Guitar Jams! Shredomatic

A WORD FROM PASTOR BRAD
I sincerely never cease to be amazed by all of the awesome & talented people
there are out there in wide webbed world of music! Recently I was blessed to
meet Earl Coy, of Las Vegas, NV, and Art Kalenda, of Buffalo NY. I met both of them on SOUNCLICK and they're just fantastic--people and muscians! Be sure
to check 'em out below, click on the links and listen to their music!

And then, God laid this zaney idea on my heart to unite a bunch of Metal Maniacs @ the Christian Metal Realm (see below) and do a compilation tune with them--what a monstrocity of metal mayhem... without question--the CMR tune will ROCK!

When completed (Hopefully this winter/spring) SHREDOMATIC will be my fourth
instruMETAL project, and my ninth release to date.

To be 100% accurate, SHREDOMATIC won't be a total instrumental disc. It will
have about five tunes with vocals, However, the SHRED level will be high--
riffs, licks, tricks, runs, spills, trills, chills and instruMETAL carnage of that sort will be thick!

a friend who was a rippin' guitar player who inspired me to start playing. I started practicing on an old acoustic guitar teaching myself how to play. The only problem was at the the time, I latched onto the bass lines! I started to teach myself to play by ear from Rush's 'Moving Pictures' album, and believe or not, the Go-Go's "Beauty and the Beat" album (Love their first album to this day!), Van Halen, Yes and Iron Maiden to name a few. Steve Harris of Iron Maiden was a big influence on my bass playing style at the time, which in fact, prompted me to sell my trumpet and buy a Japanease P-bass copy. I was able to compare the bass to a friend of mines actual P-bass years later - other than the headstock, a near perfect copy! Being left handed, it was a big deal be able to get that bass. Up until that time, I had been playing re-strung right handed instruments. Playing re-strung instruments was always uncomfortable and had other problems. Yet another reason to appreciate Hendrix!

I've played in umpteen bands and projects over a course the years. I joined the military in the late 80's and that was also when/where I was introduced to Christ. In the very early 90's I played bass in my first Christian rock band (power trio) which was a completely different band experience than I had at that point. Gone where were the ego's, the worry of record deals - there was a purpose bigger than us, and desire to just make good music.

In the mid to late 90's I started playing more guitar and helped start a Christian rock band with a friend of mine. It was a totally new experience in that although it was a power trio, I was the guitar player and singer! It was a completely new experience to be in that role and I learned a lot of "what not to do's", as your errors stick out like a sore thumb! The band put out a CD and played together for 6 years and was even the 'house band' for a theatrical production of "Godspell". Since the band broke up, I have focused my attention on recording my music as 'Force of One'.

Do you have any hobbies/passions besides music?
My other hobbies include weightlifting (I'm not huge, I'm just trying to stay ahead of the pizza's and twinkies I eat!) Riding motorcycles (although I sold my bike recently) and my work...yes I know it sounds weird. I have the kind of job where I find many aspects of it interesting and joyful enough to carry into my personal time. Without it eating into my family life, of course!

Tell us a little bit about your music projects and where we can check 'em out?
Currently I have six songs posted on SOUNDCLICK, which is my first outing as 'Force of One'. Currently, I'm working on a second CD project to be released sometime before my retirement! Actually, I'm busy personally and I try to record when I can, which is tough sometimes. I'm also working on collaborations with other friends that I hope to include on the project.

My style is a combination of straight up blues influence with Satriani, Gilbert, Ty Tabor and Greg Howe mixed in.

What/who inspired you to play the guitar?
When I was 7, my brothers and I decided to start a band after listening to The Cars, VanHalen and Pink Floyd. We started lessons the next week and never looked back.

Outside of the project with Pastor Brad, have you released other music people can check out?
I released "Truth Guitar" a solo CD in April of 2006. It is available at CD Baby and i-tunes. You can link to it through myspace.com/matteltringham or www.matteltringham.com

Any additional comments?
I play the guitar for my savior, Jesus Christ. I love to tell people that. It blows them away because instrumental music is usually not considered "Christian music". God gave me the ability to play and I give my playing back to him. I literally could play my guitar all day long if I didn't have a job and a family. It gives me total joy. I hope that as the word spreads, I will be able to play guitar for a living some day.

The CMR Crew!

The CMR Crew is a group of Brothers (and one very cool Sister!) in Christ who also happen to be maniac metal fans! We all hang out at the "Christian Metal Realm" --hence the tag "CMR". These guys love it loud, hard and heavy... I just thought it would be a cool idea to cram as many of these metal monsters onto one songs as possible and call it... simply, "CMR".... a shred fest -- all within a single song!

THE CMR CREW...
Raymond "Woe to you" Christie, Guymon, OK Vocals on chorus, Guitar solo (0:33 - 0:42)
Lou "Louder" Lizyness, Detroit, MI, Vocals on chorus, Guitar solo (1:23 = 1:33)
Don "donw35" WebsterEl Segundo, CA, Guitar solo (1:34 - 1:44)
Richard "Ascension" Rutledge, Birmingham AL , Guitar solo (1:46 - 1:58)
Andy "gtr1963" England, Leeds, AL, Guitar solo (2:23 - 2:34)
Jon "hoops" Hooper Millbrook, Ontario, Canada, Guitar solo (2:47 - 2:59)
John "bigjtink" Tink, Palm Springs, CA, Vocals on chorus, Guitar solo (3:25 - 3:35)
Joe "Valediction" Magnitude, Alexandria, VA, Vocals on chorus, Keyboards, Intro and solo (3:37 - 4:01)
Cindy "cinflames" Gilkey, Orange County, CA, (Vocals on chorus)
Pastor Brad--Solos in all other spaces

What's your full name?
Christopher Ronald Dickens

Where's home for you?
Watertown, TN--just east of Nashville

Tell us about your musical journey--when did you get into music and who would you name as your top musical influences? I've always loved music. I started off listening to things like Midnight Star and Prince, but later got into bands like AC/DC and Twisted Sister. My dad force fed us country music, and I didn't have a taste for it. I liked to rock! So, I listened to AC/DC, Ratt, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Twisted Sister, etc. for a number of years. I started messing around with a bass during that time, and learned to play by listening to those old tapes and copying what those guys did.

In 1990, I went through some bad depression and ended up hospitalized for it. During that time, God was really trying to get my attention on a lot of things. Music was one of them. It had become a god to me. I remember God asking me one question: how do you sing along with songs that glorify things that you say you don't agree with? I would wrestle with that for months. But, I felt that the Lord was asking me to leave those bands behind, and I did. He introduced me to a ton of Christian metal acts during that time. Bands like Bride, Whitecross, Guardian, Ken Tamplin, Petra, etc. The messages in those songs really helped me to grow closer to the Lord. The commitment I made to the Lord in 1990 to leave secular music behind still stands today--nearly 18 years later. I don't miss it, and I'm not going back.

Do you have any hobbies/passions besides music?
Would music count? I do have other passions. I love being a pastor. I am a youth pastor at a rural Baptist church here in Tennessee. I love working with teens, and I love communicating God's word to others. I also love to read, and am constantly finding new books to devour. But, my main two passions are making music and spreading the word of God.

Tell us a little bit about your music projects and where we can check 'em out?
Well, I've done 3 CDs in the past few years. The first one was called Missionary One "Take Another Swig". It was just old school hard rock/metal. The sound quality needed a lot of work, but I like it. I've put out around 200 of those. Not bad for a one man project who does almost no gigs! That CD is almost out of print. You can only get it from me.

On the second CD, I changed the name. I just felt that Missionary One just didn't really stand out. The name just needed a little something more. I decided to go with Mission Of One. Why? Well, Jesus' mission was to tell people how to enter the Kingdom of God. He passed that one mission to the Apostles and on to us today. It is His mission--that Mission Of One, if you will--that I hope I am helping continue with the music.

The disc was called "Show Me The Way", and went in more of a metal direction. As usual, I did all the vocals, rhythm guitars, and bass. I used 4 different local drummers. Mark Howell did the leads. The high point for me was getting Scott Wenzel of Whitecross to sing on 3 tracks. That was so awesome! A nobody like me got to work with a musical hero. Scott was very humble, and gave me a great performance. You can get the CD here: www.cdbaby.com/missionofone

The new CD will just be self-titled: Mission Of One. On it, I have tried to incorporate several styles into one cohesive sound. I like 70's rock, 80's rock/metal, blues, modern rock/punk, moderd worship music, etc. I experimented with all of these. While it could have been a total failure, I think it works great. The sound comes off more early 80's rock than anything. The CD is not yet available, but will be after getting it mastered and the CDs made. On this disc, my brother Darren handles all the drum work, and I cover everything else. I even ventured out on lead guitar. I did have Mark Breton (another local guitarist) come in on two songs. I hope everyone loves it. While it may/may not be my best work to date, it is definitely the most "me" as I have not really tried to do any one style to please an audience. I just made music & songs that I like. I believe it will show.