Difference between revisions of "Red Umbrella"

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What is Red Umbrella ?

Red Umbrella is a group of Canadian Christians who formed this alternative rock band.

Growing up together in Parry Sound, Ontario, lead singer/guitarist Jeremy Michaelis, his brother Dennis Michaelis (keyboards and guitar) and drummer Jason Rosewell honed their skills together early on. Eventually, the guys recruited another Parry Sound native, bassist Kevin Swartwood, and Red Umbrella was born.

Spending countless hours writing songs together, they discovered that each member had a variety of musical tastes, which paved the way for Red Umbrella’s unique rock sound. “We’re trying to distinguish our music as much as possible, “ Jason says. “Sure, we like Coldplay and U2 as much as everyone else, but we don’t want to be confined to one particular box.”

Source: http://www.redumbrella.net/band.php

Growing up in church, all of the Red Umbrella band members were exposed to, and fans of, various Christian artists. But this album is their first attempt at making a more specific Christian statement. As the primary lyricist, Jeremy admits that this was something he had to be somewhat deliberate about. “Prior to this record, I was writing all sorts of random, poetic things. But I prayed throughout the making of the album, that God would give me things that maybe were more appropriate or more real. I never wanted to say something because that’s what somebody thought should be said, but because it was true.”

“We wanted this album to encourage Christians, but we didn’t want to alienate non-believers, in hopes that maybe sometime our lyrics would make them ask questions and see what we’re really talking about,” Kevin elaborates. “So there was a conscious effort to limit the ‘Christianese,’ and not just say things in a way that people would expect.”

This is a band that prefers to talk about their faith, as opposed to singing about it in simple songs. “Some of the songs are ambiguous in certain ways, but when somebody asks me ‘what does this song mean,’ it’s nice to talk to somebody and explain your faith, rather than have them hear “Jesus is Lord” in a song,” explains Jeremy. “It gives me a chance to talk to someone about what I believe, to go deeper than you can in a song. But the problem is when people think that’s all there is.

The band hit the road hard in 2005, playing more than 120 dates as they criss-crossed the States several times, including tours with Seventh Day Slumber and their label-mates Playdough and Sevenglory. As they’ve played in front of every sort of crowd imaginable, the group has honed in on who they think their audience really is. “We generally get a good response from most audiences, but I think we get the biggest connection with the college age/young adult, 18 – 35 year-oldgroup,” says Dennis. “That’s when we get the most people coming up to us and wanting to talk afterwards.”

Source: http://www.gospelmusicchannel.com/artists/detail/red-umbrella

Red Umbrella was nominated in Canada for a CGMA Covenant Award for "Rock Album of the Year" for their album Wishing For Boardwalk. Boardwalk is the band's first ever full length album release and is in Christian Bookstores across Canada and the US.

Contact Red Umbrella

http://www.redumbrella.net

http://www.myspace.com/redumbrella