Red Headlines 20-City 'Redvolution Tour' In 2012

Two-time GRAMMY nominated rock act RED kicks off its second headlining tour in five months, the “REDvolution Tour,” on Feb. 10. Visiting 20+ cities domestically, with special guests Thousand Foot Krutch, Manafest, Nine Lashes, and KIROS, the tour will also include a run of “RED only” dates throughout Europe
in April.

A year since releasing its acclaimed third studio project, Until We Have Faces, RED continues to make massive career strides, venturing out on back-to-back headlining tours. Following its popular fall “Kill The Machine Tour,” RED sets the stage for an all-new endeavor, the “REDvolution Tour.” Kicking off two weeks from Friday, the tour will visit more than 20 cities across the U.S., including major markets Washington, D.C., Dallas, Las Vegas, and Phoenix, among others, through late March.

And for the first time, RED will headline its own European tour, taking the show abroad to cities in The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Russia and Ukraine. Please refer to the tour itinerary following this release for additional information, or visit redmusiconline.com for an updated list of tour dates.

Looking forward to early 2012 Releases

January 10
David Crowder*Band Give Us Rest (A Requiem Mass in C [The Happiest of All Keys])

January 13
Anthem Lights The Acoustic Sessions EP

January 31
Starfield The Kingdom

February 7
Jaci Velasquez Diamond
Worth Dying For Live Riot

February 14
Eisley Deep Space EP

February 28
Kutless Believer

March ??
Thousand Foot Krutch The End Is Where We Begin

March 6
Todd Agnew How To Be Loved
Fireflight Now

March 13
Anberlin Anthology (Best Of)
Dave Barnes Stories To Tell

March 27
12 Stones Only Human
Jimmy Needham Clear The Stage
Britt Nicole untitled
Sidewalk Prophets untitled

April 10
Matthew West Into The Light

April 17
Big Daddy Weave Love Come To Life

May 22
Jon McLaughlin Promising Promises
MercyMe The Hurt and The Healer

Sometime 2012...
Sanctus Real untitled -- Fall 2012
Skillet untitled -- Late 2012
TobyMac untitled -- Late 2012
VOTA Sons & Daughters
The Waiting untitled new album

Kirk Cameron to Release a 'Monumental' New Film

It's been four years since Kirk Cameron appeared in "Fireproof," but he hasn't been resting. Working on his latest film "Monumental," Cameron is looking to make an even bigger impact this time around, tackling family, politics, and spirituality in America.

"Monumental: In Search of America's National Treasure" is Cameron's latest effort. The film captures his personal journey through American and European history, visiting historical sites to capture what has made America the "freest, securest, prosperous, and healthy" nation in the world.

Full article here.

Newsboys Win mtvU Video Contest

mtvU's show "The Freshman" announced that Newsboys won last week's contest for their music video "Miracles." This is a contest where fan votes determine which videos get into rotation on mtvU each week.

With this win, the "Miracles" video started airing this week on mtvU's rotation for one month, with the video airing approximately 20-25 times per week.

Natalie Grant to Perform at Super Bowl Gospel Celebration

Natalie Grant will make her football debut at the 13th Annual National Football League's Super Bowl Gospel Celebration. The show will tape before a live audience at 7:30pm EST on Friday, February 3, 2012  in Indianapolis, IN.

The celebration is hosted by Wayne Brady, current host of CBS' "Let's Make A Deal," and CeCe Winans. Grant will be performing alongside American Idol winner Fantasia, Donnie McClurkin, Hezekiah Walker and "Players Choice" Wess Morgan, and Verizon's How Sweet the Sound 2011 Overall Winning Choir, Salvation and Deliverance Church Choir.

The Super Bowl Gospel Celebration has become legendary for its performances from artists including Patti LaBelle, BeBe Winans, Mary Mary, Israel Houghton & New Breed, Yolanda Adams, Jaci Velasquez, Fred Hammond and many more. NFL Players that have made appearances include Cris Carter, John Elway, Donovan McNabb, Kurt Warner, Tim Brown and Darrell Green, Raheem Morris and many more.

Tickets for the 2012 Super Bowl Gospel Celebration are on sale at superbowlgospel.com. Since its inception in 1999, the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration has partnered with a charity in each Super Bowl host city. This year, Gary Brackett's IMPACT Foundation has been selected as the event's charitable partner.

Rascal Flatts Will Be 'Changed' Band in April

One of the biggest acts in country musics gives retail outlets a day to circle on the calendar with the announcement that Rascal Flatts will release "Changed," their highly-anticipated seventh studio album, on April 3. Award-winning Christian musician Dann Huff co-produced the new project with the Grand Ole Opry members.

Megadeth Bassist Studying to Be a Pastor

Concordia Seminary in suburban St. Louis gets an eclectic mix of students in a program allowing them to train for the ministry online - electricians, farmers, entrepreneurs - and even a founder of one of the best-known thrash metal bands.

David Ellefson plays bass for Megadeth. He also is an online student in the Specific Ministry Program at Concordia Seminary operated by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Ellefson's studies illustrate why distance learning programs at seminaries have a growing popularity nationwide, allowing students to attend divinity schools without uprooting their lives.

Even in a non-traditional learning setting, Ellefson is a non-traditional student given his band has recorded albums with titles such as "Killing Is My Business ... And Business Is Good!"

The curious mix of rock and religion has been part of Ellefson's life since childhood. Growing up in Minnesota, his family drove from their farm to Our Savior's Lutheran Church each Sunday. Ellefson, now 47, was confirmed there at age 16.

A few years later, in the summer of 1983, Ellefson moved to Los Angeles and within a week of his arrival had formed Megadeth, named for the unit of measurement equal to the death of 1 million people by nuclear explosion. Soon, he was playing bass on stage with other metal bands such as Metallica and Slayer.

The rock star lifestyle caught up with Ellefson by the time he was 25. He entered a 12-step recovery program and was reintroduced to his faith. And he embraced it.

Ellefson moved to Arizona, married and had children. He joined Shepherd of the Desert Lutheran Church, a Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod congregation in Scottsdale.

"I came from a good family, not a broken home," said Ellefson, 47. "That became a model for me, and I saw church at center of it."

Shepherd of the Desert pastor Jon Bjorgaard asked Ellefson to start a contemporary worship service. Ellefson began to write songs using lyrics from the Old Testament.

"For a Christmas service, I remixed some classics, not quite in a Megadeth fashion, but in a pretty heavy rock fashion," Ellefson said.

He started a new music ministry at the church and called it MEGA Life. It became so popular that Shepherd of the Desert bought a new space for the ministry.

Last year, Bjorgaard asked Ellefson and MEGA Life director Jeremy DaPena to enroll in Concordia's Specific Ministry Program.

"Most people want to become a rock star," Bjorgaard said. "David's a rock star who wants to become a pastor."

After two years at Concordia, Ellefson will be eligible for ordination.

More than 100 students are enrolled in the distance learning program, director David Wollenburg said. The program is open only to those who have been sponsored by someone already working in the ministry.

Classes include "Lutheran Distinctions," "Preaching I & II," "Introduction to Worship" and "Scripture and Faith." Students range in age from 35 to the late 60s.

Eliza Brown of the Association of Theological Schools said the trend of distance learning at divinity schools "is definitely growing," though there is some debate about its merits.

"Some feel you can't be adequately formed as a church leader unless you're engaged in a residential program that has serious face-to-face formation components," she said. Still, 124 seminaries accredited by the organization offer some form of distance education.

Megadeth remains and the band will begin a new tour with Motorhead next week in New Jersey. Ellefson will tend to his studies during down time on the tour bus. He knows it won't be easy.

Classes begin each Monday, though homework is posted a few days earlier. On Tuesday nights, Ellefson and eight other students sit in online for a two-hour live session with a professor teaching from a Concordia classroom. Once a week he meets with Bjorgaard to discuss the week's work. And late in the week, he uploads homework for the professor to grade.

He has learned to keep his faith and his onstage persona separate. As for songwriting, he now tries to `stay away from darker themes."

"Some people want to morph things together into one, but I have a hand in both worlds," he said. "I love praise and worship music, and I love heavy metal."

David Crowder Band's Bittersweet Climb to the Top of the Charts

Premiering at No. 2 this week is David Crowder Band with its "Give Us Rest" selling a larger-than-expected 50,000 copies. It's the best chart rank and sales week for the Christian act, who had previously gone as high as No. 11 with 2009's "Church Music" (36,000 in its debut).

For David Crowder Band, it's a bittersweet debut, as the act played its final show at the Passion 2012 conference on Jan. 2 in Atlanta. The act announced its impending disbandment last summer, stating that its new album and recently completed tour would be its last.

It was a historic week for the charts for two reasons.

As expected, Adele's "21" spends its 16th week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (104,000 sold according to Nielsen SoundScan; down 16%). Its reign is the longest since the "Titanic" soundtrack also earned 16 weeks at No. 1 in 1998.

Since SoundScan's sales data began powering the Billboard 200 tally in May of 1991, "21" is one of only five sets to notch at least 16 weeks atop the list. Aside from "21" and "Titanic," the other three are: the Whitney Houston-driven soundtrack to "The Bodyguard" (20 weeks in 1992-1993), Garth Brooks' "Ropin' the Wind" (18 in 1991-1992) and Billy Ray Cyrus' "Some Gave All" had 17 in 1992.

In the Billboard 200 chart's nearly 56-year history, "21" becomes only the 20th album to score at least 16 weeks at No. 1.

And with 104,000 sold last week, "21" notches its 33rd week of 100,000-plus sales. The last album to do so was Usher's "Confessions," which also racked 33 stanzas of 100,000 sales in 2004-2005.

As the Nos. 8-10 albums all sell less than 20,000 this week -- this marks the first time in SoundScan history that it takes less than 20,000 in sales to rank among the top 10 albums of the week.

Needtobreathe's Oohs and Aahs Used on FOX

Needtobreathe's Oohs and Aahs from their latest, The Reckoning, was used in a promo for Alcatraz on FOX during the NFC Playoffs.

David Crowder Band's Latest Premieres in 1st on iTunes

David Crowder Band's latest and last CD, Give Us Rest (A Requiem Mass in C [The Happiest of All Keys]), premiered in first on the iTunes charts and remains in the second position almost a week later.

2011 Was a Hot Year for Skillet

Skillet wrapped up an extraordinary year by being named among 2011’s biggest mainstream rock acts according to year-end charts published by Billboard and Mediabase.

The two-time Grammy-nominated band were among the highest ranking artists featured in Billboard’s annual “The Year In Music” issue, with their RIAA gold- certified album Awake approaching 900,000 in sales and included among the year’s Top 20 “Rock Albums,” Top 15 “Alternative Albums,” as well as the overall “Top Billboard 200.” The album’s chart-topping single, “Awake and Alive,” came in at No. 3 on the “Active Rock Songs” tally, with Skillet also named among the Top 10 “Active Rock Artists.” The band was also listed in the upper half of the total “Billboard 200 Artists” ranking, having spent 120 weeks on the Billboard Top 200 chart with only a handful of other acts. Mediabase, which monitors radio activity in the U.S. and Canada, declared Skillet to be the past year’s eighth “Most Played Artist” at Active Rock outlets nationwide, with “Awake and Alive” coming in as the format’s No. 3 biggest hit.

Awake has proven a true sensation, with digital single sales from the album now exceeding 2.4 million. Produced by Howard Benson (Three Days Grace, Daughtry, Flyleaf), the collection reached the No. 1 spot on the iTunes “Top Albums” chart within 24 hours of its August 2009 release, while simultaneously exploding into the No. 2 spot on the SoundScan/Billboard 200 chart. Fueled by three RIAA gold certified and four top 10 Active Rock hits in “Awake and Alive,” “It’s Not Me It’s You,” “Hero,” and “Monster,” Awake was among the top 10 on Billboard’s 2010 “Top Alternative Albums” chart, with Skillet coming in at the year’s No. 7 “Top Alternative Album Artist.” “Hero” has also been used by the NFL in their Sunday Night Football and NFL Weekend Kickoff promos, and a remix of the band’s No. 1 Active Rock hit “Awake & Alive," was featured on the TRANSFORMERS: Dark of the Moon soundtrack.

One of America’s hardest working live acts, Skillet has consistently been ranked among Pollstar’s Concert Pulse “Top 50 Tours.” The band spent much of the past two years on the road, touring alongside Atlantic labelmates Shinedown, as well as headlining their own sold-out “Alive & Awake Tour.” Having recently returned from a major European tour (including dates in Russia, Germany, Finland, Norway and the Ukraine), Skillet is now back on tour in the U.S.

In addition to cumulative album sales in excess of 2 million, Skillet has racked up a wide range of honors throughout their extraordinary career. Frontman John Cooper and producer Brian Howes received two BMI Music Awards for “The Last Night” and “The Older I Get,” both featured on 2006’s Grammy Award-nominated Comatose. That album proved Skillet’s popular breakthrough, achieving RIAA gold certification. Comatose followed the band’s 2003 label debut, Collide, which launched Skillet into the mainstream while also garnering their first Grammy Award nomination.

Mark Burnett and Touched By An Angel star, Roma Downey launch Bible360

Renowned producer Mark Burnett and his wife Touched By An Angel star, Roma Downey; digital Bible maker, Glo Bible; and Christian publisher, Zondervan - today announced that they are coming together to launch Bible360 (www.Bible360.com), a new app that brings the text of Scripture to life through video, interactive technology and social media.

Bible360 will build upon Glo Bible's award-winning digital platform--which incorporates 360-degree virtual tours and animated maps-by adding social features and reading plans. Bible360 will also feature The NIV version of the Bible. In the future, video from Roma Downey and husband Mark Burnett's forthcoming HISTORY® series about the Bible will be integrated into the app to further enhance the reader's experience.

Social features include the ability to share Bible verses, photos and snapshots via social networking channels such as Twitter and YouVersion, through the popular Jesus Daily page on Facebook, or through the reader's own personal social networking platforms. Bible360 is free with a premium upgrade available.

"With Bible360, people everywhere now have the ability to explore Biblical History in an insightful, accessible and immersive way," said Mark Burnett and Roma Downey in a joint statement. "We are thrilled to provide millions of people with a fresh visual experience as they enjoy this sacred text."

Bible360 allows users to access any Bible chapter or verse in just two clicks. Every page of the Bible then features relevant videos, artwork, photos, and virtual tours, resulting in an interactive experience that gives users the full 360 degree view of the Bible. The entire Bible and related media are also organized through unique browsing "Lenses," allowing users to sort and search the Bible by geography, timeline, media type, and topic.

In addition, launching with the new Bible360 app is the "Me" Lens, which includes a journal and reading plans. After connecting to social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter, the "Me" Lens will integrate relevant posts so users can see what their friends are sharing from the Bible. The premium version of Bible360 will allow users to access more premium content and sync their experiences across various devices and platforms, including the Mac, PC, iPad and iPhone.

This announcement is in conjunction with the upcoming Bible series created by Executive Producer Mark Burnett airing on HISTORY® in 2013. The ten-part series was conceived by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett and will be produced by Lightworkers Media and Hearst Entertainment & Syndication. Video produced for the new series will eventually be incorporated into the Bible360 app, allowing for an even richer multimedia experience.