Where Should Catholic Music Go From Here?

[misereremi]

[quote name='abercius24' post='1307962' date='Jul 1 2007, 08:33 PM']Catholic music in the UK? I wasn't aware there was a movement over there. That rocks! You've got to share some details. I thought it was something pretty exclusive to the U.S. By the way, what's your band's name, Misereremi?[/quote]
I am a member of the New Jerusalem Projekt, it's more of a project or "collective" than a band with set members. All the members are into very different genres and have different side projects.... and live in different countries, too.

Oh yes, we have Catholic artists here in Europe, it's just not usually marketed as [i]Catholic [/i]music. There are some youth movements like Youth 2000 that have made some compilations. We've got a lot of Christian hip-hop in the UK. We've got our own styles like grime, 2step, and ragga and jungle etc. which might not be too popular in the US.

[abercius24]

[quote name='misereremi' post='1307684' date='Jul 1 2007, 09:17 AM']Definitely agree. I've been doing a lot of trial-and-error promotion. Myspace and other internet sites have been a good launchpad for our music.

I actually go to a lot of secular (underground) circles to market our stuff- like underground music record stores which showcase homegrown artists, and linked radio shows- int eh virtual and real world. We got a lot of support. We even got support for live shows. I guess this is because many of us are reverts and converts, and for us it comes easier to work with past secular connections.[/quote]

I have heard that myspace is the best way to get started. That website is "a hive of villany and scumware", though. My spyware fiddler goes crazy every time I am there. There is actually a decent network of Catholic musicians on myspace.com.

Anybody have some specific showcase sites they can recommend? Any tips on the best way to present on these sites and myspace.com?

Misereremi, how well are U.S. Catholic artists received in Europe?

[Totus Tuus]

Personally, I love all types of music but the most important in my mind right now is reviving/reprinting old hymnals with beautiful traditional hymns (in all languages, including Latin). Once we get some great liturgical music back into play, then I would love to see more CCM-type music by Catholic artists that could include Catholic theology. I love CCM but it always feels just a bit empty for lack of the fullness of Truth that we have. I think Catholics can definitely praise God with music that is not written or performed by Catholic artists, but for the most part we need Catholic-written music because we're the only ones who can write about things like the Eucharist!

[zealousrap]

I wonder if phatmass should become a member of the CAM for more exposure...

[url="http://www.cammusic.com/membership.html"]http://www.cammusic.com/membership.html[/url]

[thejUiCER]

[quote name='Era Might' post='1306557' date='Jun 30 2007, 01:40 PM']Aftermass never materialized (I don't even know if it's still going to be released).[/quote]

not true... Aftermass Records is really pushing the envelope in Quality Catholic Music.

[url="http://aftermassrecords.com"]www.aftermassrecords.com[/url]


unless you were refering to Massmatics vol. 2 (in that case you are right)

[gurlie4godsd]

Catholic Ska would be lovely....anyone?

[Didymus]

[quote name='gurlie4godsd' post='1310100' date='Jul 2 2007, 09:09 PM']Catholic Ska would be lovely....anyone?[/quote]

that's another thing I've been thinkin, with the reggae thread and all. I haven't really ever heard a good combination of kinda a 'metalska' and so it might sound pretty original. It think the metal sound would come from my own guitar sound as well as some good drumming. But it'd be nice to have other back up intruments, especially a keyboard and maybe some horns. it'd be nice to have an mc as well, to make the reggae sound more complete. Alot of ska rhythms are just fast reggae lines anyways. I'm just thinking out loud kinda, but I think it would sound good and original cuz it's not done very often, or at all... i don't really know.

[Dj 86]

I agree that there should be one board for all the PM artists. There are only so many topics you can post about one artist.

[misereremi]

[quote name='abercius24' post='1308911' date='Jul 2 2007, 05:23 AM']Misereremi, how well are U.S. Catholic artists received in Europe?[/quote]
Father Stan Fortuna was well-received. He performed at Bright Lights. I'm relatively new to Catholic events, but I think that if the artist were big enough (as in well-known), they would be welcome to play one of the big festivals.

[misereremi]

oops double post! Didymus, have you heard of a band called Sublime?

Edited July 3, 2007 by misereremi

[abercius24]

[quote name='gurlie4godsd' post='1310100' date='Jul 2 2007, 09:09 PM']Catholic Ska would be lovely....anyone?[/quote]

We did a little bit of Ska with Oaks of Justice, but we just never recorded any of it. We had a really fun song called Divine Providence -- a musical debate as to whether we should abadone ourselves to God's Divine providence, or coffee. We didn't have a full horn section, though, and we did many other styles, so you could never have considered us a Catholic Ska Band.

There's another topic that comes to mind, though. This is something Oaks of Justice long debated after we interviewed one particular band for a Catholic radio program. Should a band call itself Catholic if it consists of some non-Catholic contract (for-hire) artists? For example, this one particular band consisted of only 2 Catholics -- the leader and lead singer and the trumpet player. Everyone else was a non-Catholic hired employee (the other 4 or 5 members). This particular band billed itself fully as a Catholic band. The lead singer once told me that you can't have a good quality Catholic Band if you only try to hook up with other Catholic artists. It was undeniable that he had good musicians in his group. We were a bit startled, though, when we found out that some of the non-Catholic artists were giving spiritual advice to fans after shows with the fans assuming that they were Catholic role models. A lot of P&W artists will hire musicians to play with them, too, but they usually bill themselves as Catholic, and not the band. This question plays right into the discussion as to what constitutes Catholic music. Anybody have any thoughts on this?

[quote]Father Stan Fortuna was well-received. He performed at Bright Lights. I'm relatively new to Catholic events, but I think that if the artist were big enough (as in well-known), they would be welcome to play one of the big festivals.[/quote]

I wonder if this is something we should begin to focus on: a global network. If we hook up our U.S. and European networks, we should at least increase CD sales, if not open up more "large" performance oppportunities for both. I know the idea may be way too mature for us right now, but its something we can start to discuss and plan.

[quote]I wonder if phatmass should become a member of the CAM for more exposure...

[url="http://www.cammusic.com/membership.html"]http://www.cammusic.com/membership.html[/url][/quote]

It might be a good idea for each individual Catholic group to consider joining a number of these associations. We can't silo ourselves into one smaller network and not suffer communication/organizational problems. The more heads that are in the mix, the more room ideas are given to flow. Thanks for the general recommendation, zealousrap. We might want to suggest phatmass's membership to Dust directly.

[quote]I think Catholics can definitely praise God with music that is not written or performed by Catholic artists, but for the most part we need Catholic-written music because we're the only ones who can write about things like the Eucharist![/quote]

This is an excellent point.

Edited July 3, 2007 by abercius24

[misereremi]

[quote name='abercius24' post='1310755' date='Jul 3 2007, 02:04 PM']I wonder if this is something we should begin to focus on: a global network. If we hook up our U.S. and European networks, we should at least increase CD sales, if not open up more "large" performance oppportunities for both. I know the idea may be way too mature for us right now, but its something we can start to discuss and plan.[/quote]
Yes. You might want to check out XT3.com ...I think that's the UK Catholic culture link. I haven't looked into it much yet. But it features bands like Raindown and Crossbeam that are popular in these circles.

[abercius24]

[quote name='misereremi' post='1311192' date='Jul 3 2007, 02:40 PM']Yes. You might want to check out XT3.com ...I think that's the UK Catholic culture link. I haven't looked into it much yet. But it features bands like Raindown and Crossbeam that are popular in these circles.[/quote]

Raindown is a good group. I hear them on CM247 once it a while. They remind me of The Smith's back in the 80's. Very authentic, European sound.

[gurlie4godsd]

[quote name='Didymus' post='1310108' date='Jul 2 2007, 07:19 PM']that's another thing I've been thinkin, with the reggae thread and all. I haven't really ever heard a good combination of kinda a 'metalska' and so it might sound pretty original. It think the metal sound would come from my own guitar sound as well as some good drumming. But it'd be nice to have other back up intruments, especially a keyboard and maybe some horns. it'd be nice to have an mc as well, to make the reggae sound more complete. Alot of ska rhythms are just fast reggae lines anyways. I'm just thinking out loud kinda, but I think it would sound good and original cuz it's not done very often, or at all... i don't really know.[/quote]

exactly why I brought it up

[abercius24]

I know its still early to draw conclusions from the polls (cause you need at least 30 responses before they are statistically viable), but the responses are somewhat expected and somewhat surprising. There are a lot of other votes in the "move away" section (which tells me I didn't make as good choices there as I should have). Any further explanations as to what consistutes "other" in that poll?