Starfield (band)

Starfield

Left to right: David Crisp, Gordie Cochran, Jon Neufeld, fan, Tim Neufeld
Background information
Origin Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Genres Christian rock, CCM
Years active 2000–present (hiatus)
Labels Sparrow, Independent
Website www.starfieldonline.com
Members Tim Neufeld
Jon Neufeld
Colin Trask
Greg Peace
Past members John Andrews,[1] Adrian Bradford, Mike Hill, Ben Peterson, Shaun Huberts, Dave Crisp, Carlin Lemon, Dave Miller, Gordie Cochran[2]

Starfield is a Canadian Christian music group from Winnipeg, Manitoba. The group has songs and albums that have charted in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They have won multiple GMA Canada Covenant Awards (Canada's Dove Awards), received four Juno nominations, five Vibes, and the Prairie Music Award for best Christian album.

History

The band started out making demos in a friend's basement, resulting in their first two independent albums Starfield and Tumbling After, which sold more than 20,000 units in Canada alone. "The fact that we sold any CDs to more people than just friends and family, or that we won any awards, still blows my mind," Tim said "we really just thought it would be fun to record some stuff for memory's sake. What has happened is just an amazing testimony to God's faithfulness!" The band's vision in music is: "To lift up Jesus so he is impossible to ignore."

The release of their self-titled debut album (2004) introduced the band to a whole new audience in the United States. When it came time for recording the follow-up to the critically acclaimed record, Starfield teamed up with Bronleewe (Michael W. Smith, dc Talk, Plumb) for a second time while also enlisting the talents of GMA Award-winning producer Ed Cash (Chris Tomlin, David Crowder Band, Steven Curtis Chapman). The end result was, Beauty in the Broken (2006).

Starfield in concert

"When we began writing songs for Beauty in the Broken, our goal was to make a corporate worship record an album for the church", explains Tim Neufeld, the groups primary lyricist. "However, as we got deeper into the process of music and lyric, we couldn't get away from our need to first address the often nagging disconnect between us and God its tough to march right into a song like Great is the Lord without first acknowledging the distance that exists between us and God. At the end of the day we felt like Beauty in the Broken was an incomplete worship record without songs like "My Generation," "Captivate," and "Shipwreck" that fess up to the pain, condemnation, and doubt that often get in the way of true intimacy with Jesus."

Beauty in the Broken was followed up with I Will Go in 2008 and The Saving One in 2010.

The band concluded their record deal with EMI/Sparrow in early 2011. Rather than enter into a new record deal, the band went into the studio and recorded an independent record, covering all their own recording costs and negotiating distribution agreements. The result of those sessions, "The Kingdom", released on January 31, 2012.[3]

Members

The two original members of Starfield: Tim (right) and Jon (left) Neufeld.

Starfield was originally formed by brothers Tim and Jon Neufeld, both from Winnipeg. Shaun Huberts and Gordie Cochran, both of Victoria, British Columbia, had then joined the band. Shaun Huberts left the band August 9, 2006, after his last performance at the DCLA Convention in Anaheim, CA. His replacement was Dave Crisp. The band moved back to Canada (Abbotsford, British Columbia) in the fall of 2006 after several years of living in Nashville. Soon after their North American tour with Shane and Shane, featuring Bethany Dillion, both Dave Crisp and Gordie Cochran moved on. Cochran is now playing drums on a worship team at Christian Life Assembly in Langley, British Columbia and has produced the GMA Canada Covenant Awards. James Johnston (Winnipeg, MB) and Dave Lalonde (Oakville, ON) joined Starfield to play bass and drums, respectively. Both Johnston and Lalonde had played with the band on and off for the past eight years before signing on full-time in September 2008. As of June 2011, Starfield has a show-to-show hired bass player and drummer. Johnston left just before his first child was expected to be born, and Lalonde left just after the band's East Coast of Canada 'Saving One' tour.

Former members

Abbotsford church floor collapse

Wikinews has related news: Stage collapse at Christian rock concert

On April 25, 2008, Starfield was performing a concert at the Central Heights Church in Abbotsford, British Columbia, when the floor collapsed and a lighting scaffold fell under fans dancing in front of the stage. A number of concert-goers, mostly youth, fell through the floor into the basement. More than 40 people were injured, several seriously, but there were no fatalities.[4] During the event, singer Tim Neufeld asked the crowd to cease dancing. When the floor collapsed, Neufeld threw his microphone aside and jumped down about 10 feet (3.0 m) to help the victims below.[5] As a result, a concert scheduled April 26 in Burnaby, British Columbia was postponed and a concert scheduled April 28 in Red Deer, Alberta was cancelled. The Abbotsford concert was rescheduled to June 7 in another venue (Sevenoaks Alliance), while the Burnaby concert was rescheduled for June 6.[6] Tickets purchased for the April 25 show were redeemable at the rescheduled Abbotsford show.

Discography

Main article: Starfield discography
Starfield in 2009

Awards and recognition

Gospel Music Association Canada Covenant Awards
Juno Awards
Year Nominee/work Award Result
2003 Tumbling After Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year Nominated
2007 Beauty in the Broken Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year Nominated
2009 I Will Go Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year Nominated
2011 The Saving One Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year Nominated
Shai Awards
Western Canadian Music Awards
Year Nominee/work Award Result
2003 Tumbling After Outstanding Christian Recording Won

References

  1. ↑ Soul Shine Staff (2005-02-07). "(News) Starfield Drummer, Johnny-5 Moves On". Soul Shine Publishing. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
  2. ↑ Biography; Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
  3. ↑ "Starfield, "The Kingdom" Review". Jesusfreakhideout.com. 2012-01-31. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
  4. ↑ CBC British Columbia. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
  5. ↑ 660 News Radio Calgary
  6. ↑ Ca (2012-01-31). "Starfield's MySpace". Myspace.com. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
  7. ↑ GMAC 2008 Covenant Award Winners. Retrieved 2008-11-11. Archived October 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
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