Good Ole Southern Rock

I'm here to tell you about a little band whom few people have heard of, called DecembeRadio. Many of you probably haven't heard of them because their exposure has been limited to mostly Christian music fans, but I promise you, if you haven't heard these guys you are truly missing out on one of the greater bands in the country.

DecembeRadio hails from the small town of Dublin in Pulaski County, Virginia. Actually, only two of the members were born there - Josh Reedy (lead vocals/bass guitar) and Brian Bunn (lead guitar). Eric Miker (backing vocals/rhythm guitar) comes from West Virginia and Boone Daughdrill (drums) was born in Mississippi. As you can see these are all southern boys and they have the accents and manners to prove it.

The band members cite a wide range of influences, from Lenny Kravitz to Aerosmith, but their music has a definite southern rock feel, which is evident in their first single, "Love Found Me." If you're lucky enough to see the band perform live, you'll be treated a melody of this song blended with their own rendition of the Kansas hit, "Carry On Wayward Son." I was beyond excited the first time I heard this.

"Drifter," their second single, became a top 10 hit on Christian radio. This song has become one of my all-time favorite songs. Their self-titled debut album earned them a Grammy nomination for Best Rock/Rap Album and they recently won a Dove Award for Best Rock Album. (In case you're not familiar with the Christian music industry, a Dove Award is the most prestigious award a Christian artist can recieve, next to a Grammy. It's a lot like the CMAs or AMAs.)

I was pleasantly surprised the first time I listened to DecembeRadio's album and discovered that I liked every track on the CD, which is a rare occasion. It has a good combination of up-beat rock, and slower more thoughtful tunes. It's a great album to listen to while driving with the windows down on a warm summer day. The guys are currently working on material for their sophomore album, which will hopefully be out by next spring.

If you have ever watched the series "Hazard Pay" on the Discovery Channel you may have already heard DecembeRadio without even knowing it. Their song "Dangerous" was used as the theme song for the series. They also performed the National Anthem at a NASCAR race last April, and will be performing for the Hollywood premiere of Evan Almighty next week.

Not only is their music great, but these are also four of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. They're always willing to meet and talk with fans after a show, even though quite often they have a long drive ahead of them that night (they're a fairly new band, so they still have to drive themselves and their equipment around in a van and trailer). They really are a lot of fun.

So if you get the chance, check out their album; if you're a rock fan I really don't think you'll regret it. You can visit their MySpace page to hear some of their music and read more about them.