Integrity Music announces the April 10th global release of Center Of It All from the critically-acclaimed Desperation Band known for songs such as “Overcome,” “I Am Free” and “Yahweh.” The new, 13-track album is the band’s sixth recording and marks the first project under a new contract with their longtime label partner.
And though Center Of It All won’t be available in stores or through digital service providers such as iTunes until April 10th, fans can connect immediately with the new music at http://www.thedbandexperience.com/, a special “pre-sale” site that features exclusive new content leading up to the album’s release.
Anchored by the Desperation Band’s passionate approach to worship, Center Of It All is a bold call for believers to rise up and realize that God is not a priority, but the priority, the “center of it all.”
“We have found that our mission is to help awaken people to the presence of God,” says Desperation Band frontman Jon Egan. “When that happens, everything else falls into place. Our worship then naturally flows into every aspect of our lives. And it flows into action for others… the less fortunate, widows, orphans.”
For the Colorado-based Desperation Band, there’s been no greater calling or privilege than to lead others into God’s presence whether at their home church, New Life in Colorado Springs, or at worship events scattered around the globe. And while the band was originally birthed out of New Life’s student ministry and annual “Desperation” conferences, they have recently seen their reach expand to an even broader, multi-generational audience.
“My heart has always been impacted by young people and what I can do to influence a young heart,” says Egan, an associate worship pastor at New Life. “It’s just part of who we are as a ministry. And I’m finding that it’s best for a young heart to worship with the Church at large… young, old and everywhere in between. It’s in community that we experience the even bigger picture of what God is doing.”
Naturally, that sense of community couldn’t help but make its way into the band’s new album. Turning to trusted friends like producer Paul Mabury (Hillsong, One Sonic Society) and Stu G (Delirious), Egan and bandmates Jared Henderson (drums), Niko Perez (keys), Matt Pacco (electric guitar) and Dan Egan (bass) experienced the inherent beauty of collaboration with like-minded artists.
Joining Jon Egan in the creation of songs for Center Of It All are writers Mia Fields, Matt Redman, Kari Jobe, Meredith Andrews, and SESAC’s Christian Songwriter of the Year, Jason Ingram (Chris Tomlin, Tenth Avenue North) to name a few. Further enhancing that collaborative spirit, Jobe and Ingram also lend their voices to the project while Stu G serves as a guest musician. And Hillsong’s Jimmy Rudder served as the album’s engineer with his wife, Sydney and the band’s labelmates All Sons & Daughters, providing background vocals.
“I think if we’re going to write songs that serve the Church, there’s something spiritually significant about the tracks not pointing back to an individual,” says Egan. “When they point back to a group, something changes because it’s rooted in community.”
With iron sharpening iron throughout the process, the result is a collection of creative, challenging anthems written with the global Church in mind. From the compelling title track that reminds listeners of God’s rightful place, to the personal snapshot of Egan’s own worship journey in “Take Me to the River,” to the epic reflection of God’s many attributes in “Strong God,” Egan says the goal for Center Of It All is for listeners to grab hold of these songs and ultimately make them their own.
The complete tracklist for Center Of It All, including writers, is:
1. All To Him - Jon Egan, Jason Ingram, & Mia Fieldes
2. Wonderful - Jon Egan, Jason Ingram, Paul Mabury & Mia Fieldes
3. Strong God - Jon Egan, Jason Ingram, & Meredith Andrews
4. Magnified - Jon Egan, Jason Ingram, & Paul Mabury
5. God You Are My God - Jason Ingram, Paul Mabury, & Rory Noland
6. My God - Jon Egan, Kari Jobe, & Mia Fieldes
7. Our God Is Coming - Jon Egan
8. Center Of It All - Jon Egan, Matt Redman, Ben Fielding, & Jason Ingram
9. This I Know - Jon Egan & Daniel Grothe
10. You Are The Glory - Jon Egan, Jason Ingram, & Paul Mabury
11. We Will Not Forget - Jon Egan & Jason Ingram
12. Take Me To The River - Jon Egan, Mia Fieldes, & Paul Mabury
13. River Flow - Jon Egan, Mia Fieldes, & Paul Mabury
In addition to Center Of It All, Desperation Band’s discography includes Desperation, From the Rooftops, Who You Are, Everyone Overcome and Light Up The World. Additional information, including a tour schedule, is available at http://desperationband.com.
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Dove Award winner Kari Jobe and Colorado worship band Desperation Band proved to be a powerful touring team during the recent “Heartwork Tour,” their first time doing worship events together, and certainly not the last.
The two artists visited churches in the American heartland cities of Fort Smith, Ark.; Irving, Texas; Tulsa, Okla.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Lubbock, Texas; Elk City, Okla.; Colorado Springs, Colo. and Loveland, Colo. The tour was named after Heartwork, an orphan ministry first started by Desperation Band at their New Life Church in Colorado Springs, and was sponsored by New Missions, an Orlando-based ministry supported by Jobe.
At each worship event, Desperation Band and Jobe shared the stage for two hours of continuous and powerful worship. The events also included a short presentation by a tour pastor encouraging people to get involved with matters of the heart and Heartwork, specifically supporting New Missions with child sponsorship in Haiti. Nearly 300 child sponsorships were promised during the tour.
The nights of worship also provided an opportunity to introduce Heartworks’ new 1K Campaign, an endeavor to engage 1000 youth groups in 1000 orphan projects in 1000 days. An introduction video to Heartwork is found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfdeGpxm2y8. For more information on Heartwork and the 1K Campaign, visit www.heartwork.tv.
“The great success of the Heartwork Tour was seeing thousands of kids come together and do something more, something selfless. They have started a movement that we believe will surpass any tour hype and will stand as a reminder of why we all do what we are called to do - touch lives in the most desperate places for the most desperate people. Our medium is music and worship and we are thankful for being allowed to do this. But more than that, the witness that DB and KJ have been is so powerful; it compelled kids, teens and adults to look far beyond themselves to touch the lives of children who are completely hopeless without our support,” said David Todd, tour manager.
Jobe (www.karijobe.com), who is a worship leader and pastor at Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, was recently nominated for the Gospel Music Association’s Dove Award for New Artist of the Year. At the award ceremonies in April, she was honored with two Dove Awards and also performed on the Gospel Music Channel-televised Dove Awards singing "Revelation Song" with Phillips, Craig & Dean. Jobe released her best-selling self-titled debut in February 2009. Produced by Ed Cash, the album contains songs written by Kari as well as co-writes with worship leaders/songwriters Chris Tomlin, Paul Baloche, Mia Fieldes, Ed Cash and Klaus Kuehn.
The Desperation Band (www.desperationband.com) was birthed out of the student ministries of New Life Church in Colorado Springs and features songwriter Jon Egan. Egan’s songs are sung in churches throughout America and around the world including favorites such as “I Am Free,” “My Savior Lives,” “Overcome” and more. They continue to lead worship both within the student ministries and in the main services at New Life Church, as well as at the annual Desperation Conferences. They released their latest album 'Light Up The World' in September 2009. Light Up the World was inspired by “Heartwork,” a student-driven ministry at their church which is helping to build orphan homes in Africa and now gives its title to the band’s tour with Jobe. The students’ “HeartWork” ministry – and the new CD – began with a challenge from a local philanthropist with a heart for orphans. He challenged the youth to give $60,000, and matched that donation dollar for dollar for World Orphans (worldorphans.org).
Headquartered in Orlando, New Missions (www.newmissions.org) is a non-profit Christian organization with mission projects in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Since 1983, New Missions has reached the poorest of the poor in Haiti with Christian education, medical care, food, and the establishment of churches. Currently, 10,000 children attend school at New Missions in Haiti.
