Thursday, Oct. 18, 2001 | 8:26 a.m.
Lifehouse
Or so it was thought.
But then U2 came along, followed by Creed more than 15 years later, and suddenly the idea of a rock 'n' roll band proclaiming its Christian faith wasn't so unbelievable.
With the secular success enjoyed by those groups, it's no wonder a new wave of religious rockers -- bands such as Lifehouse and P.O.D. -- have popped up on the mainstream charts.
That's not to say either Lifehouse or P.O.D. -- who perform today and Friday, respectively, at House of Blues at Mandalay Bay -- is a Christian band. In fact, both groups adamantly reject the label, as have U2 and Creed, preferring to think of themselves as Christians who just happen to be in a rock band.
"Whenever anyone asks if we're a Christian band, I basically say no," said Jason Wade, lead singer/guitarist of Lifehouse, from a hotel room in St. Louis.
"If you're a Jewish plumber, do you have to put Jewish plumber on the side of your car if you're going to work? I don't get the whole idea if you're a Christian you have to be in (the Christian music) industry."
Which is essentially how the members of P.O.D. view their situation.
"We just want to be positive, not necessarily religious," said Marcos, guitarist for the hard rock/metal/rap band, from his home in San Diego.
"Call us what you want, but the one thing people know is that we're positive, and that's all that matters."
That's not to imply either group is playing down its beliefs. In fact, both hit singles from Lifehouse and P.O.D. -- "Hanging by a Moment" and "Alive," respectively -- are filled with veiled references about the groups' beliefs, as well as love and a general sense of faith.
These themes are a far cry from what Marcos called the "big trend of whiny, crying rock 'n' rollers," some of whom he was on the road with during last year's Ozzfest.
" 'Oh, I'm so sad, oh, there's so much sorrow,' " he said, mimicking various angst-ridden bands. "But then you go backstage and they're really happy. For P.O.D., we're the same on the stage as we are off the stage."
Positive message or not, both bands find themselves in a precarious situation with some religious groups who don't feel it's acceptable for Christian artists to seek success on the secular charts.
It's a similar problem singer Amy Grant faced when she crossed over to the mainstream pop charts after a successful career as a Christian performer. Grant was labeled a "sellout" by some Christian fans, who rejected the notion a religious singer could and/or should write and perform more worldy (read: non-Christian) songs.
While P.O.D. was originally signed to a small Christian label before moving to Atlantic Records and Lifehouse began as a church worship band for a youth group, neither band has totally crossed over from Christian music. Yet, both Wade and Marcos acknowledged they take flak for being Christians in bands that aren't playing "Christian music."
"We have these kids coming up trying to convert us and we grew up in the church," Wade said. "It's like, 'C'mon, I know Jesus loves me, all right.' They should stop trying to convert us, and get outside and try to convert some people who actually aren't Christians."
As a result of that belief, that only the "unsaved" play secular music, Wade said he occasionally feels as if his band is a "black sheep" and an "outcast" among other Christian artists.
"Some of the older adults don't understand what we are doing and why we are not taking that other approach," the "other" being Christians performing in a rock band. "(But) the people who do get what we are doing are not judging us for the approach we are taking, and are some of our biggest fans," he said.
For what it's worth, those who do "get" the bands, seem to be in the majority.
The debut album of Lifehouse, "No Name Face," released almost a year ago, has gone double platinum. And "Satellite," the second major-label album from P.O.D., sits at No. 8 on Billboard and is quickly approaching platinum status after only a month on the charts.
As to why both bands don't wish to be labeled as a "Christian band," both said it had a lot to do with the perception -- accurate or not -- that Christian rock groups, such as Petra and Stryper, weren't as musically minded as their secular counterparts.
"I listened to ('80s Christian rock) when I was about 10, 11 or 12, and then I realized that there was a lot better music out there than that," Wade said, laughing.
Marcos voiced a similar feeling as well, having grown up listening to metal acts such as Metallica and Slayer before listening to a Petra cassette his mom bought him.
"I tried (Christian rock) and didn't care for it," he said. "No offense, I just didn't like it," he said, adding. "there's more to this band than that."
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