Critically acclaimed Christian pop/rock band Circleslide adds yet another accolade to their rapidly expanding portfolio with their recent endorsement by Orange Music Electronic Company Ltd., maker of the legendary Orange Amps. To celebrate their new alliance, the band has turned the Circleslide website orange, and is giving fans the opportunity to score Orange Amp T-shirts, the brand new Circleslide CD, Echoes of The Light, and their very own Orange amp.
Air guitar aficionados can win an Orange Micro Crush amp by entering the band’s YouTube video contest. To win, fans simply listen to the album to determine which seven songs from Echoes of The Light were recorded with an Orange amp, then upload a video to YouTube of themselves jamming on an air guitar to one of those songs. The contest closes on November 19, when Circleslide will pick their favorite video as the winner. Complete details and rules of the Orange Micro Crush amp giveaway can be found at http://www.artistgardenentertainment.com/Artist_Garden_Entertainment/Orange.html.
Additionally, fans in Dallas, Texas and San Diego, Calif. still have time to participate in Circleslide’s Echoes of The Light scavenger hunt. By successfully following the clues, fans in these cities can locate a cleverly hidden copy of the brand new Echoes of The Light CD wrapped in an Orange Amp T-shirt. Check out details of the contest at http://circleslide.net/scavenger-hunt.
“We’re proud to have Circleslide as a part of the Orange Amps family,” says Alex Auxier, Orange Amp Artist Relations & Marketing. “They have that rare combination of spiritualism and rockin’ tunes. Get some Circleslide in your life!”
Since the band’s debut project, which landed them on Christianity Today‘s list of “Best New Artists of 2006,” among other accolades, Circleslide — whose lineup includes frontman Gabe Martinez, lead guitarist Jonathan DeAnda, bassist Eric Vickers and drummer Lee Yoder — has toured unceasingly, refining their modern rock ruminations, while keeping their ministry agenda firmly in focus. In addition to shows with newsboys, tobyMac, MercyMe, Casting Crowns, Salvador, Jaci Velasquez and downhere, the guitar-driven band has headlined everything from clubs to churches and colleges, with plenty of youth camps and outreach events in between — all of which build off the group’s Youth With A Mission beginnings.The band was developing the new project last spring when Nashville was hit with a devastating flood that destroyed Martinez’s house, as well as all of the band’s gear, instruments, PA and trailer.
“We were out of town when the flood happened,” remembers Martinez. “A friend who was staying at our house waded through five feet of water to save some vintage guitars, but other than that, we had to completely rebuild from scratch. The Nashville community really came together, though. So many people showed up to help us sort through the mess and rebuild — four different church groups, friends and neighbors and people we didn’t even know. Thanks to amazing organizations like MusiCares, Graceworks Ministries and Porter’s Call, we’ve been able to replace our music gear and home appliances, and we have a renewed realization that God has called us to this ministry. Nothing’s going to hold us back from spreading His word.”
Circleslide’s ordeal, and the season of spiritual reassurance which followed, directly inspired the band’s recent songwriting process, and the band has evolved sonically since the last project — not only do they sound more explosive, dynamic and melodic than ever, but the choruses are instantaneously contagious from an initial spin of the album. There’s also an increased continuity that comes from producer and fellow Save the City labelmate Brandon Bee (Stacie Orrico, Lanae Hale, Benjiman). Expect shades of anthemic alternative acts like Arcade Fire and The Flaming Lips, crossed with the edge of Kings of Leon and the envelope pushing likes of The Choir (from whom the band gleaned its moniker). The new album also reveals a worship side of Circleslide that fans have experienced at their live shows.
Echoes of The Light is conceptual from start to finish, sequenced impeccably to take the listener through a roller coaster of musical and spiritual emotions. There is an undeniable and immediately apparent chemistry across the dozen cuts that is especially refreshing in an iTunes age of picked-apart albums in search of a single or two.
All the while, it’s impossible to take a listen through Echoes of The Light and not be struck with an unbreakable sense of perseverance from Circleslide members in both professional and personal contexts. In exposing their own vulnerabilities, the guys’ authenticity is evident. At the same time, the album possesses an ability to inspire others from any walk of life looking for the resolve to press on.
Circleslide’s Echoes of The Light is available on Save the City Records and distributed through Provident-Integrity Distribution. For more information on Circleslide and Echoes of The Light, visit circleslide.net or savethecityrecords.com.
Pictured (L to R): Circleslide’s Jonathan DeAnda, Lee Yoder, Gabe Martinez and Eric Vickers hanging out with their Orange amp in the flood-devastated living room of Martinez’s house.
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