Current Band Members
Dan Haseltine - Vocals
Full Name: Daniel Paul Haseltine
Birthdate: January 12, 1973
Hometown: Winter Springs, FL
Other Instruments: Accordion, Drums, Percussion, Melodica
Charlie Lowell - Keys, Vocals
Full Name: Charles Lowell
Birthdate: October 21, 1973
Hometown: Rochester, NY
Other Instruments: Saxophone
Steve Mason - Electric Guitar, Vocals
Full Name: Stephen Mason
Birthdate: July 8, 1975
Hometown: Decatur, IL
Other Instruments: Drums
Matt Odmark - Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Vocals
Full Name: Matthew Thomas Odmark
Birthdate: January 25, 1974
Hometown: Rochester, NY
Touring Band
Jeremy Lutito - Drums
Gabe Ruschival - Bass
Former Members
Matt Bronlewee - Acoustic Guitar
Hometown: Kansas City, MO
Member From: 1993(?)-1994(?)
Scott Savage - Drums
Touring Band Member From: 1993-1999
Aaron Sands - Bass
Touring Band Member From: 1995-2005
Joe Porter - Drums
Touring Band Member From: 1999-2005
Band History
Check back for a chronology very soon...
In the mean time, http://www.jarchives.com/history.htm has extensive information regarding the band's formation and early years.
Label Information
Jars were originally signed to Essential Records, a division of Provident Music, the largest Christian music producer/distributor owned by the secular Zomba/Jive Records. In 2007 they formed their own record label, Gray Matters, with distribution through Nettwerk. More information on Gray Matters is forthcoming.
Contact Information
Snail Mail:
Jars of Clay
P.O. Box 207
Franklin, TN 37065-0207
You can also try the "Ask the band" section of the forums at http://www.jarchives.com
Please understand that the band spends a lot of time on the road, and they may not be able to reply.
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II. Discography
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Studio Albums
1994 - Frail
Release Date: 1994
Label: Independent
Notes: The band's independent demo album. 1,000 copies were printed initially. A second pressing of an additional 500 copies was made as the band gained popularity.
Tracklisting:
1. Liquid
2. Boy On A String (Sunflower Song)
3. Art In Me
4. He
5. Fade To Grey
6. Frail
7. Like A Child
8. Love Song For A Savior
9. Four Seven
1995 - Jars of Clay
Release Date: October 24, 1995
Label: Essential
Highest Chart Position: 46 (Billboard)
Certification: RIAA: 2x Platinum
Tracklisting:
1. Liquid
2. Sinking
3. Love Song For A Savior
4. Faith Like A Child
5. Art In Me
6. He
7. Boy On A String
8. Flood
9. Worlds Apart
10. Blind (Hidden track: Four Seven)
Alternate Releases:
Japanese Release - Features Little Drummer Boy and Flood (Savage Flavor Remix) as bonus tracks
Jars of Clay Platinum - A commemorative repackaging limited to 20,000 copies. Features a new design and exclusive photos.
1997 - Much Afraid
Release Date: September 16, 1997
Label: Essential
Highest Chart Position: 8 (Billboard)
Certification: RIAA: Platinum
Tracklisting:
1. Overjoyed
2. Fade To Grey
3. Tea & Sympathy
4. Crazy Times
5. Frail
6. Five Candles (You Were There)
7. Weighed Down
8. Portrait of an Apology
9. Truce
10. Much Afraid
11. Hymn
Alternate Releases:
Japanese Release - Features The Chair and Sleepers as bonus tracks
Seatbelt Tuba Version - Limited release packaged with an acoustic bonus disc. All three tracks (Crazy Times, Liquid, and The Coffee Song) were recorded live in the studio on July 3, 1997.
Much Afraid Vinyl - Limited Edition LP release
1999 - If I Left The Zoo
Release Date: November 9, 1999
Label: Essential
Highest Chart Position: 44 (Billboard)
Certification: RIAA: Gold
Tracklisting:
1. Goodbye, Goodnight
2. Unforgetful You
3. Collide
4. No One Loves Me Like You
5. Famous Last Words
6. Sad Clown
7. Hand
8. I'm Alright
9. Grace
10. Can't Erase It
11. River Constantine
Alternate Releases:
Singapore Edition - Features alternate artwork and a bonus VCD featuring some of the band's music videos.
2002 - The Eleventh Hour
Release Date: March 5, 2002
Label: Essential
Highest Chart Position: 28 (Billboard)
Tracklisting:
1. Disappear
2. Something Beautiful
3. Revolution
4. Fly
5. I Need You
6. Silence
7. Scarlet
8. Whatever She Wants
9. The Eleventh Hour
10. These Ordinary Days
11. The Edge of Water
2003 - Furthermore: From The Studio, From The Stage
Release Date: February 4, 2003
Label: Essential
Highest Chart Position: 64 (Billboard)
Certification: RIAA: Gold
Tracklisting:
Disc One (From the Studio)
1. Overjoyed
2. Something Beautiful
3. The Valley Song (Sing of Your Mercy)
4. Liquid
5. The Eleventh Hour
6. Dig
7. Redemption
8. Love Song for a Savior
9. Frail
10. Needful Hands
Disc Two (From the Stage)
1. Disappear
2. Like a Child
3. Crazy Times
4. I Need You
5. The Eleventh Hour
6. This Road
7. Fly
8. I'm Alright
9. Revolution
10. Flood
11. Worlds Apart
2004 - Who We Are Instead
Release Date: November 4, 2003
Label: Essential
Highest Chart Position: 103 (Billboard)
Tracklisting:
1. Sunny Days
2. Amazing Grace
3. Lonely People
4. Only Alive
5. Trouble Is
6. Faith Enough
7. Show You Love
8. Lesser Things
9. I'm In The Way
10. Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet
11. Jealous Kind
12. Sing
13. My Heavenly
Alternate Releases:
Limited Edition Version - Featuring multimedia content and two bonus tracks, Tonight and Shipwrecked.
2005 - Redemption Songs
Release Date: March 22, 2005
Label: Essential
Highest Chart Position: 71 (Billboard)
Tracklisting:
1. God be Merciful to Me
2. I Need Thee Every Hour
3. God Will Lift Up Your Head
4. I'll Fly Away
5. Nothing but the Blood
6. Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder
7. O Come and Mourn with Me Awhile
8. Hiding Place
9. Jesus, I Lift My Eyes
10. It Is Well
11. On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand
12. Thou Lovely Source of True Delight
13. They'll Know We are Christianb by Our Love
2006 - Good Monsters
Release Date: September 5, 2006
Label: Essential
Highest Chart Position: 58 (Billboard)
Tracklisting:
1. Work
2. Dead Man (Carry Me)
3. All My Tears
4. Even Angels Cry
5. There Is A River
6. Good Monsters
7. Oh My God
8. Surprise
9. Take Me Higher
10. Mirrors and Smoke
11. Light Gives Heat
12. Water Under The Bridge
2007 - Christmas Songs
Release Date: October 16, 2007
Label: Gray Matters
Tracklisting:
1. The Gift of St. Cecilia
2. Wonderful Christmastime
3. Love Came Down at Christmas
4. O, Little Town of Bethlehem
5. Hibernation Day
6. Winter Skin
7. Peace is Here
8. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
9. Evergreen
10. Christmastime is Here
11. Drummer Boy
12. Gabriel's Message
13. In the Bleak Midwinter
14. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
EPs
1995 - Drummer Boy
Label: Essential
Tracklisting:
1. Little Drummer Boy
2. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
3. He (Acoustic Version)
4. The Little Drummer Boy (Grinch Mix)
1997 - Crazy Times Maxi-Single
Label: Essential
Tracklisting:
1. Crazy Times
2. The Chair
3. Frail (Demo Version)
4. Sleepers
1997 - Drummber Boy (2)
Label: Silvertone
Tracklisting:
1. The Little Drummer Boy
2. The Little Drummer Boy (Grinch Mix)
3. Blind (Fluffy Sav Mix)
4. Wicker Baskets
2007 - Live Monsters
Release Date: March 2007
Label: Essential
Tracklisting:
1. All My Tears
2. Work
3. Dead Man (Carry Me)
4. There is a River
5. Oh My God
6. Love Me
7. Light Gives Heat
2007 - Live Monsters (2)
Release Date: September 4, 2007 (iTunes: July 31)
Label: Essential
Tracklisting:
1. Work
2. Dead Man (Carry Me)
3. There is a River
4. Good Monsters
5. Oh My God
6. Surprise
7. Light Gives Heat
Special Projects
1996 - Artist Link Extra Interview CD
1. Introduction
2. Flood
3. Interview Continues
4. Liquid
5. Interview Continues
6. Worlds Apart
7. Interview Continues
8. Little Drummer Boy
9. Interview Continues
10. He
11. Inerview Close
1996 - Jars of Clay Interactive CD ROM
Notes: This CD-ROM release features behind the scenes photography, interviews, the music video for Flood and audio selections from Frail.
1998 - Stringtown
Notes: A limited edition live album originally sold exclusively to members of the Jars Of Clay Fan Club. Since the dissolution of the fan club, the album has been made available through the band's official store. The two-disc set features a 15-track disc of live concert audio, and a second disc with videos, photo galleries, and other exclusive content. The original pressing was limited to 3,000 copies, but the numbers of subsequent pressings are unknown, making this CD more common than originally intended.
Tracklisting:
Disc One
Live from Stringtown
1. Blind
2. Portrait of an Apology
3. Frail
4. Fade To Grey
5. Flood
6. Tea and Sympathy
Live from the Bubblemaker's Dream Tour
7. Weighed Down
8. Worlds Apart
9. The Coffee Song
10. Sinking
Live from Tour 101
11. Liquid
12. Overjoyed
13. Truce
14. Four Seven
15. Hymn
Disc Two
1. Worlds Apart (Unlisted hidden track from the Stringtown performance)
1999 - Front Yard Luge
Notes: A live EP made available only through internet pre-releases of If I Left The Zoo, featuring recordings of several cover songs unavailable elsewhere.
Tracklisting:
1. Rose Colored Stained Glass Windows (Petra)
2. No Matter What (Badfinger)
3. The Coffee Song
4. Crazy Love (Poco)
5. Liquid
6. God Only Knows (The Beach Boys)
7. Stringtown
2000 - This Road Single / CD ROM
Notes: Released in conjunction with The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Features a multimedia slideshow with information on the persecuted church.
2000 - White Elephant Sessions
Release Date: November 2000
Notes: Made available as a promotional item for If I Left The Zoo one year after it's release.
1. Unforgetful You (Remix)
2. Crazy Times (Demo)
3. Goodbye, Goodnight (Demo)
4. River Constantine (Demo)
5. Grace (Hudson and Wells Demo)
6. Headstrong (Demo)
7. The Coffee Song
8. Can't Erase It (Demo)
9. Kaylos
10. New Math
11. Fly Farther
12. Collide (Demo)
13. Frail (Demo)
2000 - Jar of Gems
Notes: A greatest hits album released exclusively in Singapore and Philippines. The first disc features radio singles, and the second disc features selections from White Elephant Sessions.
Tracklisting:
Disc One
1. Love Song for a Savior
2. Like A Child
3. Liquid
4. Blind
5. Tea and Sympathy
6. Flood
7. Five Candles (You Were There)
8. Unforgetful You
9. Collide
10. No One Loves Me Like You
11. Famous Last Words
12. Hand
Disc Two
1. Unforgetful You (Remix)
2. Can't Erase It (Demo)
3. New Math
4. Collide (Demo)
5. Grace (Hudson and Wells Demo)
6. The Coffee Song
7. Frail (Demo)
2002 - Ten:Thirty CD ROM
Notes: A promotional item made available before the release of The Eleventh Hour, featuring a making-of documentary and preview commentaries of selected tracks from the new album.
Tracklisting:
1. I Need You
2. Silence
3. The Eleventh Hour
4. Fly
5. Revolution
2002 - 11Live DVD
Release Date: September 24, 2002
Notes: The band's first live DVD, featuring most of the performance from their pay-per-view special six months earlier.
Tracklisting:
Concert Performance
1. Disappear
2. Like a Child
3. Unforgetful You
4. Crazy Times
5. Collide
6. Love Sonf for a Savior
7. I Need You
8. Fly
9. I'm Alright
10. Revolution
11. Flood
12. The Edge of Water
13. Worlds Apart
Acoustic Performance
14. Boy on a String
15. Needful Hands
16. Liquid
17. Something Beautiful
2007 - Christmas Songs 512 MB Reusable USB Drive
Release Date: November 29, 2007
Notes: At the first night of the Rome, GA Christmas tour with Third Day)
Tracklisting:
Christmas Songs Album - 192 Kbps Mp3s
O Little Town of Bethlehem (Acoustic Version) - 192 Kbps Mp3
Readings From Peace Is Here (First Breath, Life As Advent, The Burden of Hope, Who Gets To Be Santa) - 96 Kbps Mp3s
Live Videos from Christmas At Union Station (Hibernation Day, Little Drummer Boy) - M4v Format
Love Came Down At Christmas Video - M4v Format
5 Christmas Songs themed Buddy Icons
4 Christmas Songs themed Desktop Wallpapers (800 & 1024 pixel widths)
Online Releases
2005 - Roots & Wings EP
Release Date: March 1, 2005
Notes: Digital EP released in anticipation for Redemption Songs. Features the previously unreleased B-Side, What Wondrous Love.
Tracklisting:
1. God Will Lift Up Your Head
2. What Wondrous Love
3. Shipwrecked
4. Tonight
2005 - iTunes Originals
Release Date: November 8, 2005
Notes: Career retrospective featuring album cuts, commentary, and acoustic reworkings.
Tracklisting:
1. iTunes Originals
2. Sunny Days
3. "Making the Grade"
4. Like A Child
5. "We Were Becoming One with the Mud"
6. Flood (iTunes Originals Version)
7. "The Other Side of Lightning in a Bottle"
8. Frail (iTunes Originals Version)
9. "The Tip of the Iceberg"
10. Goodbye, Goodnight
11. "Starting with a Question"
12. Silence (iTunes Originals Version)
13. "We were Drawn to the Artists that Moved Us"
14. Lonely People
15. Show You Love (iTunes Originals Version)
16. "A Good Song is a Good Song"
17. My Heavenly (iTunes Originals Version)
18. "A Career Highlight"
19. Nothing but the Blood (iTunes Originals Version)
20. "A Modern Day Hymn"
21. All My Tears (iTunes Originals Version)
22. "Looking Back"
23. I'll Fly Away
2006 - Mini Monsters EP
Release Date: August 8, 2006
Notes: Digital EP released in anticipation for Good Monsters. Features the B-Side, Love Me.
Tracklisting:
1. Work (Radio Edit)
2. Dead Man (Carry Me)
3. Love Me
Singles
Self Titled
Flood, Liquid, Love Song For A Savior, Like A Child
Much Afraid
Crazy Times, Five Candles (You Were There), Fade To Grey, Overjoyed, Truce
Exodus (Compilation)
Needful Hands
Prince of Egypt Inspirational Soundtrack (Compilation)
Everything In Between
If I Left The Zoo
Unforgetful You, Collide, No One Loves Me Like You, I'm Alright, Hand, Can't Erase It
City on a Hill: Songs of Worship and Praise (Compilation)
The Stone, This Road
The Eleventh Hour
I Need You, Fly, Revolution, Whatever She Wants
Furthermore
The Valley Song (Sing of Your Mercy)
Who We Are Instead
Show You Love, Sunny Days
Redemption Songs
God Will Lift Up Your Head, I'll Fly Away
Narnia Inspirational Soundtrack (Compilation)
Waiting for the World to Fall
Good Monsters
Dead Man (Carry Me), Work, There Is A River
Christmas Songs
Peace Is Here, Love Came Down At Christmas
Music Videos
Liquid
Flood
Flood (MTV Version)
Flood (Remix Version)
Liquid (Unreleased until 2007)
Flood (Lounge Freak Version)
Crazy Times
Five Candles (You Were There)
Unforgetful You
Collide
This Road
Show You Love
Good Monsters
Work
Dead Man (Carry Me) - Mobile Mash-up Video
Love Came Down at Christmas
B-Sides & Non-Album Tracks (Including songs found on EPs, In alphabetical order)
1400 Feet - Electro Harmonix demo track
All I Want is You - U2 cover song featured on In the Name of Love: Artists United for Africa
Be Thou My Vision - WOW Worship Yellow
Beams of Heaven - Song sung by Dan Haseltine. Featured on Indelible Grace IV: Beams of Heaven
Bethlehem Town - City on a Hill: It's Christmastime
Blind (Fluffy-Sav Smoothed Out Mix) - VibeCentral Remixes
The Chair - The Long Kiss Goodnight Soundtrack, Crazy Times Maxi-Single
Coca Cola Commercial - Featured on the radio during the 1995 Christmas season
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing - City on a Hill: The Gathering
The Comforter Has Come - City on a Hill: Sing Alleluia
Everything In Between - Prince of Egypt Inspirational Soundtrack
Flood (Adrian Belew Electric Version) - Canned radio edit featured on 7Ball Magazine's Gas Collection 2 CD
Flood (Junior Vasquez Dance Remix) - Club remix clocking in at over 11 minutes
Flood (Lounge Freak Version) - "Lounge singer" cover performed by John Jonethis
For All the Saints - Song sung by Dan Haseltine. Featured on Indelible Grace III: For All the Saints
He (Acoustic Version) - Little Drummer Boy EP
Headstrong - Roaring Lambs
If I Stand - Awesome God: A Tribute to Rich Mullins
I'll Fly Away - WOW Worship Red. Differs from the version found on Redemption Songs
It Came Upon The Midnight Clear - Come Let Us Adore Him
Jesse's Song - Sounds of Wood and Steel: Volume 3
Lift Up My Eyes - Song sung by Steve Mason. Featured on Rick Altizer's Soul Lift album
Liquid (SJM Remix) - VibeCentral Remixes
Love Me - Mini Monsters EP
Needful Hands - Exodus
Rose Colored Stained Glass Windows - Petra cover song featured on Never Say Dinosaur
Shipwrecked - Who We Are Instead bonus track
The Stone - City on a Hill: Songs of Worship and Praise
This Road - City on a Hill: Songs of Worship and Praise
Tonight - Who We Are Instead bonus track
Waiting for the World to Fall - Narnia Inspirational Soundtrack
What Wondrous Love - Roots and Wings EP
Wicker Baskets - Sounds of Wood & Steel, Drummer Boy EP (2)
The Widowing Field - We Were Soldiers Soundtrack
Work (Acoustic Version) - Mini Monsters EP
Unreleased Songs
Na Na Na - Written in 1994 and performed intermittently through 1995. Lyrics never finalized.
The Healing - An instrumental eventually used as the backing track for the Coca Cola Commercial
Blame - Written for Much Afraid and performed live several times in 1996. This track lives on in various bootleg recordings and is easily the most popular unreleased Jars of Clay song
Colder Than Tears - Much afraid outtake
Apparition - If I Left The Zoo outtake included in several pre-release tracklistings
Bullet - If I Left The Zoo outtake about the persecuted church
Favorite Breakup Song - If I Left The Zoo outtake
Tell Me To Fly - If I Left The Zoo outtake
Fatherless - If I Left The Zoo outtake
I'm Alright (Reprise) - If I Left The Zoo outtake
My Boy - A song Steve wrote for his son, Evan
America - The Eleventh Hour outtake about political disillusionment
Gravity - The Eleventh Hour outtake. An instrumental version appears on the 11Live DVD.
Empty On The Inside - The Eleventh Hour outtake. A short clip of the song appears on the 11Live DVD
Different - The Eleventh Hour outtake
Hero43 - Good Monsters outtake. An anti-war song. The title refers to President Bush, the 43rd president of the United States.
Body & Wine - Good Monsters outtake
I Think I'm In Love - Good Monsters outtake
Drive - Good Monsters outtake. A Cars cover song recorded during the Good Monsters sessions. Released only as a ringtone for the "Sweet Relief Musicians Fund."
Silent Ride - A collaboration with Zac Hanson of the band Hanson. Recorded at one of Hanson's "Fool's Banquet" recording sessions.
Beautiful Girls (It's Alive) - A collaboration with Pedro Yanowitz of the band Morningwood. Recorded at one of Hanson's "Fool's Banquet" recording sessions.
Books & Other Projects
Hinds' Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard - Special Collector's Edition version featuring a foreword by Matt Odmark and a Bible Study based on the song, "Much Afraid. Hinds' Feet on High Places was an inspiration for the title the and themes explored on Much Afraid.
The Narrow Road by Brother Andrew - The life story of a Bible smuggler featuring a foreword by Jars of Clay and packaged with a CD-single of This Road.
Magnificent Me by Dan Haseltine - Dan's first Children's book, released September 15th, 2007
Peace is Here: Christmas Reflections - Released on October 16, 2007 in conjunction with the Christmas Songs record. The first book to feature writings from each member of the band.
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III. Song Meanings & Trivia (In alphabetical order)
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Note: This section is not meant to be comprehensive. For more song meanings, check out www.jarchives.com/ministrylyrics.htm
He - Based on the book "Death by Child Abuse: the Story of Ursula Sunshine." Says lead singer/songwriter Dan Haseltine, "The book really opened my eyes to the shocking reality of child abuse, but in the song we didn't just want to stop there. We wanted to show the hope and healing of Christ." (See Ps. 56:3-4, 8-13, Ps. 103:13, Isa. 40:27-31, Matt. 18:5-14, Eph. 6:4, Rev. 7-17)
Flood - Guilt, Sin, Pleas for help. In a radio interview, the band stated "this song is not about Noah!" (See Ps. 51, Rom. 6:23, Gal. 5:1-24, Heb. 12:1-13, James 1:2-8, 1 Peter 1:3-9)
The Chair - "We were commissioned to record a version of David Bowie's song 'Heroes' for the movie A Long Kiss Goodnight. We were not very inspired at the time by David Bowie's song, so we wrote the Chair, which is about a girl overcoming the confines of a wheelchair by having a huge imagination...We laugh about that song, Anton Silverman played the violin on the song, and he was a bit of a freak...fantastic player, who just went nuts, and it was brilliant. The music supervisor for the film was not thrilled that we wrote a different song, so our song was not showcased much in the film....She was also the supervisor for the film Godzilla... it turns out that the Wallflowers were commissioned to record a version of David Bowie's song "Heroes" for that film... apparently, the music supervisor is a huge fan of that song. Many years later, I love David Bowie much more than I did in the mid-90's and I would jump at the chance to cover one of his songs for a film." - Dan Haseltine, from a message board post at jarchives.com
Five Candles (You Were There) - The wish of a child to capture the affection and commitment of his father. This song was written for the Liar, Liar soundtrack but the scene it was written for was canned. An early working title for the song was "The Wish."
Goodbye, Goodnight - A comical look at the end of the millennium through the eyes of the string players aboard the Titanic.
Hand and The Stone - Both songs were originally written and recorded by Jonathan Noel for his album, Hand. For more information on Jonathan Noel, check out www.jonathannoel.com
Kaylos - This is a commercial the band recorded for a restaraunt they frequented while recording "If I Left the Zoo."
This Road - A song written for the persecuted church worldwide, inspired by one of Jars of Clay's trips to China in 2000. For an in-depth explanation of the song by Dan Haseltine, check out www.jarchives.com/jarticulate11.htm
Fly - "[A song] inspired by true events in the lives of people close to us. It is the story of a man and a woman, and who, shortly after they were married, found out the once dormant cancer had returned to destroy her body. The couple spent their entire marriage in the hospital. Until one evening, while holding hands, he let her go. "Fly" is about that moment. It is a song about hope—the hope we can only begin to explore when we are on the verge of eternity."
Silence - "In the eerily quiet expanses of time, we begin to wonder if God is there. God is not afraid of our questions, and we were not afraid to write about the incredible depth doubt can reach in the midst of our present struggles. This is a song that has taken on greater meaning since September 11."
Scarlet - A song appealing to the symbology of the literary classic, "The Scarlet Letter." "Scarlet has widely been known as the color of adultery and at the same time, of the blood that washes us clean. In this song we are confronted with a vivid image of sacrificial love. Often I find myself awed by the reach of salvation and the persistence of grace."
Whatever She Wants - "[This] may be the most confrontational song we have ever written. The topic is co-dependency. It can suck the life out of the best relationships. There’s nothing like vampires and superheroes to liven up a record."
The Eleventh Hour - "The eleventh hour is known as the end of the line, the final breath before dying, or the last chance to make something happen. More importantly it is the time when we are challenged to take God at His word. Is He trustworthy or is He a liar? If we believe God is who He says He is, then the eleventh hour can pass us by. God will find us in His time."
Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet - A reinterpretation of a recording and composition by Gavin Bryer built around the recording of a homeless man singing the phrase, "Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet." For more information on Gavin Bryer's recording, check out www.jarchives.com/jarticulate33.htm
Work - "The song Work is, I think, one of the most important things we've said to date in terms of pushing back the effects of the fall and isolation and the way we try to figure out how to live this life by ourselves...All the things we do that people tell us to do that will get us to feeling like we're living more life and experiencing more grace and experiencing more love and what we want out of life...[The song's message is that] it's not found in doing the things we're told to do on Sundays, or trying to keep our noses clean, but it's actually found by sharing our lives with other people and telling our story to other people and walking together with people, developing a thing we like to call community. It's a personal cry for me, I think it's a personal cry for the band..." - Steve Mason, from a street team promotional mp3
Dead Man (Carry Me) - "It really is a song that tries to communicate where my head has been in terms of understanding this idea that a lot of times we need permission to think beyond the norms of what the church is telling us or what the culture is feeding us, that what we really need is permission to think and to act. A lot of times, even as we think globally, it's hard to know what we're supposed to do...What Dead Man is saying is that we all have permission, when those moments come, when we start to become restless, when we start to do inventory on the way our lives look and how we're making choices based on a bigger kingdom than our own backyard...to change, and to dig deeper, and to move into a place where we actually are making a difference, making better choices, and having an affect that reaches farther than our own homes...so that other people become benefactors of our thinking and our philosophy of life." - Dan Haseltine, from a street team promotional mp3
Good Monsters - Inspired by a quote attributed to Edmund Burke, which reads, "All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." The song is about our capacity for both good and evil.
Oh My God - This song is about the universality of the phrase "Oh my God" and how everyone, when brought to a state of brokenness and despair, will cry out to God regardless of whether they believe in Him or not.
Light Gives Heat - "Light Gives Heat is about the way the West approaches Africa based on issues and motivated by a moment of clarity... and NOT the leading of Africans. AIDS and Humanitarian Causes are big money makers for some people, and some groups... We make big splashes and trumpet our causes, but in the end...unless we are blessing Africans... helping Africans...supporting Africans.... knowing and respecting Africans, we are not serving them well...It is the necessary African voice...telling us that even though we often use our humanitarian aid to bring benefit on ourselves, they are a creative and hopeful people, and they will find the good that can come from even our worst motives...The chorus to the song should be sung by Africans alone....but I sang it for production reasons. It is the voice of Africans reminding us that they are resourceful, and though we wave our flags, and set fire to houses on a hill to illuminate our good work... even if it is not serving Africans, Africans are resourceful and turn our bright lights into heat that they can use.... using our resources in spite of our arrogance...It is a song of tension, and one that should speak more to the process we are in then the answers we have developed. " - Dan Haseltine, quoted from various message board posts at jarchives.com
Winter Skin and Evergreen - "There has not been a Christmas season that I can remember, where I did not, at some point, at a party, or a gathering where everyone was loud and joyful, step out into the crisp, cold and silent winter night. In contrast to the noise of Christmas music, and the sound of people laughing and celebrating, the gift of silence on a snowy night is one of the great gifts God has given to me nearly every Christmas. I wanted to have some songs on this record that reminded me of those silent moments.... something like a walk in the snow, or a lullaby.... these two songs represent a musical expression of the act of escaping the noise and walking into the clear night." - Dan Haseltine, from a Christmas Songs press release
O Little Town of Bethlehem - "In making this album, we wanted to capture what was meaningful about the music we listened to growing up at Christmas, and add some of those textures to our palette. We worked hard on how to approach the more commonly known songs to give them a new angle. 'O, Little Town of Bethlehem' is a good example of that reconstructive creative process. We had a standard, acoustic version of it, but it wasn't interesting enough. We weren't sure exactly what we were doing when we started, but it came to a beautiful, emotional end for me." Steve Mason, from a Christmas Songs press release
In The Bleak Midwinter - "[This] has become a special song over the past few years. A poetic song that describes the lonely state of earth in winter, and God's breaking through that stillness with a baby. And the insight that the only thing we can really bring Him is our heart. We used two verses, and Dan wrote a beautiful third verse that ends with a proclamation that this fragile birth becomes 'peace for child and man.'" - Charlie Lowell, from a Christmas Songs press release
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IV. Tour Information
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Bands Toured With
Incomplete and in no particular order, Jars of Clay have toured with PFR, Brent Bourgeouis, Michael W. Smith, Three Crosses, Sting, Plumb, Jennifer Knapp, Duncan Sheik, Sarah Masen, Sarah Jahn, Matchbox 20, The Gufs, The Samples, Burlap to Cashmere, Silage, David Wilcox, Third Day, Disappointed by Candy, Needtobreathe, Sara Groves, Chris Rice, Derek Webb
Past Tours
Summer 1996: Tour on a Stick
Fall 1997 - Spring 1998: Bubblemaker's Dream Tour
Spring 1999: Tour 101
Spring 2000: Colliding Rhinos Tour
Fall 2000: Three O' Clock Parade Tour
The Thinking Man's Pop Tour
Fall 2006 - Spring 2007: Good Monsters Tour
Fall 2007 - Winter 2007: Christmas Offerings Tour
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V. Miscellany
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Marital Status
All are happily married. In a recent interview (July 2007), the band remarked that Gabe Ruschival, their touring bassist, is single.
Finding Their Albums
Their studio albums can be found in most any record store or Christian book store, or online at http://jarsofclay.shop.musictoday.com
More obscure titles like White Elephant Sessions or Frail show up on ebay periodically.
Musical Influences
The band has mentioned their appreciation for Feist, Wilco, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The White Stripes, Ryan Adams, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Innocence Mission, Fleming & John, and others.
"Good Monsters" Controversy
In 2005, Dan made a post on the Jarchives message board responding to fans' disappointment with the fact that the band was not nominated for a Gospel Music Association Award that year. His response sparked a small controversy in the Christian Music industry:
"Thanks to everyone. I really appreciate your disappointment over the fact that WWAI did not get a nomination. We too were disappointed. Ultimately, the reasons for making music and engaging in the arts have nothing to do with winning Dove awards. It is nice to be acknowledged, but in an industry that still has a long way to go in supporting true artistry and not simply perpetuating a "cultural Christianity," we must not get discouraged.
We love the Switchfoot guys, and are happy to let them shine this year. They have worked very hard. So we will be rooting for them. We are also very thankful that Show You Love was nominated.
This is all part of the tension that Jars of Clay has existed in for many years. How do we seek to develop as artists that can speak into the lives of both Christians and non-Christians, uphold our belief that being excellent artists is as much a reflection of the Gospel as any verbal testimony, and continue to write songs that challenge and serve the greater story of redemption well, AND hold a highly visible spot in a Christian genre and industry that does not necessarily put the same kind of value on these things? This seems impossible. I do not know many, if any, artists that are dedicated to these same values, and have a strong high profile status in the CCM world. And we are alright with this arrangement. On my worst days I hunger for and seek after the recognition...but that is only when I am feeling the unquenchable need to be defined by something other than God.
At the core, Pop music is telling people what they want to hear. Christian Pop music is no different. This presents a great problem when my understanding of the Gospel is that it is NOT what we want to hear. It is ultimately offensive, and revealing in the most violent of ways. One of the hymns we sing on Redemption Songs has a verse that begins, "I am evil, born in sin...." Not exactly the words we want to keep singing in our heads on a sunny day...but it is the truth.
Don't be surprised by the CCM industry...They have created a monster and now they do not know how to kill it gracefully. And even though it is a monster, most times it's motives are to become a very good monster. So...anyway, thanks for caring. We will press on, and in fact, have been writing furiously for the next record. We will begin recording in May. We are already VERY excited about quite a few of the new songs.
We will be meeting up with our friend Ron Aniello and some other songwriters in L.A. when we go out for the Grammy's. So hopefully good things will come of those sessions.
Sorry for such a long response. Just thought I would let you know we shared your disappointment, but we are doing great! -peace, dan"
Several months later, Dan commented on the controversy, writing "I think it was grossly misinterpreted. Which was my fault to begin with, as I probably should have used a better metaphor. And presented my argument with more clarity."
Hero43
Hero43 is an unreleased song from the Good Monsters sessions that is frequently brought up because of its controversial nature. It was originally referenced in a Sioux Falls newspaper interview, but expounded upon by Dan Haseltine in an interview with radio host Eric Hogue. In two blog articles (Still available at http://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/erichogue/11532343 and http://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/erichogue/11532359), Hogue shares some of his interview:
"The popular band Jars of Clay has in storage a song entitled 'Hero43'. The lyrics speak of using faith to support an unnecessary war in Iraq, and draw a correlation to the days of the Crusades. The title is a simple metaphor for the person of George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States...Other than the fact that the band members say they aren't entirely ready with the creative presentation of the song, Haseltine is also offering 'fear of retribution' from the Christian community as a reason for its absence on their latest work...He stated that being Christian today means you must be tied to being a 'patriot' for the war effort in Iraq, and a staunch conservative supporter for this administration's Republican ideals.
Haseltine recently told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 'If you rock the boat too much, your records won't appear in certain Christian record stores anymore.' In reference to political opinions He stated, 'Watching our current government, we joke about it saying that they're going to usher in the apocalypse.'"
In the second blog entry, Dan is quoted in full. What appears are relevant excerpts:
"The song is a song called 'Hero43'. It's not a finished song. There was more to not putting it on than simply the content. Some of it was simply...we didn't necessarily feel like it was up to par with the rest of the songs that we were trying to do for the 'Good Monsters' project. Aside for that; as for the content, what we were really talking about is this sense that in our current political system the evangelical right...and it seemed like President Bush was using faith as kind of this manipulative tool, saying this is our job. It certainly felt like it was moving back to the crusade. We felt like, OK, you're trying to justify a war using the tenets of faith. I don't believe that's an accurate or wise way to move in government. So we were somewhat protesting that use (of faith as a reason for war). And also, that sense that if your a Christian then you have to be a Republican. You have to be a conservative. I don't know...so many of my friends that are incredible believers, incredible thoughtful people that don't fall into that category.
...(Another) problem is with the current mechanics of Christian retail and Christian radio, they are a sort of the voice box for the Christian culture. They are gate keepers that are conservatives and are in these places to where they don't want you to have to contend with other people's perspectives. So you kind of have to play in that field. You have to navigate that with a great deal of strategy and intelligence. Or it comes off as a rant, or it comes off like you're denouncing your faith. So it's a tricky spot to be in.
...There are systems in place where you have to be...tactful. The artist always has a great battle between art and commerce. I'm not going to go throw my full meaning out there. In that (newspaper) interview he asked me...'Why don't you put a song like this on a record?' I said because there are many people out there wouldn't understand this, that wouldn't look at this because of the position there are in, and believing they have figured it out. They wouldn't want to listen to it, and it would create more problems. And the rest of the things that are on that album that we feel are very important topics, would just get overshadowed by something like this. Sometimes controversy is good, but in other times it's not worth selling out the rest of what we are saying in that album for this one little song. That's really why we did what we did with the song.
...I'm very much in favor of the troops. These are guys who are following orders, so they are doing their job for their country and there's a system that breaks down if the troops start going, 'I don't believe that, so I'm not going to do it.' I believe that there are a lot of people in Iraq, our soldiers, that firmly believe they're there for a reason. We don't hear about those reasons. Our media is so screwed up that we don't really hear the truth about what is really going on. We are left to kind of piece it together on our own, from all of this - this influx of the mass media.
The soldiers are the one's that probably get the short end of the stick, because we don't really hear from them. We don't really hear what is going on. What are the good things about this season of trying to liberate Iraq? And, what are the bad things? What is really going on why they are there? At least for me, I find it very difficult to wade through all of the information that is thrown at me about the war, and everyone's opinion.
What I do believe, is that there is a lot of infighting in politics right now. It feels like there is a lot of justification for things that we shouldn't had been a part of. (It seems like we are) now we're trying to save face, when perhaps a better tactic would be to come clean. To say, 'you're right, we were wrong in doing this'. Maybe we should try to approach this a different way.
It doesn't feel any different than listening to a pastor who has been caught (in sinful error). Everything that happened with Haggard his situation was everyone kind of knew what was going on. And he knew what was going on. Still he said no, (it is not happening). Everybody knew it was true. Seems the same for our government. Everybody kind of knows, for the most part, that we were wrong to go in there, and we really need to clean it up. The reasons we went were not the real reasons that we are actually there.
I'm thoughtfully concerned about the way we are approaching the rest of the world. I'm also very aware that this war is taking up a great deal of our attention. There are other things going on in our world that we should very well be involved. Whether that's dealing with HIV/AIDS in Africa, or poverty that is going on in all of these developing nations. You know, we are allotting a lot of finances and a lot of attention in trying to clean up a mess. Or, we are trying to cover up a mess versus actually doing some of these good things that we should be doing in the world."