TERRE HAUTE —
As a guitarist, my old band’s highest profile gig was staged on a flatbed trailer at a small-town festival.
The organizers made us stop every 20 minutes — sometimes in mid-song — so people could hear a guy selling “the elixir of life” from a nearby stagecoach.
Humbling. Very humbling.
Thus, I can’t imagine winning a Grammy Award, let alone four Grammys. That’s how many Third Day has accumulated, so far, in 18 years together. That tally leads an impressive influx of Grammy winners to the Wabash Valley in the latter half of 2010. (Faith rockers Jars of Clay, who played last month at the Martinsville Agricultural Fair, have three Grammys, while country-folk singer Kathy Mattea, who’ll perform Nov. 13 at Rose-Hulman’s Hatfield Hall, has won two.)
Third Day plays a 7 p.m. concert Friday in Maryland Community Church on Terre Haute’s south side. Like Jars of Clay and Mattea, Third Day represents an impressive catch for the Valley. Their genre is Christian rock, but their reputation crosses those well-defined lines drawn by the music industry. One of their earliest singles, “Nothing At All,” hit the Billboard Top 40. Former “American Idol” contestant Chris Daughtry sang on one of their hits. They’ve appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and the “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” and were featured on “60 Minutes.”
Eight of their albums turned gold. Two reached platinum status. They’re in the Georgia Music Hall of Fame alongside the B-52’s, R.E.M., the Allman Brothers, Ray Charles, Curtis Mayfield and Chet Atkins.
These guys are legit.
Unfortunately, people who’ve never ventured onto a faith-based radio station have never heard the strong musical chops possessed by Third Day, a band formed in Marietta, Ga., and heavily influenced by Lynyrd Skynyrd’s playing style.
“I think [the faith label] holds a lot of people back,” Third Day bassist Tai Anderson said by telephone Wednesday. “I think if people would listen to the bands — Third Day and others — they’d find out they like it.”
Some people don’t even know the genre exists, Anderson added.
“The majority of Americans aren’t aware there is a Christian [rock] music,” he said, “and if they do, they really couldn’t name a band. So there’s room for growth.”
He’s right. If mainstream rock fans spin their car radio to WBGL-FM 88.5, they might be surprised by the caliber of the artists and the catchiness and delivery of their songs. Third Day — comprised of Anderson, lead singer and songwriter Mac Powell, guitarist Mark Lee and drummer David Carr — cranked out a tune, “This Is Who I Am,” that earned a spot on the PlayStation game “NASCAR ’09.”
One ingredient of their success is that they’re friends. As Anderson spoke by phone, his five kids could be heard playing with Carr’s two children. They hang out with each other away from their gigs. Carr and Anderson have been buds since they were 11-year-olds. They’re wives are friends, too. They’re fellow bandmates, Powell and Lee, formed Third Day in a Marietta church in 1992.
That’s a stark contrast from the iconic, briefly reunited rock band, The Police, Anderson recently watched in concert.
“I don’t want to call them out,” he said, chuckling, “but I saw them on stage and said, ‘They’re not even looking at each other.’ And you know they’re traveling in separate jets and buses. That’s not a band.”
Which is not to say these four guys don’t disagree. Earlier this summer, they had “a passionate discussion,” Anderson quipped, about altering the arrangement of one of their most popular songs, “Blackbird.” But, because all four guys know the others care about the end result, those disagreements “are safe,” he said.
That end result is the second ingredient of their success — the message. Powell’s lyrics are direct yet conversational, and not heavy-handed. It’s subtle, but not shy. Though some mainstream artists avoid the Christian rock label, “because they don’t want to limit their audience,” as Anderson explained, Third Day embraces it. And they did so from the beginning, in that Georgia church.
“We thought we invented [Christian rock],” Anderson said, with a laugh, “like we said, ‘We’ll be a rock band, and we’ll sing about our faith.’”
Soon, they discovered they weren’t alone. The genre, though, lacked an innovative edge in the 1990s. The Christian bands’ sound trailed about 10 years behind those on the open charts. With Third Day and others in the mix, that changed. “Now, I think, that’s not the case,” Anderson said. “I think now it’s a relevant medium.”
Third Day added the Terre Haute performance to fill time between shows near St. Louis and in Michigan. The setting, in the Maryland church’s main hall, offers an intimacy they often can’t get in outdoor events or arenas. It also might be an accessible, affordable opportunity to connect with someone unfamiliar with their sound, or their beliefs.
“I know there are a lot of people who might not be Christians,” Anderson said, “but wherever they are, I think, Third Day can be a bridge for them, and might get them to start thinking about faith.”
Mark Bennett can be reached at (812) 231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com.
Mark Bennett B-Sides
MARK BENNETT: Impressive influx of Grammy winners playing the Valley
- Mark Bennett B-Sides
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MARK BENNETT: Proposed trail would give river development momentum, reacquaint community with Wabash
Terre Haute and the Wabash River were like strangers living next door to each other.
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MARK BENNETT: Super Bowl luck? His is mostly bad
I’ve learned to take a Seinfeld approach to Super Bowls.
In a flash of clairvoyance, Jerry excitedly reminded buddy George Costanza that “if every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right.” -
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MARK BENNETT: A reminder for electorate: You get what you vote for
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For many Hoosiers, the date Nov. 2, 2010, probably fits that category. -
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Steve Witt fielded a jarring phone call in October 2007.
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A logjam of kids swelled behind the first-base dugout in Riverfront Stadium.
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Sentimentality seems alien in a discussion of Bill Polian.
That emotion rarely influenced his decisions in 14 seasons as the day-to-day boss of the Indianapolis Colts. He surely felt it, but seldom submitted to it. The NFL is a business, after all, with winning as its bottom line. Polian knew how to make that happen, and did. Anyone or anything threatening to divert the Colts from title contention could not linger. When it came to that mission, Polian functioned with all of the sentimentality of Joe Friday. -
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It’s hard to emulate JFK — this JFK, at least.
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MARK BENNETT: Rose professor’s bit part in classic holiday movie leaves a major memory
Most of us see a bit of ourselves in “A Christmas Story.” Mike Kukral does so, literally. The 1983 movie grew into a holiday classic because so many of its poignant, awkward and hilarious moments seem to have been pulled straight from our childhood memories.
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MARK BENNETT: Ferrell’s love of Old Milwaukee shines light on Old Terre Haute
Will Ferrell didn’t walk through traffic at Seventh and Wabash for nothing.
Well, actually it might have been for nothing. Apparently, the comedian just likes Old Milwaukee so much that he came to Terre Haute, unannounced, one morning last September to film wacky commercials for the beer. -
MARK BENNETT: Holiday season makes going to the mailbox fun again
Ants decided to set up a colony in our family’s mailbox last summer.
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The town should blush.
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MARK BENNETT: When it comes to retail, Thursday is the new Friday
The new Thanksgiving dinner tradition?
Turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie served at a family tailgating party in a big-box store parking lot on Black Thursday. -
MARK BENNETT: 'The Way We Worked' exhibit explains how work became a cornerstone of Americana
Young steelworkers, like Robert Bruno’s dad, often took dates to the railroad yards, watching train cars rumble past in blue-collar Youngstown, Ohio.
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MARK BENNETT: He told tales of great-uncle Mortecai Brown, but Fred Massey's story is worth hearing
Fred Massey loved to talk about his family.
His wife and daughters, his parents, his brothers and sisters. And, his great-uncle, Mort. Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown, that is, the Hall of Fame pitcher who led the Chicago Cubs to their last World Series title in 1908 with an amazing curveball and without an index finger. -
MARK BENNETT: Guess where the newest THPD headquarters is?
The city election involved lots of debate over a new headquarters for the Terre Haute Police Department.
But is Raleigh, N.C., really a fitting location? The 750-mile commute for the cops would be dreadful.
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MARK BENNETT: Mayor’s progressive vision today has ties to leader long ago
Going backward rarely works as a leadership strategy.
Political groups often insist they’re primed to “take back America.” While their intent is to reclaim lost turf, the ultimate goal is to go backward — to a different time. Life isn’t “Back to the Future” or any other movie, though. The best policy for worthwhile living is to do things right today that make tomorrow better. -
MARK BENNETT: ‘It’s giving with care, and without judgment’
Let’s avoid the P-word today.
Just for some clarity, we’ll offer its dictionary definition: “The state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor.” -
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Once in a lifetime. The phrase gets uttered often. Sometimes, it’s an assumption, as in traveling to Europe or getting tickets to see the Cubs play in the World Series. Occasionally, it’s definite.
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MARK BENNETT: Year of the River inspiring new ideas
The Wabash River inspired the state song. That’s impressive.
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MARK BENNETT: The significance of writing: T-S columnist Mike Lunsford pens third book
Our nerves buzz with anxiety for different reasons.
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For three summers, I had the good fortune to watch and listen to Tony Dungy day after day.
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MARK BENNETT: Could a new champion for public schools be emerging?
Deep down, millions of Hoosiers would wear the label “advocate for public schools.”
Yes, many have their complaints, criticisms and a few “you-know-what-they-really-need-is” suggestions. But, in their heart of hearts, they want to see their alma maters and hometown public schools succeed and progress. -
MARK BENNETT: In Prairieton, renovation gives new life to old park
There wasn’t much leg room in that Radio Flyer wagon.
Our sons — two years apart but squashed together inside its fading wooden rails — always fidgeted until the black wheels started rumbling over the uneven WPA-era sidewalks running through Prairieton. -
Rekindling a dream on the river
Mark Twain probably would grin at the sight of John Cornell, Jim Foster, Dan Remaly and their raft.
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MARK BENNETT: Just another Terre Haute celebrity sighting
At some point, this stuff becomes routine.
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MARK BENNETT: Everyone has a role in this American story (see VIDEO)
We stood atop a hill in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, and I do mean rural. Cars, trucks, SUVs and RVs kept pulling into the parking area. Groups of people climbed out of their vehicles and into the suffocating July heat. Then, they too stood on the hilltop, staring down at a grassy clearing in front of a woods.
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MARK BENNETT: It’s time for us to rekindle our volunteer spirit
Hoosiers exhibit generosity.
Terre Hauteans, in particular, displayed that virtue after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the local flooding in 2008. They donated blood, money, food, clothes and — most significantly — their own sweat and time. -
MARK BENNETT: What would Debs think?
Pretend it’s the year 2111.
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