Audio Adrenaline: Underdog (1999)

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Tracks:

1. Mighty Good Leader
2. Underdog
3. Get Down
4. Good Life
5. Let My Love Open the Door
6. Hands and Feet
7. Jesus Movement
8. DC-10
9. It is Well with My Soul
10. This Day
11. It's Over
12. The Houseplant Song

With Burkum and Cissel permanently installed as members, Audio A upped their musicianship and after a couple of years of touring came up with an even stronger album, Underdog.  They still played around with samples, hip-hop beats and other assorted samples, but now cranked out heavier rock pieces in the spirit of Bloom.  Indeed, Burkum actually starts to sound like a Barry Blair disciple on this one, as his playing takes on much of the Southern-fried tones of the founding guitarist.  It's his electric grooves that provide much of the record's spark, as the first six tunes form a solid slab of fun rockers that take the Audio A sound in a few new directions.  "Mighty Good Leader" is good opener, with a nice build-up on the verse and pre-chorus a la "Some Kind of Zombie."  The title track is also strong, with a decent chorus melody and a sermon excerpt on the break.  In fact, the melodic approach on the album is probably the most sophisticated yet, as Stuart and the gang have moved beyond shouted lines and "bah-de-bum-bum" singalongs and really coming up with some decent tunes.

"Get Down" and "Hands and Feet" were the two big singles, and represent the two big themes of the album.  The former, based on the title, sounds like an invitation to boogie, but it's really about God's intervention when we "get down" emotionally when facing life's struggles.  It's the only song to really carry over the "techno-acoustic" sound of Zombie, with a rhythm riff right out of the Blair playbook.  "Hands and Feet" sings of the timeless AA message of missions, and has a more epic feel than most of the songs on the album.  

The album also has three cover songs, starting with a tight, fast run-through of Pete Townshend's "Let My Love Open the Door."  The author once described the song succinctly with the phrase, "Jesus sings."  And while Townshend is hardly a voice for orthodoxy (He's actually much closer to Hinduism in his beliefs), the song represents the next in a long line of Pete's "spiritual" songs that can be interpreted in a Christian context (Such as "Bargain," "Christmas", and even "Behind Blue Eyes").  Audio A's version turns the chorus into more of a rock chant than the original, and what it takes away from its poignancy and heart-felt romanticism, it makes up for in fun and power.

They also cover the classic Horatio Spafford hymn "It is Well with My Soul."  The somewhat languid arrangement puts a weird, dark spin on the song, and having Jennifer Knapp echo Stuart on the refrains doesn't make it any easier to swallow.  Still, the lyrics pack a deep spiritual punch, echoing the sentiments of "Get Down."  More twists are made in their cover of their own "DC-10" from the self-titled album.  What started as a blustery hard rock/hip-hop hybrid is now turned into a rockabilly swing exercise, played at a breakneck tempo.  Still, Burkum pulls off a decent Brian Setzer impersonation, and again, speed and humor win out over any shortcomings.

It's telling that the band chose to list their names on the cover, as the group was finally beginning to sound like they were greater than the sum of their parts.  Still, they have their laughs with the closer, Herdman's "The Houseplant Song," which re-introduces Smooth Steve into the mix.  And Underdog manages to maintain a much more cohesive feel than the somewhat discombobulated Zombie. 

 

Audio Adrenaline: Some Kind Of Zombie (1997)

Tracks:

1. Chevette
2. New Body
3. Some Kind of Zombie
4. Original Species
5. People Like Me
6. Blitz
7. Lighthouse
8. Flicker
9. God-Shaped Hole
10. Superfriend
11. Some Kind of Zombie (Criscoteque Remix) 

After the success of the Bloom album and tour, things finally seemed to be clicking for Audio Adrenaline as they began to put together material for the follow-up.  It would have been easy to make A Second Bloom, I suppose, and it would have probably been well-received, with the organic "Modern Southern Rock" vibe they had crafted.  But personnel changes would facilitate a shift in style and approach.  The first was a closing of the revolving door that had been spinning behind the drum chair in the form of Ben Cissel, Audio A's first "official" drummer.   Bringing a versatile rock style to the band, Cissel immediately solidified the rhythm section.   The second and more significant changing of the guard was the departure of Barry Blair.  He would contribute to the song "Some Kind of Zombie," the title track of the next disc, but then left the band to focus on his family.  Somewhere in the interim, the band shot photos for the album cover sans Blair, avec Cissel.   Then they picked up a 17-year-old dishwasher from Minneapolis named Tyler Burkum, and the line-up was in place that would produce Some Kind of Zombie.

Three things are apparent with the new changes.  First, the band is rediscovering their love of synths and samples, bringing a trippy techno sound to many of the tracks.  Second, with Burkum, they develop a much harder, noisier guitar sound, with loads of fuzz, feedback, and crunch.  Third, and somewhat paradoxically, the band writes and records most of the basic tracks on acoustic guitars, then piles on the overdubs to fill out the songs.  The result is a decidedly "modern/post-grunge" feel that works for the most part.   

The album kicks of with "Chevette," probably the only song ever dedicated to Chevy's subcompact answer to the Ford Pinto.  Stuart tells an autobiographical story of his preacher dad's brand new but bare-bones '77 hatchback, with "No AC, No FM, and no regrets."  With warped synth licks and screechy guitars, it announces that Bloom has left the building, and Audio A have entered their next phase.  

The title track plays on the timeworn "Resurrection-as-Zombie-Apocalypse" metaphor, which actually works here as the horror trope hadn't saturated pop culture with its rotted ubiquity yet.  And they play up the "mindless slave" rather than "animated corpse" angle, actually drawing from the more historically accurate Haitian Voodoo tradition--with which Stuart, as a missionary kid, had firsthand experience.  The zombie servitude is actually a picture of faithful obedience to the Real Master.  

 "Blitz" was a big single and features the O.C. Supertones bringing a then-hip injection of ska punk energy into the mix.  The story of "fourteen kids in an old church van" and their madcap mission trip to Mexico is fun, including a break in which McGinniss tries to get roadside service for the broken-down heap.  "People Like Me" is probably the closest thing in spirit to Bloom with its happy melody and driving guitars, but the swoopy synth leads take it into another direction.  

The band also shows a softer, deeper side with "Original Species," a rebuttal of Charles Darwin with Stuart proclaiming he's "more enlightened than Nietzsche."  They also draw on the classic image of man's need for God in "God-Shaped Hole."  The album closes with "Superfriend," their fast version of punk rock and by far the hardest thing they'd ever recorded--so hard it made even the band themselves uncomfortable.  I remember seeing them on this tour and when the song came up in the set, Mark was overly cautious about moshers getting too rowdy during its three minutes of mayhem.   

With all the changes, Zombie gathered enough new fans that the band was energized to move forward on their mission: to mobilize techno-rocker zombies into an army of missionary mercenaries bringing the gospel to a brain-dead world.  Or at least, get their sequencers and samplers out of storage and the talented young Mr. Burkum out of that rubber apron. 

Audio Adrenaline: Bloom (1996)

Tracks:

1.  Secret
2.  Never Gonna Be As Big As Jesus
3.  Good People
4.  I'm Not the King
5.  Walk on Water
6.  See Through
7.  Free Ride
8.  Man of God
9.  Gloryland
10.  Bag Lady
11.  I Hear Jesus Calling
12.  Memoir

On Bloom, Audio A finally got all of their pistons firing in sequence as they made the transition from hip-hoppers who play rock to a full-on rock band.  On this set of songs, they leave behind the dance beats and samples and just play straight-on 90s roots rock, which means Stuart growls out his earthiest vocals, Herdman mostly plays organ and guitar (with a little help from Eddie DeGarmo) rather than a synth , and McGinniss gets a fat, groovy tone out of his bass.  But the stars of the show are Blair and drummer du jour Greg Herrington.  Blair, with Herdman kicking in, finally drives the band's sound full throttle with his dirty southern rock riffs, fashioning great licks and solos and creating a sweet grungy sound that's more organic than anything the band had come up with before.  And Herrington pounds brilliant modern rock beats with excellent timing and flourishes without becoming flashy or robotic.

The songs have also improved, moving away from the slogans and youth group themes and developing hooks and melodies that stick.  The opener, "Secret" continues their evangelistic aspirations, and Blair's squealing riffs and Herrington's thrashing drums set the tone for the rest of the album: this is a rock album played by a rock band.  "Never Gonna Be as Big as Jesus" was the first single, and it features a nice groove with a great guitar solo, gospel organ fills, and a neat stop-and-start lead-in to the final chorus.  They actually sound a lot like a young version of Third Day, who made their debut the same year.

"Good People" and "Gloryland" are fast groove-based rockers in the same vein, with catchy choruses and similar rhythmic breaks.  "Free Ride," the old Edgar Winter hit, is played even faster and features Blair echoing Stuart on the chorus through a voice box.  It also is the first of their covers of classic rock songs remade in a gospel context.
  
But they also slow it down, as on "I'm Not the King," which has a quiet opening with a screaming chorus.  They also had a major hit with "Man of God," featuring an emotional Stuart vocal.  Both songs are confessional statements of a believer trying to humble themselves and give the glory to Jesus.

The band have their usual fun and games with "Jazz Oddysey," a send-up of cappacino-sipping hipsters.  But "I Hear Jesus Calling" is little more than a demo of a rather lifeless song that is recorded so poorly, I have to wonder if it was meant as a joke.  "Hey Mark, I hear Jesus calling, and He's saying, 'Leave this one in the can, Bro.'"

Many people have put Bloom on the top of the band's all-time list, and the reason is simple:  The band's evangelistic messages mesh with a living, breathing rock band sound, and where the guitars carry the songs.  It also showed that they needed to find a full-time drummer, an issue they resolved immediately by bringing in Ben Cissel as an official band member for their next album. 

Audio Adrenaline: Live Bootleg (1995)

Tracks:

1. Intro
2. We're a Band
3. Can't Take God Away
4. Soulmate
5. Scum Sweetheart
6. Rest Easy
7. Don't Censor Me
8. Medley
9. Big House
10. Happy and You Know It

Audio A hit the road in late 1994 to promote Don't Censor Me and decided to reward their fans with this live document (supposedly recorded without the band's permission, hence the Bootleg title) of those shows the following year.  It made sense as a marketing move, it had been nearly two years since Censor had hit the streets, but the record is far from essential.  It's a decent document of the band's early live sound as they continued to try to morph into a full-on rock band.  And for the most part, they pull it off.

That their ambition is to impress their audience that the are rockers is reflected in the opening "We're a Band," and continues throughout, as Stuart repeatedly makes mention of how they're playing for "rock people" and hoping that they're rocking enough for the crowd.  As usual, the rock energy is mostly carried on Blair's guitars, although guest drummer Brian Hayes does a decent job pounding the band through fairly hard versions of their songs.  

It's also clear that the band is already leaving the debut album behind.  The only full song from that disc is "What You Need," and they splice "My God" and "DC-10" into a long, drawn-out medley with lots of shouting and singalong parts.  In fact, AA is big into audience participation and silliness, as the closing track is a slow, ragged version of the Sunday school classic "Happy and You Know It."  So they're a rock band that still loves to party, and bring the crowd along for the ride.

Aside from those moments, and a nice little devotional thought from McGinniss, there's really nothing new or revelatory about Bootleg, other than they finally show that  they can rock out, they are indeed a band, and they know where they're gonna go.  An inessential, fun album in case the studio version of "Scum Sweetheart" left you wanting more.

Audio Adrenaline: Don't Censor Me (1993)

Tracks:

1.  Can't Take God Away
2. A.K.A. Public School
3. Soulmate
4. My World View
5. Big House
6. Jesus & The California Kid
7. Don't Censor Me
8. Let Love
9. We're a Band
10. Rest Easy
11. Scum Sweetheart

Audio A's second album for Frontline Records continued many of the trends of their debut: Mark Stuart was still splitting his time between rapping and singing, Barry Blair supplied the rock edge on his guitars, Will McGinniss carried the rhythm, and Bob Herdman was still listed as the band's keyboard player--which meant they still didn't have an official full-time drummer.  So they still were figuring out the whole rock band thing--at least in the studio.  They still were laying down heavy grooves with their electronics, Blair's playing was growing more diverse and prominent, and the songwriting seems to be moving in the right direction.  

On Don't Censor Me, the band takes multiple approaches with the songs.  As the title suggests, the band opts for a bold, evangelistic message as the general theme.  "Can't Take God Away" boasts that modern culture's ambition to remove God from schools, media, etc. will not affect the singer's personal faith, even if they take away "my life, my land, my liberty."  "AKA Public School" encourages kids to turn classrooms into mission fields, and the title track critiques vulgarity in music as it preaches the Word.  It's a battle of world views, and Audio A is sounding the call to join the band of brothers.

But they don't forget to have a little fun in the field, especially with the BIG hit from the album, "Big House."  The song is a silly, Saturday morning-friendly dance-rock ditty that compares church to a house in the country with a big ol' dinner table and backyard football.  But it's infectious with it's grooves, samples, and Blair's Southern funk licks.  To this day, twenty years later, the song still gets played regularly on Christian radio, and it's become the bane of kids' ministers everywhere.  Another fun number are the somewhat schizoid "Jesus and the California Kid," which combines hip hop verses with a Beach Boys-esque chorus.

The band shows some range with the ballads "Rest Easy" and "My World View", the latter featuring dc Talk's Kevin Max on vocals, in what was a foreshadow of the things to come 20 years on.  Perhaps most interesting is the closer, "Scum Sweetheart," a vampy jazz ripoff that shows a slightly darker side to the otherwise sunny mood of the album, as it deals lyrically with temptation and habitual sin.

Don't Censor Me and its big hit single brought Audio Adrenaline into the main arena of Christian bands, although it would take a little bit longer for them to find the magic synthesis of hip-hop energy, rock power, and solid songwriting.  Still, I dare anyone to not to sing along when they hear, "Come, and go with me to, my Father's house..."

Audio Adrenaline: Audio Adrenaline (1992)

 Tracks:

1. One Step Hyper
2. What You Need
3. Who Do You Love
4. PDA
5. The Most Excellent Way
6. J.E.S.U.S. Is Right
7. Revolution
8. Audio World
9. DC-10
10. My God
11. Life 

Audio Adrenaline made their break the musical backwash of the early '90s.  When four young men from Kentucky Christian College got together to make fun party music and rock out a little, dance music and hip-hop were the major forces moving in music.  Metal had let most of its hair fall out, Rock was in hibernation, and Rap was getting foul and violent.  The New Kids on the Block weren't so new anymore.  Grunge was a word used to describe the scum that gathered on the bottom of garbage cans, and Seattle was still known mostly for the Space Needle and computers.  So when the four young gentlemen started a band called A-180, they decided to make dance music and rap a little.  Then a little later they got a guitar and started playing louder stuff, and Audio A began its journey proper.

So it's no surprise that Audio Adrenaline sounds like a band that hadn't quite figured out how to be a band yet.  They had the big front man in Mark Stuart, who possessed a raw, frat-rocky voice that could coo gruffly when the mood shifted down, or bust a rhyme with authority when the house needed rocking.  They had the funky guitar player in Barry Blair, and the hyper bass player in Will McGinniss.  And Bob Herdman did everything from program a synth to play guitar and even banged the drum kit, although you would hardly notice it on this record.   That's because three other people played drums on it.

It's the digital programming and mixing that makes the album party-friendly, but it also puts the group in a weird position:  Are they party guys with lots of energy and a beat for everything, or are they an actual four-piece rock machine ready to take on the world?  It depends on what song you're listening to.  If it's the opening "One Step Hyper," they rock out with heavy beats and samples, and Mark sings a half-rap, half-rock workout that actually rhymes "hyper" with "viper" (I guess "Stryper" was already taken?).  If it's the mellow acoustic "Who Do You Love" it's smooth and silky with a bit of funk.  If it's "PDA" (That stands for Public Display of Affection, and bible colleges like KCC try to put a lid on such dangerous behavior), it's dance-friendly grooves with call-and-response vocals.  So far, the party is off the hook, Homes!

But then things get weirder.  "J.E.S.U.S. is Right" takes us to an island singalong with acoustic guitars, clapping, and rustic choirs chanting the title.  Then they have a few more dance numbers before bringing out the rock guns with "DC-10," a holdover from the A-180 days, and then do speed metal with "My God," an awesome song that had headbanging, guitar crunching, and McGinniss taking center stage on the break with a silly spoken interlude.  It was a very cool song in its time, and I remember our dorm room at Lincoln Christian College rocking to that one back in '92.

So they ended up being a party band on this one after all.  But the songwriting roots are there: Stuart, Herdman & Co. actually come up with some decent hooks in the midst of all the machinery.  It wouldn't be until the second album that they finally found their feet and could say, "We're A Band."  Still, the fun quotient would never top the level of this debut record, and really, who can dis that?