Tait | |
|---|---|
 Tait performing in 2006 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | Christian rock, CCM |
| Years active | 2001–2007 |
| Labels | ForeFront |
| Past members |
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| Website | taitband |
Tait was an American Christian rock band formed by Michael Tait, one of the members of dc Talk and the lead singer of Newsboys since 2009.
In 1996, dc Talk member Michael Tait met Chad Chapin and the two became close friends and began to write songs together. After a few years, Michael created his own cover band, a funky hard rock group named Curious George. [1] He toured with Chapin and had a few concerts, performing music from Pearl Jam to King's X and The 77s. [2] [3] Afterward was when Tait and Chapin decided that they would eventually get a more permanent music group of their own together and tour the world. [4]
Michael and Tait member Pete Stewart also had a friendship before the band's inception. After Stewart had assisted dc Talk by playing guitar on their album Supernatural , Tait and Stewart co-wrote the song "Uphill Battle" which was featured on ForeFront Records' Ten: The Birthday Album. When Stewart's alternative metal group Grammatrain disbanded in 1998, he went on to co-produce his own solo album with the help of Tait. [5]
When dc Talk went on hiatus around 1999, Michael started working unofficially with his own music. As his solo project slowly began to come together, Michael quickly thought of the friendships that within the past few years had become a fundamental part of his career. Pete Stewart came to join Michael, along with the Chapin brothers, Chad and Lonnie who in 1996 had moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to see where they could get in the music business. The band officially formed in 2000 and was named Tait after Michael's father, Rev. Nathel Tait.
After about a year in the studio, the band released their first album entitled Empty . It was generally well received, and the album even broke onto the Top Contemporary Christian charts. The album featured songs that handled subjects like skepticism of others ("Spy"), racism ("American Tragedy") (this album was controversial because of the use of a racial slur in the middle of this song) and Michael's outpouring of grief of losing his father, sister and brother all in the same year ("Unglued"). [6]
After the release of the first album, Pete Stewart took his leave from the group. He was replaced by nineteen-year-old guitarist Justin York. Once again the band went into the recording studio in 2002 and worked through 2003 to release a new album. The group was successful, and in November they released Dove Award-winning Lose This Life . [7]
The album proved that the group had matured into a much more aggressive hard rock sound compared to Empty’s more relaxed easy-listening music. [8] Around the time the album was released, band members also participated in the production of !Hero , a rock opera which modernized the life and times of Jesus Christ.
Within the past few years the band has toured on and off, many times with other CCM artists. When asked about the set-backs of recent band member changes, Tait has stated that "I think [with him] spearheading [the band] — if [he takes] off, then the band does change. If a member changes here and there, it does not affect [the band] a bit…. it does not change a bit of [his] vision for this band." [9]
Tait has not toured since October 6, 2007, and as of March 9, 2009, Michael Tait has been officially announced as the lead singer of the popular Christian pop rock group Newsboys. Tait had initially planned to release a third album, Loveology, announced in 2006 that was to include music that was described as "Stevie Wonder meets Maroon 5 meets Lenny Kravitz." [10] Music for this album including a song titled "Glimmer" has been recorded, but after two years of silence, the album remains unreleased and its future remains uncertain.
Tait has said that he is still working on Loveology with, among others, Ben Moody. However, he said it will likely be different from the original album he was working on. [11]
 |
| Year | Title | Label(s) | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top Christian Albums | Top Heatseekers | |||
| 2001 | Empty | ForeFront | 10 | — |
| 2003 | Lose This Life | ForeFront | 23 | 19 |
DC Talk is the first studio album released from vocal trio DC Talk. It is the most hip hop-oriented of all of their albums as each later album gradually progressed into a more rock-centered sound. Michael Tait stated that their original goal for the album was to sell 10,000 units. It sold 7,142 units in 1989. After their popularity spiked with the release of Free at Last, back sales increased although it is the only of their studio albums to not reach RIAA gold status.
DC Talk is a Christian rap and rock trio. The group was formed at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1987 by Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait, and Kevin Max Smith. They released five major studio albums together: DC Talk (1989), Nu Thang (1990), Free at Last (1992), Jesus Freak (1995), and Supernatural (1998). In 2002, the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music called DC Talk "the most popular overtly Christian act of all time."
Jesus Freak is the fourth studio album by the band DC Talk and was released on November 21, 1995 on ForeFront Records. The style was a marked departure from the group's previous releases, incorporating a heavier rock sound and elements of grunge that was popular at the time.
Kevin Max Smith is an American singer, songwriter, and poet. He is best known for being a member of the Christian pop group dc Talk. As a solo artist following the band going on hiatus, he has recorded 12 full-length studio albums, including a Christmas album. From 2012 until 2014, he was the lead singer of the band Audio Adrenaline.
Newsboys are a Christian rock band founded in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Australia, by Peter Furler and George Perdikis. Now based in Nashville, United States, the band has released 17 studio albums, 6 of which have been certified gold. As of 2019, the band consists of lead vocalist Michael Tait, drummer and percussionist Duncan Phillips, keyboardist and bassist Jeff Frankenstein, and guitarist Jody Davis. In addition to performing music, the band has appeared in the films God's Not Dead, God's Not Dead 2, and God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness.
Toby McKeehan, better known by his stage name TobyMac, is an American contemporary Christian music singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer.
Audio Adrenaline is an American Christian rock band that formed in 1986 at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, Kentucky. The band gained recognition during the 1990s and received two Grammy Awards and multiple Dove Awards. Audio Adrenaline were regular performers at the annual Creation Festival, Spirit West Coast festival, Agape Music Festival, and Alive Festival. In 2007, the group disbanded due to lead singer Mark Stuart's spasmodic dysphonia. During this time, they released eight studio albums.
Momentum is the debut studio album from American recording artist TobyMac. It was released on November 6, 2001, through ForeFront Records.
Pete Stewart is a singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer from Seattle, Washington. He is the lead singer and guitarist of Grammatrain, was the lead singer for The Accident Experiment, and is the former guitarist of Tait.
Michael DeWayne Tait is an American contemporary Christian music artist. Michael Tait met Toby McKeehan in 1984 when he was in high school. Both Toby and Michael met Kevin Max while attending Liberty University in the late 1980s, and together they formed four-time Grammy winning band DC Talk, with whom Michael Tait has released five acclaimed studio albums. Tait is the current lead singer of Newsboys, and one third of Christian rock group DC Talk. Tait also has had success in his solo career, founding a band called Tait in 1997. He toured as a solo act until 2007. He became lead singer of the Christian pop rock band Newsboys in 2009. Aside from singing, Tait is also a self-taught guitar player. Tait also has a sister Lynda Randle, who is a Southern Gospel singer.
Building 429 is an American Christian rock band from Fayetteville, North Carolina. Their name is derived from a Biblical passage known as Ephesians 4:29, which, in the New International Version of the Bible, reads as follows: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." The band members originated from Snyder Memorial Baptist Church and various areas in North Carolina as well as Texas.
ForeFront Records is a contemporary Christian music and Christian rock record label founded in 1987 by Dan R. Brock, Eddie DeGarmo, Dana Key, and Ron W. Griffin. It was purchased by EMI in 1996 from Dan R. Brock and Eddie DeGarmo, and is a division of Universal Music Group under Capitol Christian Music Group.
Lose This Life is the second and final studio album by American Christian rock band Tait. According to frontman Michael Tait, the songs all have to do with the striving human passion to know, feel and experience God's love.
Empty is the debut studio album by American Christian rock band Tait and was the first of three solo albums released by members of dc Talk following their 2001 hiatus to work on solo projects. This album features Pete Stewart from Grammatrain, who is absent in the next album. Several songs are influenced by the passing of Michael Tait's late father Nathel, for whom the band is named.
"Jesus Freak" is a song by the American contemporary Christian music group DC Talk. Released on August 1, 1995, it was the lead radio single from the group's fourth album. The song was written and produced by Toby McKeehan and Mark Heimermann. Lyrically, the song is about standing up for the belief in Jesus Christ in the midst of persecution. Musically, the song has been described as alternative rock and grunge, with many reviewers and critics noting a similarity to the sound of Nirvana. It received airplay on both contemporary Christian music and alternative rock stations, formats that rarely interact. "Jesus Freak" earned DC Talk three GMA Dove Awards.
God Fixation is the seventeenth studio album of the Christian rock band, Petra. It was released on April 21, 1998.
"Between You and Me" is a song by the American contemporary Christian music group DC Talk. Released in 1996, it was the second radio and commercial single released from the group's fourth album, Jesus Freak. After the unexpected success of the grunge rock single "Jesus Freak", "Between You and Me" helped to bring DC Talk to a new level of success and solidify them as mainstream artists. The song later earned DC Talk a GMA Dove Award and is the only DC Talk single to have charted on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was also a Christian radio success and peaked at No. 1 on both the Christian adult contemporary and Christian Contemporary Hit Radio CCM Magazine charts.
The discography of DC Talk, a Christian music band formed in the late 1980s in Lynchburg, Virginia, consists of five studio albums, three extended plays, and twenty-three singles. The group consists of Toby McKeehan, Kevin Max, and Michael Tait. They began as a hip hop group, but in the mid-90s they reinvented themselves as a pop/rock group. In both instances, they found critical and commercial success in both the Christian music industry as well as the general market.
Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil is an American alternative rock supergroup formed in 2010 by singer Steve Taylor with drummer Peter Furler, guitarist Jimmy Abegg, and bassist John Mark Painter. Taylor formerly saw success as a new wave singer during the 1980s and early 1990s, and also fronted the short-lived band Chagall Guevara. However, by the mid-1990s he abandoned performing music and transitioned into work as a record producer, songwriter, and film-maker. In 2010 Taylor, who was frustrated at the slow pace of his fundraiser for his feature film Blue Like Jazz, collaborated with Furler, Abegg, and Painter to record the song "A Life Preserved" for the film's soundtrack, and began recording other material. Taylor, Abegg, and Painter then featured on the Peter Furler song "Closer", under the name "Steve Taylor & Some Other Band", on Furler's album On Fire. With those collaborations as a starting point, Taylor relaunched his career as a performing musician, and the lineup was branded as Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil. The group released a studio album entitled Goliath on November 18, 2014 to critical acclaim and modest commercial success. In 2015, Daniel Smith of Danielson, with whom the band had been touring, joined on in a collaboration touted as Steve Taylor & The Danielson Foil. Under this incarnation, the group released the EP Wow to the Deadness on February 5, 2016, and toured until February 12. A live album under this incarnation of the band was also released, and the band also contributed to the soundtrack for the 2020 film Electric Jesus.
"Like a Lion" is song written by Daniel Bashta and originally performed by Passion on the 2010 album Passion: Awakening. In 2011, it was covered by Newsboys as "God's Not Dead " and released as a single from the album God's Not Dead. The song appeared on charts during its release in 2012. The song charted in 2014, after the release of the film, God's Not Dead. The band performs the song, in a concert sequence, dedicating the song to the film's protagonist Josh Wheaton, at the end of the film. The song was released through Inpop Records. It is also heard in the credits of God's Not Dead 2 and God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness.
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