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Servant and...Servant: was re: Before OtR

In a message dated 5/8/01 11:32:29 AM Central Daylight Time, 
cirhsein at yahoo_com writes:

<< So, are you saying that this was a completely /different/ Servant than the
 Brock's group, or was it simply a new incarnation of Brock's group?
 
 Utterly confused,
 
 paul  >>

Perhaps I'm dealing with misinformation but I didn't think so.  I've heard 
there were two different bands by the same name a couple times and then there 
was a pretty extensive mention of their origins in John Thompson's book 
'Raised by Wolves'. There's definately some serious overlap but if he's on at 
all there were originally two.
 
 I'll just type out what he says to see if those more in the know can affirm 
or weed out where his info is wrong: ( I have caught two or three places 
where from what I know he wasn't fully on)

  Two bands called Servant emerged in the late 70's.  Although they were 
completely separate they did have something in common.  The earlier one 
formed in Joliet, Illinois in 1977.  The lineup included Matt Spransy, who'd 
been a member of Sheep, which had gone to England in 1971.  He'd also been 
involved in launching the Greenbelt Festival.  Also in the Joliet version was 
a bass player named Doug Pinnock, who'd later rise to national and 
international fame as the front man for King's X. That Servant was a 
progressive and aggressive rock band along the lines of ELP and Yes.  They 
developed a considerable following among musicians, both Christian and not, 
and were widely thought of as the best Christian band of the day in terms of 
musical skill.  Unfortunately, the band never managed to take off, and after 
three years they decided to call it quits.
  It turned out that Owen and Sandy Brock, fellow members of the Lonesome 
Stone troupe that went to Europe with Spransy, had started a rock band called 
Servant based in Oregon.  When they came through Chicago, Spransy went to se 
them and noticed that they didn't have a keyboardist.  He donated all the 
gear that the Joliet Servant had accumulated, including their PA, a truck, 
and keyboards.  He was then asked to join the band.
  If you went to see Degarmo and Key or Ressurection band in the late 70's, 
you might have seen Servant with them.  Servant sprang out of a communal 
living situation that followed the end of the Lonesome Stone run.  The 
location and lineup changed, vut the core members Owen and Sandy Brock, Bruce 
Wright, Matt Spransy, and Bob Hardy formed a band that pushed the envelope.  
Sandy's powerful voice was reminiscent of Heart or Jefferson Airplane, and 
the band toured constantly.  Along the way, they released 3 excellent albums.
  The bands debut, Shallow Water, was released on the Canadian Tunesmith 
label.  From the beginning, Servant made two things clear: their music was 
pure ministry, and they were a rock band.  There were a few mellow cuts, but 
the band generally rocked.  Their debut was followed by another Tunesmith 
release called Rockin' Revival, which featured "I'm Gonna Live" a kitchy tune 
co-written by Pinnock that became a favorite for years on the few Christian 
rock stations that existed. In the 80's the band migrated to Rooftop records 
(distributed by Benson, meaning that they were widely available for the first 
time).  World of Sand combined Servant's muscular rock with a serious 
recording budget and major-league production.  The Jesus rock, apologetic 
"Jungle Music" appeared on that album, complete with references to mearly all 
of the other Christian rock bands on the scene.  The song poked fun at the 
critique still being lobbed by antirock preachers.  The chorus chanted, 
"Jungle music, can God really use it?"  Their answer was a resounding yes.
  In the 80's, the band evolved into a synthesized pop band behind Spransy's 
considerable talent and scored a major Christian radio hit with "we are the 
light" from their Myrrh release Light Maneuvers.  With the production by Bob 
Rock (Motley Crue, Skid Row, Cher, Bon Jovi, Veruca Salt, Mettalica, The 
Cult), the album was their best sounding and most accessible to date.  After 
one more album, Swimming in the Human Ocean, all the members of Servant 
except the Brocks quit.  They tried to keep the band going for a while by 
enlisting three young men from their hometown.  After a short time the band 
dissolved, and the three young men, Linford Detweiler, Rich Hordinski, and 
Brian Kelly, hooked up with a singer named Karin Bergquist and started a band 
called Over the Rhine.

hope this helps some,
kevin
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