Between a new job and a few vacations I won’t be updating the site for a little while. Check out Come&Live! to see if any bands are heading your way this month!

God recently surprised me by providing a job that I initially didn’t get. He wasn’t done this month…

Over Memorial Day weekend my old pal Ross and I met up in central Illinois (a little background: Ross and I met over a decade ago in confirmation class at Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines, Iowa, and have been best buds since). We stayed in Galesburg (known for their rich railroad history), but made a few small road trips out to Nauvoo and Bishop Hill as well.

Ross’ Family Roots in Old Nauvoo

Ross actually has Mormon roots and knew beforehand that relatives had briefly been in Nauvoo back in the 1840s. I on the other hand was just there to take in the sites and learn some history. We visited the Nauvoo records house where visitors can search for their relatives. Ross performed a search, found a few additional relatives that he didn’t know about, and we were about to head out.

A Last-Second Impulse

Out of pure curiosity I decided to quickly jump on the computer. I searched my last name–nope. Search my grandma’s maiden name–nope. Then I tried one last search, my mom’s maiden name, Doble–bingo! [..]

I first learned of Showbread the week they signed with Come&Live! I imagine that I would have heard of them sooner or later, as they have a devoted fan base and, after some dedicated listening, realize they are one of the best Christian hardcore acts out there. These guys are truly blessed, humble and gifted.

“The Fear of God”

After listening to 30-second snippets and tracks from their MySpace page for the past few weeks I finally took the plunge and bought their newest album, “The Fear of God.” One Amazon.com reviewer (Christian Rock OBSESSION) describes the album’s title/message best:

“The theme of this album sticks closely with “the fear of God.” Mainly what Dies wrote about was how those who are not believers view Christians. It must look crazy, right? Believing that nothing on earth matters–only what comes after. Serving others instead of yourself. Believing in something you can’t see. So when Showbread wrote The Fear of God, they wrote about “losing your mind” for God–the truest form of fearing Him.”

What Do They Sound Like?

Showbread’s sound is expansive. There are elements of melodic pop-punk (ala MXPX, Blink 182 in goofier moments), alternative rock (ala Weezer at slower moments), intense hardcore (ala Sick Of It All) and electronica (beats ala Family Force 5). Songs can be intensely moving and serious, other times funny and satirical. [..]