br3ad_man
05-12-2006, 09:10 PM
For most music fans, the area of christian music is one that is almost always approached with caution. And with good reason. The mainstream of the christian market is full of artists who simply refuse to make original music, preferring to rip off popular secular bands for the sake of making a "christian alternative". Their lyrics and unrelatable and unrealistic and their music simply sucks.
As a christian myself, the state of christian music has frustrated me for a long time. When music first became an interest of mine, I basically outright refused to listen to any christian music. To this day, few of my favourite artists are christian because it is just so hard to find decent christian music out there. Thank goodness, then, for Lee Bozeman, who has been making fantastic music for over 10 years.
Luxury
I will begin the story of Lee's musical journey with Luxury, the band he started in. The members of Luxury met in college in the early 90s. Consisting of Lee (vocals and guitar), Lee's brother Jamey (guitar), Chris Foley (bass) and Glenn Black (drums), the band started to practice in various rooms around the college campus, being kicked out of one after the other. Luxury signed to Tooth and Nail records in 1994 after one of the Tooth and Nail staff saw a Luxury show. In 1995, the band released their debut, Amazing and Thank You.
http://www.trendynate.com/luxury/luxury/images/covers/coveramazing.gif
Touring in support of Amazing and Thank You, Luxury were going well until the band suffered a horrible accident. Driving home from their tour, the driver of their van became distracted and caused the van to flip multiple times. Most of the people in the van were thrown free, but Lee found himself trapped under the van. He was freed when Jamey and some people passing by were able to lift the van off of him. Lee had broken his neck, pelvis and most of his ribs in the accident and was hospitalised for three weeks. Following the accident, he had to walk with a cane for 8 months.
Recovering from their accident, Luxury released The Latest and the Greatest in 1997 on Tooth and Nail. They toured briefly in support, but Tooth and Nail weren't happy with the success of Luxury. The band weren't into touring much anymore, so they weren't making too much money. As their contract had ended, Tooth and Nail decided not to continue it. Chris Foley soon wrote a message to fans explaining that the band was breaking up. The members went their different ways, working on various bands and projects. Lee continued to write songs for what would be Luxury's next release.
http://www.trendynate.com/luxury/luxury/images/covers/coverlatest.gif
In 1999, the members of Luxury decided that they would like to start recording again. They started looking for a label and though they encountered various legal problems, they were able to release their album through Bulletproof. Bulletproof, however, were on the verge of collapse and due to this, Luxury did not recieve and national release. To further problems for the band, Luxury was banned from several christian book stores due to some mild language on the record. To try to get support for the album, Lee's wife Amy started selling copies on ebay. Although Luxury played a few dates in support of their self titled record, they have not played live since 2002. Lee moved in Kansas in 2001 and started a new solo project, All Things Bright and Beautiful. Jamey started a new band called They Sang As They Slew and the other members divided their time between musical projects and other endeavours.
http://www.trendynate.com/luxury/luxury/images/covers/coverselftitled.gif
As Luxury were not doing much after their self titled release, Lee recorded two EPs in his laundry and released them under the name of All Things Bright and Beautiful. These EPs were not in a complete form, most of the drums being programmed. In November of 2003, All Things Bright and Beautiful's record, Love and Affection was released through Northern Records. While christian records are often hard to take seriously, Love and Affection is one of the most depressing and brutally honest christian records ever released. Mainly focused around the issues of love, sex and lust, Love and Affection was a dark record and not released in many christian book stores (most likely due to the use of the word '****'). Lee cites influences such as The Smiths, Blonde Redhead, Belle & Sebastian, Low, Radiohead, The Housemartins and Depeche Mode. Lyrically, Lee says that he is influenced by writers such as J.D. Salinger, Wendell Berry and T.S. Elliot.
http://www.northernrecordstore.com/ftp/northern_records/artists/all_things_b_and_b/love/cover_art/love_and_affection-cover250.jpg
In October of 2005, Luxury released their fourth and best album to date, Health and Sport. The record shows a great range of sounds and emotions. Lee's voice and lyrics have only improved over time and Health and Sport is arguably the best thing that Lee has ever been involved in. The band cite influences such as Led Zeppelin, Radiohead, Queen, The Notwist, Fugazi and Blonde Redhead. In the future, Lee has said that he would like to record another All Things Bright and Beautiful record focused on the concept of christian joy. He has also confirmed that a project between him and Ronnie Martin (the single member of Joy Electric, who is responsible for some of the greatest pop songs released in the christian market), which is exciting to say the least. Between his wife and children and his other interests, it seems that Lee will only continue to make some of the greatest music ever released in the christian market.
http://www.trendynate.com/luxury/pics/healthandsport.jpg
Links
TrendyNate.com (http://www.trendynate.com) (a good resource for Bozeman projects)
Luxury
myspace (http://www.myspace.com/luxury)
Luxury on Northern Records (album stream avaliable) (http://www.northernrecordstore.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=100&HS=1)
All Things Bright and Beautiful
myspace (http://www.myspace.com/allthingsbrightandbeautiful)
All Things Bright and Beautiful on Northern Records (song streams avaliable) (http://www.northernrecordstore.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=35)
Official website (http://www.leebozeman.com)
Related Projects
They Sang As They Slew (Lee's brother's band) (http://www.myspace.com/theysangastheyslew)
namelessnumberheadman (http://www.namelessnumberheadman.com)(the band that backs Lee...A full demo and covers EP (covers of Sparklehorse and The Flaming Lips) avaliable for download)
Mp3s
Luxury
mp3s of early work and live shows (http://www.trendynate.com/luxury/luxury/discography.htm)
Check out the Luxury at Northern Records page to listen to Health and Sport
All Things Bright and Beautiful
Wedding Feast of the Lamb: First Movement (http://www.leebozeman.com/wedding_feast_of_the_lamb_2.MP3)
Attractive and Unattractive (http://www.leebozeman.com/attractive_and_unattractive_2.MP3)
The Dead Sea (http://www.leebozeman.com/the_dead_sea_2.MP3)
I would also reccomend listening to "Speaking in Tounges" on the ATBaB Northern Records page, possibly before anything else.
As a christian myself, the state of christian music has frustrated me for a long time. When music first became an interest of mine, I basically outright refused to listen to any christian music. To this day, few of my favourite artists are christian because it is just so hard to find decent christian music out there. Thank goodness, then, for Lee Bozeman, who has been making fantastic music for over 10 years.
Luxury
I will begin the story of Lee's musical journey with Luxury, the band he started in. The members of Luxury met in college in the early 90s. Consisting of Lee (vocals and guitar), Lee's brother Jamey (guitar), Chris Foley (bass) and Glenn Black (drums), the band started to practice in various rooms around the college campus, being kicked out of one after the other. Luxury signed to Tooth and Nail records in 1994 after one of the Tooth and Nail staff saw a Luxury show. In 1995, the band released their debut, Amazing and Thank You.
http://www.trendynate.com/luxury/luxury/images/covers/coveramazing.gif
Touring in support of Amazing and Thank You, Luxury were going well until the band suffered a horrible accident. Driving home from their tour, the driver of their van became distracted and caused the van to flip multiple times. Most of the people in the van were thrown free, but Lee found himself trapped under the van. He was freed when Jamey and some people passing by were able to lift the van off of him. Lee had broken his neck, pelvis and most of his ribs in the accident and was hospitalised for three weeks. Following the accident, he had to walk with a cane for 8 months.
Recovering from their accident, Luxury released The Latest and the Greatest in 1997 on Tooth and Nail. They toured briefly in support, but Tooth and Nail weren't happy with the success of Luxury. The band weren't into touring much anymore, so they weren't making too much money. As their contract had ended, Tooth and Nail decided not to continue it. Chris Foley soon wrote a message to fans explaining that the band was breaking up. The members went their different ways, working on various bands and projects. Lee continued to write songs for what would be Luxury's next release.
http://www.trendynate.com/luxury/luxury/images/covers/coverlatest.gif
In 1999, the members of Luxury decided that they would like to start recording again. They started looking for a label and though they encountered various legal problems, they were able to release their album through Bulletproof. Bulletproof, however, were on the verge of collapse and due to this, Luxury did not recieve and national release. To further problems for the band, Luxury was banned from several christian book stores due to some mild language on the record. To try to get support for the album, Lee's wife Amy started selling copies on ebay. Although Luxury played a few dates in support of their self titled record, they have not played live since 2002. Lee moved in Kansas in 2001 and started a new solo project, All Things Bright and Beautiful. Jamey started a new band called They Sang As They Slew and the other members divided their time between musical projects and other endeavours.
http://www.trendynate.com/luxury/luxury/images/covers/coverselftitled.gif
As Luxury were not doing much after their self titled release, Lee recorded two EPs in his laundry and released them under the name of All Things Bright and Beautiful. These EPs were not in a complete form, most of the drums being programmed. In November of 2003, All Things Bright and Beautiful's record, Love and Affection was released through Northern Records. While christian records are often hard to take seriously, Love and Affection is one of the most depressing and brutally honest christian records ever released. Mainly focused around the issues of love, sex and lust, Love and Affection was a dark record and not released in many christian book stores (most likely due to the use of the word '****'). Lee cites influences such as The Smiths, Blonde Redhead, Belle & Sebastian, Low, Radiohead, The Housemartins and Depeche Mode. Lyrically, Lee says that he is influenced by writers such as J.D. Salinger, Wendell Berry and T.S. Elliot.
http://www.northernrecordstore.com/ftp/northern_records/artists/all_things_b_and_b/love/cover_art/love_and_affection-cover250.jpg
In October of 2005, Luxury released their fourth and best album to date, Health and Sport. The record shows a great range of sounds and emotions. Lee's voice and lyrics have only improved over time and Health and Sport is arguably the best thing that Lee has ever been involved in. The band cite influences such as Led Zeppelin, Radiohead, Queen, The Notwist, Fugazi and Blonde Redhead. In the future, Lee has said that he would like to record another All Things Bright and Beautiful record focused on the concept of christian joy. He has also confirmed that a project between him and Ronnie Martin (the single member of Joy Electric, who is responsible for some of the greatest pop songs released in the christian market), which is exciting to say the least. Between his wife and children and his other interests, it seems that Lee will only continue to make some of the greatest music ever released in the christian market.
http://www.trendynate.com/luxury/pics/healthandsport.jpg
Links
TrendyNate.com (http://www.trendynate.com) (a good resource for Bozeman projects)
Luxury
myspace (http://www.myspace.com/luxury)
Luxury on Northern Records (album stream avaliable) (http://www.northernrecordstore.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=100&HS=1)
All Things Bright and Beautiful
myspace (http://www.myspace.com/allthingsbrightandbeautiful)
All Things Bright and Beautiful on Northern Records (song streams avaliable) (http://www.northernrecordstore.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=35)
Official website (http://www.leebozeman.com)
Related Projects
They Sang As They Slew (Lee's brother's band) (http://www.myspace.com/theysangastheyslew)
namelessnumberheadman (http://www.namelessnumberheadman.com)(the band that backs Lee...A full demo and covers EP (covers of Sparklehorse and The Flaming Lips) avaliable for download)
Mp3s
Luxury
mp3s of early work and live shows (http://www.trendynate.com/luxury/luxury/discography.htm)
Check out the Luxury at Northern Records page to listen to Health and Sport
All Things Bright and Beautiful
Wedding Feast of the Lamb: First Movement (http://www.leebozeman.com/wedding_feast_of_the_lamb_2.MP3)
Attractive and Unattractive (http://www.leebozeman.com/attractive_and_unattractive_2.MP3)
The Dead Sea (http://www.leebozeman.com/the_dead_sea_2.MP3)
I would also reccomend listening to "Speaking in Tounges" on the ATBaB Northern Records page, possibly before anything else.