This Week In Music News: Matthew West, Matt Maher, Peter Furler, and Summer Samplers

Matthew West to release "The Story of Your Life, Inspiring Stories of God at Work in People Just Like You"

     GRAMMY ® nominee Matthew West along with best selling author Angela Thomas (Do You Think I’m Beautiful, My Single Mom Life and more) are uniting to release The Story of Your Life, Inspiring Stories of God at Work in People Just Like You with Harvest House Publishers this September.

      The book from West comes as a follow-up to his best-selling, latest CD The Story of Your Life where he received 10,000 personal stories from individuals in every state in the U.S. and 20 countries. Upon its release, The Story of Your Life garnered attention from CNN, Fox News, Billboard Magazine, Country Weekly, AOL’s TheBoot.com and more.

Matt Maher to release new record, "The Love Between", on September 20

     Matt Maher has earned a reputation as one of Christian music’s most sought-after singer/songwriters and worship leaders in the music community today, but he’s also known as a man with striking conviction and the ability to relate that passion and conviction to listeners ranging from the studied theologian to the layperson.

     On September 20 Maher will deliver The Love In Between, an album that takes church from within the four walls to the handshake between two people. Matt’s third national release is a watershed album defining his artistic direction and setting apart his signature vocals and compelling writing style. The Love In Between is encouraging, hopeful and authentic; the articulation of who Matt is as a man, husband, soon-to-be-father, brother and follower.

Summer Sampler Packages: Tooth and Nail, Solid State, and BEC records

     Three of the biggest names in Christian music threw together summer samplers, and are offering free music. See http://freetoothandnail.com/ to find each of the samplers. Just "like" each record company on facebook, and gain access to amazing songs like:

Tooth & Nail Records Summer Sampler 2011:

1. The Cheval Glass (3:21) - Emery
2. Paper Lung (4:15) - Underoath
3. Monoculture (3:19) - Sainthood Reps
4. Brain Damage (2:45) - I Am Empire
5. Alarm The Alarm (3:34) - Write This Down
6. Monster Monster (3:25) - The Almost
7. Sleep To Dream (3:32) - Swimming With Dolphins
8. Clueless (2:54) - Rocky Loves Emily
9. Jumping The Gun (3:31) - Hyland
10. Instincts (3:28) - Ivoryline
11. My Brain Says Stop, But My Heart Says Go (3:06) - FM Static
12. Make A Move (3:08) - Icon for Hire
13. Fire It Up (Live) (3:38) - Thousand Foot Krutch

Solid State Records Summer Sampler 2011:

1. Internal Cannon (3:48) - August Burns Red
2. The Magnetic Sky (4:28) - Becoming The Archetype
3. Paper Lung (4:13) - Underoath
4. The Cheval Glass (3:19) - Emery
5. King Of The Hopeless (3:35) - MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE
6. Bedlam Of The Nile (4:09) - As They Sleep
7. Trust But Verify (3:12) - To Speak Of Wolves
8. Overkill Exposure (2:51) - Living Sacrifice
9. Wake Up The Sun (3:25) - Haste The Day
10. The Man Named Hell (4:19) - The Showdown
11. Ad Mortem (3:24) - The Famine

BEC Recordings Summer Sampler 2011:

1. Alive In You (3:28) - 7eventh Time Down
2. Everything I Hoped You'd Be (3:45) - Bebo Norman
3. Not What I Thought (3:35) - Jessa Anderson
4. No Plan B (3:23) - Manafest
5. You Are Love (3:00) - The Museum
6. Let The Praises Rise (3:52) - Ryan Stevenson
7. All Things New (3:53) - Rapture Ruckus
8. We Were Made For You (3:32) - Aaron Gillespie
9. Skeleton (2:53) - Hawk Nelson
10. He Did That (3:48) - KJ-52
11. Take Everything (4:33) - Seventh Day Slumber
12. He Is Able (3:37) - Josh White
13. You Save Me (3:08) - Kutless
14. The Way (Acoustic) (4:05) - Jeremy Camp

Peter Furler: Back on fire with new album "On Fire"
     With multiple GRAMMY nominations and Dove awards, “Songwriter of the Year” nods and musical talent that has driven the sales of five RIAA Certified Gold records, over seven million albums sold and 25 No. 1 songs, Peter Furler returns to music after ending his long tenure in 2009 as the lead singer of newsboys, the band he founded in Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia. Refreshed and reawakened to the joy of music, Furler steps out with his first solo album, on fire, releasing today amidst wide critical acclaim on Sparrow Records and available on iTunes, Amazon, Walmart, Family Christian Stores, LifeWay Christian Stores or at your favorite Christian retailer.


Switchfoot to release new album "Vice Verses" to follow "Hello Hurricane"
     On September 27th, Atlantic Records will release Vice Verses, the eighth studio record from multi-platinum rock band SWITCHFOOT. Working with producer Neal Avron (Weezer,Linkin Park), the band recorded most of the album in their San Diego, CA home studio. Mike Elizondo (Eminem, Regina Spektor) who produced SWITCHFOOT's GRAMMY-winning album, Hello Hurricane, served as executive producer. Released in 2009, Hello Hurricane entered The Billboard 200 at No. 13 and contained the Modern Rock hits "The Sound (John M. Perkins' Blues)" and "Mess of Me."

The track listing for Vice Verses is as follows:
1. Afterlife
2. The Original
3. The War Inside
4. Restless
5. Blinding Light
6. Selling the News
7. Thrive
8. Dark Horses
9. Souvenirs
10. Rise Above It
11. Vice Verses
12. Where I Belong

Persistent Love

I have a cat. He bothers me regularly. His name is Snowflake, and he can be very annoying at times. But, he's also one of the most loving creatures on this earth (:

We found him the Christmas it snowed in Houston several years back. Well, he found us. He was outside my Grandma's apartment doorstep, trying to steal a little bit of heat from the crack in the door. He was tiny, too young to be by himself, too skinny for his own good, and almost frozen. With four girls and a Cuban Abuela, what do you think happened? We hurried him inside, warmed him up, and stuffed his tiny belly till he had fallen sound asleep.

Fast forward several years, and he still acts like that little kitten we found...except he now weighs about 20 pounds. Not a problem, but, as a kitten, he liked to climb onto your shoulder and play with your ear. He still does -.- Well, he found me doing my makeup earlier today, and decided my lap was fair game. So, he promptly plopped himself there, and began begging for me to pet him. At first, I was slightly perturbed. I was in a rush, and he wasn't helping me get ready any faster. Then, I realized that he was only annoying me because he wanted to be around me. He wanted to be around me so much that he would *always* come find me, and then hang around me until he had been loved on.

My cat bugging me made me realize something about my relationship with Christ. Heh, go figure. When we spend time with Christ, it really shouldn't be an item on our daily checklist of things to do. It should be us wanting to spend time with Christ, because he saved us from spiritual death. We should be seeking Christ out, and bugging Him until we've loved on Him as much as we can. So, next time your cat is bugging you, scratch it's ear and let God know that He's pretty awesome (: That's what I'll be doing every time Snowflake bugs me from now on.

     ~amber