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Bringing back songwriters, not just performers

Can a concert tour be born out of frustration?

Steve Green uses the word, then nearly takes it back.

"I don't know if it's the right word, but we're longing not to lose a genre of music," says Green, joining with three other veterans of Christian contemporary music -- Twila Paris, Michael Card and Wayne Watson -- in what they call the Christian Classic Tour.

"Our culture -- even our churches -- are chasing after all things young," Green says in a recent phone interview. "Some churches sing all choruses. Some young people think hymns are all dead music.

"There’s a difference between a man-made artist and someone who has grown through a long period of learning and testing his gifts in the church."

This Friday, May 20, South Florida will be the middle stop of their brief tour. After singing at Sheridan Hills Baptist Church in Hollywood, they’ll go to Richardson, Texas, then Hixson, Tenn.

The four singers are part of what might be called the Christian version of adult contemporary music: sporting some modern licks, but in service to more mature messages. They’ve also gained from life experience: all began in the 1980s.

Paris enjoys simply singing hymns at a piano, although she has written rousing numbers like "God is in Control."

Card leans more toward teaching music, his two dozen albums matched by his 19-plus books. He also has taught during Christian conferences at places like Glen Eyrie in Colorado Springs.
Watson is best known for smooth pop music, while strumming guitar. However, he did take part in the complex a cappella "Evening in December" albums of the 1980s.

Green calls his style a pop-opera sound like Josh Groban, with energetic orchestral backgrounds. He has won four Grammy nominations and seven Dove awards.

"A lot of rich music came out of the 1980s and '90s," Green says. "And the audience didn’t disappear. They just didn’t have the opportunity to hear."

Why not? Commercialization, in Green's view. The first Christian musicians wrote from their own experiences and performed in the proving ground of churches. But once the record companies got bigger, they looked for shortcuts.

"The genre became more performance based," Green says. "It was almost like you could make an artist, someone who looked good and had talent."

Some of the artists drifted away as well. Paris cut her performance schedule in order to raise a family; Watson worked some years as a church music director in Houston. Some remained active, however; Green still does 65-70 dates a year. Besides the United States, he will sing this year in Cuba, Paraguay, the Philippines and the Dominican Republic, and do a recording session in Prague.

Green thinks the time is ripe for a comeback of the old tried 'n' true approach. He notes that the record companies have dwindled. Meanwhile, church-based singers are doing indie projects, posting their work on sites like MySpace and Facebook.

He doesn’t deny there’s a certain measure of nostalgia appeal for the Christian Classic Tour, but says it's more than that.

"There’s a collective wisdom an experience. You can sit back and get washed over with some great music, good theology, fresh encouragement."

If you go

Event: Christian Classic Tour
Featuring: Veteran Christian singers Michael Card, Steve Green, Twila Paris, Wayne Watson
When: 7 p.m. Friday, May 20
Where: Sheridan Hills Baptist Church, 3751 Sheridan St., Hollywood
Tickets: $20-$45
Information: 954-961-4250, or

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