Creationfest 2000

Thursday at Creationfest 2000

Here's some of the artists that we were able to sit in on press conferences and shows we caught on Thursday:

Mark Robertson, of This Train	Relient K	Will, from Audio Adrenaline
Raze	Five O'clock People	Delirious

Click on cameras for band pictures, band names to jump down page and then you can always click "return" or "back" on your browser to return here.

Water, lots and lots of water was needed as it was another warm one this year. Possibly not as hot as last year but still a warm one. The message was the same from the stage, be sure to drink lots of water. Not much shade was to be found. And bands, bands, bands, to many stages, to many decisions who to see when but it was fun and learned alot.

I got to camp with the Lehmans, Greg was there to take pictures for WAY and it was fun being with his family.

People everywhere, looked like a good crowd, unofficially, the official guess is probably like 20,000.

The Katinas started things off with worship as they did quite a number of times thoughout Creationfest 2000. They are great worship leaders, setting the tone for Creationfest 2000.

Regular concerts started out Thursday morning with This Train, Mark Robertson from This Train (also with Ragamuffins). This Train did a great job starting things off at Creationfest on stage. Mark was jamming on stage. Oh, did I say he was playing an upright bass? It was amazing three guys could put out so much music. And after the show we got to chat with him a little. Mark shared a lot, spoke about how Rich Mullins characterized their music as "hillbilly punk music". He also talked about "celebrity-ism" and how they did not want to be "professional Christians". He stressed about being grounded through church and friends. When asked where the band was headed, Mark responded, "North, I guess" but that they never had a real "direction" or overall plan. They are "common folk" like the rest of the people. He talked about the band helping to continue the ministry to Native Americans that Rich Mullins had started. Some of Mark's comments were a bit stinging but true, "White America has lost the right to evangelize Native Americans because they have neglected them to long". Their hope is to train Native Americans to witness to other Native Americans. One last comment was that people need to "lose oneself in church, not find oneself". He also said the band had moved to Nashville, it was like older people moving to Florida, if you are in the Christian Music scene, you have to move to Nashville.

Five O'clock People was the next show to catch, they reminded me of Jars Of Clay a little, lots of acoustic. I hadn't been familiar with them but was impressed and liked what we heard. Another band with an upright bass player, and the young lady playing it did a great job. Five O'Clocl also played the Acoustic Cafe late in the evening. Acoustic Cafe, for those who might not know was late at night and ran from about 11:45PM till about 1AM. It was nice for us night owls. They (Five O'clock) toned it down a bit for the evening show but was very good. A band we will have to listen to more.

Raze, after Five O'clock was a band that was in the northwest not that long ago, a band that could probably generate their own heat. Even though it was hot out by 2PM Raze took the stage and just danced up a storm (without the rain). Some in the crowd near me was not familiar with them and was asking about them before they started and I replied just to watch and hang on. They were all over the stage and put on a great show despite the heat. They did most of their hits. The people that I had been talking to liked them and said they were going to have to check their album out.

Relient K played on the fringe stage at the same time so it was hard to decide what to see. We did get in on the Relient K's press meet. These guys were very personable. Matt was asked about the group's name and said in school, he drove a Relient K car and some of the kids would be mean and call him "Relient" and so hence the group's name "Relient K". They said they were from Canton area and I jumped a bit. Matt noticed and asked if I was from Canton and I said North Canton and he said where he was from was actually part of North Canton (Jackson Township). We got into the old football rivalries since intercity football is huge back there. The band spoke about being 19 and not the best preachers but they want to be there to support and serve the church. They met at church youth groups and events. They talked about their music being like a "slow punk" in a unique genre. They talked about how supportive their families were in their music and ministry.

Our next event to make was Audio Adrenaline's press conference, Will was the only one to show but that was fine. Will talked about how their music seemed to reach across a wide range of age groups and hoped their music reflected biblical truth and that may be why it reached so many. Was asked about Bob Herdman, Will replied he is still an active part of Audio Adrenaline but more as a writer and taking care of Flicker Records, the band's new label. Asked about influences, listed grandparent, youth group leadership and of course the boys in the band. Also asked about accountability and staying on track, Audio Adrenaline has a road pastor that meets with them and prays with them each day on the road. The show that night was good. They had Riley Armstrong filling in on guitar, keyboard, and music machine (some things Bob use to do). Though Riley didn't sing solo (which would have been a good show too) he added a lot to the show. Did a lot of the favorites and of course had to do "Big House", the crowd still gets into that song, lots of sing-a-longs.

Delirious wrapped up Thursday night. But before the show, another band we got to sit in on a meet with them. Martin did most of the talking but others shared too. The band talked about how "prophetic music comes from a link with the church". There was talk their new release coming in October called "Glo". They said the album rocked but was orientated more towards worship. Asked about the progression in the albums released so far and their reply was, "yes, there is a progression and the albums are different but they all have same passion, vision, and goals". Their desire is to be abandoned in their worship. They also want to take their message outside the church but they stressed they were not saying they were leaving the church but want to reach outside it. That night, Delirious led Creationfest in worship, it wasn't a "show" but a service. They led the "congregation", all 18-20,000 of them in singing. They did a song called "My Glorious" off the new album, looking forward to it's release! For those who might not have been to the Gorge Amphitheater, it's a huge amphitheater carved into the walls of a gorge of the Columbia River. When Martin asked the crowd to sing, it was overwhelming as it was huge. You could hear parts in the crowd, what a choir. I love it when the the bands get the crowd involved. They want the attention off them and on what's going on, praise and worship.

As earlier stated, Five O'clock People wrapped things up at the Acoustic Cafe. Nice ending to a very good day. Donuts available but no coffee.

On to Friday...where's my water bottle?