Jars of Clay (album)
Encyclopedia
Jars of Clay is the eponymous first full-length album
by Christian rock
group Jars of Clay
. It was released on October 24, 1995 by Essential Records
. The album has been highly acclaimed, being one of few Christian albums of the mid-nineties to achieve platinum status. As the group's debut album, Jars of Clay introduced many internationally to the group and established the group due to their distinctive style.
loops and acoustic guitar strumming that would become an early trademark of the band. Strings
are also used prominently in most of the songs. Honest, intense, poetic, and harmonic with sonic influences as diverse as Gregorian chants, mandolin, and gothic layered vocals, Jars of Clay was a refreshing break from the pessimism and alterna-angst that dominated the mid-90s music scene.
The album was mostly self-produced, with the exception of "Liquid" and "Flood" which were produced by former King Crimson
guitarist Adrian Belew
.
Several tracks from this album were hits on Christian
radio
, and as a result they have been staples of the band's live concerts ever since. The song "Flood
" became an unexpected hit on mainstream pop and alternative rock
radio as well, resulting in a brief period of mainstream popularity for the band during which they toured with artists such as Sting, The Samples
and Matchbox Twenty
, and were included in several movie
soundtrack
s.
Most of this album consists of reworked versions of songs from the band's demo, Frail
, which was recorded as a class
project
during their senior year of college
. The song "He" appears to be almost identical to the original recording.
The songs "Sinking", "Flood", "Worlds Apart", and "Blind" were all unique to this release, as all other tracks had previously been released on the group's debut demo album Frail, and two songs from the demo did not make it to this album"—Fade to Grey" and EP's title track "Frail
", though these were both later included on the group's follow-up, Much Afraid
, which also introduced lyrics into the previously instrumental piece "Frail".
Notably, Jars of Clay is considered to be a landmark album in Christian rock, even though very few electric guitar
s are used, leading some to categorize Jars of Clay as folk-rock, alternative folk, or even pop
instead.
The album was listed at #22 in the 2001 book, CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music
.
began at Greenville College
in Greenville, IL when four young lads met and discovered friendship through music. They were majors in "Contemporary Christian Music", a somewhat recent department in the college. Charlie Lowell
, Dan Haseltine
and Matt Bronleewe
had been there for the year of 1992 and played in various bands as well as producing their own studio projects. These bands included Chrysalis, Jazon, Yellow#7, Second Level, and many other school bands involving students from the CCM department as well as others. When Stephen Mason appeared on the scene in September 1993, and had similar interests in music, the guys decided to write a song together, "just for fun". Dan had met Stephen because he had a Toad the Wet Sprocket
shirt on, a band which they both admired for their unique sound. The band wrote and recorded a song called "Fade to Grey", which included many drum loops and samples, a very techno-oriented song. It was simply a studio project for credit in a recording class. Their friends enjoyed the song and they performed it in late October for a college cafe called the "Underground Cafe", which they had put together to raise money for homeless shelters and jail ministries. The "Underground" was the dormitory that the vast majority of music majors inhabited. The band continued classes and when they found more time, decided to play "Little Drummer Boy" for the Underground Cafe on December 7, as it was nearing Christmas time. A strange and distorted version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was also played impromptu this evening, to the tune of Nirvana
's "Smells Like Teen Spirit".
Following Christmas vacation, the four of them decided they'd like to write additional songs to add to their live repertoire and satisfy the requirements of their recording studio class, but thought it would be appropriate to give a name to these collaborations. Charlie recalled a Bible verse he had read which discussed the frailty of man, and the irony that this amazing life has been breathed into our frail, physical bodies by our Lord. This passage, which related the struggles of man and the testing of our wills and bodies, which ultimately provides us the strength to endure the hardships of life, included the phrase "Jars of Clay
". The phrase was penned by the Apostle Paul, and was from 2 Corinthians, chapter four verse seven: "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us". The band thought that was a good way to keep themselves humble—to have a band name that would force them to continually realize that all of their blessings had come from God, including this talent to write songs that their classmates enjoyed. So in January 1994, Jars of Clay was born.
Dated 12/11/92, Charlie scribbled down a verse that would some day define the band.
"Love Song for a Savior", a repetitive but catchy pop tune, one which was popular with classmates. In high school, Dan had read a book called "Death by Child Abuse" by Ursula Sunshine. The book detailed the struggle for survival of a young girl who had been abused and killed by a family member. This touched his heart and the band wanted to write not about the depressing actions she underwent, but the hope that we have despite the troubles the world has. They penned "He" in March and recorded it for fun. Following this, they played a brief concert at Tower Grove Christian School in St. Louis on March 18, and also scheduled a concert at Grace Community Baptist Church, in Trenton, IL for March 23. In addition, they performed a concert in Steve's hometown and played two shows at Six Flags for a Christian festival.
The classes continued and the band struggled for time to write together. Charlie noticed an advertisement in CCM Magazine for a talent contest, which he thought would be fun to enter—and had no expectations of being chosen to play live months later in Nashville for record companies. Ten finalists were chosen from all of the demos sent in, and Jars of Clay were elated to be one of them.
On April 27, 1994, Jars of Clay performed for the Gospel Music Association Spotlight Competition at 328 Performance Hall in Nashville, TN. This appearance was the final test of the competition for best new Christian band, and Jars passed the test obtaining the grand prize. The played "Fade to Grey" and "Like a Child" complete with choreography and baby "binkies" in their mouths and met with great response from record companies who were present.
Also in April, the band decided to finish up their demo CD which was entitled Frail. They printed 1,000 copies for friends and family members to purchase and had a small release party at school. The copies went fast, and by June they printed 500 more for record companies and those who weren't able to obtain them the first time around.
They returned to Greenville to finish up the year and finally played for the school again in May at a "midnight breakfast
". At this event they played "Love Song for a Savior" and "Fade to Grey" for their classmates, and received an overwhelming response. Two concerts were performed this month for the Agape Festival in Greenville at this time.
Meanwhile, they received phone calls on their dormitory pay phone from record companies seeking out the band and wanting to sign them for an album. The band then decided that they should pursue the avenue of music and move to Nashville, putting their college careers "on hold". Matt Bronleewe decided to continue with school for the time, and was getting married as well, so decided not to move to Nashville with the band. Because the band's sound included an acoustic guitar duo, it was necessary to find a new member to fill the gaps, and Charlie's best friend from high school decided after much debate to join the band and move to Nashville in August. Matt Odmark had been at the University of Rochester as an English major but enjoyed playing his guitar at small cafe's. His assimilation into the band was difficult due to his lack of involvement in the music industry, but by August the band was very comfortable together while they lived in close quarters in a small two bedroom apartment in Antioch, TN. They also accepted jobs during this time, at places such as pizza shops, mall stores and book warehouses while waiting for the contract, and wondered if they ever really would be able to sign with a company.
They shopped their demo and met with many record companies during the summer, negotiated their potential contracts with a lawyer during autumn, and in winter finally signed with Essential Records, a division of Brentwood Music (now collectively entitled Provident Records). This was an unexpected step for the band, as Essential was the smallest company that they interviewed with, but they felt it was most like a family. In addition, Essential had solid backing power from the larger Brentwood Music company which owned it, and Brentwood used a secular distributor, Silvertone Records of Zomba/Jive, in order to reach a wider audience.
During autumn, they also made time for occasional performances during their busy work schedules. They played a show on September 29 for about forty people at "Stage Left" (literally the left side of a stage) at Austin Peay University in Clarksville, TN. They rented all of the equipment needed for this show and actually lost a significant amount of money but enjoyed the experience. They played 40 minutes of their new songs and 40 minutes of cover tunes by PFR, The Monkees, Third Matinee, New Order, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and others. They scheduled other occasional shows, one with Sixpence None the Richer at Rocketown in October, another acoustic performance at AM/PM coffeehouse, one at a Catholic high school in St. Louis, a concert at Greenville again with Sixpence, and finally, Caffe Milano in Nashville, TN.
During winter and spring they recorded their debut album for Essential and released the album in May 1995 following their first real tour on which they opened for PFR and Brent Bourgeois. An intern at Essential, who was a good friend of the guys, happened to be the niece of improvisational guitarist and prolific songwriter Adrian Belew
. She delivered the Frail demo to him and he was very impressed. Belew had also been investigating the Christian faith, so he decided to produce a couple songs for the album. His previous collaborations with Laurie Anderson
, The Talking Heads, Nine Inch Nails
, David Bowie
, Frank Zappa
and longtime involvement with King Crimson
, not to mention many solo albums, made him a primary candidate for producer. They decided to have him produce "Flood" and "Liquid", the more alternative songs, and then they self-produced the remainder of the songs on the album for lack of money. Many studio musicians were brought in to fill in gaps and Ron Huff did lush string arrangements to embellish the songs and give them their unique orchestral quality.
The first single from the debut album released to Christian radio was "Flood", and stayed at number one for a long time. The band met with high critical acclaim in numerous Christian magazine articles and other sources due to the unique harmonies and instrumentation on the album as well as their extreme honesty and relational lyrics discussing real life situations and faith in God who pulls us through difficult challenges.
Meanwhile, secular radio stations somehow caught on to the popularity of this song and some of them began to play it. This is when Essential Records decided to use parent label Silvertone to promote the album and send out CD singles to radio stations.
Many of the radio stations loved the single and began to put it into regular rotation because after it was played, the phones would ring constantly with inquisitive listeners wondering where the song came from. Jars of Clay had now played a few festivals in the summer of 1995 and decided to sign up for another tour opening for PFR and Brent Bourgeois. Following this tour, they learned that they had been invited to open for Michael W. Smith on his national tour in early 1996 and accepted the invitation with gratitude. A concert at The Foundry in Nashville was held to raise money for the Child Abuse Center of Middle Tennessee and the Drummer Boy Christmas EP was released to raise money for this agency as well. Special guests at the concert included Phil Keaggy and Cindy Morgan.
1996 was the year of intense success for the band. "Flood" hit the #1 position on numerous secular radio stations due to its popularity in the northwestern US where many alternative bands were popular, and the album remained in the top 60 albums for much of the year, also remaining in Billboard's Top 200 albums for the entire 52-week cycle. The album went 'gold' and shortly after attained platinum status. The debut album has now sold around 2,000,000 copies.
shows were very successful and the band promoted the album heavily by performing and interviewing at many instore appearances and secular radio shows. They continued to tour on their own through the summer of 1996 and decided to take the music to the club circuit where secular listeners could feel comfortable seeing the band where they see their other favorite bands. This became an intense ministry but also brought with it much sarcasm and disappointment for the Christian audiences who sometimes accused them of "going secular" although nothing about their lyrics, music or spiritual lives had changed. Their goals changed gradually as they realized that they could minister to an audience that no one else could seem to reach.
The band set up a very professional headlining tour of theaters such as The Roxy and House of Blues theaters for autumn 1996. They purchased their own sound and lights and brought Roddy Chiong, a violinist, on tour, opening the shows with a classical violin piece and using backdrops such as folded curtains, oriental rugs and candelabras. The Samples opened the concerts for the first couple weeks and were shortly after dropped due to an incompatibility with Jars as well as their audience. The Gufs were a nice opening band for the concerts, and many other bands opened shows for Jars during this time as well, including Sarah Masen
, Duncan Sheik
, Matchbox 20 and Sarah Jahn.
The band toured in support of other Christian acts, such as PFR
, Sixpence None The Richer
, as well as mainstream acts like Matchbox Twenty
, Duncan Sheik
, and Sting. This resulted in a small backlash from fundamentalist Christian groups.
On Tour, Jars of Clay tends to challenge themselves and change how they play the songs. Over the years they have played the songs from this album for about a million times and they have changed playing from one genre to another, from reggae, pop, alternative, rock, techno-rock and so on.
The Rewind Tour 2010
On Oct 2010 via Twitter
, Jars of Clay announced that during their 2010 Fall Tour, they are performing their first album in its entirety to commemorate 15 years from the release.
released in 1996 when the self-titled debut attained platinum status. The album has the same track listing as the original with the hidden track "Four Seven" added as the 11th track without the Strings Studio Sessions for Blind. The cover and artwork are different from the original album, designed specifically to commemorate the album being a platinum release. Each of the 20,000 discs are numbered, providing each unit its own degree of uniqueness.
Deluxe Bundle which was released on October 5, 2010. The Vinyl was also sold on their The Rewind Tour 2010.
Singles - Billboard (North America) - 1996
Christian radio singles
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by Christian rock
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music played by individuals and bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands...
group Jars of Clay
Jars of Clay
Jars of Clay is a Christian rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. They met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.Jars of Clay consists of Dan Haseltine on vocals, Charlie Lowell on piano and keyboards, Stephen Mason on lead guitars and Matthew Odmark on rhythm guitars...
. It was released on October 24, 1995 by Essential Records
Essential Records (Christian)
Essential Records is a Contemporary Christian record label based in Franklin, Tennessee. It is a division of a major label, Sony Music Entertainment.-History:...
. The album has been highly acclaimed, being one of few Christian albums of the mid-nineties to achieve platinum status. As the group's debut album, Jars of Clay introduced many internationally to the group and established the group due to their distinctive style.
Overview
Jars of Clay's eponymous first full-length album is characterized by a combination of drumDrum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
loops and acoustic guitar strumming that would become an early trademark of the band. Strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
are also used prominently in most of the songs. Honest, intense, poetic, and harmonic with sonic influences as diverse as Gregorian chants, mandolin, and gothic layered vocals, Jars of Clay was a refreshing break from the pessimism and alterna-angst that dominated the mid-90s music scene.
The album was mostly self-produced, with the exception of "Liquid" and "Flood" which were produced by former King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
guitarist Adrian Belew
Adrian Belew
Adrian Belew is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer...
.
Several tracks from this album were hits on Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, and as a result they have been staples of the band's live concerts ever since. The song "Flood
Flood (song)
"Flood" is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay. It is considered to be their breakthrough song due to airplay on contemporary Christian music and alternative rock radio stations, two radio formats which rarely interact with one another. It was released in 1995 on their self-titled debut...
" became an unexpected hit on mainstream pop and alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
radio as well, resulting in a brief period of mainstream popularity for the band during which they toured with artists such as Sting, The Samples
The Samples
The Samples were a band formed in Boulder, Colorado in early 1987. The band's name came from the members' early sustenance of food samples from the local King Soopers grocery store. The music has been described as "reggae influenced rock/pop" and a cross between The Police and the Grateful Dead...
and Matchbox Twenty
Matchbox Twenty
Matchbox Twenty is an American rock band, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1995...
, and were included in several movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
s.
Most of this album consists of reworked versions of songs from the band's demo, Frail
Frail (song)
"Frail" is a song written and performed by Christian alternative folk rock group Jars of Clay. It has appeared on many recordings by the group and lends its name to the group's debut demo release, Frail, from 1994...
, which was recorded as a class
Class (education)
A class in education has a variety of related meanings.It can be the group of students which attends a specific course or lesson at a university, school or other educational institution, see Form ....
project
Project
A project in business and science is typically defined as a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim. Projects can be further defined as temporary rather than permanent social systems that are constituted by teams...
during their senior year of college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
. The song "He" appears to be almost identical to the original recording.
The songs "Sinking", "Flood", "Worlds Apart", and "Blind" were all unique to this release, as all other tracks had previously been released on the group's debut demo album Frail, and two songs from the demo did not make it to this album"—Fade to Grey" and EP's title track "Frail
Frail (song)
"Frail" is a song written and performed by Christian alternative folk rock group Jars of Clay. It has appeared on many recordings by the group and lends its name to the group's debut demo release, Frail, from 1994...
", though these were both later included on the group's follow-up, Much Afraid
Much Afraid
Much Afraid is the second album of Christian band Jars of Clay. It was released in 1997 by Essential Records.Much Afraid was highly anticipated after the success of the band's first album, but due to a noticeable stylistic shift, the album was not as well received...
, which also introduced lyrics into the previously instrumental piece "Frail".
Notably, Jars of Clay is considered to be a landmark album in Christian rock, even though very few electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
s are used, leading some to categorize Jars of Clay as folk-rock, alternative folk, or even pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
instead.
The album was listed at #22 in the 2001 book, CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music
CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music
CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music is the title of a book, edited by Thom Granger and published in 2001 by Harvest House Publishers....
.
Background
Jars of ClayJars of Clay
Jars of Clay is a Christian rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. They met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.Jars of Clay consists of Dan Haseltine on vocals, Charlie Lowell on piano and keyboards, Stephen Mason on lead guitars and Matthew Odmark on rhythm guitars...
began at Greenville College
Greenville College
Greenville College is located in Greenville, Illinois, a small Illinois city, located 45 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri on Interstate 70...
in Greenville, IL when four young lads met and discovered friendship through music. They were majors in "Contemporary Christian Music", a somewhat recent department in the college. Charlie Lowell
Charlie Lowell
Charlie Lowell is an American pianist most known for being the pianist and keyboardist for Christian alternative folk rock group Jars of Clay.-Biography:...
, Dan Haseltine
Dan Haseltine
Daniel Paul "Dan" Haseltine is an American singer best known as lead vocalist for Christian alternative folk rock group Jars of Clay. Haseltine has performed vocals, piano, accordion, percussion and most recently, melodica, while with Jars of Clay...
and Matt Bronleewe
Matt Bronleewe
-Biography:Matt Bronleewe was born in Dallas, Texas, but as a young boy moved to central Kansas, Lorraine, with his family so his father could take on the family farm...
had been there for the year of 1992 and played in various bands as well as producing their own studio projects. These bands included Chrysalis, Jazon, Yellow#7, Second Level, and many other school bands involving students from the CCM department as well as others. When Stephen Mason appeared on the scene in September 1993, and had similar interests in music, the guys decided to write a song together, "just for fun". Dan had met Stephen because he had a Toad the Wet Sprocket
Toad the Wet Sprocket
Toad the Wet Sprocket is an American alternative rock band formed in 1986. The band consists of singer/guitarist Glen Phillips, guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning, and drummer Randy Guss. The band enjoyed chart success in the 1990s with the singles "Walk on the Ocean," "All I Want,"...
shirt on, a band which they both admired for their unique sound. The band wrote and recorded a song called "Fade to Grey", which included many drum loops and samples, a very techno-oriented song. It was simply a studio project for credit in a recording class. Their friends enjoyed the song and they performed it in late October for a college cafe called the "Underground Cafe", which they had put together to raise money for homeless shelters and jail ministries. The "Underground" was the dormitory that the vast majority of music majors inhabited. The band continued classes and when they found more time, decided to play "Little Drummer Boy" for the Underground Cafe on December 7, as it was nearing Christmas time. A strange and distorted version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was also played impromptu this evening, to the tune of Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
's "Smells Like Teen Spirit".
Following Christmas vacation, the four of them decided they'd like to write additional songs to add to their live repertoire and satisfy the requirements of their recording studio class, but thought it would be appropriate to give a name to these collaborations. Charlie recalled a Bible verse he had read which discussed the frailty of man, and the irony that this amazing life has been breathed into our frail, physical bodies by our Lord. This passage, which related the struggles of man and the testing of our wills and bodies, which ultimately provides us the strength to endure the hardships of life, included the phrase "Jars of Clay
Jars of Clay
Jars of Clay is a Christian rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. They met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.Jars of Clay consists of Dan Haseltine on vocals, Charlie Lowell on piano and keyboards, Stephen Mason on lead guitars and Matthew Odmark on rhythm guitars...
". The phrase was penned by the Apostle Paul, and was from 2 Corinthians, chapter four verse seven: "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us". The band thought that was a good way to keep themselves humble—to have a band name that would force them to continually realize that all of their blessings had come from God, including this talent to write songs that their classmates enjoyed. So in January 1994, Jars of Clay was born.
Dated 12/11/92, Charlie scribbled down a verse that would some day define the band.
"Love Song for a Savior", a repetitive but catchy pop tune, one which was popular with classmates. In high school, Dan had read a book called "Death by Child Abuse" by Ursula Sunshine. The book detailed the struggle for survival of a young girl who had been abused and killed by a family member. This touched his heart and the band wanted to write not about the depressing actions she underwent, but the hope that we have despite the troubles the world has. They penned "He" in March and recorded it for fun. Following this, they played a brief concert at Tower Grove Christian School in St. Louis on March 18, and also scheduled a concert at Grace Community Baptist Church, in Trenton, IL for March 23. In addition, they performed a concert in Steve's hometown and played two shows at Six Flags for a Christian festival.
The classes continued and the band struggled for time to write together. Charlie noticed an advertisement in CCM Magazine for a talent contest, which he thought would be fun to enter—and had no expectations of being chosen to play live months later in Nashville for record companies. Ten finalists were chosen from all of the demos sent in, and Jars of Clay were elated to be one of them.
On April 27, 1994, Jars of Clay performed for the Gospel Music Association Spotlight Competition at 328 Performance Hall in Nashville, TN. This appearance was the final test of the competition for best new Christian band, and Jars passed the test obtaining the grand prize. The played "Fade to Grey" and "Like a Child" complete with choreography and baby "binkies" in their mouths and met with great response from record companies who were present.
Also in April, the band decided to finish up their demo CD which was entitled Frail. They printed 1,000 copies for friends and family members to purchase and had a small release party at school. The copies went fast, and by June they printed 500 more for record companies and those who weren't able to obtain them the first time around.
They returned to Greenville to finish up the year and finally played for the school again in May at a "midnight breakfast
Midnight breakfast
Midnight breakfast is a generic term for a communal meal served at some American colleges and universities. Menu items that are generally considered breakfast foods are served in the school's dining hall late at night as a study break before or during final exams, or as a traditional...
". At this event they played "Love Song for a Savior" and "Fade to Grey" for their classmates, and received an overwhelming response. Two concerts were performed this month for the Agape Festival in Greenville at this time.
Meanwhile, they received phone calls on their dormitory pay phone from record companies seeking out the band and wanting to sign them for an album. The band then decided that they should pursue the avenue of music and move to Nashville, putting their college careers "on hold". Matt Bronleewe decided to continue with school for the time, and was getting married as well, so decided not to move to Nashville with the band. Because the band's sound included an acoustic guitar duo, it was necessary to find a new member to fill the gaps, and Charlie's best friend from high school decided after much debate to join the band and move to Nashville in August. Matt Odmark had been at the University of Rochester as an English major but enjoyed playing his guitar at small cafe's. His assimilation into the band was difficult due to his lack of involvement in the music industry, but by August the band was very comfortable together while they lived in close quarters in a small two bedroom apartment in Antioch, TN. They also accepted jobs during this time, at places such as pizza shops, mall stores and book warehouses while waiting for the contract, and wondered if they ever really would be able to sign with a company.
They shopped their demo and met with many record companies during the summer, negotiated their potential contracts with a lawyer during autumn, and in winter finally signed with Essential Records, a division of Brentwood Music (now collectively entitled Provident Records). This was an unexpected step for the band, as Essential was the smallest company that they interviewed with, but they felt it was most like a family. In addition, Essential had solid backing power from the larger Brentwood Music company which owned it, and Brentwood used a secular distributor, Silvertone Records of Zomba/Jive, in order to reach a wider audience.
During autumn, they also made time for occasional performances during their busy work schedules. They played a show on September 29 for about forty people at "Stage Left" (literally the left side of a stage) at Austin Peay University in Clarksville, TN. They rented all of the equipment needed for this show and actually lost a significant amount of money but enjoyed the experience. They played 40 minutes of their new songs and 40 minutes of cover tunes by PFR, The Monkees, Third Matinee, New Order, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and others. They scheduled other occasional shows, one with Sixpence None the Richer at Rocketown in October, another acoustic performance at AM/PM coffeehouse, one at a Catholic high school in St. Louis, a concert at Greenville again with Sixpence, and finally, Caffe Milano in Nashville, TN.
During winter and spring they recorded their debut album for Essential and released the album in May 1995 following their first real tour on which they opened for PFR and Brent Bourgeois. An intern at Essential, who was a good friend of the guys, happened to be the niece of improvisational guitarist and prolific songwriter Adrian Belew
Adrian Belew
Adrian Belew is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer...
. She delivered the Frail demo to him and he was very impressed. Belew had also been investigating the Christian faith, so he decided to produce a couple songs for the album. His previous collaborations with Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson
Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...
, The Talking Heads, Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
, David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
and longtime involvement with King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
, not to mention many solo albums, made him a primary candidate for producer. They decided to have him produce "Flood" and "Liquid", the more alternative songs, and then they self-produced the remainder of the songs on the album for lack of money. Many studio musicians were brought in to fill in gaps and Ron Huff did lush string arrangements to embellish the songs and give them their unique orchestral quality.
The first single from the debut album released to Christian radio was "Flood", and stayed at number one for a long time. The band met with high critical acclaim in numerous Christian magazine articles and other sources due to the unique harmonies and instrumentation on the album as well as their extreme honesty and relational lyrics discussing real life situations and faith in God who pulls us through difficult challenges.
Meanwhile, secular radio stations somehow caught on to the popularity of this song and some of them began to play it. This is when Essential Records decided to use parent label Silvertone to promote the album and send out CD singles to radio stations.
Many of the radio stations loved the single and began to put it into regular rotation because after it was played, the phones would ring constantly with inquisitive listeners wondering where the song came from. Jars of Clay had now played a few festivals in the summer of 1995 and decided to sign up for another tour opening for PFR and Brent Bourgeois. Following this tour, they learned that they had been invited to open for Michael W. Smith on his national tour in early 1996 and accepted the invitation with gratitude. A concert at The Foundry in Nashville was held to raise money for the Child Abuse Center of Middle Tennessee and the Drummer Boy Christmas EP was released to raise money for this agency as well. Special guests at the concert included Phil Keaggy and Cindy Morgan.
1996 was the year of intense success for the band. "Flood" hit the #1 position on numerous secular radio stations due to its popularity in the northwestern US where many alternative bands were popular, and the album remained in the top 60 albums for much of the year, also remaining in Billboard's Top 200 albums for the entire 52-week cycle. The album went 'gold' and shortly after attained platinum status. The debut album has now sold around 2,000,000 copies.
Tour
The Michael W. SmithMichael W. Smith
Michael Whitaker Smith is a Billboard top ten Billboard Hot 100 recording artist and Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. He is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in Contemporary Christian music. Smith also has achieved a considerable amount of...
shows were very successful and the band promoted the album heavily by performing and interviewing at many instore appearances and secular radio shows. They continued to tour on their own through the summer of 1996 and decided to take the music to the club circuit where secular listeners could feel comfortable seeing the band where they see their other favorite bands. This became an intense ministry but also brought with it much sarcasm and disappointment for the Christian audiences who sometimes accused them of "going secular" although nothing about their lyrics, music or spiritual lives had changed. Their goals changed gradually as they realized that they could minister to an audience that no one else could seem to reach.
The band set up a very professional headlining tour of theaters such as The Roxy and House of Blues theaters for autumn 1996. They purchased their own sound and lights and brought Roddy Chiong, a violinist, on tour, opening the shows with a classical violin piece and using backdrops such as folded curtains, oriental rugs and candelabras. The Samples opened the concerts for the first couple weeks and were shortly after dropped due to an incompatibility with Jars as well as their audience. The Gufs were a nice opening band for the concerts, and many other bands opened shows for Jars during this time as well, including Sarah Masen
Sarah Masen
Sarah Masen is a singer/songwriter originally from the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, but has for several years lived in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband, author David Dark, and their three children. Initially signed to Charlie Peacock's re:think label, and subsequently to Word, she is now...
, Duncan Sheik
Duncan Sheik
Duncan Scott Sheik is an American singer-songwriter and composer. Sheik initially found success as a singer, most notably for his 1996 debut single "Barely Breathing". He later expanded his work to include compositions for motion pictures and the Broadway stage, leading him to involvement in the...
, Matchbox 20 and Sarah Jahn.
The band toured in support of other Christian acts, such as PFR
PFR
PFR was a Christian music group in the mid 1990s. Although the group disbanded in 1997, they reunited in 2000 and have since recorded two albums, and they continue to play together.-History:...
, Sixpence None The Richer
Sixpence None the Richer
Sixpence None the Richer is an American rock/pop band that formed in New Braunfels, Texas, eventually settling in Nashville, Tennessee. They are best known for their songs "Kiss Me" and "Breathe Your Name" and their covers of "Don't Dream It's Over" and "There She Goes". The name of the band is...
, as well as mainstream acts like Matchbox Twenty
Matchbox Twenty
Matchbox Twenty is an American rock band, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1995...
, Duncan Sheik
Duncan Sheik
Duncan Scott Sheik is an American singer-songwriter and composer. Sheik initially found success as a singer, most notably for his 1996 debut single "Barely Breathing". He later expanded his work to include compositions for motion pictures and the Broadway stage, leading him to involvement in the...
, and Sting. This resulted in a small backlash from fundamentalist Christian groups.
On Tour, Jars of Clay tends to challenge themselves and change how they play the songs. Over the years they have played the songs from this album for about a million times and they have changed playing from one genre to another, from reggae, pop, alternative, rock, techno-rock and so on.
The Rewind Tour 2010
On Oct 2010 via Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, Jars of Clay announced that during their 2010 Fall Tour, they are performing their first album in its entirety to commemorate 15 years from the release.
Standard release
- "Liquid" - 3:32
- "Sinking" - 3:47
- "Love Song for a Savior" - 4:46
- "Like a ChildLike a Child"Like a Child" is the fourth radio single from Jars of Clay from their self-titled debut album. Like many of the other tracks off the album, the song was written while the band members were students at Greenville College. The band's demo album, Frail, released in 1994, contains the first known...
" - 4:35 - "Art In Me" - 3:58
- "He" - 5:19
- "Boy on a String" - 3:31
- "FloodFlood (song)"Flood" is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay. It is considered to be their breakthrough song due to airplay on contemporary Christian music and alternative rock radio stations, two radio formats which rarely interact with one another. It was released in 1995 on their self-titled debut...
" - 3:31 - "Worlds ApartWorlds Apart (Jars of Clay song)"Worlds Apart" is a song written and recorded by Jars of Clay. The song is the fifth and final radio single from the band's self-titled debut album. The band has mentioned that it took several months to finally complete the song to the form that it appears in on the album. This was due to the...
" - 5:18 - "Blind" - 3:59
- "Four Seven" (hidden track) - 2:38
- Strings Studio Session for Blind (hidden track) - 20:38
Japanese release
- "Liquid" - 3:32
- "Sinking" - 3:47
- "Love Song for a Savior" - 4:46
- "Like a Child" - 4:35
- "Art In Me" - 3:58
- "He" - 5:19
- "Boy on a String" - 3:31
- "FloodFlood (song)"Flood" is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay. It is considered to be their breakthrough song due to airplay on contemporary Christian music and alternative rock radio stations, two radio formats which rarely interact with one another. It was released in 1995 on their self-titled debut...
" - 3:31 - "Worlds Apart" - 5:18
- "Blind" - 5:59
- "Little Drummer Boy" - 4:23 (from Drummer Boy EP)
- "Flood" (Savage Flavor Remix) - (from Vibe Central: The Essential Remixes)
Platinum release
Jars of Clay Platinum is the title of the special edition album that Jars of ClayJars of Clay
Jars of Clay is a Christian rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. They met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.Jars of Clay consists of Dan Haseltine on vocals, Charlie Lowell on piano and keyboards, Stephen Mason on lead guitars and Matthew Odmark on rhythm guitars...
released in 1996 when the self-titled debut attained platinum status. The album has the same track listing as the original with the hidden track "Four Seven" added as the 11th track without the Strings Studio Sessions for Blind. The cover and artwork are different from the original album, designed specifically to commemorate the album being a platinum release. Each of the 20,000 discs are numbered, providing each unit its own degree of uniqueness.
- "Liquid"
- "Sinking"
- "Love Song for a Savior"
- "Like a Child"
- "Art In Me"
- "He"
- "Boy On a String"
- "FloodFlood (song)"Flood" is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay. It is considered to be their breakthrough song due to airplay on contemporary Christian music and alternative rock radio stations, two radio formats which rarely interact with one another. It was released in 1995 on their self-titled debut...
" - "Worlds Apart"
- "Blind"
- "Four Seven"
Vinyl
In Celebration of its 15 Years from release a Double Vinyl Collector's Edition was included in the pre-order of Jars of Clay Presents The ShelterThe Shelter (album)
Jars of Clay presents The Shelter is the tenth studio album by rock band Jars of Clay, released October 5, 2010, through Gray Matters Records.-Overview:...
Deluxe Bundle which was released on October 5, 2010. The Vinyl was also sold on their The Rewind Tour 2010.
Jars of Clay
- Dan HaseltineDan HaseltineDaniel Paul "Dan" Haseltine is an American singer best known as lead vocalist for Christian alternative folk rock group Jars of Clay. Haseltine has performed vocals, piano, accordion, percussion and most recently, melodica, while with Jars of Clay...
- Vocals, drum loops - Matt OdmarkMatt OdmarkMatthew Odmark is an American musician most known for being a guitarist for Christian alternative folk rock group Jars of Clay.At times, Odmark's first name is noted as "Matthew" instead of "Matt"...
- Acoustic guitar, drum loops - Stephen Mason - Acoustic guitar, bass guitar, mandolin, background vocals, drum loops
- Charlie LowellCharlie LowellCharlie Lowell is an American pianist most known for being the pianist and keyboardist for Christian alternative folk rock group Jars of Clay.-Biography:...
- Organ, keyboards, piano, background vocals, drum loops
Additional musicians
- Matt BronleeweMatt Bronleewe-Biography:Matt Bronleewe was born in Dallas, Texas, but as a young boy moved to central Kansas, Lorraine, with his family so his father could take on the family farm...
- Acoustic guitar - Adrian BelewAdrian BelewAdrian Belew is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer...
- Bass, mandolin - Craig Nelson - Bass
- Tim Smith - Percussion, drums
- Ronn Huff - Conductor
- John Catchings - Cello
- Carl Gorodetzky - Violin
- Pamela Sixfin - Violin
- Noah Evens - Violin
- Jim Grosjean - Viola
- Sam Levine - Recorder
- Bobby G. Taylor - Oboe
- Jonathan Yudkin - Fiddle, mandolin
Production
- Jars of ClayJars of ClayJars of Clay is a Christian rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. They met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.Jars of Clay consists of Dan Haseltine on vocals, Charlie Lowell on piano and keyboards, Stephen Mason on lead guitars and Matthew Odmark on rhythm guitars...
- Producer, art direction - Adrian BelewAdrian BelewAdrian Belew is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer...
- Producer, string arrangements - Ronn Huff - -String arrangements
- Ken Love - Mastering
- Jon Easterling - Engineer
- Charlie LowellCharlie LowellCharlie Lowell is an American pianist most known for being the pianist and keyboardist for Christian alternative folk rock group Jars of Clay.-Biography:...
- Engineer - Dan HaseltineDan HaseltineDaniel Paul "Dan" Haseltine is an American singer best known as lead vocalist for Christian alternative folk rock group Jars of Clay. Haseltine has performed vocals, piano, accordion, percussion and most recently, melodica, while with Jars of Clay...
- Programming - Matt OdmarkMatt OdmarkMatthew Odmark is an American musician most known for being a guitarist for Christian alternative folk rock group Jars of Clay.At times, Odmark's first name is noted as "Matthew" instead of "Matt"...
- Programming - Matt BronleeweMatt Bronleewe-Biography:Matt Bronleewe was born in Dallas, Texas, but as a young boy moved to central Kansas, Lorraine, with his family so his father could take on the family farm...
- Arranger - Jeff Borders - Arranger
- Noah Evens - Engineer, string arrangements
- Robert BeesonRobert BeesonRobert Beeson is a music executive. He founded Essential Records in 1992, home to artists Jars of Clay and Third Day, along with Caedmon’s Call, Bebo Norman and FFH. He also created the City On a Hill series. He became Senior VP A&R for Provident Music Group after they bought Essential, working...
- Executive producer, art direction - Josh Cougle - Inspiration
- Miguel DeJesus - Inspiration
Charts
Album charts & RIAA certifications| Release year |
The Billboard 200 Chart position |
RIAA certification RIAA certification In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards... |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 46 | 2x Platinum |
Singles - Billboard (North America) - 1996
| Song | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| "Flood Flood (song) "Flood" is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay. It is considered to be their breakthrough song due to airplay on contemporary Christian music and alternative rock radio stations, two radio formats which rarely interact with one another. It was released in 1995 on their self-titled debut... " |
Mainstream Rock Tracks | 16 |
| Modern Rock Tracks | 12 | |
| The Billboard Hot 100 | 37 |
Christian radio singles
| No | Single | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Flood Flood (song) "Flood" is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay. It is considered to be their breakthrough song due to airplay on contemporary Christian music and alternative rock radio stations, two radio formats which rarely interact with one another. It was released in 1995 on their self-titled debut... " |
1995 |
| 2 | "Liquid" | 1995 |
| 3 | "Love Song for a Savior" | 1996 |
| 4 | "Like a Child Like a Child "Like a Child" is the fourth radio single from Jars of Clay from their self-titled debut album. Like many of the other tracks off the album, the song was written while the band members were students at Greenville College. The band's demo album, Frail, released in 1994, contains the first known... " |
1996 |
| 5 | "Worlds Apart Worlds Apart (Jars of Clay song) "Worlds Apart" is a song written and recorded by Jars of Clay. The song is the fifth and final radio single from the band's self-titled debut album. The band has mentioned that it took several months to finally complete the song to the form that it appears in on the album. This was due to the... " |
1996 |