c. 2003 Religion News Service
(UNDATED) Veteran Christian musician Eddie DeGarmo has modernized the gospel _ moving Jesus from Nazareth to New York _ in hopes of turning listeners and viewers of his rock opera “!Hero” back to the Bible.
“Really, what I want is for them to go back and get involved with the original gospel and learn what that story is,” DeGarmo said in an interview shortly before “!Hero” began its 19-city run.
The tour starts in Wabash, Ind., on Nov. 1 and ends Nov. 23 in San Antonio.
The postmodern version of the gospel has dramatic changes from the traditional King James translation: DeGarmo replaced Roman magistrates with “power politicians” and centurions with “dirty cops.” The multiplication of the loaves and the fishes happens in Central Park. Jesus’ transfiguration occurs from atop the Empire State Building.
And, Jesus, who is called “Hero,” is black and wears dreadlocks.
“I think it’s been long enough that we’ve depicted Christ as a blue-eyed European, and chances are he probably wasn’t that and chances are he wasn’t African-American,” said DeGarmo. “He was more than likely Middle Eastern-looking.”
In addition, DeGarmo said, he sees a “fairly good modern parallel” between Jews escaping bondage and being a downtrodden people in Jesus’ day and the history of African-Americans.
Michael Tait, a member of dc Talk who releases his second solo album as “Tait” on Nov. 4, jumped at the opportunity to play the modern Jesus role. He grew up with a picture of a blond Jesus at the Baptist church his father pastored in inner-city Washington.
“To have a Jesus that was black is such a provocative step and I thought, what a great way to stir up and to invoke interest in an age-old story, the history, the Bible, the gospel,” he said.
Tait is partnered in the project with Mark Stuart, lead singer of Audio Adrenaline, who plays Petrov, and Rebecca St. James, who plays Maggie. The three of them, all prominent in the contemporary Christian music scene, join a predominantly “CCM” group of artists in the 31-song production featured in a two-CD set and the live tour.
“It’s definitely challenging,” said Tait. “Musically, I sing everything from R&B to pop to hip-hop to Latin. … Hopefully, somewhere in one of the songs, it will reach somebody where they are.”
DeGarmo, who spent 17 years as a keyboardist and singer with the group DeGarmo and Key, collaborated with writer Bob Farrell on the project.
He started on it in 1994 after his student-teacher daughter told him that most of her students did not relate Easter to the Resurrection.
“I thought about what it would be like if Jesus walked into today’s world,” he said.
Although he said the project can compare in some ways to the Jesus-focused musical productions dating to the 1970s, DeGarmo said “!Hero” is less historical than the rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar” and grittier than the musical “Godspell.”
Barry Alfonso, author of “The Billboard Guide to Contemporary Christian Music,” said the modernization of the gospel story could be a tricky proposition if it’s aimed at evangelical audiences.
“I think it’s pushing the envelope of what’s acceptable in the Christian pop culture world,” said Alfonso, who has seen advertisements for “!Hero” in the Pittsburgh area where he lives. “The very fact that they’re transposing the story of Jesus to a modern setting _ you’re talking about a community that’s based on biblical literalism.”
“!Hero” is told through the eyes of Agent Alexander Hunter, an updated version of a biblical Roman officer. He performs a rap song about how Jesus is a “Man on a Mission.”
Tait said his favorite song is “Not in Our House,” a modernization of Jesus’ “holy anger” about the money-changers in the temple.
“I get to be a boy,” he said. “I get to break things.”
Beyond the music and the drama, “!Hero” has become the latest package of products offered especially to shoppers in the Christian retail marketplace.
Aimed at the MTV generation, the story also is told in a series of comic books, a colorful graphic novel, and a novel trilogy by Stephen R. Lawhead and Ross Lawhead.
“The rock opera and the graphic novel and the novel are kind of like, if you will, Matthew, Mark and Luke,” said DeGarmo, who is now the president of EMI Christian Music Publishing in Brentwood, Tenn. “They’re kind of … different slices of the same story.”
The second and third novels won’t be published until 2004 and 2005, which DeGarmo admits is an attempt “to create longevity for the project.”
Rod Kim, a senior at Greenville College in Greenville, Ill., said he’s only heard the music but it’s made him look forward to traveling to opening night in Wabash.
“The music is innovative and fresh,” the contemporary Christian music major said in an e-mail message to Religion News Service. “It’s tight, teeth-grinding and in your face. It incorporates not only traditional styles of rock, but newer styles such as rapcore and electronic rock.”
EDITORS: Tour dates and locations are:
Nov. 1, Wabash, Ind.; Nov. 2, Greenville, S.C.; Nov. 3, Birmingham, Ala.; Nov. 5, Sarasota, Fla.; Nov. 6, Orlando, Fla.; Nov. 8, Sewell, N.J.; Nov. 9, Woodbridge, Va.; Nov. 10, Williamsville, N.Y.; Nov. 11, Columbus, Ohio; Nov. 13, Detroit; Nov. 14, Cleveland; Nov. 15, Green Bay, Wis.; Nov. 16, Wyoming, Mich.; Nov. 17, Merrillville, Ind.; Nov. 18, Wexford, Pa.; Nov. 20, Tulsa, Okla.; Nov. 21, Dallas; Nov. 22, Houston; Nov. 23, San Antonio.
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