Band history
The band began when David Crowder from Waco, Texas, realized that almost half of the students at Baylor University were not attending church, which he found surprising since it is a Christian university. He and Chris Seay started University Baptist Church in 1995 while he was still a student. Crowder led worship there and continued to do so throughout the year. The church’s congregation grew, as did the band’s lineup.
Crowder began writing songs to incorporate into the worship times at the church and eventually the church released an independent CD, Pour Over Me, followed by All I Can Say in 1999. These CDs brought the band to a wider audience and invitations to festivals and events followed. The band was signed to sixstepsrecords/Sparrow Records and has released six more albums to date (see discography). The band tours the United States continuously, but make it back to their home church in Waco, Texas, almost every Sunday. Kyle Lake, the former University Baptist Church in 1995 pastor and longtime friend of the band, has had a strong influence on the band’s music in terms of content and inspiration both during his life and after his tragic death.
With their September 2005 release, A Collision, David Crowder Band explored a new realm of musical diversity. The album houses a mix of bluegrass, folk, alternative, and worship, woven together with a touch of electronic ambience. This release landed them the #2 spot on the iTunes Music Store and the #39 spot on Billboard 200 only one day after its release.
On the same day as the release of A Collision, their song “Turkish Delight” was released on the Music Inspired by the Chronicles of Narnia compilation CD. This song, which is a reference to the magical Turkish Delight in C. S. Lewis’s book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, has an old-school disco feel.
On March 19, 2007, the band officially started recording its newest album. Titled Remedy, the band also revealed the album’s website, http://www.remedyiscoming.com/, which allows fans to follow the band via live webcams, and discover more about the album. Famously controversial rock musician Ted Nugent made a special guest appearance on the album, on the song “We Won’t Be Quiet”.[1] Remedy was released on September 25, 2007. The day after its release, it reached #4 on the iTunes Music Store.
Members
Current members
- David Crowder - vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, programming, theremin, keytar(1996 - present)
- Jack Parker - electric guitar, rhodes piano, noise box, and banjo (1996 - present)
- Mike Dodson - bass guitar, programming and keys (2000 - present)
- Jeremy Bush, aka “B-wack” - drums, percussion, circuit bending and programming (1996 - present)
- Mike Hogan - violin, vinyl dj and programming (1996 - present)
- Mark Waldrop - electric guitar (2007 - present)
- Betsy Nipper - Crazy Shirt Girl No. 1
- Amy Nipper - Crazy Shirt Girl No. 2
Former members
- Jason Solley - electric guitar,background vocals and mandolin (1996 - 2006)
- Taylor Johnson - electric guitar, mandolin (2006 - 2007)
- Kevin Morris - bass guitar, (1996 - 2000)
Discography
Albums
- Pour Over Me (1998)
- All I Can Say (1999)
- Can You Hear Us? (February 26, 2002)
- Illuminate (September 16, 2003)
- A Collision (September 27, 2005)
- Remedy (September 25, 2007[2])
- Remedy Limited Edition (April 29, 2008)
EPs
- The Green CD (2002)
- The Yellow CD (2003)
- The Lime CD (March 23, 2004)
- Sunsets & Sushi (February 15, 2005)
- B Collision (June 27, 2006)
Also heard on…
-
- Thoughts Of You - Robbie Seay (2000)
- The Road to One Day - Passion Worship Band (2000)
- Our Love is Loud - Passion Worship Band (live, 2002)
- Sacred Revolution - Passion Worship Band (live, 2003)
- Passion: Hymns Ancient and Modern - Passion Worship Band (2004)
- How Great Is Our God - Passion Worship Band (live, 2005)
- Live from Austin Music Hall - Chris Tomlin (live, 2005)
- Everything Glorious - Passion Worship Band (live, 2006)
- Music Inspired by the Chronicles of Narnia (compilation, 2005, Sparrow Records/EMD)
- Ultimate Music Makeover: Michael W. Smith (compilation, 2005)
- X Worship 2006 (compilation, 2005)
- X Worship 2007 (compilation, 2006)
- WOW Christmas: Green (compilation, Christmas)
- Music Inspired By the Motion Picture Amazing Grace (compilation, 2007, Sparrow Records)
- Glory Revealed (compilation by Mac Powell, 2007)
- Passion: Live from Passion07, Part 2 - Passion Worship Band (2007)
- “Here Is Our King” can be heard on WOW Hits 2006
- “Wholly Yours” can be heard on WOW Hits 2007
- “Everything Glorious” can be heard on WOW Hits 1
- God of This City - Passion Worship Band (2008)
Another interesting musical note was the creation of the theme music for Dr. James MacDonald’s radio program Walk in the Word, a media ministry of Harvest Bible Chapel in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.
Awards
2008
David Crowder Band received 3 more Dove Awards at the 39th Annual Gospel Music Awards:[3]
- Worship Album of the Year - Remedy
- Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year - Everything Glorious
- Recorded Music Packaging of the Year - Remedy
David also received an award for the compilation album Glory Revealed.
2007
David Crowder Band received another Dove Award for their participation in Special Event Album of the Year - Passion: Everything Glorious
2006
David Crowder Band received their first Dove Awards at the 37th Annual Gospel Music Awards:[4]
- Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year - A Collision
- Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year - “Here is Our King”
- Special Event Album of the Year - Music Inspired by the Chronicles of Narnia
The band also received two MSN awards:
- MSN Artist of the Month - July 2006
- MSN Artist of the Year - 2006 (against the competition: INXS, Prince, Christina Aguilera and Kenny Chesney)
Books
David Crowder has authored two books:
- David Crowder, Praise Habit: Finding God in Sunsets and Sushi, NavPress, 2005.
- David Crowder with Mike Hogan, Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven, but Nobody Wants to Die or (The Eschatology of Bluegrass), Relevant Books, 2006.
Name
According to Crowder himself, it is improper to refer to the band as “The David Crowder Band”. The group prefers to omit the article, as they do not want to make the band appear so definitive and concrete as “The David Crowder Band”. The group may revisit this issue if other groups named “David Crowder Band” begin performing and may in fact, should that eventuality occur, insert “The Original” in front of the band’s present appellation.
The addition of the asterisk (*) to the name (rendering David Crowder*Band) is a common occurrence evoking much mystery; however, the band uses this convention only in some logos. In text on their website and other media, the asterisk is omitted, which only adds to the lore. It is uncertain what the asterisk denotes reference to, or what metaphorical annotation is intended. The asterisk, however, can be seen on the David Crowder*Band music video “Foreverandever Etc…”. No opinions on the asterisk’s purpose are reliable at this point and time, although theories arise from time to time. One theory is that it helps slow readers find their place if, while reading the name of the band, they must leave and then come back and somehow try to pick up where they left off.
Astute observers concerned with said asterisk have pointed out the similarity of the band’s name to Dave Matthews Band, and along with Crowder’s Matthews-influenced acoustic guitar riffs, have suggested the asterisk alludes to a long-standing joke about the band’s creativity. This is consistent with the band’s writings, which have long-employed witty, subtle, and self-effacing humor. And while somewhat conjectural, yet the most convincing piece of evidence to surface pointing to the truth in this is the fact that the UBC Band’s All I Can Say has thirty-four tracks, with tracks twelve through thirty-three serving as silent filler tracks leading up to an acoustic rendition of “Come Thou Fount,” an oft-overlooked mimicry of Dave Matthews Band’s album Under the Table and Dreaming, which also has a total of thirty-four tracks, with tracks twelve through thirty-three serving as silent filler tracks leading up to the song known as “#34.”[5]
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