Where Should Catholic Music Go From Here?

[Didymus]

i'd second that

[abercius24]

[quote name='the jUiCER' post='1335820' date='Jul 20 2007, 06:02 PM']well i dunno how statitcally viable i would count it i mean yea techno had 11 votes but other weren't far behind there were 6 votes for Rap and Rock... thats only a 5 person difference.

If there was a way for a mass of people to take this survey something like 10-20k then that would really be good. 30 people is pretty insignificant. It would be great to have this survey at NCYC or just posted on other websites, forums, myspaces, etc. to really get an idea of what the population likes/dislikes.

I think "surveymonkey" has some sort of free online survey to setup.

maybe spirit juice should set that up???[/quote]

Go for it! I'm pretty good with statistics from my Management Systems studies in college, so I'd be willing to tailor the poll as you need. Just to let you know, 30 people is the minimum you must have for a viable statistical analysis (check your t-test charts). It has almost a 95% accuracy rate. True accuracy really depends on the way the questions and multiple choice answers are formulated -- how bias and leading are avoided as much as possible in the design and administration of the poll. I would not say this poll has a 95% representation of the musical tastes of all Catholics. I would say, though, that this poll is a 95% representation of those who are interested in the future of Catholic music on Phatmass, which is an important subset of the greater population. (Statistical lecture over.)

Spirit Juice would be an excellent medium to get the pulse of a larger population. I'm excited that you are interested in doing it. Right on!

Edited July 21, 2007 by abercius24

[Custos Morum]

I haven't read all the posts but I'm just going to tell you my thoughts on this interesting topic..

First of all the music that Catholics produce should be for the greater glory of God and with the ends of spreading his message to try to reach people's hearts and ease them towards God and not for our own profit - that comes if God wants it.

I think it's a mistake to only cater to 'our own' which generally happens.. I think a lot of times when catholic/christian music is presented to people of other faiths or even more to atheists or people who deny God it's usually rejected straight away as 'cheesy' and people are sometimes put off straight away and don't even consider it.
I think Catholic music should have a much wider means of reaching people and should be directed primarily to non-catholics as a means of evengelising, but to do this we have to be careful not to be too 'in your face' about the content and try to understand where people are coming from and cater to what they're searching for deep down.

We need to sometimes be more subtle about the lyrical content and at the same time be up to date musically, so we can be part of both mainstream and underground non-catholic music. Everyone is looking for meaning in life, for consolation and love whether they realise it or not.. we need to try and penetrate people and speak to them in a language they can understand - if we start singing 'Praise be the Lord Jesus' (I'm not saying we shouldn't) or start going off on deep theological matters it's generally hard for people to understand what the heck we're talking about and they can't relate.. we need to spark interest in them by making them question certain things like the meaning of each person's life, of humanity's existence, where we come from, where we're gonna go when we die, and obviously about God the creator of all things..

So I think, we should really think about this and try to reach people out there, after all Jesus came to heal the sick not the healthy.. We should as much as possible try to get with the whole band wagon, catch that train, whatever.. It's not 'if you can't beat 'em join 'em', it's join them to win them.. So ya, any means of promoting catholic music is and can only be good - myspace and everything else.. God can do anything, he can even bring good out of evil - so we shouldn't limit ourselves to purist catholic sites, etc.

Genres don't matter, everything for the Glory Of God!! But as much as possible we catholics need to collaborate as a family of God.. If there's pride, we'll get nowhere - it's not about us as individuals, it's about God (without Him we couldn't even breath, let alone make good music) So ya, we need to kill pride and work together who says a good rock guitarist can't make a good hiphop riff?

Peace and Love.

[Era Might]

[quote name='Custos Morum' post='1336199' date='Jul 21 2007, 12:27 AM']I think Catholic music should have a much wider means of reaching people and should be directed primarily to non-catholics as a means of evengelising, but to do this we have to be careful not to be too 'in your face' about the content and try to understand where people are coming from and cater to what they're searching for deep down.[/quote]
Personally, I think this is exactly what Catholic music should [i]not[/i] be. If we are going to call something Catholic, then I think it should be what it says it is. I think we need music that is [i]for us[/i], and I don't think Catholic music in general will appeal to non-Catholics. It doesn't have to, because the main purpose is to build up Catholics.

If an artist is Catholic, they don't necessarily have to make "Catholic" music, or what I call "catechetical" music. If they have a wider audience in mind and a more subtle approach, that's great and we need those kinds of artists, but I don't think they should market their music as Catholic music just because they are Catholic. It might seem like they are leeching off the name of the Church to gain fans. I think Catholics will support their own if they know that they are truly Catholic, even if they aren't making music specifically for Catholics (and if the music is good).

This isn't only true about music, we see the same differences in film and literature. Someone might make a movie about a Saint and someone might make a movie that is not about Catholicism specifically, but they bring their Catholic perspective through the story (like Lord of the Rings). Both are legitimate, but they will have different audiences and different purposes.

[Custos Morum]

[quote name='Era Might' post='1336528' date='Jul 21 2007, 06:35 PM']Personally, I think this is exactly what Catholic music should [i]not[/i] be. If we are going to call something Catholic, then I think it should be what it says it is. I think we need music that is [i]for us[/i], and I don't think Catholic music in general will appeal to non-Catholics. It doesn't have to, because the main purpose is to build up Catholics.[/quote]

Ok, I see where you're coming from and I agree.. maybe I didn't express myself well enough.. If the music is to be categorised as Catholic, then it should remain as such and cater for Catholics.. And I also agree that if an artist is Catholic, he shouldn't necessarily label his music/art as Catholic especially if he wants to cater for non-catholics.. But I do think that the main purpose and calling of Catholics as artists is to try and get the catholic message (which is generally propagation of good morals and values and love through God) out to non-catholics in a more understandable way. We need positive music out there as opposed to all the usless and meaningless mainstream stuff that's just brainwashing people into emptiness.

[abercius24]

[quote name='Custos Morum' post='1336564' date='Jul 21 2007, 01:51 PM']Ok, I see where you're coming from and I agree.. maybe I didn't express myself well enough.. If the music is to be categorised as Catholic, then it should remain as such and cater for Catholics.. And I also agree that if an artist is Catholic, he shouldn't necessarily label his music/art as Catholic especially if he wants to cater for non-catholics.. But I do think that the main purpose and calling of Catholics as artists is to try and get the catholic message (which is generally propagation of good morals and values and love through God) out to non-catholics in a more understandable way. We need positive music out there as opposed to all the usless and meaningless mainstream stuff that's just brainwashing people into emptiness.[/quote]

My buddy, Jerry (head of Faithful Artists Productions in SoCal) did some research for a report on the influence of satanism and the occult in modern rock and rap music. I was quite shocked to hear how many Hollywood producers are directly involved in satanic and occultic circles. They are also pretty blatant about their agendas to promote sexual promiscuity and violent behaviors in others. They think its funny how easy people can be manipulated. If Satanism plays hard at influencing people through music, I would think we Catholics have a calling to produce an effective counterattack.

[RobeofJustice]

[quote name='abercius24' post='1340826' date='Jul 25 2007, 06:25 PM']My buddy, Jerry (head of Faithful Artists Productions in SoCal) did some research for a report on the influence of satanism and the occult in modern rock and rap music. I was quite shocked to hear how many Hollywood producers are directly involved in satanic and occultic circles. They are also pretty blatant about their agendas to promote sexual promiscuity and violent behaviors in others. They think its funny how easy people can be manipulated. If Satanism plays hard at influencing people through music, I would think we Catholics have a calling to produce an effective counterattack.[/quote]
What's up Agony Rose? Glad to be on board. Thanks to Steve S. for staring this subject.

Yes, this is Spiritual Warfare. We are fightin against principalities and powers in "high" places. We need to put on the armor of God and pray, meditate on God's WORD, get into the box and make good confessions, do penance, make sacrifices, receive JESUS CHRIST into our hearts, minds, bodies and souls in and thru the MOST Blessed Sacrament. Then when we go out to Rap, Chant or Rock He will bless our works and multiply His Harvest.

Where should Catholic Music go from here? Artists, fans, promoter, supporters, sideliners... Do we pray enough?
Do we bath in God's WORD? Do we humble ourselves? Do we frequest the Holy sacraments? Do we seek good, solid Spiritual Direction? Are we focused? Are we commited? Would we die for the cause of CHRIST?

[abercius24]

[quote name='RobeofJustice' post='1341200' date='Jul 26 2007, 05:15 AM']What's up Agony Rose? Glad to be on board. Thanks to Steve S. for staring this subject.

Yes, this is Spiritual Warfare. We are fightin against principalities and powers in "high" places. We need to put on the armor of God and pray, meditate on God's WORD, get into the box and make good confessions, do penance, make sacrifices, receive JESUS CHRIST into our hearts, minds, bodies and souls in and thru the MOST Blessed Sacrament. Then when we go out to Rap, Chant or Rock He will bless our works and multiply His Harvest.

Where should Catholic Music go from here? Artists, fans, promoter, supporters, sideliners... Do we pray enough?
Do we bath in God's WORD? Do we humble ourselves? Do we frequest the Holy sacraments? Do we seek good, solid Spiritual Direction? Are we focused? Are we commited? Would we die for the cause of CHRIST?[/quote]

Rob has a good point here. If there is anything in today's society that I've noticed, its that audiences are tired of fakers. They want people who are raw and real. They've seen the fakers and they can smell them a mile away. Being Catholic is tough. If we aren't the real deal, our audiences are gonna smoke us out quick. We need to be real Catholics, which means we need to be right there with Jesus everyday on and off stage. We live a real life of holiness like our former Pope John Paul II, we're gonna get the same respect the world gave to him. And real is more than being a fake saint like some people try to be. Sainthood takes hard work, pain and perseverence. And when you're there doing that work, you don't have to show it to people, they can see it the moment they see you. They can see Christ in you because you're living the life of Christ! You don't need to parade, you just need to be it.

Edited July 27, 2007 by abercius24

[melporcristo]

[quote name='abercius24' post='1333059' date='Jul 17 2007, 07:16 PM']Any particular strategies you witnessed from Steubenville that you can share?[/quote]

Networking, keeping their eyes out for diversity, and more networking. Who knows who, which alumni works where.
There are so many alumni all over the continent that the youth conference office can get ahold of almost any Catholic artist through who they know.

Edited July 28, 2007 by melporcristo

[abercius24]

[quote name='melporcristo' post='1343146' date='Jul 28 2007, 04:59 PM']Networking, keeping their eyes out for diversity, and more networking. Who knows who, which alumni works where.
There are so many alumni all over the continent that the youth conference office can get ahold of almost any Catholic artist through who they know.[/quote]

Very interesting. How do they convince everybody to work together within that network? Is it mostly loyalty to the University?

Edited July 28, 2007 by abercius24

[abercius24]

Okay, here's another topic we can all pitch in on. What advice would you give to a brand, spankin' new Catholic Band who is just starting out? What kind of gigs should they look for? Who should they hook up and network with? What traps are they likely to fall into? How should they get their music recorded? Where should they get their equipment? What should they avoid on-stage? How should they promote their music? How should they fund the band? What could they do that you wish your band had done at the beginning?

[Guest]

[quote name='abercius24' post='1345010' date='Jul 30 2007, 11:57 PM']Okay, here's another topic we can all pitch in on. What advice would you give to a brand, spankin' new Catholic Band who is just starting out? What kind of gigs should they look for? Who should they hook up and network with? What traps are they likely to fall into? How should they get their music recorded? Where should they get their equipment? What should they avoid on-stage? How should they promote their music? How should they fund the band? What could they do that you wish your band had done at the beginning?[/quote]


need to hear from artist who's actually doing it...............any on here ?? the music should be reaching the sinner.....that means gonig to clubs......going to bars.....wherever the sinners are.......we need catholic labels who would be about that.......

[Didymus]

yeah, we're not gonna get where we need to be if the artists continue only playin for strictly Catholic events and whatnot

[abercius24]

[quote name='Didymus' post='1345187' date='Jul 31 2007, 10:48 AM']yeah, we're not gonna get where we need to be if the artists continue only playin for strictly Catholic events and whatnot[/quote]

So any ideas as to how we get into those secular venues?

[Guest]

by haveing good music......by not being uptight like we just came off of tbn........by realising that God gifted artist out of the catholic music sceene to.........which means.......that when we venture to the world we could possibly be dealing with artist who are gifted by God to......and while they may not hold the full truth.....us performing there...could shed light to them about Christ's Church and its stright demands..............