May 19, 1999
Houston band plows new
ground with '40 Acres'
___By Cecile Holmes
___Houston Chronicle
___HOUSTON (RNS)--The newest album from Caedmon's Call, a folk-rock band with Christian roots, displays a musical vision as wide as a Texas prairie.
___Employing lyrics rich in meaning and veiled metaphor, the youthful group from Houston goes even deeper into spirituality and searching with its new album, "40 Acres." The music reflects that, resonating with deeper rhythms and more harmonic punch.
___"I feel the production and the songs themselves reflect our growth over the last few years," said 22-year-old singer Danielle Young.
___Earlier albums stressed the group's openness. This one's lyrics reflect the certainty ofpeople who see God moving in their lives, as in the song, "There You Go": "There you go working good from my bad; There you go making robes from my rags; There you go melting crowns from my calves; There you go working food of all I have, till all I have's not that bad."
CAEDMON'S CALL
___Like Caedmon--the poetic character in the Old English poem Caedmon's Hymn and the inspiration for their name--the seven-member band wants to respond to God's call. Their music is their answer.
___"40 Acres," which hit stores in mid-April, is being marketed in both Christian and mainstream stores. Its title is sort of a play on words, said 26-year-old songwriter Aaron Tate.
___After the Civil War, some freed slaves were allotted 40 acres and a mule to help them start a new life. So the group took the words for their album, believing God gives each person what is needed to create new life, to find redemption.
___Band members are hopeful this release will top their 1997 achievement with the self-titled Caedmon's Call, their major label CD debut. It sold more than 250,000 copies.
___Band members and songwriters Tate and Derek Webb talk about seeking new insights and stretching spiritually in writing the songs for the new CD. Other band members speak of a heartfelt intuition that God is calling them to make this music.
___Hence, their name. According to legend, there once was a man named Caedmon who had no talent for singing. He ran when he had to sing, until he heard God telling him he must. Caedmon tried to refuse, but God insisted. So Caedmon opened his mouth and sang verses he never before had heard.
___Singers and songwriters followed Caedmon, but none could match his songs because they came through God's grace.
___"Caedmon's Call is a band of musicians who are Christians," said guitarist and vocalist Cliff Young, Danielle's husband. "We write and sing songs and share our lives with people for a living. Our hope is that our lives are our ministries.
___"We hope our lives are preaching the gospel and the songs just further enunciate that message."
___Tate said it's hard to run away from God. But people still try.
___"We all try some way or another--either with our feet or with our minds," he said. "But prodigals are not soon forgotten in the divine household. Whether we like it or not, God pursues his escaped sheep."
___So, in the title cut on this CD, they sing: "You say that you're the black sheep; I say you're still family. Throw that bottle to the waves; they'll bring you in to me and from the shore you will see."
___Other songs explore dealing with hurt, giving thanks and standing on the solid ground of faith when the sands of life keep shifting.
___Drummer Todd Bragg, 27, sees themes of redemption running throughout many of their songs. "God is a very big God, and his redemption is very big," he said.
___The band members met in high school. They played part-time until 1996, when they quit their day jobs to pursue music full time. Cliff and Danielle Young married in 1997. The band's manager, Michael Ottosen, is the couple's brother-in-law. Road manager Christie Braff is Todd's wife.
___Caedmon's Call tours year-round. Most of their 45 performances during the first four months of this year are on college campuses, recently including Harvard, Mississippi State University, Baylor University and Ohio State.
___The group also includes Cliff Young, son of Ed Young, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Houston.
___Young said the group's commercial success has helped him redefine contentment, as have changes in his personal life. "I have learned that contentment in life is not based on how successful you are at what you do," he said. "Being content is not contingent on one's career path. Bands dream of growing success. When you are playing small clubs, you hope to be playing larger venues. When you are playing larger venues, you hope to be playing even larger venues."
___But that's not what life is about, he said. Instead, Caedmon's Call hopes to continue the pattern they set early on.
___Before forming a band, core members were friends who shared personal and spiritual journeys. Friends from school or church, they made music together for fun, for self-expression, to share their lives. Only later did they feel called to write and record professionally.
___Following the call has taken faith.
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