Daniel Amos Shakes C&W Image

Monrovia News-Post September 2, 1982

by John Hutchmacher

With the release of their forecoming Doppelganger Chronicles [sic] (Alarma! Records), expected sometime in October, lead singer/songwriter Terry Taylor hopes that finally Daniel Amos will be rid of its country and western image for good. "The kids are getting zealous again about serving Christ and I want D.A. to be a part of that," the 32-year old musician said.

Daniel Amos will help generate such zealous behavior on Friday, Sept. 24, when it launches into a rare Southern California appearance with special guests White Throne at St. Frances of Rome Church, 501 E. Foothill Blvd., Azusa. Tickets priced at $3 each, are on sale at the Christian Corner, 250 N. Lake, PAsadena; Alleluia Christian Bookstore, 906 S. Grand, Glendora; The Jeweler, 1016 West Covina Pkwy., West Covina; or at the door.

It's been two albums (three counting Doppelganger) since D.A.'s progressive rock sound emerged. Still, supporters, more fond of the accoustic ballads which were formerly the band's trademark, refuse to accept the transition, which Tayloer explains was instead an evolvement. "We wanted to incorporate all sorts of music, from the very beginning," Taylor said. "We've just had a chance over the years to take the time and do things we've always wanted to do."

Taylor's first interest in music was strummed up in the 1960's during the British invasion, back when "every kid was asking his mom and dad for a guitar for Christmas." After graduating from high school, Taylor hooked up with the "Cardboard Scheme," another British-influenced group which had played from time to time with "People," Larry Norman's prelude band. Norman would later produce D.A.'s Horrendous Disc.

It was also during this time that Taylor first bumped into Randy Stonehill, then a member of the "Good Humor" Band. D.A. has accompanied Stonehill, a Myrrh Records Artist, in the studio on several occasions. "So we all bumped into each other now and then without knowing that we'd know each other later," Taylor recalls.

It was the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo albu, that first turned Taylor on to the Country and Western music scene, a sound which eventually filtered into the early Daniel Amos.

"I felt that in the beginning, Daniel Amos would do a lot of different things, not just country," Taylor said. "We started putting songs together, and in a very short time, we were being asked to play at different places when we weren't really polished. That was fine, if it was a small gathering, a Bible study, a small church... but then they'd come up and say 'We'd like you to come up and do an hour at this church,' and we didn't have an hour's worth of songs! So consequently, as a result of that sort of pressure, the country tunes were the easiest to learn and more conducie to what we were able to accomplish with a four piece acoustical band."

Refusing to conform musically, Taylor felt the need to re-locate to Southern California, reasoning that "Northern California wasn't as progressive and open culturally."

Prior to D.A.'s first album, Shotgun Angel, both Taylor and accoustic guitarist Steve Baxter met lead guitarist Jerry Chamberlain and bassist Marty Dieckmeyer during a Calvary Chapel Musicians fellowship. Both Chamberlain and Dieckmeyer joined to round off the quartet.

Eventually, the small gigs turned into larger ones, and it wasn't long before Daniel Amos was pegged as a favorite local country and western outfit. "In a way, that was somewhat unfortunate, although even the first album (Daniel Amos, Maranatha! Music) is not purely country," Taylor said. "It reflects other styles and really was a foreshadow of what we wanted to do later."

Shotgun Angel, D.A.'s second Maranatha! release, showed even more distinct signs of D.A.'s transformation into rock n' roll. Drummers Ed McTaggart and Alex MacDougall were added to help D.A. create music with "validity in the sense of a wide spectrum of music, not just Christian music, but in all music."

The spectrum continued to broaden with follow-up efforts Horrendous Disc (Solid Rock Records) and Alarma! (Newpax Records), which changed not only D.A.'s approach musically, but lyrically as well.

"Our emphasis has changed somewhat in the past couple years towards being involved as a Christian and stirring up the body of Christ," Taylor said. "Much of the earlier music was preaching; 'You need to do this,' or 'I found thi, it's a great thing, why don't you have it?' That sort of thing turns most people off. It doesn't have that much impact on the world out there.

"What we've tried to do is to make our style of music compatible to what we're trying to express lyrically," Taylor said. "The subjects that we're talking about fit naturally with what we're doing musically."

While secular new wave bands lyrically ask questions but offer no solutions, Daniel Amos attempts to provide the answers by offering listeners a new outlook on life. "We don't have all the answers, but we know the ultimate answer to all our questions is Christ," Taylor said.

Taylor feels most proud of the completed Doppelganger (German for "Double Image") tracks which are based on a chapter in Ephesians of the Bible dealting with double images. The album introduces Tim Chander on bass in place of Marty Dieckmeyer, who left of reasons not connected with the band.

The concept of the Doppelganger album, according to Taylor, is that Christians are to be "heaven's representatives of what we are in Christ.

Doppelganger talks about how we fail in making that representation, how we overcome that, and how we truly represent who we are. It talks about the masks we put on and the things that we worship ("I know what I want/I know what I need/I want a new car," from the song "New Car!")

"Some people say that Daniel Amos is new wave, but I think the problem with that is like: new wave is happening, so Daniel Amos is going to jump on the band wagon, whcih is not true at all. I like a lot of new wave music because it reminds me of the 60's," Taylor said.

"we want people to dive in and become a part of the album," Taylor said. "That was one of the ideas behind doing this four record set (Doppelganger is the second in a series of four chronicle/album packages, Alarma! being the first). It's more than just recording another album, it's a commitment.

"It's a very personal thing to me, because each sone on these albums is writtent out of personal assessment of who I am as a Christian, and where I fail," Taylor said. "In the songs people can perhaps see their own failings, and make some response that's positive."