The Jesus Factor Amy Grant and her Band of Christians

Rip It Up, Issue 107, 1 June 1986, Page 2

The Jesus Factor Amy Grant and her Band of Christians

She’s one of the biggest female rock acts ever, with - three Grammys and millions of records sold. This month, with little advertising, she’s sold out one (and almost two) concerts at Auckland’s Logan Campbell Centre. Her name is Amy Grant. Who?

Grant is a Christian rock singer, and the reason we've heard so little about her is that the Christian music scene is almost an underground industry of its own. Grant makes born-again Christian music for born-again Christians; her records are sold and her concerts promoted through those bookshops one never feels the urge to enter.

But Grant doesn't conform to whatever one’s idea of what a Christian rock star should be like. Her music and her image isn't too far removed from Pat Benatar. Her band of Christians plays full on American

stadium rock, and while Grant doesn't wear lurex leotards, her looks are just as important as Benatar's in her marketing to a crossover Christian/secular rock audience. A fresh-faced 25-year-old with long flowing hair, Grant sports a snugfitting leopard skin jacket in concert, and is often quoted speaking frankly about her sexuality. As Mark Jacobson from Esquire quipped, “What a genius marketing device! Guess Christian boys got to whack off, too.” As her music reflects, Grant’s tastes are for the mainstream — Heart, Billy Joel, and Bryan Adams are three acts she enjoys, though she hasn't seen them in concert. Critics have noticed less references to “Jesus” and “God” on her latest million-selling album, Unguarded, and the fact that her audience is exactly split 50/50 Christian/nonChristian shows that her crossover is complete. “I figure a lot of people come because they want to hear

the music, and | work with a very talented band,” she says. “| think somebody could come that doesn't even speak English and have a blast.” Barbed Bouquet Predictably, the “rock is the devil's music” school of strict fundamentalists have little time for Amy Grant. Last year at a Detroit concert, Grant was given a bouquet. Inside was a message:“Turn back now. You can still be saved if you renounce what you've done.” But Grant is unconcerned by these critics: “I don't think they buy any of my records, and | don't think they come to the concerts. I've read a few articles that say that they think I'm kinda out there a little bit, but really there's nothing you can do if someone holds an opinion about you. | don't feel like | have to publicly say anything to fundamentalist groups — that would just seem like | was trying to win an argument, and it's not an argument, we're just all doing what we think were supposed to do”

At the last US presidential elections, both candidates quoted Bruce Springsteen to try and attract the younger vote. Grant has been asked to support several political groups, but up till now has turned them down. “That might change in the future, but for right now, it just seems like it would muddy the water a little bit,” says Grant. “I'm not trying to make a political statement with my life, I'm trying to make a moral . statement and a spiritual statement — and it seems like everybody's hanging on by a thread anyway, so you can only do so much!”

Does she notice more young people turning to Christianity in these volatile times? “l think it’s just that young people speak more openly about their feelings about God now; they speak more openly about everything. | don't think it's just Christianity that's popular — | think everything's popular. Everything from nasty to holy is popular, and everyone’s just talking a whole lot more,

There are less overt references to religion in your recent records. Is that the way you're going, orisitin the hope of reaching a wider audience? “Well honestly, | feel that the content of the songs is probably as outspoken as any of the songs that I've sung. The difference is that I'm not using, ah, spiritual lingo. I'm not trying to remove the Jesus factor, but I'm trying to get solid teaching into songs ina more subtle way.

“But it’s so funny. The way we're talking makes me sound like I'm a calculating preacher. Honestly. If | decide to sing “Jesus loves me” on my next album, | will. I'm really not trying to preach. I'm writing the songs because that’s what my own heart needs to hear. I'm not trying to slip one over anybody. If they want to listen, great, if all they want to dois dance their brains out, that’s fin\e/wim me.” Face Value

Alot is made of your appearance. Apart from any moral objections Christians may have to the way you dress, there's the feminist aspect. Do you like your looks being used as aselling point? “It's funny,” says Grant. “When my first album was put out, | was 16 — | had spots all over my face, | was right smacked outin my adolescent years, | was a little bit overweight. And | heard back from a sales meeting of the record company that one of the salesmen had said, ‘I could sell this record if you would take her picture off. This is the ugliest picture I've ever seen on a record cover. 'm 25 now. Thankfully I've lost my baby fat and | don't have pimples anymore. And now it has to be an issue that they're using my face to sell an album. The whole thing is ridiculously funny to me. | don't think | would be known for my looks first. | know many women who are far more beautiful than |am — I'm a very normal looking person!” she laughs. Are all the members of your band Christians? “Yes they are, as a matter of fact,” says Grant. “There have been times that I've had people in the band that weren't Christians, but honestly, | find a little more support when everyone on the stage is geared in the same direction ... it just seems like the sensitivity to one another is heightened when we're a little more of one mind. We don’t all agree on everything, you know — different people go through times sowing their wild oats, or someone might be flipped out or onan emotional high, or someone will be depressed. It's not like were a bunch of machines. We're just people — but we do share the common belief”

How do you feel about the seedy side of rock music that seems to dominate the industry? “I don't listento it, so it really doesn't affect my life. It disappoints me that so many talented people are being a little insensitive to the children that are listening to their music. But it's avoidable, you don't have to be ex: posedto it. | kind of go my own way." :

Chris Bourke