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By J. MATTHEW COBB
MINNEAPOLIS IS MORE than just the hometown of Mall of America - the largest shopping mall in the country. If you've done your homework, you will discover the city's opulent pride for their musical heroes which include musical giants like Bob Dylan, Prince and his Revolution (Morris Day & the Time, Vanity 6, Lisa & Wendy), the Replacements, Mint Condition , Alexander O'Neal and popular production/songwriter team Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. And while huge metropolitan areas like Detroit is home to Motown and Memphis is home to Stax, Minneapolis - according to popular music critics - has its own brand and unique sound best summed up as the Minneapolis Sound. With a powerful mix of the cold artic breeze and its bourgeoning underground music scene, the Minneapolis sound even influenced a generation of contemporary gospel go-getters like the GRAMMY-award winning Sounds of Blackness, Stellar Award winner Excelsior, Ann Nesby, Darnell Davis & the Remnant, Minneapolis Sound Group (MSG) and a list of others. At the top of that list you will also find James Grear & Company. With a career spanning over 20 years, James Grear & Company has sorta done it all. Among their major highlights, they have released five albums, received four Stellar Award nominations, appeared on the motion picture soundtracks of The Fighting Temptations (with Beyoncé and Angie Stone) and Disney's The Prince of Egypt, recorded with Sting and even made a televised appearance singing background behind pop diva Mariah Carey on NBC's Today Show. Adding to their resume, Grear has finally released their new album Don't Waste Another Day (Habakkuk); featuring a collection of music that spans traditional, contemporary and urban gospel. We had the priviledge of chatting with the group's leader and learned much about his career and his dedication to music. And when the questions started rolling, so did the number of subjects. We talked about almost everything. The current state of gospel music. The new album. His roots from Gary, Indiana (Michael Jackson's hometown). Gospel beef. We didn't even realize that time had elapsed over our planned thirty minutes. The conversation really exploded with excitement and clarity when we discussed the misfortunes today's gospel artists have with pursuing fame and instant gratification and not focusing on the importance of ministry. "They're chasing after Stellar nominations and awards and record deals," Grear interjected. "And I'm not hear to knock. But when it comes to this and it's ministry-related, just make sure God has called you to do this...I don't know why everyone thinks it's all glamorous 'cause it's nothing glamorous about it." Afterwards, we should have opened up the doors of the church and sung an invitational hymn. Kumbaya my Lord. And so, now's your golden opportunity to hear the 1-on-1 conversation with James Grear.
Stay tuned for part iii
OTHER VALUABLE RESOURCES TO LOOK INTO: James Grear & Company - MySpace Page
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