Send this page to a friend
Tandem
By
Micki
Bennett
Jackson
Christian Family
“A
little bit indie, a lot about worship”
| |
 |
|
Tandem |
Josh
Maze, David Leonard, Taylor Poole, and Hunter
Stewart—they’re the members of
Jackson’s hottest Christian band, Tandem,
and they’re teaming up with a church
from Memphis for a trip overseas. Their destination?
A small country on the boarder or Iran and
Russia. Their mission? To serve.
“It’s a cool ministry leading
worship for missionaries,” said founder
and lead singer Josh. “I would love
for that to be a theme that Tandem held throughout
its existence as a band. We’re not necessarily
going to reach the people in that country,
but our goal is to serve the missionaries
that are reaching people there. We want to
pour into them because they’re always
being poured out.”
While in Central Asia, amid conditions of
minimal electricity and running water, the
band will lead worship for the mission team’s
devotional time as well as promote a show
they’re playing in the city for university
students. It could be anything from guitars
on a street corner to a stage show with lights
and sound, Josh explained. The main purpose
is to help career missionaries, originally
from Jackson, to create an interest in Christianity
among the locals. A cool, Christian concert
and a dose of American culture could do the
trick. “It should be really refreshing
for all of us,” Josh said.
Thanks to a layover on the way home, the guys
will spend a few days in London. “We’re
British at heart,” said Josh, who plays
with a guitar bearing the name of who other
but The Beatles. “It’ll be so
much fun, but we’re trying to make it
meaningful.” They’re working on
booking a show or leading worship at a church
on Sunday. Along with celebrating his 19th
birthday in London, Josh and the band say
they’re going to try and record while
they’re in town and get haircuts.
“We’ve been a band about four
years, which is really amazing, and now we’re
going overseas together,” said Josh.
“Hopefully in another four years we’ll
be somewhere that I could have never predicted.”
What began with a couple of friends just writing
and playing music, Tandem has matured into
a quality band that’s sure to have a
record label knocking on its door within the
next few years. Right now they’re doing
it all on their own— developing and
becoming better by themselves so that when
the time is right they’ll get their
shot in the music industry. “It’s
the Switchfoot model,” Josh laughed
and said, “but we want to be a little
bigger than Switchfoot. We’re not disillusioned
or jaded at all. We’re still really
young. And we’re completely happy with
finishing college or doing what we have to
do to be the biggest band in the Christian
market.”
Tandem will play several more shows before
their trip to Central Asia in May. They were
recently asked to perform a pre-show for T.D.
Jakes on May 4 at the Jackson State University
Assembly Center beginning at 6:00 p.m. This
event is free and open to the public. Contact
Tandem at www.tandemband.com.
Micki Bennett, a recent graduate of Mississippi
College, is assistant editor of Jackson Christian
Family.
May
1, 2006
Want
More? Visit
the Metro Christian Living Archive on STAR93FM.com.
