Jars Of Clay

Jars of Clay emerged as the defining act of the 1990s alternative CCM wave, landing a massive crossover smash with their first single “Flood” and achieving platinum-level sales. Although every lyric stayed rooted in Christian themes, the band’s acoustic-driven arrangements slotted naturally into the jangly folk wing of alternative-rock airplay, an uncommon occurrence within contemporary Christian music at the time. That breakthrough cleared a path for later Christian acts such as dc Talk and Sixpence None the Richer, and the same stylistic bridge made it easier for heavier, faith-oriented rock bands like Creed and P.O.D. to reach mainstream listeners. As mainstream tastes evolved, the group gradually lost ground with secular audiences yet retained a devoted Christian following and continued to rank among the most visible artists in any gospel subgenre.

The quartet came together in 1993 at Greenville College in Illinois when singer-songwriter Dan Haseltine and keyboardist Charlie Lowell recruited guitarist Stephen Mason, whose admiration for Toad the Wet Sprocket mirrored Haseltine’s own. All three were music majors in the school’s newly established CCM program and first collaborated on a song for a class assignment. They took their name from a passage in Second Corinthians that likens human frailty to jars of clay. Second guitarist Matt Bronleewe came aboard shortly afterward, while drummer Scott Savage handled live duties even though the band frequently relied on programmed electronic beats in the studio. After positive reactions to their early originals, they entered the Gospel Music Association’s 1994 talent contest. Selected as finalists on the strength of a demo tape, they performed in Nashville for label executives and won the competition. Returning to Greenville, they sold a self-released CD titled Frail that sparked bidding among several imprints, some of which phoned the musicians’ dorm rooms directly. With offers mounting, the band left school and moved to Nashville; Bronleewe stayed behind to finish his degree and marry his fiancée, so Haseltine’s childhood friend Matt Odmark stepped in as his replacement.

After weighing multiple contracts, Jars of Clay chose the independent Essential label, whose parent company Brentwood and partnership with Silvertone provided strong mainstream distribution. While tracking their self-titled debut, prog-rock guitarist and recent Christian convert Adrian Belew heard Frail and volunteered to produce several tracks. One of those became “Flood,” which dominated Christian radio after the album appeared in spring 1995. When secular stations, especially in the Northwest, began playing the song, Silvertone mounted an aggressive campaign that propelled it onto mainstream rock, modern-rock, and pop formats by early 1996. The single reached number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100, one of many 1990s hits whose chart position understated its true popularity because of release-format rules. Bolstered by that exposure, the debut album eventually surpassed double-platinum sales.

Some secular programmers and listeners reacted negatively once they learned the band’s Christian identity, and certain Christian commentators faulted the group for sharing bills with secular alternative acts throughout 1996. After nearly a year of nonstop touring, the members paused to write new material, having already issued the holiday EP Little Drummer Boy in late 1995. British producer Steve Lipson joined them for the follow-up, Much Afraid, which arrived in 1997, debuted inside the pop Top Ten, earned platinum certification, and captured a Grammy for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album. Although “Five Candles” and “Crazy Times” enjoyed modest airplay, the album never matched the first record’s secular reach. The core Christian audience stayed loyal, however, driving 1999’s If I Left the Zoo—produced by Dennis Herring, known for his work with Counting Crows—to gold status. By then Savage had departed to accompany Jaci Velasquez and was replaced onstage by Joe Porter. The band self-produced its fourth studio set, The Eleventh Hour, issued in early 2002 and supported by a live DVD.

In 2003 they released the double-disc collection Furthermore: From the Studio/From the Stage, pairing newly recorded acoustic versions of earlier material with live performances. Their fifth proper album, Who We Are Instead, followed that November. Redemption Songs appeared in early 2005 and featured reinterpretations of well-known hymns and spirituals. Good Monsters arrived in fall 2006. Three projects surfaced the next year: the retrospective Essential Jars of Clay, the concert recording Live Monsters, and the seasonal collection Christmas Songs. Long Fall Back to Earth surfaced in 2009, its sonic palette nodding to 1980s touchstones such as Tears for Fears and the Cure. The Shelter followed in 2010; the band promoted it with 2011 dates on the Rock And Worship Roadshow. After a brief hiatus they returned to the studio in 2012, this time traveling to Portland, Oregon, to work with producer Tucker Martine. His contributions imparted a denser, bass-forward texture to Inland, which reached stores in August 2013.