77s Message Board | Print: Why I am a fan.

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Posted by Dreamlands on 07-21-2004 at19:56:

Why I am a fan.

Chances are there are new fans seeing this board, got a taste of the 77s and are curious to know more. There are a lot of posts on this board, and a wealth of information, albeit scattered, on the news servers and in defunct and current publications.

I am grateful that this site exists and thank those who had a hand in making it reality. Here is a place where one can get a concise history of the group and late-breaking info for those of us who can't get enough.

I thought it would be worthwhile to post a short treatise on what being a 77s fan is to me. I hope others will reply in kind.

After becoming a believer in Christ in 1986, friends had introduced me to various Christian artists who produced songs that were what I would call the "packaged, plastic and superficial" variety. Local Christian bookstores had a few CDs from these artists and only one magazine, CCM, that covered them. That, I thought, was the world of music made by Christian artists.

In 1999 a friend brought me to Cornerstone Festival and opened up a whole new world. Artists who lived, fought, and struggled with living as believers in a hard world. Real creativity by people who by and large seemed to do this as an act of love - called, if you will. Here were people with day jobs, travelling the country in beat up vans to bring hope to fellow sojourners. People who would meet with you after the concert, shake your hand, pray for you, and humbly thank you for your praise or for buying a copy of their work. I was hooked, loaded up on a bunch of CDs and ticked off the days to Cornerstone 2000.

The next July, on one hot night I wandered to the fringes of a packed tent where some guy wearing a Green Bay Packers jersey was wailing a solo in a song that spoke my life: "The Years Go Down." Honestly, I stood there mesmerized. Usually, you go to a concert, hear your favorites, enjoy the experience and go home deaf. This was more of a case of connecting, inside, with not just the band but with hundreds of fellow souls. You sense that somehow, you and each of these people have fought on the same battlefields; up front was a group who could put it all into words and song.

After the concert I hit the nearby merchandise table and bought a copy of eveything there. What cinched the deal for me was a unique item: a Zippo lighter with the 77s logo! Being a Navy vet who collected such things, it also seemed right: here was a band that reached out to smokers! Wouldn't the "elders" have fits?!? Even though I was an ex-smoker, the lighter seemed to capture the attitude of the band - Mike has said it better on many occasions, but to me it's like this: God loves you and wants you even as you're stabbing Him in the back. Others may have given up on you, but He never will.

Since then it's been a priority to see the 77s and the Lost Dogs, and to get connected with fellow fans. Here are real people from various walks and places, and here is a band that lifts you up as you lift them up. Witness the e-mails from Mike calling for prayer for a fan, or Mark sharing a bit of his life with a few fans between sets.

If you are new to the group, I can say you are in for a treat: roughly 25 years of history, and as you acquire new and previous albums you get a chance to hear something new, deep and close to your heart even though it was created years ago.
Enjoy!

Posted by .evangeline. on 07-21-2004 at22:06:

i greatly enjoyed reading that, Dreamlands. Thanks!
My experiences with Cstone and 77s concerts have been similarly exhilirating and challenging.

Posted by Marti on 07-22-2004 at04:33:

Why I am a fan.

Beautiful, and true.

Posted by larryl on 07-26-2004 at05:08:

very cool....i too discovered good christian music through a fest....ISfest in atlanta, 1994, where i found the choir, the throes, the waiting, which led me to DA, undercover, the 77s, and all sorts of other cool bands......

Posted by freek on 07-26-2004 at09:13:

i love my 7's zippo!

Cool

Posted by Kit on 08-03-2004 at20:38:

It's cool they are still making new fans!

Posted by Dreamlands on 08-04-2004 at18:32:

Yeah. When I can I invite my friends to a concert, and sometimes they buy a CD as well. These guys are too good to not spread the word.

BTW, my Zippo proved not to be the best. Needed a new flint and wick right out of the box. But then, maybe I had lousy fluid. Gotta quit using charcoal lighter fluid in it, I guess.

Posted by .evangeline. on 08-05-2004 at18:08:

Spread the Word!

i may have "converted" a watishi wa fan at work. He wants to see the Eugene DVD.

Posted by Dreamlands on 08-06-2004 at20:46:

It also has a beat and you can dance to it

Ballroom dancing is a hobby, and I discovered you can dance swing to "Perfect Blues," and mambo or salsa to "Outskirts."

Posted by audiori on 08-08-2004 at10:19:

I agree with what has been said, in the 80's we started
out listening to awful CCM, but as we bought more tapes
and tested the water of different bands we stumbled on
DA and the 77s and soon to follow the Chior. We didn't really
hear much DAS or Adam Again until early 90s.

Cornerstone 90 was our first Cornerstone so for most of the 80s
we just could guess what they were like live. Scanning CCM
magazine, Harvest Rock, NoteBored, and the other magazines
for any shred of news. Sometimes we would see nothing about
the bands for a very long time and then bam a new album
would be seen in a store here. We bought everything any of
these guys worked on even if it was just playing guitar or whatever.
Always looking forward to the new band album.

After going to Cornerstone we were definately hooked on seeing
them live anytime it was physically and financially possible. We've
been to that festival every year since and a few other lesser
fests as well.

Why have we obsessed over this music? For the same reasons you
describe. It's real. It's not fake Christianity; perfect haired sweater
wearing manequin smiled emotion targetted crap. It's artists who
have exactly the same struggles with life as we do and have the
guts to show it. They have times of struggling with faith, they
have doubts, they have hard times, but just like all of us we hang
on to what we know is real. It's an understanding that we are in
this together.

On top of all this, the music is great....and why is the music great?
Why do they rock? Because of the same reason, they put feeling
into it, they mean what they say. Their songs are about how
they are living or experiences they've had. The music is not just
a religious tract put to music churned out like a lot of CCM,
it's a reflection of these guys and the struggles and belief they
hold to. Thats why we relate.

Posted by Nailtatt on 08-08-2004 at10:48:

Posted by audiori

"Why have we obsessed over this music? For the same reasons you
describe. It's real. It's not fake Christianity; perfect haired sweater
wearing manequin smiled emotion targetted crap. It's artists who
have exactly the same struggles with life as we do and have the
guts to show it. They have times of struggling with faith, they
have doubts, they have hard times, but just like all of us we hang
on to what we know is real. It's an understanding that we are in
this together.

On top of all this, the music is great....and why is the music great?
Why do they rock? Because of the same reason, they put feeling
into it, they mean what they say. Their songs are about how
they are living or experiences they've had. The music is not just
a religious tract put to music churned out like a lot of CCM,
it's a reflection of these guys and the struggles and belief they
hold to. Thats why we relate."

You have summed up exactly why I am a HUGE fan of the Sevens and some of the surrounding bands, but especially the 77's. Their words always speak to me and I can feel the words and understand what they are dealing with.

Posted by Marti on 08-09-2004 at13:58:

Why have we obsessed over this music? For the same reasons you
describe. It's real. It's not fake Christianity; perfect haired sweater
wearing manequin smiled emotion targetted crap. It's artists who
have exactly the same struggles with life as we do and have the
guts to show it. They have times of struggling with faith, they
have doubts, they have hard times, but just like all of us we hang
on to what we know is real. It's an understanding that we are in
this together.

On top of all this, the music is great....and why is the music great?
Why do they rock? Because of the same reason, they put feeling
into it, they mean what they say. Their songs are about how
they are living or experiences they've had. The music is not just
a religious tract put to music churned out like a lot of CCM,
it's a reflection of these guys and the struggles and belief they
hold to. Thats why we relate.[/quote]

Amen, to all of the above.

I think we need to let them know that once in awhile (not that they do it all for us). Jeff K.'s comments about the ugly stuff on message boards has been on my mind all day; I've read some of it. A lot of it's not discussion, but rather poorly informed vilification. I'm waiting for the day that people get over the idea that they're doing God a favor by tearing up His people that do things differently than they do themselves.

Posted by Bret 3B on 08-09-2004 at14:24:

Well...I must say...I am definitely a big fan of Michael Roe, and you can't be a fan of Mike and not include Mark & Bruce, as they have contributed considerably to Mike's solo stuff, too!

I am such a fan, that when I heard that Mike & Terry were doing a 2 legged dog tour, I booked it. When I found that Mike & Mark were doing the acoustic tour, I booked it. I figure that if nothing else, I could try and introduce my friends to the music of two of my favorite bands that includes Mike.

What is it about the guy? It's the music, it's the words, it's the passion that he brings to the record, the broad spectrum of his ability.

Yes...I am a fan of all of the 77's various line-up's, I have my favorite & my least favorite recordings, but it was Mike's vocals that drew me in.

Mike, Mark, Bruce, (all of the other guys that have been in the band), thanks for doing what you guys do. As long as you guys make records, I will buy them. As I can book gig's for you in my town, I will do that, too.