New Kids in Town
By Deborah Evans Price, senior music editor, GospelMusicChannel.com
Few new acts have generated a stronger buzz last year than the Reunion Records foursome Tenth Avenue North. Love is Here, the band’s first single, hit the top ten of Billboard magazine’s Christian Songs chart, whetting appetites for the group’s May 20 debut, Over and Underneath.
“It’s been really cool,” admits lead vocalist/principal songwriter Mike Donehey, but he’s quick to add that the reaction they are getting from people has been more gratifying than chart success or industry accolades. “I got an email from this girl saying she had to pull over because she was in tears just listening to the words. That’s what we hope for with this music is that it will pierce people’s hearts.”
One of the things that makes Tenth Avenue North unique is that the band is not afraid to ask thought-provoking questions in their music. The songs are transparent, often vulnerable and reveal much about the struggle to believe. “We wanted to make sure that came across as very real, honest and genuine,” says drummer Jason Jamison. “We’re not here to tell you that life is amazing and we encounter no problems. We’re hoping that the record says, ‘Despite the problems, despite the things we encounter, we have hope in Jesus Christ.’”
Adds Mike, “We want to present truth and the struggle to believe it. All the songs were sort of forged out of that collision with what we believe is the truth of God’s word and our struggle to live up to it and believe it.”
Surprisingly, Mike never really considered music ministry until his late teens. “I was never into music until my senior year of high school,” he says. “I [was in] a near- fatal car accident. My friend lost control of the car and flipped at 50 mph. I got thrown out and broke my head and broke my back in two places. I had 96 stitches in my face and I was laid out for months, just lying on my back. I’d been really involved in sports and for the first time in my life I thought, ‘You know I think I want to play music’ because I couldn’t do anything else. So I asked for a guitar for Christmas and that got me started.”
He continued to develop a passion for music while attending Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Florida where he met Jason. The two led worship on campus and at their church. They enlisted bassist Scott Sanders and drummer Jason Jamison to join the band and decided to hit the road.
“The first summer tour we did was interesting to say the least. We literally got a map out and said ‘Alright, everyone point out a spot where you’ve never been and where you’d like to go.’ That’s not the way you should go about it,” Mike says with a laugh. “We made random cold calls and talked to people. We borrowed a van from the college that we went to, but it was fun. God provided for us and we met cool people and we ate lots of chicken and bologna. We jumped off bridges into rivers. We were single and it was a great summer.
“God really just blessed us. People would call us and we would play some really strange shows that way, but we’ve also made some of the coolest friends. We’ve played certain things year in and year out, over and over. It’s really cool to watch God keep the phone ringing.”
As their popularity grew, it was only natural that the band would catch the attention of a major record company. Executives from Reunion Records signed the band to a deal and they began working on their major label debut. “God continues to open doors for us and we’re just trying to be faithful as we walk through them to follow his lead,” says Scott. “We don’t want to force anything. We don’t want to go a direction that we want if we feel like God is going in another direction. We try to be very in tune with where He is leading.”
The guys readily acknowledge that God has placed some great people in their lives, among them producer Jason Ingram. “For me, recording with Jason was cool because he helped write some of the songs with me and so I feel like we had a connection there,” says Mike. “He’s just been a really great friend to us.”
Ingram has helped Tenth Avenue North craft an album that is melodically engaging and lyrically poignant. Let it Go and Lift Us Up to Fall encourage believers to surrender to God while By Your Side is a poignant ballad that reminds us that God is always near and He’s all we need. Hold My Heart is an achingly vulnerable song that asks tough questions yet reminds us of God’s promises.
Most albums are generally titled after a song on the project, but there’s no song titled Over and Underneath on the record. “Over and Underneath comes from a line in a song called Times, which I think we could agree is all of our favorite song on the record,” says Mike. “It’s very stripped down, very organic. It’s a prayer in a tough spot and the first half of the song is my prayer to God and the bridge of the song and the end of the song is God’s answer. Basically God says, ‘Look, there are times that you are hurting. There are times when you are in confusion and there are times when you are going through heartache and all of those times, my love is over and my love is underneath it.’ The Bible is the story of Jonah and Solomon and David and Peter. They are stories of epic failure that God redeemed. He who began a good work in you will be faithful to carry it out. Nothing shall separate us from the love of God. It’s over and it’s underneath.”
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About the Writer
Deborah Evans Price has covered Christian/Gospel music for Billboard magazine since 1994. She also contributes regularly to Country Weekly, CMA Close Up, Devo’Zine, Christian Single, HomeLife, BMI Music World, and other publications.
A Nashville resident since 1983, Deborah has held editorial posts at Radio & Records, Country News, American Songwriter and Billboard. Amy Grant, Trace Adkins, Brad Paisley, Charlie Daniels, 3 Doors Down, Third Day, Don Henley, Bon Jovi, Chris Rice, Sandra Bullock, Mercy Me, Alan Jackson, Smokey Robinson, Carrie Underwood and Steven Curtis Chapman are among her many interviews. Additionally, she's a sought-after music industry analyst who has been interviewed on CNN, MSNBC, TNN, The Today Show, and ABC PrimeTime Live, among other outlets.
Deborah is a member of the Gospel Music Association's board of directors and a graduate of Leadership Music. She resides south of Nashville with her husband, Gary, and 17-year-old son Trey.
