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On a recent swing through Los Angeles, Haseltine and crew packed the legendary Greek Theater with a show that the venerable Hollywood Reporter likened to a Fab Four performance: "Like the Beatles, Jars of Clay demonstrated a certain versatility, mixing catchy pop, intense folk-rock, Muscle Shoals-like soul and hard-edged grunge," observed the industry bible. It was an unusual and remarkable display of rock-and-roll mastery, religious devotion, and quiet introspection. Jars of Clay is obviously influenced by bands like Toad the Wet Sprocket (two of its members met as a result of mutual affection for the band); but the Greek show demonstrated that they are also students of rock history, who understand keenly that the roots of their music go back to Liverpool. The show opened with "Here Comes The Sun" (or was it Son?), the significance of which may have gone right over the heads of the Jars audience, but showed the band was in touch with that legacy. They later referenced it again when, in the middle of their latest hit song, the pounding "Revolution," Haseltine briefly sang a few lines from another song of the same title that had the world rocking three decades ago. Stalking across the stage, Haseltine connected with his audience with a mixture of new material from the band's latest album, The Eleventh Hour, as well as older songs, like the hit that made the band a household name in the mid '90s, "Flood." Jars has always been known for its activism and this night was no exception, as Haseltine lectured his charges on why the HIV crisis in Africa could not be ignored, asking that everybody sign up to sponsor a child in the region. Haseltine may lack Bono's showmanship and Creed singer Scott Stapp's drama, but what he does have in spades is both humility and the courage to embrace causes that are not establishment-approved. Scott Stapp's Arms Wide Open Foundation does good work with children and Bono jets around the world on behalf of debt relief, but Haseltine's most unlikely crusade — in addition to his work on behalf of AIDS babies in Africa — has been bringing the plight of persecuted pastors in China to the attention of unusual allies like Amnesty International. Conservative Christian types have long railed against Amnesty, but Haseltine had a different idea: enlisting their help in his cause. Haseltine agreed to have his band play an Amnesty benefit show in their adopted hometown under one condition: that Amnesty bring public pressure to bear on behalf of the suffering pastors in China. The liberal political action group — which had for years ignored such causes — readily agreed and an unlikely alliance was formed. What Haseltine lacks however, is a strong place in pop culture, solidified by record sales. While bands like Creed or U2 breeze past the two-million mark in records sold in the first few months, after 2 months, Jars of Clay's The Eleventh Hour only approaches 500,000 units. This is partly because they're a rock band on a pop label, with music-biz people in charge who know how to handle Britney Spears and 'N Sync but aren't quite sure what to do with a band like Jars of Clay. It also has to do with the cultural biases that haunt Jars of Clay because of their faith, and the fact that their music is sometimes marketed, against the band's wishes, as Christian rock. Jars of Clay essentially has two label homes: one for the mainstream rock market, Silvertone Records, and one for the industry which is distributed in Christian-owned bookstores across the country, called Essential Records. The problems arise usually when one label gets in the way of the other. In the case of Jars that has meant their CDs ending up in the gospel section of outlets like Target, Sam Goody, and Waldenbooks, rather than in the rock/pop section. In cases like these, the band must go to work to call retail chains personally. It has also meant, on more than one occasion, Haseltine himself calling rock publications and asking that the band be reviewed in the category that describes their music (pop/rock), not the category that describes their faith (gospel). USA Today is a notorious example of how mainstream outlets — unwittingly perhaps — can sentence rockers who happen to have a deep faith to cultural obscurity. While any publicity is typically appreciated, such segregation communicates to the rest of the music business that these artists are not a part of the rock-music world, and tends to keep them from being taken seriously at places that matter: MTV, VH-1, and the thousands of pop and rock stations around the country. Understanding this intuitively, Haseltine contacted USA Today's entertainment editor personally and requesting a review in the pop/rock section. The paper obliged, but at the cost of a frosty review — and a confrontational interview, by the same reporter, in another publication. Still, Haseltine had achieved his goal of having his band, their music, and their message taken seriously, and before long the pieces began to fall in place. Mel Gibson came calling with a request for a Jars song for his film We Were Soldiers. Strong reviews came in from the industry bible Billboard magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, NPR, the New York Post, CNN, and other mainstream outlets. In the spring of 2002, the band launched its own tour, playing to sold-out venues across the country. Future successes will largely hinge on the success of the record's first single "Fly," written for a friend who lost his wife to cancer. The Eleventh Hour is strong and steady, and it grows on the listener with each play. From the driving alternative rock of "Revolution" and "Whatever She Wants," to the soaring pop of "Fly," to the introspective simplicity of ballads like "These Ordinary Days," Jars of Clay has produced an album that under better circumstances might have been an instant hit, but which even now still has a chance to shine. And, despite the lack of a high-profile publicity campaign, Jars of Clay has managed to earn a spot opening on select dates for rocker Sheryl Crow — and has earned some flattering notices: "A remarkably good rock band," declared the New York Post. "A thoughtful collection of songs," added Billboard magazine. The band returned to the roots of the success they enjoyed on their first album by mostly producing the record themselves — mostly, only because two of the standout tracks on the debut record were produced by Adrian Belew, a producer who once played guitar in David Bowie's band. Critics who have followed the band closely since its debut — like Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly, and Terry Mattingly of Scripps-Howard — hope the band will work with Belew again: "It was his off-the-wall touches on the first singles that made this sound like more than a folk rock band," noted Mattingly. "He is a huge and unique talent. They should give credit where credit is due and dance with the one who brung 'em." Willman gave The Eleventh Hour a strong B in his review for Entertainment Weekly, but also sees room for improvement: "This is a group that does not benefit from self-production. It's a slick album in a time where slick music is being eschewed, at least outside of teen pop," he said. "Ironically, they need to bring someone in who would force them to not be so professional and stuffy." Whatever the future holds for Jars of Clay, frontman Haseltine seems intent on making both his and his band's presence known. Together with bandmates Stephen Mason, Charlie Lowell, and Matt Odmark, he seems to have conclusively proved that it is indeed possible for people of faith to make great rock music that can also be enjoyed by fans who don't necessarily share that faith — so long as that faith is wrapped up in shared feelings, common experiences, and irresistible music. — Mark Joseph is author of author of The Rock & Roll Rebellion: Why People of Faith Abandoned Rock Music and Why They're Coming Back. |
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Haseltine is an unlikely rock star. Quiet and introspective, and seemingly
more at home with a good book than in front of thousands of fans, Haseltine
nonetheless lives out the role he's been given in life as frontman of
the Grammy-award-winning alternative rock-band Jars of Clay.
