Jars of Clay
Jars of Clay is a four-member Christian rock band formed at Greenville College in Greenville, IL. The band has been praised for successfully penetrating the secular market.
Jars of Clay is: Dan Haseltine, Charlie Lowell, Stephen Mason and Matthew Odmark. The band has no permanent drummer or bass player, though these roles are currently filled by Joe Porter and Aaron Sands in their live concerts.
The band's name is derived from the Bible verse II Corinthians 4:7 New International Version, which states: "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." This verse is the namesake for their song "Four Seven", which paraphrases the verse.
Band History
The Early Years
Jars of Clay first formed at Greenville College, Illinois in the early 90s, by Dan Haseltine, Steve Mason and Charlie Lowell. They had been playing and writing without thinking about an actual career in music, but more for fun ("like a dormitory acoustic group"). Second guitarist Matt Bronlewee joined some time later, and drummer Scott Savage also accompanied them in some live shows at this time.
Catching Attention
In 1994, they submitted a demo to a talent competition run by the Gospel Music Association and were selected as finalists. They traveled to Nashville to perform and won the contest. Back in Greenville, they started selling a self-released demo called Frail. That song was originally written by Steve Mason as an audition track for a scholarship to Greenville (his submission was succesful). Their performance in Nashville and their demo managed to caught the attention of record labels, so the band decided to drop school and move to Nashville. At this time, Bronlewee left the band to settle down with his fiancee and was replaced with Matt Odmark (Mason's childhood friend).
Jars Success
Jars of Clay signed with Essential Records and started recording their first full-length album. Former prog-rocker from King Crimson and recent Christian convertee, Adrian Belew, heard the band and offered to produce the album. It was finally released in 1995 and one of the songs, "Flood", became a hit in Christian radio stations. When the song began to catch up in secular radio stations, Silvertone (Essential's parent company) heavily promoted the song turning it into one of the biggest mainstream hits of any Christian band. To this day, the album has already reached the double platinum mark.
Following Albums
The band toured in support of bands such as PFR and Michael W. Smith, and even some secular bands. This fact gave them a small backlash from conservative Christian groups. They also released a Christmas EP titled Little Drummer Boy at the end of 1995. In 1997, they released their second album, Much Afraid, produced by Steve Lipson. The album debuted succesfully and won them a Grammy. However, it didn't reach the same level of success as its precedessor.
In 1999, they released their third album, If I Left The Zoo, produced by Dennis Herring and it reached gold status. It also earned them their second Grammy. By this time, touring drummer Savage left the band's live performance to play for Jaci Velasquez and was replaced by Joe Porter.
Jars in the New Millenium
In 2001 the four members of the band received Honorary Degrees at Greenville College, where three of them had studied before dropping out in 1994 to move to Nashville.
In 2002, the band produced and released their fourth album called The Eleventh Hour which earned the band their third Grammy in a row. They followed it next year with the impressive double-disc Furthermore: From The Studio, From The Stage.
In 2003, the band released their fifth studio album called Who We Are Instead. The album is a more stripped-down approach to praise and worship.
In 2005, the band released Redemption Songs, a collection of old hymns the band used to play in church. Also, in late 2005, the band announced that the writing for a new album was nearing completion, and they would be returning to the studio to record the album in the Spring. There is currently no word as to what type of sound this album will have in relation to their previous efforts.
Blood:Water Mission
Lead singer Dan Haseltine visited Africa in 2002, which in turn inspired the founding of Bloodwater Mission, a non-profit organization created to raise awareness and money for the poverty and AIDS stricken regions of the continent. The name is derived from, as Haseltine says, "The two things Africa needs most" - clean blood and clean water. The mission has begun the 1000 Wells project, an effort to have a thousand new wells built throughout Africa.
Jars' Beliefs
The band has always been open about their Christian beliefs. This hasn't spared them the backlash from some Christian groups though. However, they have stood firm. They write about their music, "The music comes from a place of true reverence and appreciation of our past and an attempt to leap across the years and articulate that past in a language that could be embraced by us as 21st-century people of faith."
The Jars of Clay are also considered role-models in their moral ethics, not indulging in the common temptations in which other rock stars fall. For example, they encourage kids through example to make their marriage as special as possible by avoiding premarital sex. Their music lacks moralizing tones and focuses on the Christ's message of love. This has increased the appeal of the band beyond traditional Christian niches. "A lot of Christians probably wish we had a greater agenda than we do," Haseltine says. But, "we don't need to prove the validity of what we believe."
Band Members
Current Members
- Dan Haseltine - vocals, percussion
- Charlie Lowell - piano, organ, accordian, keys, background vocals
- Stephen Mason - guitar, vocals, lap & pedal steel, national, mandolin, background vocals
- Matthew Odmark - acoustic guitar, banjo, background vocals
Former Members
- Matt Bronlewee - guitar (1993 - 1994)
Touring Members
- Scott Savage - drums (1993 - 1999)
- Joe Porter - drums (1999 - present)
- Aaron Sands - bass guitar
Discography
Studio Albums
- Jars of Clay (1995)
- Much Afraid (1997)
- If I Left the Zoo (1999)
- The Eleventh Hour (2002)
- Furthermore: From the Studio, From the Stage (2003)
- Who We Are Instead (2003)
- Redemption Songs (2005)
Other Recordings
- Drummer Boy (1996), a Christmas EP that was re-released with different tracks a year later.
- Seatbelt Tuba (1997), a 3-track bonus disc accompanying early editions of "Much Afraid", with live acoustic performances.
- Stringtown (1998), a fan club exclusive live album.
- The White Elephant Sessions (1999), a B-Sides and outtakes disc from the If I Left The Zoo sessions.
- Front Yard Luge (1999), a live EP that accompanied certain online orders of If I Left The Zoo.
- Jars of Gems (2000), a best-of compilation released exclusively in Asia.