Musical Routes by Aaron Epp

Vol. 27, No. 05

Big enough to sing about

Last September, TobyMac's latest album, Eye On It, debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 200 chart. It was the first time in 15 years—and only the third time ever—that a Christian album has reached the top of the chart.

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Musical Routes by Aaron Epp

Vol. 27, No. 03

Pressing on and giving thanks: a soundtrack

Songs about perseverance and giving thanks have been important to me over the last few months. I'm interested in the former topic because I have been concentrating on my health and fitness over the last year, and have lost 65 pounds. Songs about perseverance motivate me to keep going, even when I don't feel like making healthy eating choices or going to the gym.

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Musical Routes by Aaron Epp

Vol. 27, No. 01

Vancouver singer-songwriter draws from eclectic—and divine—inspiration

Vancouver singer-songwriter Jordan Klassen's sound has been compared to Sufjan Stevens and The Shins, and while those artists may have influenced his work, he names a few other influences as well: Walt Disney and Jesus Christ.

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Musical Routes by Aaron Epp

Vol. , No.

Rethinking Christmas

While Christmas is often portrayed as a joyful time of year filled with happiness and good cheer, for many, it's a difficult season. No one knows that better than Steve Bell.

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Musical Routes by Aaron Epp

Vol. 26, No. 09

Double-time with Oh Village and Shad

It takes a village to make an album. When Oh Village, a four-piece rock band from Abbotsford, B.C. needed money to record its new CD, the band decided to "crowdfund" the project, asking family, friends and fans to pre-order the disc and make donations via RocketHub.com.

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Projections by Bruce Soderholm

Vol. 26, No. 07

Just the entrée, please… we'll skip the appetizers

Seat reclined—check. Cell phone silenced—check. Obscenely overpriced popcorn properly positioned—check and doublecheck. "Ground control, we are good to go. Commence movie screening countdown."

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Musical Routes by Aaron Epp

Vol. 26, No. 06

Former dctalk phenom expands his creative repertoire with Fiefdom of Angels

Three years ago, Kevin Max re-discovered a poem he wrote in the mid-'90s about the fall of Lucifer. Inspired, he began writing a novel about the origin of angels titled Fiefdom of Angels. It wasn't long before the award-winning musician, best known as one-third of the Christian rock group dc Talk, had a 450-page manuscript on his hands.

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Projections by Bruce Soderholm

Vol. 26, No. 05

Monsieur Lazhar a lesson in fine Canadian film

Sometimes a film is just a film. Sometimes it's a director's vanity project. Sometimes it's a studio's attempt to milk a cash cow. But sometimes, just sometimes, a film opens a window to life, carefully observes the human condition, and gets it just right. Monsieur Lazhar, written and directed by Quebec native Philippe Falardeau, is such a film.

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Projections by Bruce Soderholm

Vol. 26, No. 03

Hugo sparkles with cinematic magic

When an iconic master director, Martin Scorsese, decides to adapt a marvelous story such as The Invention of Hugo Cabret for film, we might well expect there to be some cinematic magic. Hugo does not disappoint. Scorsese, inspired by his wife's challenge to make a film that their 11-year-old daughter could watch, has crafted a film that's been nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

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Musical Routes by Aaron Epp

Vol. 26, No. 02

From the Sky Down provides elevating look at U2

The last time Davis Guggenheim made a documentary involving a member of U2, the result was the lacklustre It Might Get Loud.

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