Music

Reindeer hits a note on high

by Sam Pfeifle

Those of you familiar with the crunching guitars of this year's Reindeer Rock-Off may be a bit surprised with Portland-based Reindeer Records' newest project. But you shouldn't be.

Just as Barium, one of this year's finalists, considers themselves a Christian rap-core band, Christian acts like the Bolton-esque Michael W. Smith, hardcore band P.O.D., and even crossover pop-star Amy Grant have been exploding onto the national scene recently -- use the Inside/Out Christian music festival as evidence; it boasted more than 60 bands. Capitalizing on this trend, Reindeer head Louis Phillipe has spun-off Joppa Jive, a new Christian label with which to promote Christian acts both local and national, with an initial compilation album titled Walking the Talk.

Phillipe takes the label's name from Peter's travels through the town of Joppa in the Book of Acts. "In the chapter," explains Phillipe, "Peter was walking around in the town of Joppa, and people were saying, `There go the Christians again.' "

As a member of the Portland music scene for a good 20 years, Phillipe has produced a number of local albums, including Shufflin' Tremble's first, and national compilations like last year's The Blue and the Grey. He's also recorded four albums, a number of singles, and radio jingles of his own work. But that was of the standard secular variety. Phillipe's history working with evangelical music -- he's currently the contemporary music directory at St. Joseph's church in Portland -- had him often thinking about branching out into making music for a higher power -- and higher profits.

"It's no secret that contemporary Christian music has just boomed," says Phillipe, "so I thought it was something whose time had come." Though he did round up local acts like Tommy Ferris and the Odatz, both of Portland, the new album also contains acts as geographically diverse as Deadbeats from Kansas City, Missouri, and Godrock from Hamilton, Ontario. One of the surprises on the disc may be Lisa Gallant Seal and the Brotherhood Dogs, known for their gigs at the old Basement but not their Bible thumping. "What's interesting about the label," says Phillipe, "is that we embrace people that are very Christian, as well as secular artists that are spiritual. [Lisa Gallant Seal] responded, and though she is not necessarily a Christian woman, she has a very strong faith that comes out through [`Inside Story']."

Phillipe's next goal is to get these acts out in the public eye, through airplay, public performances, and regional and national touring. One of Phillipe's collaborators on Walking the Talk was Terry Blasko, former program director for WMSJ, Maine's only contemporary Christian music station. "She helped me spread the word," says Phillipe, "no pun intended."

However, even with her help, radio play for local acts is hard to come by. "Ironically," says Phillipe, "it's hard to get airplay, contemporary Christian music has become very syndicated." Phillipe reasons that local Christian acts would increase a station's popularity, but it's certainly no coincidence that the major Christian labels, like Sparrow, Forefront, and Myrrh, are all based in Nashville, the capital of musical politics. And just try asking Diesel Doug or the Piners how easy it is to get on a country station.

Current 'MSJ program director Donny Webb says that while local acts getting on the air is not out of the question, it's unlikely without a label like Joppa Jive's backing. "One of the things that local bands run into," says Webb, "is that the production quality is not as good as what's coming out of Nashville, so it would stick out like a sore thumb if we played it in our regular mix."

As for an all-local show, Webb is at least interested. "It's not out of the question," he says, "but even if we do the local show, I still want our standards to be high." Plus, he emphasizes, "there needs to be enough local music in our specific format," which is adult contemporary Christian music. This is an important point, as there are as many genres within the Christian scene as the secular. And mixing MTV-regulars P.O.D. with Michael W. Smith would make as much sense as throwing together Limp Bizkit and John Denver.

So, Joppa could prove to be a boon for local Christian artists currently confined to churches and the odd gig at Christo's, a Christian-music-friendly restaurant in Sanford. "I don't think a local label could hurt," says Webb, "having a label behind you makes it a lot easier to get good production. I think it's a good thing."