, a lady came up and said "Hi I am Jenny". I introduced myself, not knowing why she had introduced herself. Then she said she was in one of they bands, I said "Oh Cool". I still had no clue who she was. Then she said "I'm in Addison Road". I didn't even realize that she was the lead singer. The funny part is I was telling my grandma on the way tho the concert, "The only person I will even recognize is the lead singer of Addison Road". Now don't get me wrong, there are times when I have met band members and they look nothing like the posters, that wasn't the problem. The problem was I had no clue who was in a band and who wasn't. Anyway, after she told me who she was we talked for a little bit then I met the rest of the band and they all signed my shirt. After we met the bands we went and got our seats and waited for the concert to start!

The first group to perform was VADC (Vertical Ambition Dance Company). Now they aren't technically a "band", they are a group of very talented dancers. I'm not talking just ballet dancing, they were break dancing. I absolutely love break dancing, so it was very cool to see. It must take alot of practice and talent to do what they do. Check out their YouTube page to see some videos of their dancing. Also you can "Like" them on Facebook, I am sure they would appreciate it. After they performed, Thicker Than Water played.

They played a great show. I was actually a little surprised because they were from the area so I figured that they would just be a filler band, but they were great. I loved how much they involved the crowd with motions and clapping. You can also check out their Facebook page. After they finished VADC did another performance which was really neat. Then 21:03 took the stage. I must say that they looked awesome they were dressed in white and black. (I am telling you that so that you can visualize it :D )

There were a few people that had told me that I would like 21:03 and they were right. They had an amazing mix of gospel/rap and they were very energetic. I didn't know any of the songs but yet I was singing the chorus because it was catchy and they taught the audience parts of the songs. They also got the crowd involved in alot of the songs with motions. During one of the last songs that they played they had some dancers from VADC come out and dance while they were playing, it looked like a ton of fun. If you haven't heard of 21:03 you will.  Make sure that you check out 21:03 on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. After they played VADC did another performance, I don't know how they can do all that dancing but it was very fun to watch. After they finished it was Addison Road's turn to take the stage for the last show of the night.

They did an fantastic job and they seemed like they were just having fun with it. I really enjoyed their show and alot of it was because they seemed like they enjoyed it, but they were also energetic and had good music so it all adds up. I was shocked at how many of their songs I actually knew. Jenny (the lead singer) also shared some amazing stories while they were up on stage playing. My grandma especially enjoyed their performance. Make sure that you check out Addison Road's Facebook and Twitter. Now if you haven't noticed when I review a concert I tell you the story of it all and its not as much of a review. For me its more interesting to hear someones story than it is to hear what songs the bands played. If you would rather me review things with more of the facts than the story let me know, I love getting new ideas. Thanks for reading. :)

David Crowder Band Is Breaking Up

I have some sad news for fans of David Crowder, the band announced today that they will be splitting up.

Here is there official announcement from the band:

First of all, we can't begin to express how excited we are getting about The 7 Tour this fall. If you haven't heard yet, we're doing a national tour with some of our favorite artists ever. Gungor, John Mark McMillan, and Chris August are joining us, and we cannot wait to be in the same room with these folks night after night. We’re pretty sure you'll want to be at every single one of these get-togethers. "Unreasonable!" you say? Well, not to us. That's why we'll be there every single night. Seriously, we, the band, are all getting on a bus and following the whole thing around for like 3 months. It's going to be awesome.

Now, another reason we are sure this will be one of the most meaningful tours we've ever been on is because it will be our last as a band. This is why we so cleverly named it The 7 Tour. We've always hidden this little number here and there in our music and artwork, sometimes it would appear in the sum of the numerals 3 and 4, and other times it would be sitting there outright, but it’s always been with us. As you know, the number 7 has often been used to represent completion, and that feels exactly where we are as a band.

The David Crowder*Band was formed in the year two thousand; it was the dawn of a millennium, Y2K was upon us, and out of this chaos was born the DC*B. That sounds way more epic than we intend it, but it is fact. We signed a 3 album deal with our friends at sixstepsrecords who are part of the EMI/CMG family. We didn’t want to be presumptuous, presuming there would be more than those first three albums, but we hoped. And so we began discussions about building a 6 album set, the second three, if we were ever to have the great privilege of recording them, would be loosely associated with the first three, you know, sort of like how in the creation story day one is related to day four, as in, first there is light, then on the fourth day the sun and moon and stars appear. We do these things because we are quite nerdy and also because we hope to inject meaning wherever and whenever we are able. We also like structure, and this seemed a pretty nifty structure to work within, since, well, it is one of the greatest stories ever. And sure enough, we have had the happy fortune to record five full-length albums and are hard at work on the 6th right now.

The problem, or the beauty, is that we’ve never been able to see past album 6. In the meantime, a lot of life has happened. It is now 2011 (this is for anyone who may not have been paying attention) and in eleven years there have been many twists and turns. Each of us has gotten married. New humans have arrived as a result of these marriages, 5 to be exact. We have also lost some really good friends to death along the way and have gotten to celebrate together that death is not the end of things. It’s really crazy to think that we have lived over a decade of life together. And, in the middle of all this life, we have gotten to make music that was a reflection of what was happening among us. We have attempted, to the best of our ability, to insert all of these twists and turns into our music, hoping that our responses to God in the midst of these moments would be an aid to others.

At the first of this year we began discussing what was next. For a long while, we have had a good idea what we were going to do for album number 6; we were going to record a Mass. Ambitious, maybe, but we had been working out the details of how it would connect to A Collision, you know the one with the boy and the atom on the cover. Mass happens to be a term used in physics, and this was exciting to us. But we also began conversations about what was to follow this sixth album. Some of us discussed maybe going back to school. Some of us talked about how great it might feel to be home with family more. Some mentioned maybe writing for a living, or at least getting to give more attention to it. Some talked about more music to be made and who they might enjoy making it with and how great it would be to have more diverse options open to them and the excitement they felt when thinking about those options (as in, if this was to be the period at the end of a sentence, they couldn’t wait to read the next paragraph!) And, out of these discussions, the decision was reached that this sixth album would be our last. None of us is sure what’s next, but we’re not afraid. We’re, in fact, really, really excited! And we’re sure that music will play a role in the future for most, if not all, of us, since, well, we wouldn’t know how to not have it a part of our lives. To what extent that will be, none of us is sure. We are hopeful and expecting, and praying that what is ahead of us deepens our need and experience of redemption and multiplies our ability and effectiveness in expressing the story of God in light of the call he has on each of our lives.

We are forever grateful for the support we have had from our church community, both local and extended. Really. It has been beautiful, all of it. And we will most definitely keep you informed as things progress and life’s new twists and turns start to make themselves more apparent.

In the meantime, as you can imagine, this album we’re working on is pretty special to us. Fittingly enough, it seems our little Mass has turned itself into a Requiem. We’d love your prayers as we endeavor to put a period at the end of this sentence. And obviously it was not overstated when we said The 7 Tour will be a thing you may not want to miss. We would love for you to join us for one last evening together, singing these songs that God has allowed us to carry.

With Love and Gratitude,
The DC*B

Free Song From Tenth Avenue North

Are there any Tenth Avenue North fans out there?

I have some good news for you! You can get a FREE download of their brand new song "You Don't Owe Me" Here. YOU CAN'T BUY THIS SONG ON ANY CD its that new! I hope you like it!

Tim Hawkins

It's Wednesday your half way through your week, now you need to laugh a little.....or alot. Check this out.

Hopefully that made you laugh, and added a little enjoyment to your day!

Tenth Avenue North - You Are More

This is one of my favorite music videos. Enjoy.

The Winner Of The Addison Road Concert Ticket Giveaway!

Now the moment you have all been waiting for........well the moment at least some of you have been waiting for........the winner of the Addison Road Concert Ticket Giveaway! I would like to thank everyone that entered! It's hard to pick just one winner. Finally the winner is.................................(Drum Roll Please)......................................Enga. Congratulations on winning Enga I hope you enjoy the concert! I will email you with more details!

Addison Road Concert Tickets Giveaway!!!

*Giveaway Ended*

Yes you read that right, I am giving away a set of 2 Tickets to the Addison Road Concert in Burton MI!!!

 The other bands that will be playing are: 21:03, Thicker Than Water and Vertical Ambition Dance Company. The concert is Friday May 20th at 6pm. You can find out even more info Here. To enter all you have to do is leave a comment on this post (You don't have to have a Google account to leave a comment). Make sure that you put your name and email in the comment so that I can contact you if you win! If you don't want to put your email in the comment than you can email me at thechristianmusicjunkie@gmail.com and let me know that you entered.

For an additional chance to win, refer your friends and when they comment make sure that they say that you refered them so that you can get an extra entry. For every friend you refer that leaves a comment you will get an extra entry! The contest ends on Monday May 16th at 9pm EST. The winner will be randomly selected and I will notify them with an email that has more details. So hurry and enter, Plus don't forget to tell your friends!

Trevor Morgan

I volunteered at a concert last weekend. It was a great experience and I had a great time. I got to see alot of the concert and hang out with some really cool people, but even better than that I got to be part of what goes on behind the scenes at a concert. It was very cool being able to help make the concert possible, because concerts wouldn't be possible without the help of the volunteers. Trust me, there is alot of work that goes into making a concert happen and I only helped with a little bit of it! Now you might be thinking "This is titled Trevor Morgan, not concert review". Your right this isn't a concert review, but at the concert I got to see a really talented guy play, his name is (yeah you guessed it) Trevor Morgan. He played a few songs and I loved them! The best part was that it was just him and he guitar, but yet it sounded amazing! Check out this video of his song "Easy", but be warned it may get stuck in your head! Enjoy!

Manafest Impossible Video

I wanted to show you guys one of my favorite music videos! I love the song, plus the video is cool too! Let me know what you think of it!



Rapture Ruckus Review

The other day I went shopping at a Christian book store. I was browsing through the CD's when one caught my eye, Rapture Ruckus! I had never heard of them but the CD looked cool, it was cheap and it came with a free sampler, so I bought it! 

                                                          
The CD has six rap/rock/hip hop tracks on it. The first one is "No Matter What" this song has a cool sound and really catchy lyrics. My favorite lyrics in the song are "So at the end of the day, If they download and don't pay, Well hey I'll make a bed out of hay, Praise his name anyway, Anyway this is now the moral of the story, We do this for the love of it, don't do it for the glory." I also love the beat in this song! The second song on the CD is "Tonight" and it is a little bit slower, but still really good. The song has a really cool, sort of a Techno sound to it. The third song is "Hold On" and it is encouraging people to hold on because help is coming. This song is also a little bit slower but it has really good lyrics. The one thing that I don't like about this song is that it seems to keep repeating the same lines alot through the song.

The fourth song on the CD is "All Things New" and it has a good sound, its not my favorite on the CD but its still good. The song is saying that even though bad things happen, we know that God is there for us and he will never let us go. The fifth song is "I Believe" and this is one of my favorites. This song has a cool sound but the lyrics are why I really like it! One line that I love is "And even if I don't believe in God, God believes in me". That line is one of my favorite song lines EVER! Last but certainly not least the sixth song is "All We Got" and it has a great beat and it gets stuck in your head VERY fast! This song would be really fun in concert! This would be my favorite song on the CD if I was just judging by sound. This song repeats the chorus alot so by the end of the song you will be singing along! Here is a deal for YOU!!!! If you go to Rapture Ruckus's Facebook Page and "Like" it you can get their song "Hold On" for FREE!!!!! To find out more about Rapture Ruckus check out their MySpace.

Jesus Freak Hideout Reader's Choice Award

Jesus Freak Hideout is having their 8th annual reader's choice awards and YOU can vote!

There are many categories and bands to vote for, so check it out! You can vote Here. The voting ends Sunday May 29th.