Unhindered
Whether packing out an arena of 20,000 screaming fans or encouraging students at a small church camp, the end result is the same--the audience is transformed into a congregation and the stage into an altar of worship. And that's just the way Georgia-based worship band Unhindered likes it.
"This whole thing happened out of a desire for ministry," explains guitarist/frontman Pat Barrett. "Before there was a band there were a bunch of guys in high school who wanted to see God do something extravagant in their community."
Of course that doesn't mean Unhindered is content for anyone to sit down during its set. "We want our music to bring people into an encounter with God," declared keyboardist and co-frontman Ben Smith. "One of the biggest obstacles to worship is believers who are self-conscious. We want to kick down that wall, so we get the whole crowd on their feet, jumping around. It is amazing to watch people when they really feel free to worship."
Unhindered began as a friendship between Ben and Pat in high school. They honed their skills in a youth group praise band before finding themselves in demand at events around the region from Fellowship of Christian Athletes gatherings to church camps and evangelistic revival meetings.
"We started a Saturday night worship service once a month and kids from all of the neighboring high schools would gather together," Pat recalls. "It was raw, unhindered, intense - people just going after God. It started growing like crazy, and we began receiving invitations to perform at other events as well."
College at the University of Georgia proved to intensify the two friends' original calling to lead people into an unhindered worship experience. J.R. Collins and Christian Paschall, both of whom had played with the band periodically during their high school years, came on board as regular members. During their sophomore year the band met guitarist, Ashley Dasher, who proved to be the missing link that solidified Unhindered's final lineup.
The band's growing popularity caught the attention of nationally renowned Teen Mania Ministries, who booked Unhindered for an Acquire the Fire event. The synergy between the band and the ministry was both obvious and intense.
"They called us to play at an event in front of 5,000 people," Ben explains. "It was overwhelming! There was an instant connection with them."
"A few months later they called us up again," Pat interjects. "They were starting a new worship label that would focus on worship for the next generation. We were really intrigued by that idea."
After much prayer and deliberation, the band began a partnership with the newly formed EE-Taow Records. Since signing with the label, Unhindered has played nearly 150 dates a year including Acquire the Fire events, Battle Cry gatherings, Xtreme conferences, Student Life dates, local church concerts and camps, building relationships while building up the body of Christ.
In the midst of its unrelenting schedule, Unhindered managed to record a stunning live DVD/CD and shortly after hit the studio with producer-extraordinaire Scotty Wilbanks (NewSong, Third Day, DecembeRadio) to record, Be, its debut project for EE-Taow Records.
Delivering compelling melodies, prominent hooks, energetic performances, and lyrics that are full-to-bursting with honest expressions of worship and adoration, Be is destined to become a classic example of next generation worship.
From the fist-pumping, crowd pleaser, "We Will," to the frenetic punk-inflected, "Light This World," to the piano-driven worship ballad, "Father Will You Come," Unhindered shatters any preconceived notions of what next generation worship is supposed to look like.
The album's debut radio single, "You Are Creator," is a powerful corporate worship tune, while "No Other Name" sets the tone for a more intimate worship experience. "Who Is Like The Lord" opens with a spoken word monologue, while album-closer "Farewell Lullabye" features a soft, acoustic sound.
But, while the songs range far and wide, one thing remains constant; both musically and lyrically, Unhindered exists to encourage honest, unhindered worship to a holy God.
Artist Q&A:
1. How did you first hear about Open Labs?
I was playing at a church here in Atlanta with Travis from open labs. He had his Miko with him so naturally I was intrigued. I started asking questions and immediately my mind started running with wild ideas as to how this could work for Unhindered's show.
2. What production station do you have?
DBeat -- Since we needed something smaller and knew we'd be using external midi controllers, it made the most sense for us.
3. How has the gear changed your method of work?
Only a year ago I was using my laptop running software really designed for recording to generate click and play tracks. Our keyboard player ben was using another system to play his VSTs. Since we've had our dbeat, we've already combined those two things into one unit. We're using Riff with some wireless midi technology so Ben doesn't have to be next to the unit to control his VSTs. Also we've been using ableton to fire the light show as well fire video content. It's really a one stop "show in a box" for us.
4. What is your production station's primary function, live or studio?
We've been primarily using the dbeat live but I can't imagine us not using it in the studio in the future.
5. What is our favorite software on the board?
I really love Ableton. I think it is absolutely amazing for anyone wanting to get creative with their live show or production. It's so conducive to creativity. I love figuring out new ways to use it that maybe no one's ever really thought of before.
6. How do you use it?
In a worship environment, it's always ideal to be able to have some flow to your show. Maybe you'll play a chorus another time tonight instead of just once. Maybe you repeat the bridge... It's important to have that ability in what we do and it's often very difficult to maintain that flexibility when running tracks or loops. To solve this problem I have split up the tracks into different parts of each song and assigned a pad on my Roland SPD-S to fire Verse 1, Chorus 1, Verse, 2, etc. The clips are set up as follow cues by default but if I never need to jump back to a particular part of a song again, all I've got to do is hit it in the last bar and we're there. Also I've created midi files that play alongside the tracks to fire different lighting cues back at lighting world and different clips in video world. To add another element of coolness, Ben (the keyboard player) has two midi controllers at the front of the stage. Using Riff's mapping capabilities, he's able to completely control his VSTs without ever being in front of the machine.
7. What kind of equipment have you owned in the past and how do they compare to your Open Labs equipment?
I have really only used a laptop and interface to do this kind of thing in the past. Unfortunately though, there always seemed to be issues to deal with. The DBeat runs everything so seamlessly not to mention the convenience of having one box that does it all. No cable jumble. Plug it in, and turn it on like a hardware piece!
8. Has the gear changed the way you write songs?
Not really. Given that we're a rock band, most of our stuff is written with guitars. The DBeat is primarily a live thing for us.
9. How different is the composition process compared to the standard computer or laptop system?
Again, we aren't really using it for that at this point.
10. Do you think the quality of your production now would be possible with another keyboard?
Not our LIVE production... no one machine would be able to do everything the dbeat is doing for us.
11. Have you had any experience with our Tech Support and how does it rate with you?
When we were getting the machine set up I was having trouble getting one of the VSTs to show up in Riff. In a matter of minutes I had someone at open labs logged into my machine fixing it for me. 10 mins later, problem solved. Best tech support out there that I have ever experienced.
12. What is next for you and your production station?
To be honest, who knows! After this tour is done I think we'll figure out another way to use it. Either way, I'm sure it will continue to force us to reach new creative heights in how we run our live show.
Equipment used:
Purchased DBeat
Artist Link:
http://www.unhinderedworship.com