FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 10/21/97

CONTACT:
Robyn Florian
Assistant Director of Public Relations
Greenville College
(618) 664-2800, ext. 4536

"Jars of Clay" With "Plumb" Line to Greenville College At St. Louis' American Theatre Oct. 27

GREENVILLE, IL--Platinum-selling Contemporary Christian Music group, Jars of Clay, with special guest Plumb, perform Monday, October 27, at the American Theatre in St. Louis.

Jars of Clay and Plumb meet a "home town" crowd upon their return to this area, as both groups profit from strong ties to Greenville College, a Christian liberal arts school located one hour east of St. Louis. Jars of Clay found its conception at the school, and additional Greenville collegians placed their production, writing and performance marks on the debut self-titled release of labelmate and tour opening act, Plumb.

Jars of Clay
The four original Jars members, Dan Haseltine, Steve Mason, Charlie Lowell and Matt Bronleewe, formed the band while students in Greenville's Contemporary Christian Music program. The band moved to Nashville in 1994 soon after meriting the Gospel Music Association's coveted Spotlight Talent Competition. At that time, Bronleewe resigned to pursue other CCM opportunities and Matt Odmark, a childhood friend of Lowell, became the newest member of the foursome.

Under the direction of Essential Records and executive producer, Robert Beeson, Jars of Clay's debut self-titled album garnered much praise from industry and listening audiences alike. Awards and opportunities flooded in over this freshman project, including two Dove Awards, a Grammy nomination, airplay on MTV and VH1, as well as performances with Michael W. Smith and Sting.

Lyrical Content
Their success, recently promoted in The Wall Street Journal, has attracted the interest of Christians and non-Christians alike. "It's been really cool overall, but it's presented difficult issues," discussed Dan Haseltine, the band's lead vocalist. "Christians hear our stuff being played on regular radio or alternative rock stations and they want to know, 'Is this band still keeping with what they believe, are they being swayed by the ways of the world?' Then there's the people who aren't Christian, who are wondering, 'Is this band going to stop in the middle of a show and preach to me?'"

Answers to those questions, for both Jars of Clay and Plumb, can be found in their work's primary source of content, the words in the music. A recent CCM Magazine cover story promoting the release of Jars of Clay's sophomore project, Much Afraid, discussed how the spiritual and emotional battles of each band member, and the resulting outgrowth, focused song content.

Haseltine expressed, "We're going to write about the things that are at the forefront of our hearts and the things that we're dealing with and struggling with. We took the issue of from fear to faith-ultimate fear to ultimate faith."

Plumb
Tiffany Arbuckle, in her interview with The Wall Street Journal, added, "All of Plumb's songs are based on real-life situations. Anyone who can understand metaphor or poetry can probably get a message of hope from them."

Plumb, the album, was co-produced by Haseltine and Bronleewe. Although Bronleewe co-wrote most of the songs with Arbuckle, one song, "Concrete," was written by Haseltine and Bronleewe while still at Greenville College. Another former Greenville student, Stephen Leiweke, played guitar on the album.

Plumb, the group, welcomes the talents of GC alumn, Joe Porter, who serves as the band's drummer. These combined efforts have produced a band and an album, unique in style but similar in quality, worthy of a Jars listener's ears.

Greenville College
Greenville College is one of only two colleges in the country to offer a major in Contemporary Christian Music. The CCM program, established in 1986, led to a rise in music student enrollment from fewer than 20 to more than 100 in just four years.

Greenville College is a four-year Christian liberal arts school with 967 traditional and adult students. Founded in 1892, it is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church.