Thought provoking, intense, personal, rock your world songs which tell stories from the heart though a sonic envelope all our own. A different kind of Gospel music direct from the mission field.
The Long Way Home is a sound collage of timeless musical styles and poignant lyrics, played expertly by the members of ETx and under the careful production of Tony Spada, who is well known in the progressive rock circuit for his keen ear and stellar guitar playing. ETx has a lot of different influences from Gordon Lightfoot, Cream, Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, and many others are thought of when the songs play. Lyrically comparisons have been made to Dylan and some of the more introspective writers from the 50s until today. A little Bono thrown in for good measure occasionally too. As the man said “youre gonna like em if you like these other guys and gals stuff”.
Mad in America explores the realities of struggling for careers in a global economy where jobs are moved from country to country at the whim of management without thought to the impact on the lives affected by these changes. It is a treatise on corporate greed and how that so doesn’t work with the Gospel.
The title song The Long Way Home is storytelling about personal struggles and radical emotions on the battlefields of spiritual warfare and the love of a gracious God who silently waits to catch us as we always fall. It is the life journey we all take walking sometimes on the bad roads while at other times on the right path. It is reality set to music.
In Eternity, we find the story of salvation in a nutshell with the actor reaching the edge of night and is suddenly and miraculously thrown into the day with the promise of living in the house of the Lord for Eternity. Heaven has a place for sinners like me. A seat is prepared at the table.
My Faith is alive. A prayer, a statement, and a shout in the face of the world that it doesn’t own us. It only rents.
Next up is an eclectic (and electric) prayer of redemption done in traditional New Orleans Blues style with the Holding Pattern Brass marching the way.
As darkness continues to fall, signs and portends appear around us, the moon is turning amber, tides are running wild, and we are sitting in Babylon in the Last Days. A serious rocker which must be played at 11 on the volume control. Fasten your seatbelts.
ETx’s answer to the blues shuffle. Something you’ll want to sing around the house and in the streets so loudly that everyone will look funny at you. But frankly you won’t care – you’ve been redeemed and taken away from that place.
As the rain hits the pavement, you’re sitting at a traffic light contemplating your life and possessions, slowly a homeless person walks by pushing a carriage full of garbage bags, and you think to yourself, am I doing what I was really put here for …… there’s a little bit of Judas in all of us.
The last song is pure fun – to leave you smiling – mostly from the ladies point of view – be sure to sing this one in church. What we really need here and now, is in this song. Rock on.
May 17th 2009 - Steve