Fuel for the Fire
By Andy Argyrakis, senior music editor, gmclife.com
When it comes to the blues, no one from the current class is as beloved as Jonny Lang, thanks to his feverish licks, soulful vocals and faith-fueled lyrics (in spite of standing atop the mainstream scene). And speaking of finding fans across all faith lines, alternative rockers Day of Fire have a unique ability to branch out thanks to frontman Josh Brown previously serving as frontman for Island/Def Jam act Full Devil Jacket, and subsequently touring with Creed and Nickelback. gmclife.com recently sat down to chat separately with both of these compelling artists.
Lang chats Hendrix and gospel
Modern day blues luminary Jonny Lang’s never been shy about his faith, especially in recent years with albums like 2006’s Turn Around, which scored a GRAMMY Award for Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album. From then until now, the guitar slinger’s toured non-stop, and with the planned release of Live at the Ryman in between collaborations with The Jonas Brothers, The Fisk Jubilee Singers and Israel Houghton, he’s stayed a busy man.
“My relationship with God is the biggest motivator [for the gospel stylings] on Turning Around,” Lang tells gmclife.com. “I just really had the urge to make a record that was a little more specifically about how grateful to God I am for my life and that’s how that record came about. I didn’t really try for it to be known as a gospel record, but with the lyrics, it ended up getting notoriety and even got a GRAMMY, which was very cool.”
Though it remains to be seen if Lang will also go down as a gospel great, he did recently get the chance to collaborate with one of the scene’s most respected players, Phil Keaggy. The two six-string strummers tore the house down at 2009’s Gospel Music Association Week in Nashville, to which Lang is still in awe. “Dude, he is such a nice guy and just a beast on guitar,” the 29-year-old says of the living legend. “It was great to be able to play with him and I remember thinking ‘I’m just gonna keep it simple here and let the master take it away’ and he was absolutely amazing.”
