All Star United
Bio
Holland. Turkey. Ireland. Bosnia. New Zealand. Tasmania. Hungary. Canada. Australia. Brazil. Germany. Denmark. Sweden. Norway. Japan. Singapore...sounds like an itinerary for an international ambassador, eh? In a sense, it is.
Although pop/rock quintet All Star United hails from Nashville, Tenn., the aforementioned nations are past and future stamps on the group members' passports, as their die-hard tour morphs into the wild mission of "being one of the few Christian bands to take over the globe." All Star United's earth-trotting concert schedule - reminiscent of megasuperstars like U2 and the Rolling Stones - should come as no surprise given the title of the band's sophomore album, International Anthems for the Human Race.
The genre mishmash and fun-without-apologies style that characterized All Star United's debut is back, in even fuller, bursting-at-the-seams force. Why? Both lyrically and musically, International Anthems is a reflection of five young men who've seen an incredibly diverse array of people and places in the last couple of years, and have incorporated those experiences into all that they do.
The new record was also influenced by the group's seasoned live show, having evolved over 300-plus dates in every environment imaginable: from sweaty, makeshift stages in church auditoriums all across U.S. soil, to the back of a flatbed truck in a Turkish square (complete with a Muslim mosque in the background and armed guards ready to pounce on any mention of Christianity), to a 12-day tour of military bases in Bosnia that necessitated a series of James Bond-like entrances and exits via helicopter. Even though All Star United is known for their sharp wit and endless jesting, the band members treat their mission quite seriously. "We've always wanted to build an international market," singer Ian Eskelin remarks, "and you don't get anywhere without asking. We're an adventurous kind of group and we like to push it with our live show. So we decided we'd play crazy places like Turkey and Belfast, Ireland. We discovered that the Holy Spirit can move through the music in those places."
Albeit well-traveled, All Star United has found time to build quite a successful career right here in the United States. In addition to an exhaustive state-side touring schedule, including two tours with labelmates Third Day, All Star United?s self-titled debut received a Grammy nomination for "Rock/Gospel Album Of The Year," and garnered the band four #1 radio singles including the "#1 Rock Song Of The Year" in 1997. The band was also honored by CCM Magazine and the readers of Release Magazine as one of the "Best New Artists Of 1997." 7 Ball Magazine voted All Star United one of the "Ten Best Albums Of 1997."
All Star United's spirit of adventure is woven within the unique evolution of International Anthems, which was written and constructed live in the studio with Neill King, a producer who "didn't have a clue how Christian records ought to sound," according to drummer Christian Crowe, but had orchestrated the creative process on a number of highly successful mainstream albums (Green Day, Elvis Costello, The Smiths, Madness). "Neill's production credits really speak for themselves," lead vocalist Ian Eskelin says. "He's worked on so many cool records that we, as a band, really dig. It just made sense to have him produce this album." Most significantly, King's presence allowed the members to concentrate completely on writing and performing rather than donning the producer's hat as well.
Recorded at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA and various studios throughout Nashville, International Anthems showcases the diversity and depth of the band?s musical influences - punk, glam, bossanova, Œ80?s pop, and arena rock to name a few - and the maturity of their songwriting. "With this record, we knew we needed to take things up a notch," explains Eskelin. "The songs on International Anthems have more instrumentation and polish than other stuff we?ve done. We spent a lot of time working out cool tones, sounds, and nuances that add a little something special to each track. In addition, we?ve got a brass section on several songs, and a 12-piece string section on others. Things like that help take the songs to a new level. I think that each time someone listens to the record they?ll hear something that they didn?t catch the time before. Sonically and musically, Anthems is a big step forward for us."
In the studio, the quintet "just turned on the amps full blast and came up with our own parts," Crowe says, adding that the International Anthems were written to have the greatest impact in front of the largest crowds.
"We desire to be an arena band, a stadium band," Crowe explains. "When we're playing in front of 20,000 or 30,000 people, that's when we do our best stuff. That's what the international anthems are all about - reaching the masses with the kind of music that'll exude a classic, '70s rock feel that appeals to both the 13-year-old rocker and the 45-year-old mother." All Star United's healthy dose of horns, strings, retro synths - and its almost happy-go-lucky intensity - is likely to insure its long-lasting popularity.
But All Star United doesn't avoid making its listeners think, either. Eskelin is convinced that one song on the disc - a moody offering called "If We Were Lovers" - will cause controversy among people who "won't take a second look at it. What I'm talking about [in the song] is our Biblical call as Christians to be lovers of all people. If we loved each other the way the Bible tells us to, think about the impact we could have on the world. To me, the lyrics are self-explanatory."
Other tunes tackle subjects both global and personal. Despite the boogie-woogie piano and driving, horn-drenched beat that propels "Popular Americans," the song doesn't paint a pretty picture. Eskelin says "there's a reason why America took off and became powerful. God was at the helm. That's not the sentiment today." One of the most interesting (and blistering) tracks is "Worldwide Socialites Unite" - a concept piece about an international party where the revelers are supposed to discuss the meaning of life and "they lose themselves in their own conversations," Eskelin says with no hint of irony. "
Thank You Goodnight," with its midtempo balladry and bluesy guitar, is "my prayer at the end of the day," Eskelin says. "It's saying that I can't live up to the mercy God's given me. He's paved the way and gotten me through another 24-hour period."
Along with their desire to write the perfect pop song, All Star United's core value is ministry - as evidenced by the self-financed short-term mission trip they take as a band every year. "We use music to entertain, and then we hit the crowd with the truth of the message," Eskelin says. "Fortunately, English is pretty much an international language, and we can talk pretty easily to many people when we're on tour in different countries. But even when we played for Russian and Norwegian troops, they would come up and tell us in broken English that they totally understood the message we were trying to get across.
There's something incredibly spiritual about music, and when you sing songs about Jesus, passion ought to exude from your body. I may not always be able to communicate a whole lot about my walk or what I believe verbally [from stage], but people can tell there's something different. That's why we play every show like it's our last."
All Star United Is:
Brian Whitman - Guitars / Keyboards
Christian Crowe - Drums
Ian Eskelin - Vocals/Guitar
Stefan Ekstedt - Guitars
Adrian Walther - Bass
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