Gospel Soundcheck

Recently in Christian Music guest blogger Category

Friday October 16, 2009

A special message from cancer survivor and Christian music artist, Paige Armstrong

Nineteen-year-old Paige Armstrong's debut CD Wake Up hit stores this month, but her journey to the music industry has had more twists and turns than most artists.

At age 11, she was diagnosed with cancer, and it was an opportunity from the Make-A-Wish foundation that allowed her to travel to Nashville to fulfill her dream: to record a professional CD.

Her early music also found its way onto the Bath & Body Works 2005 Holiday album, alongside such notables as Martina McBride. Armstrong appeared on "Today" and "Extra," sharing her story and the new Christmas music.

Now cancer free, Armstrong has a new album and a message about her dedication to reaching teens and young adults to find their own story and not waste their life.

Here is a special message from Paige about her own journey with cancer, and a challenge to you: how will you spend your life?

Monday April 20, 2009

Guest Blogger: Filmmaker Dan Millican Talks About God, Creativity, & Cheesy Christian Movies

I'm away at Gospel Music Week in Nashville, so in my place I'd thrilled to share a guest blog from filmmaker Dan Millican.

Dan is the filmmaker behind the movie "The Imposter," starring Christian music artist Kevin Max. The film is a journey of self-discovery, and also a realistic behind-the-scenes look at Christian music and celebrity-ism.

In this blog post, Dan talks about the cheesy Christian movies and the problem with Christian art.

Monday March 2, 2009

Matthew West's Not Just Going Through The Motions Anymore

Critically-acclaimed, multiple-Dove nominee Matthew West became a mainstay at Christian radio with memorable hits like "You Are Everything" and "More." He's penned songs for Rascal Flatts, Billy Ray Cyrus, Natalie Grant and Mandisa, among others. His latest album, Something To Say, debuted on Nielsen SoundScan's Christian Retail Chart at #10 and spawned two more radio hits.

In this guest post, Matthew West steps outside of the popular singer/songwriter role to share a story about his beloved grandmother, and to talk about the importance of making an effort to tell people how much you care, and not just go through the motions.

Monday March 2, 2009

Billy Wilkins Responds to My Snarky Post About Biblically Based Sleep Program

UPDATE 4/14/09: Wesley Sleep Program Puts Me To Sleep - That's A Good Thing!

Last week, I did a post about a new Biblically based sleep program developed by Billy Wilkins, one of the original members of Third Day. I added a disclaimer in the post - "Snark Alert" - because I know some of you freak out when I get a little snarky in my posts.

I don't have a problem using Christian products - I often play the audio Bible read by Alexander Scourby when my brain is wound up and I can't sleep. But I think we've become a culture that relies on products instead of God, with Christian everything from books and music to energy drinks and sneakers. Or, as I said in my post, "Why, why, why are we constantly looking to other people to read the Bible for us, learn from it and then regurgitate it for us in tiny, digestible pieces?"

No surprise, I heard from Billy Wilkins, who was obviously not happy that I'd used his product to launch a vent about Christian commerce. I completely understand, so we started chatting on email. He's a good sport, and I found out that his sleep CD has been used by nurses in military trauma units to help soldiers find sleep relief.

Anyone who knows me even a little knows I bleed red, white and blue. My brother-in-law is in the military. I often write to the sons and daughters of friends serving overseas and I've told you a few times about the Any Soldier website, where you can write to soldiers who might not receive mail or care packages from home.

So I decided to give Billy Wilkins a chance to tell you a little more about his Wesley Sleep program and how you can help provide sleep CDs to soldiers suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.

Here is a response to my post, from Billy Wilkins (you might want to read the original post first, so you know what he's referring to):

Friday January 30, 2009

Indie Artist Mariah Secrest Shares Thoughts On You, The Listener

Let's have an indie Friday, with not only a free download of an indie music CD, but a guest blog post from indie artist Mariah Secrest.

One of the great things about the internet is that you get to connect with people you might not meet otherwise. I met Mariah when I stumbled upon her really great blog post on Wrecked For The Ordinary, about making money off of Jesus. Regular readers of this blog know that I'm constantly musing (ranting) about the commercialization of Christianity, so it was an instant connection.

Mariah Secrest is an indie artist with a new EP called Green Light. She recently finished her philosophy degree from the University of Arizona and, in her own words, now busies herself "as a recording artist, editor for Wrecked for the Ordinary magazine, and acute observer of life."

An indie artist has a unique perspective on the music industry, so I asked her to pen a guest blog post on any topic she wanted. So today, Mariah shares her thoughts on an often overlooked component of an artist's music: you, the listener.

Thursday December 4, 2008

Using your artistic gifts for God

As regular readers of this blog know, I often feature videos from my friend Pastor Dave Weiss. He's an incredible artist and a bivocational pastor - which means he has a full time job, plus he pastors a small...

Friday November 7, 2008

Christian artist Brian Bates shares his thoughts on how to respond to Ray Boltz, Clay Aiken coming out of the closet

The Christian community was shocked recently when Christian recording artist Ray Boltz come out of the closet and announced that he was gay. The world was much less shocked when recording star Clay Aiken made the same announcement, but was...

Wednesday October 1, 2008

Guest blogger Tammy Trent shares some thoughts on going from grief to joy

While the rest of America sat in stunned silence on September 11, 2001, Christian music artist Tammy Trent was dealing with a deeper, more personal tragedy. The day before, Tammy and her husband Trent Linderink (Tammy uses her husband's first...

Wednesday September 17, 2008

Guest blogger Bebo Norman talks about his battle with anxiety

One of the things that I wanted to do with these guest blog posts is give you a behind-the-scenes look at your favorite Christian music artists, off stage, up close, and personal. Today's blog post is from Bebo Norman, whose...

Monday September 15, 2008

Guest blogger Derick Thompson talks about great sex and his band's song, Fire

Chicago-based piano-driven, rock/pop band Strive released its first global release, Fire, last month. Their music fuses the soaring, inspirational lyrics of bands like U2 and Switchfoot with the sweeping piano-pop of Billy Joel and Bruce Hornsby. Not only has the...

Thursday August 21, 2008

Guest blogger Jaime Jamgochian shares some thoughts about modesty

First, I want to thank all the Jonas Brothers fans who took time to comment on my post, "5 Things I Hate About The Jonas Brothers." I asked my friend, worship artist Jaime Jamgochian, to read my post and all...

Friday August 1, 2008

Not just another love song

Last week, pastor and visual artist Dave Weiss wrote a guest post responding to the question, "What Is Christian Music?" Today, I got this video clip from him. In the opening, he explains about the love songs he's heard that...

Friday July 18, 2008

Guest blogger Pastor Dave Weiss answers the question "What is Christian Music"

Greetings, faithful readers! I've been away for a few days this week and as a result don't have a pick of the week this morning. But I DO have a great guest blog post from my friend, Pastor Dave Weiss,...

Wednesday July 9, 2008

5 Ways to Help Kids Make Smart Music Choices

Marybeth Hicks knows a thing or two about raising cool kids, or as she explains, GEEKs - genuine, enthusiastic, empowered kids. Her latest book, "Bringing Up GEEKs: How To Protect Your Kid's Childhood in a Grow-Up-Too-Fast World," gives parents real-life...

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About Gospel Soundcheck

Award-winning freelance writer and columnist Joanne Brokaw covers entertainment for The Christian Examiner newspapers, The Minnesota Christian Chronicle, and The Ozarks Christian News. Her other writing credits include Breakaway and Brio Magazines, OnCourse Magazine, ChristianMusicPlanet.com, BuddyHollywood.com and AGreaterFreedom.com. Her humor column, A Big Slice of Life, appears monthly in the Christian Voice Magazine and she pens a regular humor column on The Writing Life for ByLine Magazine. Joanne lives in Western New York with her darling husband David, their Border collie Scout and their cat Murphy. Their almost adult daughter Cassie drops by often. Find out more about Joanne at JoanneBrokaw.com.

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