For over four decades, The Choir, originally from Los Angeles and now based in Nashville, has been a cornerstone of the indie rock and alternative music scenes, crafting songs that blend atmospheric soundscapes with poetic lyrics and heartfelt spirituality. With a distinctive style marked by Derri Daugherty’s ethereal guitar work and hauntingly emotive voice, Steve Hindalong’s reflective and poignant lyrics, and Dan Michaels’ evocative saxophone, lyricon, and wind synthesizer playing, The Choir has cultivated a sound that is as innovative as it is timeless. Their music transcends genres, resonating deeply with fans who have remained fiercely loyal through the years.

Emerging in the early 1980s, The Choir quickly gained a reputation for their lush, ambient sound and contemplative songwriting. Albums like Chase the Kangaroo (1988) and Circle Slide (1990) established the band as pioneers in the alternative Christian music landscape. These records, now considered classics, showcase the band’s ability to balance raw emotion with intricate, atmospheric instrumentation. Songs such as "About Love" and "Consider" captured the hearts of listeners with their honest explorations of love, doubt, and faith.

Throughout the 1990s, The Choir continued to evolve, releasing critically acclaimed albums like Free Flying Soul (1996), which featured a more upbeat and textured sound, and Flap Your Wings (2000), a Grammy-nominated album celebrated for its soulful beauty and melodic richness. Each project demonstrated the band’s commitment to pushing creative boundaries while staying true to their core themes of vulnerability and spiritual exploration.

In recent years, The Choir has embraced a do-it-yourself ethos, connecting directly with their audience through platforms like Patreon. This intimate approach has allowed the band to release new music consistently, including standout albums like Bloodshot (2018) and Deep Cuts (2021), which continue to resonate with their ever-loyal fanbase. In 2024, The Choir unveiled Translucent, an instrumental ambient album blending Daugherty’s shimmering guitars, Hindalong’s electronic percussion, and Michaels’ atmospheric wind instrumentation. This late-career triumph was hailed as a moody and serene masterpiece, reflecting the band’s ability to innovate while staying grounded in their signature sound.

The Choir’s lyrical depth has always been a defining feature. Steve Hindalong’s words delve into themes of faith, doubt, relationships, and redemption, offering a raw and relatable perspective that has struck a chord with listeners for decades. Paired with Daugherty’s soaring, emotional vocals, the lyrics create moments of profound connection. Michaels’ contributions on saxophone and lyricon add a layer of sophistication and texture, setting The Choir apart from other bands in the genre.

Beyond their music, The Choir’s enduring friendship and brotherhood are central to their identity. Despite personal struggles and professional challenges, the band has remained a cohesive unit, drawing strength from their shared history and their close relationship with fans, affectionately referred to as their "tribe." This bond has been a source of inspiration for both the band and their audience, a testament to the healing power of music and community.

The Choir’s influence extends beyond their own catalog. Steve Hindalong’s production work, including the new Sixpence None The Richer EP released in 2024, and Dan Michaels’ efforts in helping other artists during his tenure as a marketing executive at Fair Trade Services, working with acclaimed acts such as MercyMe, Sara Groves, The Afters, and CeCe Winans, demonstrate the band’s broader impact on the music world. Their collaborative spirit and dedication to excellence continue to inspire both peers and fans alike.

As The Choir continues to write and record, their legacy remains one of artistic courage, spiritual depth, and unwavering connection with their listeners. With a catalog that includes iconic songs like “Beautiful Scandalous Night” and recent highlights like Translucent, The Choir proves that their creative journey is far from over. Whether through their groundbreaking albums, heartfelt performances, or the intimate connection they share with their fans, The Choir remains a beacon of authenticity and artistry in a changing musical landscape.

Order my EP on Limited Edition 10" Pink Vinyl: https://chelsealankes.bandcamp.com/album/chelsea-lankes-ep


For the members of Abandon Kansas, their bright future as one of the Midwest’s most storied DIY indie-rock acts has them doing just about everything but deserting their roots. Seven years into their existence, the band has over 800 headlining tour dates and three releases on an upper echelon indie label under their belts. They’ve capitalized on the social media surge of the mid-late 2000s with fans by the numbers on every platform, and have graced the national Christian festival circuit across the board with headlining slots. From the outside, Abandon Kansas is the proverbial success-package that the music world at large seeks to achieve. From the inside, Abandon Kansas is a threshold of creativity with a gritty, relentless do-it-yourself mentality – allowing them to not only continue their forward motion, but to do it completely on their own. 

The band saw its beginnings in 2006 at Friends University in Wichita, KS. Brian Scheideman and Jeremy Spring met by sharing a love for indie rock music while attending their hometown school, and quickly got to work on their first independent release, 2007’s You Build a Wall, I’ll Build a Ladder. The album encompassed a sound both raw and polished, resembling shades of indie catalysts The Arcade Fire and Bloc Party. It built an instant buzz throughout the Midwestern U.S., and most importantly, caught the eyes and ears of Christian indie label Gotee Records. “Gotee was the only label interested at the time that understood how we wanted to walk the line between the Christian and general market, and they let us do our thing,” explains vocalist Jeremy Spring. “I remember signing the papers in a parking lot in Texas in March; it was very anticlimactic.” Perhaps the described signing process was somewhat of a foreshadowing of the next two years, as the band eventually themselves in an uncomfortable creative situation with the label. They wrote and released 2009’s We’re All Going Somewhere, their Gotee debut, followed by Ad Astera Per Aspera, their first full-length effort with the label – both produced by Mark Lee Townsend (Relient K, House of Heroes). Ad Astra landed AK on Christian rock radio along with several headlining national tours supported by artists like The Wedding, From Indian Lakes, Swimming With Dolphins, and Farewell Flight. Additionally, Abandon Kansas performed at major national festivals like Cornerstone, Sonfest, Uprise, Purple Door, and headlined Tiranafast in Albania. However, the band felt as though they were running in place, and Gotee couldn’t accommodate their direction for the foreseeable future. “Gotee was a great home for us in the beginning,” continues Spring. “We were able to educate ourselves in the music industry and discover we had just as good of a shot putting out a successful record independently as we did being signed.”

Enter 2012, when Abandon Kansas found themselves at a vital crossroads – two singles charting on Christian radio but no creative outlet to be themselves. With an album’s worth of new material that Gotee would not commit to releasing any time soon, the band approached their label asking for a clean break. The break was respectfully granted, and the band quickly entered the studio with Dustin Burnett to begin work on A Midwest Summer – their first independent release in nearly six years. Vocalist Jeremy Spring says, “We didn't want to do a fundraiser or anything, but instead our fourth annual acoustic living room tour essentially paid for this new release. We are still fan- funded, just in the old fashion ‘come to a show, buy yourself a CD, and tell your friends’ kind of way. AK may be independent, but certainly not alone.” 

A Midwest Summer is the 3-song pre-cursor to its parent release, due out later in 2013. It opens with “You+Me+The Radio,” setting an anthem-like, optimistic tone for the album. The following tracks include “The Chase” and “Marching Around Me,” which give Abandon Kansas the tone-heavy blend of dance-pop and true rock that will provide fans of Youngblood Hawke and Paper Route with their new obsession. A Midwest Summer hits digital retailers on June 11th – look for Abandon Kansas to grace car stereos all summer long in advent of their full-length concept album. In the words of AK vocalist Spring, “Where we’re from, summer is a whole lot of driving to the middle of nowhere just to get into trouble with your friends, working a summer job you really don’t care about, staying in your swim suits all day by the pool, and living inside this lucid dream of a season that seems to last a lot longer than a few months between semesters.”

Abandon Kansas is:
Jeremy Spring – vocals, guitar, keys
Brian Scheideman – drums
Nick Patrick – bass 

Find Abandon Kansas online:

www.abandonkansaslovesyou.com
www.facebook.com/abandonkansas
www.twitter.com/abandonkansas
www.youtube.com/abandonkansas
http://instagram.com/abandonkansas 


Media Contact:
Nate Sirotta / nate@impulseartists.com 


I am a Conservative Evangelical follower of Jesus Christ and I have a deep passion for music that began when I was a very young boy growing up in the 70's and 80's. My love of music first became a passion when God used the power of music as a tool to bring me to a saving knowledge of Him. My Passion transformed into a ministry when I first sang publicly back in April of 1994 at my home church. 

I am a firm believer in the power of music to affect change in one's life and attitude and I'm an ESPECIALLY firm believer in it's ability as an incredibly powerful vehicle for the life changing message of the Gospel of Christ.

Music has always been a massive part of my life...it courses through my veins...and while I'm far from being a great vocalist, I'm just thrilled that I can use my gift to hopefully encourage others and point them to Christ.

I once heard Kevin Max from dc Talk make the following statement...I don't know if it's an original quote or if he was quoting someone else, nevertheless, I have always LOVED IT...

"Music can take words to places that mere words cannot go".  

Amen.

Nevertake out now https://anberlin.lnk.to/nevertake

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