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| The Prayer Chain | |
|---|---|
| Origin | California, US |
| Genres | Christian alternative rock |
| Years active | 1991–1995 |
| Labels | Reunion, Rode Dog |
| Past members | Tim Taber Andrew Prickett Eric Campuzano Wayne Everett |
| Website | www |
The Prayer Chain was a 1990s Christian alternative rock band. The band has been called "the epitome of the Christian underground". The Prayer Chain was known for producing moody, angst-ridden music which was, in turn, the result of creative differences within the band and with their record label.
History
Early History
Their first album, released independently, was recorded with Steve Hindalong at Neverland Studios and was entitled The Neverland Sessions. After signing to Reunion Records they put out the "Whirlpool" EP and started touring, while focusing on their first LP Shawl released in 1993.
Shawl era
In 1993, The Prayer Chain released there first collection of all new material since 1990. The album showed a more aggressive side of the band compared to the upbeat poppier sound of the "Whirlpool" EP. The band proudly distanced themselves from their past, announcing in album opener Crawl that is "Shine is dead", referring to their hit song Shine. The album produced fan favorites Never Enough, Fifty-Eight (written in 5/8 time) and Worm. Crawl and Like I Was were also released as a 7-inch single, with clips released for both.
In April 1994, the band released their first Live recording, recorded toward the end of the tour for Shawl. It included a couple of bonus tracks from the Shawl era.
Mercury era
After extensive national and international shows they started working on their final album, Mercury, which was released in 1995. Engineer Chris Colbert wrote, "you can hear the band break up on the record, you can see them extend a warm and heartfelt middle finger to the industry".
Post Break-up
Some releases which included rare recordings followed. The band has since done a reunion show in Chicago in 1998, the Gene Eugene tribute show in 2000, some local California shows and 2003 reunion shows at Cornerstone Festival and the Flevo Festival in the Netherlands.
The band has released some of their work & rarities on the Bandcamp website. Most notably, they released the original version of their album Mercury titled Humb, ending years of speculation between fans regarding the original album. The original version was sent to Reunion Records in 1994 and the band were subsequently told to go back into the studio to write more songs, "something they could sell". The most evident differences between Mercury and Humb are the absence of "Sky High" on Humb, which along with "Friend or Foe" was written after the record label rejected the original version of the album, and the inclusion of "Chalk", "Antarctica" and "Loverboy" on Humb, all which eventually appeared on Antarctica. Humb also had a different track order. The somewhat different mixing on the original album is considered to be darker.
In April 2015, the band announced they would be releasing Mercury on double vinyl through Kickstarter to mark the 20th anniversary of the album. Funding for the album was achieved within three hours of the announcement. It is due to be released in July 2015.
Members
- Tim Taber - vocals, founder of Floodgate Records (Cool Hand Luke, The Myriad), Transparent Productions, and Transparent Artists (Jeremy Edwardson)
- Andrew Prickett - guitar, now plays with CUSH and does extensive recording/producing/engineering, has also played with The Violet Burning, My Brother's Mother, OneRepublic and others.
- Eric Campuzano - bass guitar, now plays guitar for The Lassie Foundation & Stranger Kings. He's also released two drone solo projects under the moniker Charity Empressa. He also plays bass with CUSH, and has played with Starflyer 59.
- Wayne Everett - drums, now playing guitar and started The Lassie Foundation, has played in Starflyer 59 and CUSH, has done some producing, also released a solo album titled KingsQueens in 2003 on Northern Records.
Discography
Full-Length Albums
- The Neverland Sessions (1992)
- Shawl (1993)
- Mercury (1995)
- Antarctica (1996)
- Humb (2011)
EPs
- 4 Song Demo (1990)
- Whirlpool (1992)
- Live (4-song version) (1994)
- Live (8-song version) (1994)
- Live at CBGB's (2005)
Singles (7-inch vinyl)
- Shine (1992)
- Crawl/Like I Was (1993)
Two-disc sets
- Mercury & Mercurios Tin: Limited Edition Collector's Set (1995)
- So Close...Yet So Far (Retrospective & B-sides) (1998)
Double Vinyl
- Mercury (20th anniversary re-release) (2015)
Compilations
- Live at the Strand (1997)
- A Live Tribute Recording for Gene Eugene (2000)
- Here Comes the Rust (retrospective) (2003)
References
- Powell, Mark Allan (2002). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music (First printing ed.). Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers. pp. 724–726. ISBN 1-56563-679-1.
- Roth, J. Peter (September–October 1995). "The Last Prayer Chain Story". 7ball (2). Archived from the original on December 27, 1996.
- "Chris Colbert (Part 1) on drones, breakfast with amy, the prayer chain's mercury, etc by Jason and Brent". 2003. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
- Postma, Mike (January–February 2007). "The Prayer Chain". HM Magazine (123): 50–53.
- "Humb | The Prayer Chain". Theprayerchain.bandcamp.com. August 31, 1994. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
- "The Prayer Chain 20th Anniversary Mercury Vinyl". Kickstarter. Retrieved April 3, 2015.