A trip back in time with...THE NEWSBOYS!

The newsboys have been making radio hits for many years. Sixteen, to be exact. Sixteen years ago their single 'not ashamed,' which is the title track from that CD, became an instant hit. You are probably most familiar with their more recent CDs, like Go, Adoration, Devotion, or Thrive. While it was 16 years ago that Newsboys made it big in American radio, they have actually been putting out albums since 1987. Twenty-one years! So what did Newsboys sound like some 20 years ago? This is one of those questions you might regret asking. If you REALLY must know, click here: http://dbmedia.crossrhythms.co.uk/audio/mp3/4057-1.mp3 That is a clip from the 1990 CD, Hell Is For Wimps, with a song called 'Stand Up.'

I know, kind of makes you feel like putting on acid-washed jeans that are too small, and get a perm right? But guess what, thats not even their first CD. Yup, they were veterans when that came out. In 1988, the world was treated to this first release:

This one is so old, I can't even find a sample for you. My guess is the Newsboys have finally surpressed it and made it impossible. However, if you hunt for it online, you can find it, and probably for under a dollar.


Now for a visual comparison. Here is Newsboys today:






And now for your viewing pleasure, pictures I had to hunt deep for, OLD Newsboys!









Yup, one of these guys is Peter Fuller, AKA the bald one. Can you figure out which one?

Hope you enjoyed this trip back in time!!

Shameless Self Promotion

Hey everyone!

I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to use this opportunity for some shameless self promotion. I happen to think that my daughter is the cutest little girl in the world. So much so, that my wife has entered her into a 'cute kid' competition, that if she wins, she will get to be on the cover of a major parenting magazine. Cool, huh?

So, if you would be so kind, head over to this website: http://www.parents.com/app/sharemy/photoDetails.jsp?photoId=196501150&fromSearch=

There are several pictures of our Zoe. (you may recall her songs that we have played on my show!) You can click on each picture. Above the photo are 2 things. One says 'recommendations,' which you simply click to add your recommendation. The other is above the picture and has 5 stars, you can click those to put how many stars you think it earns. Remember, you can click on each picture, and recommend each one.

I think when you look, you will agree that she is in fact, the cutest little girl in the world. :)

Level 6 to launch!

Thank you so much for everyones feedback on my last post! It seems we have overwhelming support to do a rock show on Life FM, so I have the approval to move forward with it. I am extremely excited about the show, and have some big plans for it. Before I officially launch it, though, I will need some help.

I believe that as Christians, when we put something out there in the world, it should be excellent. We are representing the King of Kings, and want to give our best, not a half-hearted effort thats thrown together. I intend on making this a cutting edge, fast paced show that will make people sit up and notice, especially young people that otherwise would not listen to positive music by Christian artists. In order to do this, I am inviting anyone that may be interested in supporting this endevor to send me an email.

We will not be doing a sharathon or friendraiser or anything, and this show is outside of our budget. I would like to possibly raise some funds to make sure I can keep this to an excellent standard. And no, the money is not going to me, it would all go to promoting the show. This would give KAXL reason to be a presence at local Christian rock shows. We would like to get youth pastors involved as well. If you feel this is a ministry you are interested in helping with, whether its financially, in prayer, or with some other resource that may be relevant, let me know. You can email me at matt@kaxl.com

I am not looking to raise a massive budget, just enough to be able to effectively spread the word. I would like to see the show start this summer, and that is very possible. We are already lining up the music and some other things. I already have a mission statement, and the name of the show is Level 6 Radio. Thank you for all of your support! As I always say on the air, we truely do have the BEST listeners!

For Those Who Love To Rock

Hey everyone!

As many of you know, Skillet is coming to town on the 30th of this month. That in mind, I have been thinking about something for a while, and I need your feedback.

We are considering the launch of a weekly rock show here at KAXL.

Here is the idea: I would launch a rock show that would probably only be about 2 hours long, once a week. So, for example, it may be every Saturday from 7-9. Now, we are not changing formats, don't worry. What we want to do is reach out to those, more specifically youth, who wouldn't otherwise listen to our station. There is a TON of solid, Christian artists in the rock industry that I would love to expose younger listeners to. Especially those youth who think that the only good rock music is not Christian. I'm out to prove that wrong!

What I want from you is some feedback. How would you feel about having a rock show here on Life FM? Do you support it? Remember, think in terms of outreach. Even if you are not a fan of rock (possibly some rap), how do you feel about us having a show like that as an additional outreach?

Nothing is for sure yet, we just want to get your feedback, and I will keep you updated. I am very familiar with the Christian rock scene, and only artists who I trust are truely serving the Lord would be played. Please leave me a comment with your thoughts!!

Time to WIN!

I told you to keep an eye on this blog for a chance to win free stuff. That chance is NOW! Over the last couple weeks, I have been playing a LOT of interviews. From my 'week of interviews' from GMA to my Anne Rice interview today (Thursday 5-8) and tomorrow.

Here is how you can win right now. Let me know who else you would like to hear interviewed! Could be a band, author, celebrity, or whatever! Email me at MATT@KAXL.COM right now, and the first response I get with 'BLOG CONTEST' in the subject line will win.

I am giving away a copy of Half-Life/Die Already: How I Died and Lived to Tell About It by Mark Steele. He is a hilarious man, and this is a memoir about how he dealt with some difficult things in his life, but written in a way that makes you laugh. A lot. AND, I'm also going to tuck a couple coupons to Dewars in the pages as well.

It pays to read the blogs! Email me right now, and be sure to include your name and phone number so we can contact you.

GMA update #2 PICTURES!!!

We've had a real busy last few days! We've gotten some great interviews, audio materials and some great resources to bring back to Bakersfield! Here is just a glimpse at some of the things we've had the opportunity to do while in Nashville. Stay tuned in the following weeks as we unveal the audio material we've collected. It was great to sit down with several artists over the last few days and to hear the unique things God has been teaching them and the unique vision and talents God has given each of them. Coming up this afternoon we'll be interview Fee, Sarah Groves and 33 Miles. Hope you all are having a fantastic week in Bakersfield!!

Sunday evening worship night led by Michael W. Smith, Israel (of Israel & New Breed), & Mandisa

Calling into the live KAXL morning show with Dan Schaffer

Interviewing Phil Joel

Fun with Phil Joel

Interviewing Robby Seay

After the Dizmas interview. COOL guys!


Matt interviewing Chris Rice

What a fun guy!!

Hello From Nashville!

We are on our second day here in Music City USA. We arrived in Nashville yesterday afternoon. Saturday was fairly low key aside from getting registered and checked into the hotel. It is nice to not have to dive in full force on the first day, because things soon get crazy. Becky is here with me and today was spent mingling with a lot of the artists.

I should point out that in the radio business, you don't get so easily 'star struck' around all these artists. For me, however, there are a small few. Any time I meet any of the guys from DC Talk, I get nervous. They are legends to me, and meeting Toby Mac (which I did today) made me like a giddy little kid. I'm sure it will be the same for tomorrow when we meet Kevin Max.

This evening we went to a few showcases. It started off with a GMA favorite, Sunday night worship. Michael W Smith traditionally leads it, and this year was joined by Mandisa and Israel (Israel and New Breed). It is always an amazing worship experience. After that, we went to a hip hop show which was on the roof of a tall building which was really fun. Finally, we attended a showcase by BMI artists such as Toby Mac, Brandon Heath, Chris Tomlin, Mercy Me, and more.

Tomorrow the REALLY crazy schedule starts. We have about 8 interviews over the next 2 days. On top of that, there are a number of sessions I will be attending, and I'll be calling in for some live reports (make sure to listen!!). And concerts. There are usually about 4 venues all hosting concerts each night all over downtown Nashville with the greats in Christian music. It can be hard to pick which ones to attend. Such a hard life...

Thats it for now, but check back and I'll try to get some more pictures and updates posted for you. We appreciate all your prayer support as we gather all kinds of great audio to bring back to you!