History
Southern California period (1983–1993)
The Choir was originally formed as Youth Choir in the early 1980s by Daugherty and Hindalong. Chandler, who was also the bass guitarist for Daniel Amos, introduced Hindalong to Daugherty, who was the band's roadie and sound man.[1] The two quickly became friends, and Youth Choir got its start within the Calvary Chapel Christian punk and alternative music scene,[1] which also included the bands Undercover, Crumbächer, Altar Boys and 4-4-1.
The band's first official recording was the track "It's So Wonderful," released in 1983 on the compilation album What's Shakin', which also included early work from Undercover, Altar Boys and The Lifters. This song was one of the few times that Daugherty wrote both lyrics and music; as the band developed, the majority of the Choir's lyrical output would come from Hindalong.[2] As Youth Choir, they released their debut album Voices in Shadows in 1985, with Mike Sauerbrey on bass;[3] their first EP Shades of Gray followed a year later, when Dan Michaels joined the band.[4]
The Choir made a high-profile move to Myrrh Records in 1986 with their next release, Diamonds and Rain. Dropping the "Youth" from their moniker, they would be known as the Choir from that point forward.[5] This was followed by three more albums for Myrrh, which featured musical contributions from an array of performers, including Charlie Peacock, Mark Heard, Steve Griffith of Vector and Gene Eugene and Riki Michele from Adam Again. The Choir's lineup also changed. Chandler was the primary bass player until 1989's Wide-Eyed Wonder, when Robin Spurs replaced him on that album and tour, but she left the band during the recording of 1990's Circle Slide. Sauerbrey returned to the band for those recording sessions, and remained with the Choir for two more years until Chandler rejoined the lineup for the independently-released Kissers and Killers.[6] Sauerbrey would not play with the band again; Spurs would rejoin the Choir briefly in 2017, when she performed on the Wide-Eyed Wonder reunion tour.[7]
In the 1980s and early 1990s, the Choir toured extensively within the United States, and was most notably the first band on stage at the inaugural Cornerstone Festival in Chicago in 1984.[8] They also preceded Bruce Cockburn on stage at the Greenbelt Festival in England in 1986,[9] and opened for Russ Taff on his nationwide tour in 1990.[10] References to the band's tour experiences would remain an ongoing source of lyrical inspiration.[11][12] During their Southern California period, the Choir's music was described by the Los Angeles Times as "magical songs that combine strains of murky psychedelia with pure pop."[13] Billboard praised the band for its "dark poetic leanings, effects-laden guitars and strong melodic hooks."[13] Hindalong's lyrics became known for their vulnerability and honesty, particularly about the challenges inherent in romantic relationships and the simple joys of family life.[5]
Initial Nashville period (1994–2000)
With much of the contemporary Christian music, or CCM, industry centered in Nashville, Tennessee, the band opted to make a permanent move there.[5] Daugherty and Hindalong were both married with children, and the Christian alternative music scene in Southern California was no longer as active as it was in its mid-‘80s heyday.[14] By contrast, the CCM industry had begun flourishing in Nashville in the early 1990s.[15] Soon after the band’s arrival, Michaels went into artist management, becoming a successful A&R man in the Christian music industry,[16] eventually serving as the Choir’s manager as well.[17] Daugherty and Hindalong would musically contribute to, and produce, numerous projects, including the Lost Dogs, and most notably, the City on a Hill worship music series.[6]
The Choir's first release after arriving in Nashville was Speckled Bird, a reworked version of 1993’s independent Kissers and Killers, with five additional songs recorded in Nashville.[18] Their next album, Free Flying Soul, released in 1996, would bring the band their most notable industry recognition to that point, as they were awarded a GMA Dove Award for Alternative/Modern Rock Album of the Year.[6][19] Five years later, the Choir received a nomination for Best Rock Gospel Album at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards for their album, Flap Your Wings, released in 2000.[20]
Journey to independent status (2000-present)
Despite the belated awards attention, both Hindalong and Daugherty have gone on record numerous times over the years about their frustration with the CCM distribution model,[2][21][22] the musical and lyrical expectations from record labels,[23][22][9] and their rejection of the term "Christian band" to describe the Choir,[24][25][26][27][28] as the band never fit the "Christian music" mold, according to Hindalong.[9][29] "You were either one of two things: you were evangelization or edification,” he explained. “You’re either edifying the Body, or getting people saved—one of these two functions. To us, music is not a means to an end. It's not a tool. We're not going to meet your expectations.”[29]
Instead, the band soon realized they were primarily interested in writing music about their everyday life experience,[30][31] inspired by the music of bands such as Romeo Void,[4] the Church,[32] and My Bloody Valentine.[33] As a result, "we couldn’t be sold," Hindalong said. "Whoever promoted the show was not happy with what we did."[9] Daugherty was more measured in his assessment. "In the early days, we did have some promoters that really liked us," he clarified. "They just couldn't make any money off of us. If they can't make a living promoting our show, then they're not going to book us.”[9] This led to the band traveling extensively outside of Southern California,[34] playing anywhere they could be booked, whether a bar,[35] a club,[23][29] a high school auditorium,[36] a coffeehouse,[13] or a state fairground.[37]
Even when the Choir directly addressed matters of faith in their lyrics, the band's music rarely gained airplay on mainstream Christian radio.[38] Instead, their music was limited to the small number of Christian radio shows that played a mix of alternative, rock and metal music for only a few hours a week, often after midnight.[39] "How would you care about radio success on a radio station that you, yourself, would not listen to?" Hindalong asked. "We had no chance succeeding commercially, plus we didn't want to say what we were expected to say, at least at that point."[40]
In an attempt to broaden the Choir’s appeal to Christian audiences, Myrrh had the band open for Russ Taff on his high-profile The Way Home tour in 1990. “It was a disaster," Hindalong said.[40] "The audience overwhelmingly hated us. You could feel the disdain, you know?"[14] Daugherty agreed, and added that, "people would come out and lecture us at our merchandise booth: 'We didn’t preach enough.' There would be a couple of nights where people would get up and literally take their youth group out."[41]
Two years later, the Choir made a concerted effort to target a broader audience by recording a collection of demos that they could shop around to mainstream record labels.[23][6] After a year and a half of playing clubs—including famous venues like the Troubadour in Los Angeles and CBGB in New York City[26]—the Choir considered changing their name to Kissers and Killers.[42] Although three labels expressed interest (I.R.S. Records, Geffen Records and Fiction Records), they ultimately passed.[43] "We really believed we had to take that chance,” Hindalong said. “Besides, I just wanted to hear my songs on the radio."[44] Hindalong denied that the band "hated Christian music and would never do it again," and added, "we're not bitter and frustrated; we're just trying to broaden our audience."[21]
Therefore, starting with Flap Your Wings in 2000, the band chose to release their music independently on a permanent basis, with several of these albums financed by Michaels.[18] Although members of the Choir would continue to provide production and musical contributions to artists within the CCM industry, and the band would occasionally address Christian themes in their music, the Choir would be frequently identified as an indie rock band from that point forward.[45][46][47]
In 2005, after Daugherty and Hindalong had worked with Byrd on a number of other musical projects following the release of Flap Your Wings, the Choir officially added Byrd to their lineup to record O How the Mighty Have Fallen.[48] The album was also produced by Byrd, and released through Michaels' new Galaxy21 Music imprint, through which all future Choir albums would be distributed.[48] In August of that same year, this new five-member Choir played the Broken Records Reunion, a 20th anniversary concert at Mariners Church in Irvine, California, along with 4-4-1, Altar Boys, Crumbächer, and Undercover.[49]
Renewed creative activity (2010)
After a five-year recording hiatus, the Choir released two full-length studio albums in 2010. In June, the band released Burning Like the Midnight Sun, which received positive reviews. Jeff Elbel, in the Chicago Sun-Times, called the album "a late-career triumph," and remarked that it was the band's "second exceptional album in a row, and its best since 1990's landmark Circle Slide."[50] In November, the band released de-plumed, which featured cellist Matt Slocum of Sixpence None the Richer. A collection of acoustic reinterpretations of one song from each of their 12 prior studio albums, it was released shortly after Daugherty and Hindalong embarked on a multi-city acoustic tour as a duo version of the band.[51]
The Choir's next studio album, The Loudest Sound Ever Heard, was released in May 2012. Later that year, the band toured in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Chase the Kangaroo, playing the album in its entirety, followed by a selection of tracks from Loudest Sound.[52] For this tour, the band performed as a trio with bassist Chandler. Then in July, the full lineup of the Choir closed out the final gathering of the Cornerstone Festival, in commemoration of their inaugural 1984 performance.[8]
Shift to crowdfunding (2013)
From this point forward, the Choir would use Kickstarter and PledgeMusic as their primary ways of recording and releasing new studio albums, re-releases of older studio albums, and solo work by Hindalong and Daugherty. This funding process generated the studio releases Shadow Weaver (2014),[53] Bloodshot (2018),[54] and Deep Cuts (2021),[55] while Kickstarter stretch goals added the Christmas-themed Peace, Love & Light EP (2013), the live albums Live and on the Wing in Music City (2014) and The Livestream Bootleg (2015), as well as the ambient release Words Spoken and Floating on Clouds (2023).[56] During this time, the band remastered and re-released Circle Slide and Wide-Eyed Wonder, and followed each re-release with a short tour during which the entire album was played in its entirety. Michael Roe of the 77s filled in on bass for the Circle Slide 25th anniversary tour in 2015,[46] while former bassist Spurs returned to the band to perform on the Wide-Eyed Wonder anniversary tour in 2017.[57] Hindalong's second solo album, The Warbler, was released in 2016,[58] followed by Daugherty's solo release The Color of Dreams in 2018.[59] Later that year, bassist Chandler died on October 8, 2018.[60]
Post-Tim Chandler work (2019)
In 2019, the Choir—now a threesome—began releasing non-album singles at the pace of one every other month, starting with a cover of Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" and followed by "Mystical World," their first original composition after Chandler's death.[61] In March 2021, the Choir shifted to Patreon where they continue to release new tracks exclusively for subscribers, including a 2021 re-recording of "Render Love" for the Electric Jesus film soundtrack.[29] Deep Cuts, also released in 2021, was the band's first studio album without contributions from Chandler, as bass duties were primarily helmed by session musician Chris Donohue,[9] with two tracks featuring bassist Stephen Mason from Jars of Clay.[62]
Other projects
Each band member has worked on numerous projects outside the Choir.
Daugherty and Hindalong have produced and recorded several worship albums featuring other Contemporary Christian music artists, including their own At the Foot of the Cross series.[63] Volume One: Clouds, Rain, Fire was released in 1992,[63] and the song "Beautiful Scandalous Night" would later be re-recorded by the Choir eight years later for their Grammy-nominated Flap Your Wings album. The follow-up, Volume Two: Seven Last Words of Christ, was released in 1995.[63] Hindalong would later produce the aforementioned City on a Hill series of worship albums in the early 2000s.[63] The lead song from the first album in that series, "God of Wonders," written by Hindalong and future Choir guitarist Byrd, proved to be one of the most successful contemporary worship songs of the early 2000s,[15] and the album also received a Dove Award for Special Event Album of the Year in 2001.[64]
Daugherty, Hindalong and Michaels have all released solo works, with Daugherty also releasing an instrumental ambient project under the name Clouds Echo in Blue. Daugherty is one-half of Kerosene Halo, a duo project with 77s frontman Roe; they have released three albums to date.[65] Since 1991, Daugherty has also been a member of the alternative rock supergroup Lost Dogs, led by Terry Scott Taylor of Daniel Amos and including the 77s' Roe and Adam Again's Eugene;[66] Hindalong would join the group after Eugene's death.[67] In 2023, Hindalong would also join with Slocum, Jimmy Abegg, Phil Madeira and Ben Pearson to form The Ascendants and use Kickstarter to launch their debut album, The Fellowship of the Broken.[68] Before his death in 2018, Chandler was the bass player for both Daniel Amos and that band's side project, the Swirling Eddies, for many years, pre-dating his work with the Choir.[69] Spurs later joined Rachel Rachel and toured with them in the early 1990s.[70] Byrd was a member of Common Children, then later he and bandmate Andrew Thompson formed the post-rock band Hammock in 2005.[71] Byrd has also recorded with his wife Christine Glass as Glassbyrd.[72] Michaels has recorded saxophone for, and performed on tour with, a variety of other artists including Adam Again, Crystal Lewis and Bryan Duncan.[73]
