Jars of Clay | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Greenville, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Labels | |
| Members | Dan Haseltine Stephen Mason Matthew Odmark Charlie Lowell |
| Past members | Matt Bronleewe |
| Website | jarsofclay |
Jars of Clay is a Christianalternative rock band fromNashville, Tennessee. The members met atGreenville College inGreenville, Illinois.[1] They consist ofDan Haseltine on vocals,Charlie Lowell on piano and keyboards,Stephen Mason on lead guitars andMatthew Odmark on rhythm guitars. Although the band has no permanent drummer or bass guitarist, Jeremy Lutito and Gabe Ruschival of Disappointed by Candy fill these roles for live concerts. Past tour band members include Aaron Sands, Scott Savage, and Joe Porter. Jars of Clay's style is a blend ofalternative rock,folk,acoustic, andR&B.
The band's name is derived from theNew International Version's translation of2 Corinthians 4:7:[2][3][4]
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is fromGod and not from us.
This verse is paraphrased in their song "Four Seven", which appears as a hidden track on the CD release of theirself-titled album.
Charlie Lowell andMatt Bronleewe originally met as friends in high school. There, Lowell first learned of 2 Corinthians 4:7, which later became the basis for the band's name.[5]Dan Haseltine,Steve Mason,Charlie Lowell andMatt Bronleewe formed Jars of Clay atGreenville College, inGreenville, Illinois in the early 1990s.[1]Charlie Lowell first metDan Haseltine after noticing that he was wearing aToad the Wet Sprocket shirt. Pursuing a career in music together was not necessarily their original goal; some of the first songs they wrote together were for music and recording classes they were taking at the time.[1] Their second guitaristMatt Odmark joined some time later. While in college playing together at local coffee houses, Jars gained a reputation for their original arrangement of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" which had been adapted to the tune ofNirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit".
In 1994, the band submitted a demo to a talent competition run by theGospel Music Association and were selected as finalists.[1] They traveled toNashville to perform and won the contest.[1] Back in Greenville, they self-released a limited-run of the same demo,Frail, after theirsong of the same name. The buzz from their performance in Nashville and the demo's popularity resulted in offers from record labels, so the band decided to drop school and move to Nashville. At this time, Bronleewe left the band to finish school and settle down with his fiancée. He was replaced withMatt Odmark, Lowell's childhood friend and fellowMcQuaid Jesuit High School alum.
The band signed withEssential Records and started recording their first full-length studio album,Jars of Clay.Adrian Belew, ofprogressive rock bandKing Crimson, heard the band and offered to produce, leading to him producing two songs: "Liquid" and "Flood".[6][7] The band's self-titled debut released in 1995. When the single "Flood" began to climb the charts on mainstream radio stations,Silvertone Records (Essential's parent company) started to heavily promote the song, turning it into one of the biggest mainstream hits ever by a band on a Christian label.[7] The album has since reached multi-platinum certification according to theRIAA.[8] "Flood" peaked at No. 37 on theBillboard Hot 100 and No. 12 on theBillboard Modern Rock chart, and was the band's only secular radio hit.
The band toured in support of other Christian acts, such asPFR, and with mainstream acts likeMatchbox Twenty,Duncan Sheik, andSting. This resulted in a smallbacklash from some Christian groups.[9]
The band releasedDrummer Boy, a Christmas EP entitled, at the end of 1995. The EP was re-released, on Silvertone Records, in 1997 with a slightly different track listing. The band's second album,Much Afraid, produced byStephen Lipson was also released in 1997.[10] The album sold well and like its predecessor, enjoyed crossover success.[11] The album went on to earn aGrammy for "Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album".[12] The album has since earnedplatinum certification by the RIAA.[8] They released two music videos for this album for the songs "Crazy Times" and "Five Candles (You Were There)".
In 1999, Jars of Clay released their third album,If I Left the Zoo, which was produced byDennis Herring.[13] The record was their third to crossover into the mainstream,[11] and it earned the band their second Grammy award.[12] It was during this time that touring drummer Scott Savage left the band's touring group to play forJaci Velasquez and was replaced by Joe Porter. Lead radio single, "Unforgetful You", was also featured on the soundtrack to the motion pictureDrive Me Crazy.[14] "Collide" was also featured on the motion picture "Hometown Legend". Upon the release ofIf I Left the Zoo they also releasedFront Yard Luge and after a yearThe White Elephant Sessions.If I Left the Zoo so far has the most singles released by Jars of Clay.
In 2001, the four members of the band received honorary degrees atGreenville College.[15] Only three of them, Haseltine, Lowell, and Mason, had studied at the school before dropping out in 1994 to move toNashville. Odmark still received an honorary degree, despite having attended the University of Rochester in upstate New York.[16]
In 2002, the band self-produced and released their fourth album,The Eleventh Hour, which earned them aGrammy award for the third album in a row.[12][17] The album relied on studio musicians and the band's touring musicians to fill in for the band's lack of drummer and bass player. Concerts from the subsequent "Eleventh Hour Tour" were recorded for later projects, including the release of a live concert DVD,11Live: Jars of Clay in Concert.
The double-discFurthermore: From the Studio, From the Stage features an acoustic disc and a live disc. The acoustic disc consisted of reworked and rearranged fan favorites, twoThe Eleventh Hourb-sides, and a cover ofAdam Again's "Dig".[18] The latter was actually intended for a tribute album forGene Eugene, who had died recently. The live disc features a recent concert recording that include songs from throughout the band's career.
The band continued the acoustic and organic approach that was featured onFurthermore for their fifth studio album entitledWho We Are Instead, which released on November 4, 2003. On the album, the band revisited various styles they had used previously, as well as experimenting with new influences, such as gospel, hymns, andNickel Creek's "newgrass" style.
In early 2005, the band releasedRedemption Songs, a collection of hymns and traditional songs with new melodies and rearranged the music. "God Will Lift Up Your Head", reworked as an acoustic rocker, was a hit for the band on Christian radio. They also covered five hymns from theIndelible Grace CD series (a series which originated from the work ofReformed University Fellowship).[19]
Their next album,Good Monsters, was released on September 5, 2006 and was labeled by Jars of Clay "their first ever rock record".[20] In the September 2006 edition ofCCM Magazine, the band credited fellow artistAshley Cleveland with inspiring the improvisational sound of the album.[21][22] The magazine called it "the most profound album the Christian music community has released in years".
On September 4, 2007, two albums from the band were released simultaneously. The first was a mainstream release ofLive Monsters, an EP of live concert recordings of songs, originally recorded forGood Monsters and that had been previously released through theiTunes Store and the official Jars of Clay online store. The second release, through Essential/Legacy, was agreatest hits album,The Essential Jars of Clay. On April 1, 2008, Essential Records released the band's third greatest hits album, the second in that year,Greatest Hits. Included was the new song "Love is the Protest".
In March 2007, the band announced at a concert inDes Moines, Iowa, that they were no longer on Essential Records and would now be releasing music independently. Later, press releases announced the name of their label asGray Matters, which would be a partnership withNettwerk Music Group.[23] Along with the announcement of their new label, the band mentioned that they are planning to record the soundtrack toHonoring a Father's Dream: Sons of Lwala, a documentary about Milton and Fred Ochieng' - brothers from the African village training to be doctors in the States, working to build a clinic in their home town.[24] The band's first release through Gray Matters was a full-length Christmas album,Christmas Songs, on October 16, 2007. On July 29, 2008, Gray Matters Records releasedCloser EP exclusively through online digital music stores. It was subsequently released on CD on August 19, 2008 and included reworked versions of "Flood", called "Flood (New Rain)", and "Love Song For a Savior ('08)" from their debut album.
The band's tenth studio album,The Long Fall Back to Earth, was released on April 21, 2009. and contained 14 songs, including "Closer" and "Safe to Land", from theCloser EP, and is influenced by 80s music, specificallyTears for Fears andThe Cure.[25]The Long Fall Back to Earth debuted at No. 29 on theBillboard 200 mainstream charts, which was Jars of Clay's highest debut sinceThe Eleventh Hour which debuted at No. 28 in 2002.[26] The second single off the album is "Heaven".[27] The song "Hero" was featured on a trailer for NBC'sKings.[28]The Long Fall Back to Earth was nominated for the Grammy to the "Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album", though they didn't win in the category.
The Shelter was released October 5, 2010 and features eleven tracks. During their promotion for the album, the band streamed the entire album for a few days before its release on their website. In early 2011 they toured the United States on the Rock And Worship Roadshow headlined byMercyMe.[29] In July 2012, the band traveled toPortland, Oregon, to begin recordingInland atFlora Recording & Playback, a music studio owned and operated byTucker Martine.[30] The new album was released on August 27, 2013 and features twelve tracks.[31] On March 18, 2013, the band released an exclusive track, "Love in Hard Times", that could only be acquired with the purchase of their EPUnder the Weather (Live in Sellersville, PA) directly from their website.[32] On June 17, 2013, the band released a free download of the song "Inland" throughRolling Stone's website.[33] The first single off of the album, "After the Fight", was released on June 18.[34]
The group's activities have been limited in recent years (as of 2022), each band member focusing on individual pursuits, but they continue to release music and perform sporadically. They collaborated with pop groupSHEL, performing a Christmas concert in Nashville that led to a 6-song Christmas-themed EP titledA Family Christmas, which included four original songs.[35] In 2022, they contributed a track toThere's a Rainbow Somewhere, a tribute album toRandy Stonehill.[36]
Lead singer Dan Haseltine visited Africa in 2002, which in turn inspired the founding ofBlood: Water Mission, a non-profit organization created to raise awareness and money for thepoverty andAIDS stricken regions of the continent.[37] The name is derived from, as Haseltine says, "The two things Africa needs most" - clean blood and clean water. The mission has begun the 1000 Wells project, an effort to have a thousand newwells built throughout Africa.[38] In 2012, the organization met their goal of providing clean water to 1,000 African communities through the organization they founded, Blood: Water Mission, and its 1,000 Wells Project.[39] Former Bassist for Jars of Clay Aaron Sands serves as Administrative Director for the project.[40]
In a 2002 interview withNPR'sScott Simon onWeekend Edition Saturday, responding to a question about the relatively subtle religious content of their music, Haseltine said that the band's songs are not meant to explain their faith but are written about their lives, which are affected by their faith. Haseltine explained the decision to "shy away from ... traditional religious language" as a conscious one, in part to make their music more accessible to those "put off by religion" and to "love people in a way that isn't exclusive to simply people that understand the language of Christianity".[41] Haseltine also stated that art can "make people feel what's true rather than telling them".[41]
Current
Former
Current touring musicians
Former touring musicians
Jars of Clay has been nominated for and won several awards, includingGrammy Awards and several other music awards, known as theGMA Dove Awards.[42] Some of these successes have been collaborative efforts, including twoCity on a Hill albums and theinspired collaboration for the 2005 filmThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The group has won fiveBroadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) awards.
In June 2009, Jars of Clay was named as one of PeaceByPeace.com's first peace heroes.[43]
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