Shane & Shane in concert at HLG Aug. 31
By Brandy Campbell
HLG Public Relations
August 23, 2005
Hannibal—Tickets will go on sale Aug. 15 for Christian artists Shane Barnard and Shane Everett in concert at the Parker Theatre on Aug. 31, at 7 p.m. Monk and Neagle will open for headliners Shane & Shane. The concert, co-hosted by Hannibal-LaGrange College and WGCA Radio in Quincy, is part of HLG’s Welcome Week activities. Tickets are $10 and are available at the Student Development Office. For more information, call 573-221-3675, ext. 231 or 315. Seating is limited.
Keeping worship music fresh isn’t an easy feat these days. Shane & Shane have successfully put a new face on worship with their last three records, tours dotted with sold-out shows, and now a new record, Clean. Rather than following trends or repeating what’s already been done, the Shanes have kicked their impassioned blend of acoustic rock and pop-laced-worship up a level with their new release, recorded entirely in the duo’s new studio in Duncanville, Texas.
Clean is the latest in a string of ‘surprise’ hit records from long-time indie faves-turned-hot-selling Christian music stalwarts, whose two most recent projects, 2003’s Carry Away and this year’s fan project, Upstairs, were met with Top 10 sales debuts. The duo, known for their dueling acoustic guitars and searing harmonies, tasted radio success last year with the impassioned Be Near andMercy Reigns.
“We sort of struggled with the title,” says Shane Barnard, “but we ended up with a majority of the songs that had to do with grace.” Those songs describe “the fight of not feeling clean, the fight of what we feel like we look like to God, versus the truth of how He really sees us,” he says.
The duo chose to give a facelift to Twila Paris’ He Is Exalted, a song which proves a fresh take on a now-classic song. Barnard says that’s a song “I’ve played every single week of my Christian existence. Over like 14 years? That’s a lot of weeks . . .” The pair has often closed its concerts with the song, which they say reaches across generational lines. “It’s a very uniting song,” says Barnard.
The process of making the record might also be described as ‘unfolding layers,’ as the Shanes and their band, including drummer/producer Will Hunt (aka, electronica artist apt.core) carefully crafted these songs one by one at the duo’s new headquarters and studio. Though more polished than previous releases, it still retains their indie spirit and includes fan-favorite Yearn and the praise chorus None Like You.
Says Everett, “We did this record a little differently. We recorded songs one at a time – drums, bass, everything – having the whole team there for the whole experience” as opposed to having a session player come in and play drums for the whole record in a day or two, followed by other players each contributing separately. “It really helped in the development of the songs,” he says. “It’s a great process. We’ll probably never do it any other way again.”
The release of Clean promises both to appeal to their college and young professional fan base and reach further into the soccer mom audience that Christian radio targets.
Fans can expect a blend of old and new favorites cast in a worshipful setting typical of Shane & Shane shows.
“We don’t sing songs because they’re old or new,” says Barnard. “We latch onto songs that are true, that are singable.” Concludes Everett, “No matter how we feel, the truths are absolute. When I sing a wrong note, it’s distracting, but it doesn’t change the truth of the message. We’re called to do this. We’re called to proclaim the greatness of God.”