"WE ARE A SPIRITUAL BAND. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WOULD CALL IT RELIGIOUS MUSIC. WE ARE A BAND FULL OF CHRISTIANS. WE ARE THREE DIMENSIONAL PEOPLE WHO LIVE THREE DIMENSIONAL LIVES. WE WRITE THREE DIMENSIONAL SONGS. WE WRITE ABOUT GETTING UP IN THE MORNING AND GOING TO SLEEP. WE WRITE SONGS FROM SCRIPTURE AS WELL AS SONGS ABOUT DEEP SPIRITUAL STRUGGLES WE MIGHT HAVE. AND WE'LL WRITE A SONG ABOUT A BUS DRIVER. WE COVER A LOT OF GROUND."
-CLIFF YOUNG, CAEDMON'S CALL
Caedmon's Call is a group strikingly different from the general expectations of a normal band. They are first friends together on a spiritual journey, not a business. They share their lives through their songs. They are a group that developed naturally, not a synthetically developed group of studio musicians put together with an eye to the perfect demographics. Caedmon's Call is a band that grew organically, based on respect, friendship, a shared faith and extreme talent.
Caedmon's Call plays a thoroughly modern brand of music (the Indigo Girls describe their music, as 'intense acoustic folk music,' a description that rings true with Caedmon's Call about their (own music), yet take their name from an ancient tale. Caedmon's Call fits perfectly into a musical niche, yet they are determined not to be categorized. They write songs about discipleship and perform them in venues full of non-believers, touching the lives of many who hear them.
WHO IS CAEDMON'S CALL?
The current line-up of Caedmon's Call includes Cliff Young (rhythm acoustic guitar, lead and background vocals), Danielle Glenn (Lead end backing vocals), Derek Webb (lead acoustic guitar, lead and backing vocals), Todd Bragg (drums), Garett Buell (bongos, congas, djembe and various other percussive instruments), and Aric Nitzberg (electric and upright bass).
'It all started when I went to college,' recalls Cliff Young. "Aaron (Tate) lived above me in the dorm. We both played guitar and one day he brought down a song he was working an. About that time Danielle (Glenn), myself and another friend got together to sing at church on Sunday morning. It went over pretty well. We thought it would be fun to sing together more and I mentioned that I knew a guy who wrote songs. He came in and we worked on some songs together. We were pretty pleased with them. As things continued, he would bring in some lyrics and I would write some music and all of a sudden we were a band.'
The band went through personnel changes and additions before finally arriving at their current line-up. Original member Aaron Tate, although not a touring member of the band, continues to write songs with Cliff Young on a regular basis. The band produced two independent CDs, developed an independent distribution system and played as often as they could. This effort resulted in their being chosen by Musician Magazine as one of the best unsigned bands in America.
The eponymous album by Caedmon's Call was produced by Don McCollister. 'Don was one of our dream producers to work with,' enthuses Cliff Young. 'We went to Atlanta to work with him. Atlanta is the contemporary folk Mecca. Indigo Girls, R.E.M. and Billy Pilgrim as well as a lot of people whose music we love-- Don has worked with all of those groups a time or two.'
With McCollister's help, Caedmon's Call has honed even further their unique musical style. "As far as style, if we were to compete in the Grammys we would probably be in the 'Contemporary Folk Category," Young says. Together the band and producer have given the band a consistent, unique sound that ranges from the driving acoustic guitar of 'Not The Land,' to the potent harmonies of 'This World' to the Lighter whimsical feel of 'Bus Driver.' Caedmon's Call produces music that just makes you feel good, even when dealing with more melancholy songs like "Close of Autumn.' With over two albums worth of material to choose from, the band decided to include a moving cover version of the Rich Mullins classic that brought them together in the first place,' Hope To Carry On.'
The band has just released a new album, "Forty Acres", which has already garnered a #1 single, 'There You Go'.
WHAT IS CAEDMON'S CALL?
Caedmon's Call takes their unique name from an ancient tale. Caedmon was a man who had no talent for singing. He ran away from occasions when singing was required. Once when he ran away he heard the voice of God telling him to sing. He refused, citing his distinct lack of singing talent. Again the voice told him to sing. And when Caedmon opened his mouth to sing, he sang verses that had never been heard before. Many singers and songwriters came after Caedmon but none could match the songs he wrote because he received them through the grace God.
"Caedmon's Call' is a real story,' says Cliff Young. 'Caedmon lived in the 7th or 8th century. Aaron came up with the name. He was a Literature major as was I, and Danielle was still in high school. The odd thing was we had all heard that story for the first time within that week. It is amazing that we all heard this rather obscure story in the same period of time. We have gone through times when we wanted to change the name. But in playing college venues we realized it was the right kind of name. It's part of the whole draw and interest of the band.'
Caedmon's Call seems to be uniquely popular to college age audiences. In terms of having fit a niche perfectly Cliff Young takes a decidedly different view. 'First of all, we didn't really search for our audience in terms of age. I believe they found us.' Regardless of who found who, Caedmon's Call has developed a high powered synergy with their audience.
Their (already) legion of Fans finds in Caedmon's Call, a group singing about the same things they are experiencing. 'Most of our songs are written in the first person and we are always writing about things that we are going through as people,' states Young. 'Because we are college age and Christians, college age people are attracted to our concerts and our songs. In concert we are talking to our peers about what we are going through.
"AT OUR FIRST COLLEGE CONCERT WE DREW A CROWD OF ABOUT 150.' YOUNG CONTINUES, 'THE CONCERT WAS LITERALLY IN A CLASSROOM. A COLLEGE CROWD, WHICH WE DIDN'T KNOW AT THE TIME, DOESN'T RESPOND A LOT DURING THE SHOW. THIS CROWD SAT AND LISTENED. IN FACT, WE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IF THEY WERE LISTENING. THEY JUST SAT AND STARED AT US. FOR THE ENTIRE SHOW WE WERE ALL THINKING THAT THEY HATED US. WHEN IT WAS ALL OVER THE RESPONSE WAS OVERWHELMING. THEY STAYED, CAME UP TO THE STAGE AND TALKED WITH US ABOUT HOW THE MUSIC HAD TOUCHED THEM.'
ACCEPTING CAEDMON'S CALL
Playing on the campuses of large secular universities such as Duke, Clemson and the University of Texas, Caedmon's Call sings songs that deal with discipleship. 'As far as our lyrics, they tend to be written towards Christians. I think there is a lot of room for it. There isn't a lot of that out there. I would say that 90% of the people who listen to Christian music, buy Christian CDs and go to Christian concerts are Christians. But 90% of the lyrics seem to me to be geared to non-Christians. It's the gospel message over and over again. I think that is why there is a lack of a following with contemporary Christian music on college campuses. Music is very important to these students, but in a different way. They like to be challenged and made to think.'
"WE LIKE TO SEE OURSELVES AS A BAND FULL OF CHRISTIANS." CONTINUES YOUNG. "WE DON'T REALLY BELIEVE IN A SPLIT BETWEEN CHRISTIAN AND MAINSTREAM MUSIC. I THINK THERE ARE CHRISTIANS AND NON-CHRISTIANS AND THE MUSIC THEY WRITE REFLECTS THE KIND OF PEOPLE THEY ARE. AT THE SAME TIME THERE ARE SOME ARTISTS TODAY WHO LIKE TO SAY THAT SO THEY CAN SAY WHAT THEY DO ISN'T A MINISTRY. OUR VIEW IS THAT OUR LIVES ARE OUR MINISTRY. OUR HOPE AND PRAYER IS THAT THE STAGE IS JUST AN EXTENSION OF OUR LIVES."
Discography
Go to Caedmon's Call's website
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