The veteran Christian pop-rock band the newsboys will bring a new lead vocalist to Modesto for their March 22 concert at Calvary Temple. The group announced this week that dc Talk vocalist Michael Tait will replace newsboys frontman Peter Furler on the rest of the band's "Join the Tribe" 35-city tour.
Furler will remain with the band, which began 22 years ago, but will focus on songwriting and studio work.
"I'm looking forward to focusing on the band's studio career and spending time in my own bed after many years in a tour bus and hundreds of thousands of miles on the road," Furler said in a news release Wednesday.
The newsboys originally hail from Down Under and have racked up 22 No. 1 hits, such as "He Reigns," "You Are My King," "Shine" and "I Am Free." The multiple-award-winning group was nominated for a Grammy three times, including a 1993 nod for "Not Ashamed" in the category of rock album of the year. Six of their albums have gone gold.
The Bee caught up with newsboys drummer Duncan Phillips, who has been with the group for 16 years, at a stop in Longview, Texas. Here's what he had to say about his life, the group and changes in the music industry:
Q: How did you hook up with the newsboys?
A: When I was in my 20s, I was in another band and the newsboys came along. We were an OK band, but they were very good. I remember saying to my bandmates, "We're in trouble." These guys were really, really good. I thought if I couldn't beat them, I would join them. I did, in 1993. I was 29.
When the newsboys first started, obviously, we loved playing music. There wasn't a Christian music industry in Australia back then. It was just whether you were good or not.
Q: You've crossed into several genres with your music -- worship, alternative, pop, rock. Describe what the early days of the newsboys were like and how your newest CD is different from your last one.
A: We didn't have any songs when we started, so we had to have a good show. We still do. I want this crowd to know they're going to have the best time they've had. The temptation might be to rest on the fact that we have a lot of fans. But ... I'm still going to give it my all every night. I'm always hungry to win that one new fan, to just do something else on the drums that I've never done before.
Our newest CD, "In the Hands of God," releases May 5. We have the same spirit with the record that we do with our shows. When you have a fantastically successful record like "Go" (in 2006), the temptation is to do another one like that. We can't do that. Peter Furler writes most of the stuff, and has since the history of the band. He's one of the best out there.
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Q: Talk about your recent concerts before 15,000 Muslims in Morocco and at other overseas sites.
A: We got invited by the king to go play (in Morocco). It was just a great experience. We got incredibly looked after. What they did was have a Moroccan band play and a Western band play. It was a coming together as cultures. It was one of the most powerful experiences I ever felt in my
life. You could feel it. It was palpable. It was like a hot knife going through butter.
It was the same thing when we played in Israel. That was more of a spiritual thing than anything else, to play on the banks of the Sea of Galilee. It was a very personal time for me, personally, to walk where I know Jesus walked. It was the same thing, walking the streets of Jerusalem and walking in the Mount of Olives.
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