Hourglass (Christian rock band)
Hourglass is a Christian Rock Band that experienced significant success in the late 1990s, releasing one studio album, one live album, and playing extensively until the early 2000s, when the members decided to part ways as a band and dedicate time to other personal projects.
History
Beginnings
The group that would become Hourglass began at Missouri Baptist University during the mid 1990s. At the time there was a burgeoning Christian music scene in the Midwest, from which several popular Christian groups emerged. Hourglass, originally named Renaissance, found its beginnings in this scene.
The original lineup of the group (as Renaissance) consisted of Jason Crahen on guitar, Jason Jones on drums, Jason Miller and Sam Ritter rotating on bass, and Jason Soroski on guitar/vocals. The group had mostly rock influences, ranging from Christian groups Bride and Third Day to classic rockers Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, and Edgar Winter. The approach of the band was a strong guitar driven sound, utilizing Crahen and Soroski's complementary lead guitar abilities in a blues/rock style. The result was that they cemented their reputation as a solid and EXCITING Christian rock group. Before achieving a great deal of success commercially, all members except Soroski and Crahen left the group for various reasons .
Emergence
During this short break, Soroski lived in Nashville, Tennessee. Upon his return to St. Louis, a new group began to take structure with the addition of lyricist/guitarist Erik Yates, Jason Crahen switching to bass guitar, and local session drummer David Knobel replacing Jones on drums. Jones at this time was serving overseas in the US Navy. During this period, Jason Soroski and Erik Yates often travelled as a duo, which allowed Hourglass to take on smaller, more intimate acoustic performances, including drama as well as music.
Emerging with a new purpose, a new sound, and a new name, Hourglass began touring regionally with a more ministerial approach, and recorded their debut CD "Don't Let Me Forget" in 2000. This album was hailed by Alpha Omega News as "the perfect mixture of MusicAL entertainment and poetic fulfillment", and received substantial airplay on regional airwaves. After releasing their first radio single, "Let it Flow", Hourglass became an extremely popular and sought after group in St. Louis, Missouri and the surrounding region, eventually stretching out to the South and venues in Texas. When a DJ in St. Louis began playing a remixed version of the song "I Am Here" as a tribute to the victims of 9/11, it was another step towards keeping the group on the radio and in the spotlight.
Success
The band enjoyed great success on local radio and television, and even began to sponsor their own events, such as a large "See You at The Pole" rally and concert. It was at this concert that Jason Jones re-entered the lineup, as an auxiliary percussionist, making the group a five piece for this show only, and reuniting three of the original "Jasons".
From this point on Jones resumed his former spot as the band's drummer, yet appears on only one release, a live version of the blues-rocker "Narrow Road".
With this personnel switch, the group which had found a polished and subdued sound in the studio now began to hit their stride during live shows, which were known for extended solos, spontaneity, and raucous covers of classic songs such as Rare Earth's "Celebrate".
After five successful years, and after amassing a sizeable fan base, the band went on hiatus when Jason and Erik moved from St. Louis to the Houston, Texas, area (Erik first, then Jason Soroski a year later), leaving their fans only their debut album and the searing blues single "Narrow Road" from a live concert at Missouri Baptist, the school where the band was formed. All members remain friends, and still collaborate on various projects.
Discography
- Don't Let Me Forget 2000
- Live at MoBap 2001
Trivia
Three of the five members of the group are named Jason.